Cultural Competence in Education
We support educators and institutions to engage diverse students and foster inclusive learning
CEH helps to build inclusive learning environments through supporting culturally responsive teaching, peer and family education, and training that enhances cross‑cultural communication and belonging.
We work with schools, TAFEs, and universities to build inclusive learning environment and strengthen education systems by:
- Providing education programs that teach students from multicultural backgrounds about key health and wellbeing topics and amplify the student voice
- Supporting staff with cross-cultural communication and teaching strategies
- Developing resources that embed cultural competence in learning.
Our experience
School community engagement with people from refugee-like backgrounds
In 2025 CEH worked with a public secondary school in the inner west of Melbourne on a community engagement project. We produced narrated videos for parents and guardians from refugee-like backgrounds in their preferred community language about how to access and use a communication app for schools on their smartphones. Videos were preferred over a text format to overcome difficulty with reading. The narration was in plain language.
Working with the school, we consulted parents to discuss, via a credentialled interpreter, the content of the draft version of the narrated videos and their preferred channels for sharing these within their community.
We assisted the school with the process of getting the videos translated through a translation agency, and have since worked with other schools in Melbourne wanting to do similar work.
Supporting inclusive education through tailored training
CEH delivers training across the education sector, working with educators, staff and students in a wide range of learning environments. This includes early childhood, primary and secondary schools, early parenting centres, tertiary education, and community education providers. Our training is delivered through workshops and eLearning, designed to fit different learning settings and workforce needs.
We also provide tailored training for students in higher education, including those studying financial counselling, community services and medicine. These programs combine in‑person and online delivery to support diverse cohorts and learning styles.
More recently, CEH partnered with Macquarie University to deliver a webinar focusing on practical ways to engage multicultural communities in clinical research.
Through this work, we have developed a strong understanding of the challenges faced by educators, trainers and students working in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts.
Find out more about our services
We can work with you through multiple streams:
Organisational Training: Tailored programs to enhance the cultural competence of your educators and foster inclusive practice.
Cultural Consultancy & Projects: Guidance on education organisational policy, learning design, and strategic projects.
Community Engagement & Education: Community partnerships, workforce education and health promotion activities, tailored to support prevention of STIs, HIV, blood‑borne viruses and viral hepatitis in migrant and refugee communities.
Resource Development: Practical tools and guides to embed cultural competence into teaching.
Health Translations Library: Free online library of high-quality translated Australian health and wellbeing information, available in over 130 languages.
Cultural Competence Assessments: Access to online tools to support your school, TAFE or university to identify strengths and gaps in cultural competence. The tools provide you with a personalised PDF report with scoring, so you can benchmark and track your progress.
