Intercultural Competence In Higher Education

Intercultural Competence in Higher Education features the work of scholars and international education practitioners in understanding the learning outcomes of internationalization, moving beyond rhetoric to concrete practice around the world. Devoted exclusively to exploring the central learning outcomes of internationalization efforts, this edited volume contains a refreshing combination of chapters and case studies from interdisciplinary and cross-cultural contributors, including: cutting-edge issues within intercultural competence development, such as intersectionality, mapping intercultural competence, and assessment; the role of higher education in developing intercultural competence for peacebuilding in the aftermath of violent conflict; facilitating intercultural competence through international student internships; interdisciplinary and cross-cultural contributions from over 19 countries including Japan, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, and Vietnam; the latest research and thinking on global, intercultural, and international learning outcomes, with a unique emphasis on newer voices. Intercultural competence has become an essential element in international as well as domestic education. This text provides the latest thinking and research within the context of internationalization, presents practical case studies on how to integrate this into the preparation of global-ready students and will be of interest to postgraduate students, international education administrators, and practitioners, as well as scholars and researchers in a variety of disciplines who have an interest in intercultural and global competence.

Any educational environment involves the interaction of diverse groups and individuals. To foster productive and effective communication, it becomes imperative to understand people’s different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, as well as their value systems. Promoting Intercultural Communication Competencies in Higher Education is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly material on the presence of cultural diversity in educational contexts and how to promote effective dialogues in these environments. Highlighting extensive coverage on topics relating to intercultural learning, such as social identity, gender diversity, and formative feedback, this book is ideally designed for academics, upper-level students, educators, professionals, and practitioners seeking pedagogical research on communication between diverse cultural groups.

This practical guide is a must read for students interested in developing the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and values that foster positive relationships with people from diverse cultures both within and outside of the workplace. It contains real-life examples from students drawn from the authors’ work across different countries. In an age of growing diversity and increasing global mobility, living and working with people from different cultural backgrounds is becoming the norm. To address this complex topic, the authors invite students to consider key questions such as: How do our cultural backgrounds influence our behavior towards others? What is intercultural competence and how can it help students to get along in work and life? How can institutions help students to develop intercultural competence? What does it have to do with topics like prejudice, discrimination, and racism? How can intercultural competence facilitate social change and help students to succeed in their careers? Written for students in any country and studying in any discipline, this book includes practical activities designed to help students to develop intercultural competence throughout their time at college or university. It is useful for students as an autonomous learning source, or as a resource for taught courses. Drawing on a comprehensive and rigorous knowledge of the field, the authors have written a thought-provoking analysis and a practical guide to understanding and enacting Intercultural Competence. I learnt from and admire their ambitious vision of the significance of intercultural competence for society and for the lives and careers of their readers.— Michael Byram, author of Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence, Durham University, UK This is a wonderfully readable book, which carefully and clearly explains the concept of intercultural competence, exploring its implications for addressing many of the most crucial issues facing the world today. Based on impeccable scholarship, and containing a wealth of practical activities, this book is highly recommended for students and interested laypeople alike.— Martyn Barrett, University of Surrey, UK An exceptionally user-friendly and theory-informed guidebook that would not only benefit university students but anyone with an interest in intercultural communication. The book is second to none in terms of clarity of presentation and coverage of concepts, models and practical ideas relevant to intercultural competence for the contemporary society. —Anwei Feng, University of Nottingham Ningbo, China An essential handbook and excellent addition to conventional textbooks. Nuanced and down-to-earth explanations about intercultural communication which are accessible to everyone. Insightful explanations for educators and students alike. Easy to use self-study guide with thought-provoking exercises. This book has been long needed and has come at just the right time. --Ivett Guntersdorfer, Founder and Director of the Intercultural Communication Certificate Program, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany

This book presents students’ reflections on their intercultural student experiences, and utilizing the UNESCO Story Circle methodology, illustrates how such reflection can aid the development of intercultural competence (IC). The volume features a broad range of first-person narratives that showcase the diversity of student experience encountered whilst studying abroad in a variety of cultural and institutional settings. Engaging with issues in relation to identity negotiation, stereotypes, cultural difference, and communities of support, the text demonstrates application of the UNESCO Story Circle approach in developing IC. Further, vignettes are analyzed and guiding questions are offered to structure readers’ reflection and discussion to facilitate further honing of intercultural competencies. The volume promotes IC amongst individual educators, trainers, international students, and community members and provides guidance in addressing international students’ wellbeing more broadly. This text will benefit scholars, academics, and students in the fields of higher education, multicultural education, and intercultural communication. Those involved with international and comparative education as well as student affair practice and higher education administration will also benefit from this volume.

As the world becomes more globalized, student populations in educational settings will continue to grow in diversity. To ensure students develop the cultural competence to adapt to new environments, educational institutions must develop curriculum, policies, and programs to aid in the progression of cultural acceptance and understanding. Multicultural Instructional Design: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a vital reference source for the latest research findings on inclusive curriculum development for multicultural learners. It also examines the interaction between culture and learning in academic environments and the efforts to mediate it through various educational venues. Highlighting a range of topics such as intercultural communication, student diversity, and language skills, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for educators, professionals, school administrators, researchers, and practitioners in the field of education.

While research into intercultural teaching has grown exponentially during the past two decades, the research has primarily resorted to the use of quantitative data collection instruments and the interpretation of scores calculated through them. As such, studies in the field can seem somewhat decontextualized, ignoring in some cases setting-specific parameters. Therefore, further study is needed to bring together theory, research, and practice demonstrating how this teaching is reflected in research design and how it is undertaken in different settings. Intercultural Foreign Language Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Contexts is an essential reference source that provides a series of rich insights into the way intercultural education is practiced in numerous international contexts and showcases practical examples of teaching situations and classroom activities that demonstrate its impact within the classroom. Featuring research on topics such as higher education, multilingualism, and professionalism, this book is ideally designed for educators, researchers, administrators, professionals, academicians, and students seeking pedagogical guidance on intercultural teaching.

As the world becomes more globalized, student populations in university settings will continue to grow in diversity. To ensure students develop the cultural competence to adapt to new environments, universities and colleges must develop policies and programs to aid in the progression of cultural acceptance and understanding. Cultural Awareness and Competency Development in Higher Education is an essential reference book on the latest literature regarding multiculturalism in colleges and universities, focusing on administration and faculty implementation of culturally-aware curriculum to support the development of students' global competence. Featuring extensive coverage on a range of topics including social constructivism, co-curricular learning, and inclusive pedagogy, this publication is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on the inclusion of culturally diverse curriculums in higher education.

This book critiques models of intercultural competence, whilst suggesting examples of specific alternative approaches that will successfully foster intercultural competence in teacher education. Bringing together diverse perspectives from teacher educators and student teachers, this volume discusses the need to move beyond essentialism, culturalism and assumptions about an us versus them perspective and recognises that multiple identities of an individual are negotiated in interaction with others. Intercultural Competence in the Work of Teachers is divided into four sections: critiquing intercultural competence in teacher education; exploring critical intercultural competences in teacher education; reflexivity and intercultural competence in teacher education; and indigeneity and intercultural competence in teacher education, providing a methodological approach through which to explore this critical framework further. This book is ideal for teacher educators or academics of education specialising in global education who are looking to explore alternative perspectives towards intercultural competence and wish to gain an insight into the ways it can be utilised in a more effective and productive manner.