Interkulturelle Kompetenz und gruppendynamisches Training

This paper analyses how far group dynamic trainings can be used to develop intercultural competence. For that purpose the concepts of intercultural competence will be discussed and the importance of intercultural issues will be shown with an historical recourse on the outset of group dynamic. It will be examined, based on situations in three group dynamic trainings, how far the models of group dynamic can be transferred to processes in multicultural groups. The experiences made in these trainings indicate that group dynamic trainings do contribute to the development of a complex understanding of intercultural competence.     

Interkulturelles Training

With proceeding internationalization and globalization of society the demands of working life have changed in the last decades. To meet these demands executives and professionals cooperating with foreign partners abroad or in Germany need the central key qualification of intercultural competence. This important key qualification does not evolve automatically from intercultural experiences, but has to be acquired during an extensive learning process, which is mainly organized in intercultural trainings. This text first describes what intercultural competence is and how it is developed. Based on scientific findings on developmental stages of intercultural competence central aspects of intercultural trainings are covered in detail. Objectives and methods of various intercultural training formats are outlined to illustrate the conceptualization and outcomes of learning effective trainings. The text concludes with future developments of intercultural training in the light of expatriates facing increasing demands regarding the quality of their work. Trainee groups will become more culturally heterogeneous, more trainings will be needed that moderate acculturation processes while staying abroad, training contents and methods have to be adapted according to local customs, modern information technology will play a major role, and family members coming along have to be involved in the training process.     

Expatriation: Entsendung ohne Wiederkehr?

The paper follows the process of expatriation from the application until the return from a foreign assignment. Phases of expatriation are shown and interpreted. The investment into intercultural trainings will be related to their benefit. Finally some hypotheses will summarize at the end the mingle of intercultural paradoxes, organizational dilemmas and emotional roller-coaster.Considering group dynamic aspects, sending employees abroad shows some interesting aspects: the interplay of disintegration, integration, reintegration, the loss of affiliation and membership as well as gaining new belongings, and finally and always, the loss of one sole cultural identity. Furthermore group dynamic experiences enable people to cope with emotional and structural uncertainties, staying socially agile in the intercultural situation, where the context of communication and cooperation has yet to be created and developed by the people involved.     

Interkulturalität in der Personal-, Team- und Organisationsentwicklung

Intercultural aspects are becoming more and more important for personnel development, team building and organizational development due to internationalization and globalization. This contribution describes fundamental principles with regard to the relevance of intercultural aspects in these three intervention fields and summarizes scientific research on this topic. Following a clarification of basic concepts, intercultural training and intercultural assessment centers — as specific personnel development activities — are treated, results of evaluation research are presented and recommendations for the application of these instruments are given. Team development is discussed with special regard to processes and effectiveness of multinational work groups. Intercultural influences on participation and intergroup relations are described as two main aspects of organizational development.     

Interkulturelle Kompetenz in der Polizei: Qualifizierungsstrategien

Increasing tension and scandal-laden conflicts with members of ethnic minorities during the 1990s make it clear, that the German police force is still not satisfactorily prepared to deal with a multi-cultural society. An immediate reaction was the engagement of training programmes, giving higher-rank officials something to present as an approach to solving the problem. This can apparently be seen as cosmetic change without effect on the structure and culture of the organisation. This work attempts to map the potential for sustainable development of intercultural competence via training programmes, based on the results of international research on police work. Four classical models of intercultural training are described, and their suitability for further education within the police analysed. Starting from the difficulties of determining the actual competency requirements specific in the field, and the basic problems of mediating and acquiring inter-cultural skills, the article concludes with a discussion of sustainable education strategies, which extend to fundamental questions of organisational development.     

Utilizing Online Training for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: Benefits and Limitations

The prevalence of child sexual abuse demands innovative approaches to prevent further victimization. The online environment provides new opportunities to expand existing child sexual abuse prevention trainings that target adult gatekeepers and allow for large scale interventions that are fiscally viable. This article discusses the benefits and limitations of conducting online organizational trainings from the perspective of participants, including what participants found effective, what challenges were most commonly encountered, and trainee perspectives of the program's overall impact. The final section provides recommendations and lessons learned for practitioners and researchers who hope to utilize and assess online prevention trainings in the future.     

Towards proteophilic competence? Intercultural learning and language education in Latvia

The new paradigm of language education envisages that teachers become intercultural mediators. However, there is no agreement about implementing the new paradigm in school practice and language teacher education. The author believes that the intercultural dimension of language education is strongly linked to integrating intercultural learning in language education. It implies cooperation with teachers from other subject areas and attitude change. The author recently designed a new course to prepare language teachers for understanding the processes involved in intercultural learning. The present article presents a case study carried out while piloting the course ‘Integrating intercultural learning in language education’ at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Modern Languages. The student teachers commented that pupils’ intercultural competence cannot be fostered by teachers alone, without the support of parents and broader Latvian society. The author recommends introducing a special course on intercultural learning in the compulsory part of all higher education programs.     

An argument for love in intercultural education for teacher education

This paper proposes rethinking intercultural education in teacher education, arguing that any discussion of student teachers’ intercultural education should be connected more explicitly to a theoretical conceptualisation of love. The first part of the paper focuses on identifying discursive boundaries in engaging with intercultural education in teacher education. It is argued that if we are to develop intercultural education, we need to consciously move away from some discourses in teacher education, namely instrumentalism, performance orientation, emotionlessness and seeing the relationship between teacher and learner as static. The second half of the paper develops a theoretical alternative by engaging with the concept of love as a basis for intercultural education in pursuing an alternative to the instrumentalist, performance-based, non-emotional fixed-relationship ethos of intercultural education in teacher education.     

Developing intercultural understanding for study abroad: students’ and teachers’ perspectives on pre-departure intercultural learning

This study reports on students’ and teachers’ perspectives on a programme designed to develop Erasmus students’ intercultural understanding prior to going abroad. We aimed to understand how students and their teachers perceived pre-departure materials in promoting their awareness of key concepts related to interculturality (e.g., essentialism, stereotyping, otherising) during an intercultural education course for mobile students. Twenty pre-departure Erasmus undergraduate students from an Italian university, four teachers and one observer participated in the study. Seven hours of audio/video recordings of classroom discussions and teachers’ retrospective narratives were analysed thematically. Although students initially subverted the goals of one of the tasks, they demonstrated foundations of intercultural thinking; followed by movement from self-interest to intercultural awareness of the other; and finally, developing intercultural awareness, supported through opportunities to express emotions/feelings and discussion and application of key concepts of interculturality. Teachers’/observer’s perspectives confirmed the quality and flexibility of the materials in developing students’ intercultural awareness. The findings suggest that pre-departure materials can help students to recognise variety and complexity in self and others in intercultural encounters. But students’ primary needs for practical information should first be satisfied; interactive spaces for expressing emotion and feelings are important for understanding self and others; and scaffolding activities help students to understand intercultural concepts.     

Intercultural education: theory and practice

The paper examines the theoretical position of intercultural educational studies. It begins by stressing the vital importance of intercultural education and the progress that has been made in recent times. It then turns to the terminological shift that occurred two decades ago, from multicultural to intercultural education, which was accepted unquestioningly at the time. Retrospectively, we might ask what was the discursive strategy of this lexical change. Did it not serve to disguise the realities of much cultural interaction: conquest, slave trade, genocide? What are the theoretical (as distinct from the moral) premises of intercultural education? Is the aspiration realistically for an education able to negotiate between cultures rather than to show that there is more than one culture? As the subject appears not to be tightly focused, so the context is also under‐theorized and effectively de‐politicized. The international political, economic and cultural contextualization (globalization) of intercultural education is essential to its understanding. Is there an international view of intercultural education, or is it rather a few paradigmatic examples? The paper shows how the development of a social sciences and comparative perspective might assist the theoretical deficit suggested above.     

A module-based approach to foster and document the intercultural process before and during the residence abroad

This article contributes to the debate on what form of preparation and support can enhance the intercultural student experience during a Year Abroad. It presents a credit-bearing and multi-modal module at a UK university designed to both prepare students prior to departure through a series of workshops and activities on an e-portfolio and help them engage in meta-reflection on intercultural issues during their stay. The presentation of the curricular components of the course and instances extracted from student blogs are contextualised within theoretical considerations on intercultural education and a holistic approach to student development. The longitudinal evolution of the module is presented in the context of an iterative approach leading to a cycle of revisions and amendments. With its pragmatic stance, this article aims to address one of the concerns recently expressed about intercultural education, namely that although intercultural theories are suitably incorporated in the latest thinking on communicative competence, there is a lack of evidence-based practice.     

Intercultural praxis: Australian diploma of early childhood education preservice teacher visual literacy comparisons between Australia and Vietnam

ABSTRACT

This research investigates an intercultural praxis approach to using visual research methods, in Australia and Vietnam, with preservice teachers in a Diploma of Early Childhood (DEC) course. The paper results from limited research with DEC preservice teachers exploring the development of intercultural praxis and limited research in teaching whilst using visual images (photos). The methodology is supported by using Bennett’s developmental continuum for intercultural sensitivity and draws on sociocultural theories to consider how these DEC preservice teachers’ histories and situational contexts are relevant in understanding the development of intercultural communication. Mixed methods include a comparative analysis of student-produced visual multiliteracy images (photographs) generated in Australia and Vietnam, during 2015 and 2016, annotations on those photos and interviews with two cohorts of students (n = 27) six months after their experiences in Vietnam. Analysis is reinforced with Sorrells’ intercultural praxis framework to understand students’ capacity to use inquiry, framing, positioning, and dialogue processes as a result of their study tour to Vietnam. The paper outlines and reinforces the importance of being explicit in developing intercultural sensitivity in dynamic teaching contexts and illustrates the increasing awareness of intercultural communication with these DEC students.     

Towards intercultural communication: from micro to macro perspectives

This paper investigates intercultural communication and its significance to higher education. The paper briefly discusses culture, subculture and the meeting of cultures. It also provides a brief survey of developments in intercultural communication research. With reference to New Zealand, the paper further points to some limitations of intercultural communication theories, but meanwhile acknowledges the significance of these theories to higher education. The author argues that adopting interculturalism based on the principles of equality and respect at the national and institutional levels is more crucial than merely mastering some intercultural competencies or applying some intercultural communication models outlined in intercultural communication theories.     

Mediating transnational spaces: international students and intercultural responsibility

Despite the significant body of literature on international students’ intercultural development, the core issue of how they see their own responsibility in transnational intercultural spaces is largely neglected. This paper addresses this paucity by examining the intercultural responsibility perceived by international students. It is based on a four-year study that includes interviews with 105 international students and fieldwork in vocational education institutions. It draws on positioning theory and three key concepts: intercultural competence, intercultural capital and national attachment to interpret the nature of international students’ intercultural responsibility. The research underscores four main forms of intercultural responsibility perceived by international students: responsibility to represent the home country, responsibility to respect the host country, responsibility to assimilate into the host culture and responsibility to integrate into the host culture. Intercultural responsibility can emerge from international students’ national attachment and be embedded in their intrinsic commitment and imagination of their role in representing their home country in a transnational space. Intercultural responsibility can also manifest in international students’ self-determined responsibility to respect, accommodate or integrate into the host culture. However, the finding shows that international students’ act of positioning at the periphery of the host community and their perceived responsibility to assimilate into the host culture precludes their capacity to engage in and negotiate reciprocal and respectful intercultural interactions. The study highlights the role of international students’ self-positioning between and across home and host cultures in underpinning their perceived responsibility in transnational spaces.     

Intercultural knowledge,awareness and skills observed in a foreign language classroom

This article reports on findings from a research study conducted in a university-level Japanese course, which utilised intercultural learning approaches, methodologies and techniques. The purpose of the investigation was to assess student intercultural development as conceptualised in Deardorff's Process Model of Intercultural Competence.) The findings suggest that when an appropriate learning environment is provided, component elements of intercultural competence will develop. Emergent conclusions also highlight the importance of external engagement, reflection, scaffolding and training in foreign language classrooms.     

Values in German Intercultural Education

The topic of values in intercultural education will be discussed from several vantage points: first, we will consider educational values in Germany and discuss how compatible they are with intercultural education. Secondly, we will show various ways in which intercultural education is now being approached, focusing on various underlying values. This will help to clarify why intercultural education has recently become more accepted, even though no curricula have so far been developed. Finally, we will discuss how intercultural education is implemented in teacher education with regard to the values that are part of intercultural education.

It should be borne in mind that a paper on “German” education or teacher training always represents a generalisation because there are 16 different states, each with different educational systems.     

Identifying and developing effective approaches to foster intercultural understanding in schools

This paper provides a systematic review of education literature focused on identifying school-based approaches for developing students’ intercultural understanding. Studies were assessed using selection criteria and then critically appraised for study quality. A key finding from the review is that developing students’ intercultural understanding beyond cultural awareness requires students and teachers to take a critical approach toward cultural diversity, as well as the opportunity for ongoing intercultural and intergroup contact. Studies reported that only building cultural awareness and knowledge is not enough to promote long-term changes in attitudes. There is a need for more rigorously evaluated longitudinal school-based interventions. Finally, studies consistently call for investment in teachers’ professional and personal intercultural capabilities. The paper concludes by calling for school-based interventions that are informed by best practice approaches at a whole school level in order to effectively develop students’ intercultural attitudes and skills.     

The role of reflexive thought in the achievement of intercultural competence

ABSTRACT

Reflexivity refers to the capacity for individuals to understand the cultural system and manage their own position within it. Reflexivity is a key concept in the understanding of intercultural communication, particularly in recognising the ability for individuals to understand and adapt to new cultural contexts. However, the prevailing methods used in intercultural communication (namely that of intercultural competencies) do not place a great emphasis on the role of reflexivity in achieving cultural adaptation. In this paper, I argue for the central positioning of the concept of reflexivity in intercultural education as a mechanism which mediates between intercultural experiences and individual behaviour. I present evidence of the reflexive sequence (subject-object-subject) from the reflections of a cohort of students (n = 19). Finally, I suggest a pedagogical instrument (a heuristic) for empirically exploring reflexivity in intercultural communication.     

Intercultural literacy dialogue: international assessment moderation in early childhood teacher education

ABSTRACT

This research reports intercultural dialogue of meaning making in literacy by lecturers, engaged with an assessment moderation process of early childhood education (ECE) preservice teacher education across Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. The purpose of the dialogue was to inform pedagogical and conceptual knowledge in their courses. The research question is: How does intercultural dialogue inform teacher education literacy practices? Methods include (1) a blind assessment review process using 30 examples from ‘high’ to ‘low’ exemplars of ECE students’ literacy assessment annotations, some from each country, and (2) textual analysis of intercultural student feedback and reflection from student forum comments and, semi-structured reflexive interviews with students about the assessment moderation process. Rich academic reflections on the data have led to our recommendations that the conceptual framework of intercultural praxis could be applied in early childhood preservice teacher education practice. Further, we suggest there are increased possibilities for the use of intercultural literacy with ECE preservice student teachers using virtual and explicit collaborations and texts as explained in this research.     

Turbulence in intercultural communication education (ICE): does it affect higher education?

This article examines a rather neglected context of intercultural education: intercultural communication education (ICE). ICE can be found in different fields such as business, applied linguistics, intercultural communication and health education, amongst others. The authors start by reviewing the latest and ongoing changes (‘turbulences’) in the way that ‘intercultural’ is conceptualized in this field and form a template for analysing a focus group with lecturers focusing on intercultural communication in the Nordic country of Finland. Our analysis shows that these practitioners, who are also researchers specialized in intercultural communication, share discourses about the importance of the ‘intercultural’ in education, but that they are unable to clearly position themselves within the existing polysemic definitions and approaches. The current turbulences seem to have very little coherent impact on the way they talk about the ‘intercultural’.