Conceptualizing cultural literacy through student learning outcomes assessment

Student learning outcomes (SLO) assessment is often perceived as a burdensome, top-down process driven by institutional requirements. Recent research has thus called for discipline-specific models of SLO assessment to more deeply engage postsecondary faculty in determining what constitutes student learning within their programs. In response, this article presents a recursive process of developing and applying a model of cultural literacy to SLO assessment documents from one foreign language (FL) department comprising multiple BA programs. The study has two interrelated parts: (1) operationalizing the concept of cultural literacy, and (2) analyzing assessment documents using qualitative content analysis. Findings show that cultural literacy is characterized by eight unique factors evident across FL program assessment documents to varying degrees. This measurable definition of cultural literacy can facilitate the alignment of goals and outcomes with disciplinary principles and has implications for curriculum development and instructional practices in collegiate FL programs.