scholarly journals Building a Global Education Collaboration Model Using Experiential Learning: A Fresh Look at Developing Intercultural Competence

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-12
Author(s):  
Bernadette Höß ◽  
Michael Wasserman ◽  
Sandra Fisher
Keyword(s):  
International Education ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
Time Zones ◽  
Virtual Projects

Adapting to global business and interpersonal differences is a challenge in both higher education and industry. International education generally seeks to improve student intercultural competence; that is, improving an individual’s ability to work with an international mix of colleagues, customers, and suppliers. Nevertheless, there are many examples where these educational efforts fail. This paper explores virtual team projects, where team members at partner schools in Germany and the U.S. worked together on a joint project, as a mechanism to enhance international education and development of intercultural competence. Using interview and qualitative survey data, we find that these virtual projects offer the opportunity to access different perceptions of problem statements, products and procedures, and apply unique resources and knowledge. We add to the literature by exploring both tools and processes to address improved virtual team collaboration through the lens of intercultural competence. Currently, there are many tools which allow cost-effective communication and document exchange (e.g. Slack, Google Drive, Skype) and facilitate virtual projects. We explore several challenges: the geographical distance (e.g. time zones) combined with cultural distance (e.g. different norms, values, and language) make it hard to establish an intensive, trusting work environment. As global networking increases, universities can better prepare students using cross-cultural project-based learning – a process – that involve university partnerships beyond reciprocal on-campus residencies. We offer a process model and four experiential project-based learning ideas designed to develop cultural competence and virtual team skills, and that address challenges such as differences in academic calendars, student work styles, time zones, and educational norms.

Cross-Cultural Virtual Team Projects

2021 ◽  
pp. 86-107
Author(s):  
Anuli Ndubuisi ◽  
Elham Marzi ◽  
James Slotta
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Virtual Collaboration ◽  
Team Projects ◽  
Intercultural Competencies ◽  
Before And After

Future engineers require global and intercultural competencies to prepare them to work in an increasingly multicultural, digitized, and interdependent global economy. To enhance engineering students' international exposure, awareness, and cultural experiences, the authors developed a unique international virtual team program that engaged students in collaborative project-based learning with peers around the world. Each virtual team consisted of multidisciplinary students from various countries and institutions. The students' knowledge and understanding of intercultural competence were evaluated before and after the program to ascertain its impact on their understanding of intercultural sensitivities and collaboration in virtual teams. Recommendations for learning enhancements were proposed. The authors found the integration of intercultural content with the global virtual team projects to be a successful strategy for helping engineering students build intercultural competencies and virtual collaboration skills, in addition to technical engineering knowledge and experience.

scholarly journals LEGAL EDUCATION IN THE BRICS COUNTRIES IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Vinnichenko ◽  
E. Gladun
Keyword(s):  
Global Education ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Law Schools ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Brics Countries ◽  
Education In Brazil ◽  
India And China

Legal education in the contemporary world is changing. The main influences are linked to developments in transportation and communication and the enmeshing of diverse economies embraced by globalization. Law schools confront more mobile and more ambitious students who wish to experience different jurisdictional practices, to serve the increasingly global business community and to be more competitive. This research examines the modifications required in legal education as a result of globalization with specific reference to law schools in the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.Research on higher education, and legal education in particular, has been growing in recent years, yet there is still a gap in the study and comparison of the specifics of legal education within the BRICS countries. This research makes an attempt to analyze and contrast the current goals, objectives, structure and quality of higher legal education in Brazil, Russia, India and China. The specifics of law schools have been studied over the past twenty years in correlation with economic, cultural and education trends in BRICS and globally.Based on research literature, practitioner literature and legislative sources, this paper outlines common and special features of lawyer training in BRICS. The prime similarity of the legal education systems in BRICS are global education trends and the influence of the U.S. and UK education systems. Each BRICS country experienced an “explosion” in the popularity of legal education and, consequently, the urgent need to reform the education process in order to attain better quality and affordability. The result of these reforms, taking place in each country from 1950 to today, has become the growing differentiator of the educational institutions, turning them into “elite” and “mass” law schools.The facets of legal education in Brazil, Russia, India and China are attributed to their national policies as well as the historical development of the educational institutions and their perception of what specific lawyer skills and competencies are demanded by the legal market and national population. We conclude that the structure and quality of legal education as well as the requirements and monitoring tools vary in each country. These are dependent on several factors: the specific country’s ideology, its economic development, its proximity to an “Eastern” or “Western” model, its ability to learn from foreign education systems and its attempts at self-identification in the global educational space.

scholarly journals Fostering intercultural learning through project-based learning in Vietnamese tertiary EFL classes: A participatory action research study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Minh Ta
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
National Language ◽  
Learning Study ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Action Research Study

<p>Intercultural competence (IC) is increasingly recognized globally as a goal of education. In Vietnam, despite emphasis on intercultural competence in national language education, research has shown the peripheral role of addressing culture in EFL classes although research on the topic of how to cultivate intercultural language teaching and learning (ICLTL) is growing. This study investigated affordances for intercultural learning through project-based learning (PBL) in an EFL program at a Vietnamese university. It followed an interpretive research paradigm and qualitative research approach. It included two related studies. Study 1 was an ethnography-informed study, which involved 14 teachers, 265 students, 6 graduates and their employers. Data were collected from classroom observations, student focus group interviews, and interviews with teachers, graduates and employers. This preliminary research revealed few opportunities for intercultural learning in this program. Specifically, it found that culture was rarely addressed, and the main instructional method for culture was fact transmission. Moreover, teachers showed limited understanding of ICLTL and students expressed the need for further culture learning. Study 2 was a participatory action research study, in which a semester-long project was introduced to foster intercultural learning. Study 2 included two workshops, one at the beginning and one in the middle of the project. In these workshops, the researcher and three teachers collaboratively learned about ICLTL, and planned PBL lessons. Drawing on a thematic analysis of classroom data and teachers’ and students’ reports, the findings showed teachers’ improved practices and understanding of ICLTL and PBL, and indications of students’ IC development throughout the project. This research contributes to the growing scholarship on ICLTL by providing evidence for the efficacy of PBL for intercultural learning. Additionally, the study highlights the impact of teacher professional development on teaching practice and extends understanding of how to incorporate PBL in a textbook-based and exam-oriented EFL context.</p>

Global-mindedness Through the Eyes of EFL Learners: Gender and Level of Proficiency in Focus

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Джавад Агмаді Фаталакі ◽  
Рунган Жанґ
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
International Education ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
International Schools ◽  
Doctoral Dissertation ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Global Mindedness ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

The major aim of the present study is to find connections between global-mindedness and some important factors such as gender  and level of proficiency. To this end, 182 language learners, 92 females and 90 males, participated in the study. These students were selected and categorized based on one-stage cluster sampling from 16 branches of different language centers, namely Safiran, Shoukoh, and Kish. The main phase of the study was conducted through the use of Google Docs platform that provides the researchers with the well-organized data. Language learners were asked to answer all the demographic information by considering their anonymity during the process of data collection. The result of the study, through t-test, showed that there was a significant difference between male and female language learners regarding their level of global-mindedness. The result also showed that the level of proficiency of the female language learners does not influence their level of global-mindedness. References Byram, M., Zarate, G., & Neuner, G. (1997). Sociocultural competence in languagelearning and teaching: Studies towards a common European framework of reference forlanguage learning and teaching. Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe. Deardorff, D. K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions forInstitutional Research, 149, 65–79. DeMello, M. A. (2011). The impact of study tours in developing global-mindedness amongPK-12 educators in Southeastern Massachusetts (Doctoral dissertation, NortheasternUniversity, Boston) Duckworth, R. L., Levy, L. W., & Levy, J. (2005). Present and future teachers of theworld’s children How internationally-minded are they?. Journal of Research inInternational Education, 4(3), 279–311. Earley, P. C. and Ang, S. (2003). Cultural Intelligence: An Analysis of IndividualInteractions Across Cultures. Palo Alto (CA): Stanford University Press. Fantini, A. E. (2009), Assessing Intercultural Competence: Issues and Tools. In Deardorff,D. K. (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence. Thousand Oaks (CA):Sage, 456–476. FitzGerald, H. (2003). How Different Are We? Spoken Discourse in InterculturalCommunication. Clevedon – Buffalo – Toronto – Sydney: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Gaudelli, W. (2003). World class: Teaching and learning in global times. Mahwah, NJ:Erlbaum. Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self-Identity. Cambridge: Polity. Gillian, K. J. (1995). A measure of global-mindedness at the University of NorthernColorado: An assessment of students, faculty, and administrators (Doctoral dissertation,University of Northern Colorado, 1995). Dissertation Abstracts International, 5,08. Hett, E. J. (1993). The development of an instrument to measure global-mindedness(Doctoral dissertation, University of San Diego). Hill, I. (2007). International education as developed by the International BaccalaureateOrganization. The SAGE handbook of research in international education, 25–37. Johnson, J. P., Lenartowicz, T., & Apud, S. (2006). Cross-cultural competence ininternational business: Toward a definition and a model. Journal of International BusinessStudies, 37(4), 525–543. Kehl, K., & Morris, J. (2007). Differences in global mindedness between short-term andsemester-long study abroad participants at selected private universities. Frontiers: TheInterdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 15(1), 67–79. Lakoff, R. (1973). Language and woman's place. Language in society, 2(01), 45–79. Muller, G. C. (2012). Exploring characteristics of international schools that promoteinternational-mindedness (Doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University). Olsen, M.E., Lodwick, D.G., & Dunlap, R.E. (1992). Viewing the World Ecologically.Boulder: Westview. Sampson, D. L., & Smith, H. P. (1957). A scale to measure world-minded attitudes. TheJournal of Social Psychology, 45(1), 99–106. Sercu, L. e.a. (2005). Foreign Language Teachers and Intercultural Competence. AnInternational investigation. Clevedon–Buffalo–Toronto: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Smallman, S. C., & Brown, K. (2011). Introduction to international & global studies.Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Wardhaugh, R. (1992). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. USA: Blackwell PublishersLtd. Zhai, L., & Scheer, S. (2004). Global perspectives and attitudes toward cultural diversityamong summer agriculture students at the Ohio State University. Journal of AgriculturalEducation, 45(2), 39–51.

Factors Influencing Segmentation and Demographics of Mobile-Customers

2011 ◽  
pp. 655-665
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Ranft
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Mobile Commerce ◽  
Regional Differentiation ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Market Growth ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Time Zones ◽  
Legal Restrictions

This chapter addresses important factors for consideration when readying a mobile commerce business for global business, addressing both regional differentiation in demographics that influence classifications of customer segments, and differentiation in demographics within a region. Globally, not all customer segments have regular access to mobile commerce facilities, and even for those that do, other demographic factors can impede their potential as mobile-customers. When starting from an Anglo-centric perspective, it is vital to have awareness of global differences in culture, language, payment options, time zones, legal restrictions, infrastructures, product needs, and market growth that could either improve or inhibit mobile-customer uptake, and in the worst case, result in unexpected litigation.

A Global Business Citizenship Process Model

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna J. Wood ◽  
Jeanne M. Logsdon ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Global Business

Integrating a Global Inclusive Perspective into Coursework for Pre-service Teachers

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Ottley ◽  
Sara L. Hartman ◽  
Perianne Bates ◽  
Sarah Baker
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
The United States ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Inclusive Practices ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Inclusive Practice

Abstract Intercultural competence is a necessary disposition for teachers in the United States who instruct an increasingly diverse group of P-12 students in inclusive settings. Viewing the world and inclusive practices from multicultural and global perspectives can be difficult when the majority of one's experiences occur within their own culture. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe how a teacher educator connected her 40 early childhood pre-service teachers to broader national and global inclusive practice issues via project-based learning activities. Data were collected using a brief, researcher-developed questionnaire and analyzed using thematic pattern analysis and constant comparison methodology. Findings show that pre-service teachers knew little about the global issues prior to the activities, were interested and engaged in the activities, developed global knowledge and perspectives through participation, and held varying levels of cultural competence after participation. While growth in knowledge regarding national and global inclusive practices is important, teacher educators should make concerted efforts to expand teachers' perceptions beyond monocultural views into deeper, multicultural perspectives regarding global inclusive practice.

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