Educating future managers for a culturally diverse workspace: Using course as a living laboratory

2021 ◽  
pp. 30-41
Author(s):  
Darko Pantelic ◽  
Peter Brandstaetter ◽  
Emilia Florin Samuelsson

Society is increasingly becoming multicultural, with more pressure to improve the quality of intercultural interactions. Higher education institutions are experiencing internationalization through increased mobility of students and faculty, which creates the need to manage diversity with the imperative of smoothing communication, reducing stress and making studying and working in a multicultural environment more efficient. Employers also dictate a need to educate culturally competent professionals, who are capable of succeeding in a globalized environment characterized by increased workforce mobility and international assignments. Intercultural competences discourse has a long track with researchers and practitioners, without any agreement on its definition or measurement, but with a clear message that cultural diversity will not result in increased intercultural competences. In this paper, intercultural competences are viewed as a transversal learning outcome, considering the increasing internationalization of higher education institutions. The research is qualitative in nature, based on the analysis of course evaluations and an open-ended survey. This study used a purposeful sample of current and former students who have been exposed to a diverse intercultural environment while studying at an international business school in Sweden. Based on the findings, a course design is suggested where exposure to cultural diversity is guided and facilitated by bringing students to collaborate in an assignment-driven context, with a culturally diverse group composition. Lecture-based components of the course are balanced with the addition of a component of self-reflection assignment, providing both culturally specific and general knowledge, thus contributing to the ability to extrapolate the experience on future intercultural encounters.

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Zenobia Jamal ◽  
Shibao Guo

The student population in Canada’s higher education institutions is becoming increasingly racially and culturally diverse. Canadian higher education has the obligation to build inclusive teaching and learning environments where the needs and aspirations of students from diverse cultures and backgrounds can be addressed in an equitable manner. Using a Freirean approach, this paper aims to develop a process for deriving useful and practical strategies to meet the challenges of creating culturally and linguistically inclusive classroom environments.


2020 ◽  
pp. 289-298
Author(s):  
Ulf-Daniel Ehlers ◽  
Patricia Bonaudo

Digitalisation is an issue of growing importance at all higher education institutions (HEIs). It is often developed and driven bottom-up. In this regard, the intended self-assessment tool that the present paper aims to present “DIGI-HE” will support higher education institutions in developing their individual approaches to foster digitisation, methodological and conceptual approach. The present paper will outline the methodological procedure of design and subsequent validation of the tool. In a time when experimentation with, and mainstreaming of digital technology use is progressing to develop holistic strategies that encompass learning and teaching, research and innovation, as well as cooperation and outreach DIGI-HE will represent a self-reflection tool adapted to higher education to support the institutional efforts, to develop and implement strategies, which purposeful and holistic in comprising both missions, education and research. It will also furthermore attach particular importance to the need for dialogue among all actors and stakeholders in digitalisation, and address areas of activities relation to cooperation and outreach, including internationalisation strategies and practices.


Author(s):  
Rajka Presbury ◽  
Madalyn A. Scerri

Mentoring programs play a valuable role in higher education. Formal mentoring processes and relationships increase the overall perceived quality of an educational program and the professional success of new hotel management graduates. To evaluate an established mentoring program in higher education, a single case study of the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School at Torrens University Australia (BMIHMS @TUA) was developed and that is presented and discussed in this chapter. The evaluation of the mentoring program found that mentoring relationships enable mentees to build knowledge and skills, develop networking opportunities, build confidence, and gain self-reflection abilities. The chapter offers insights and recommendations for higher education institutions to consider when setting up mentoring programs. The knowledge gained through this research will assist higher education institutions to better prepare students for a transition to work through mentoring whilst enhancing the quality of educational courses.


2020 ◽  
pp. 102831532097603
Author(s):  
Mette Jørgensen ◽  
Amanda Mason ◽  
Rikke Pedersen ◽  
Roger Harrison

As many higher education institutions strive to internationalize and develop graduates as global citizens, new technologies are supposed to be creating opportunities for geographically dispersed students to meet and develop intercultural skills. We argue, however, that there is scant evidence that these opportunities are being fully exploited. In this article, we explore some of the reasons for this by using the lens of “third space” theories to interpret data from a preliminary study of an international virtual exchange project. We found that although the project afforded some scope for critical intercultural learning, this was limited by two key factors related to the second space of the traditional classroom: the skills and attitudes of the lecturers and asymmetries in project goals. We conclude by arguing that unless higher education institutions provide more fertile conditions for projects like these, further opportunities for intercultural learning will be missed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 196-235
Author(s):  
Marie-France Guénette

This article offers theoretical and pragmatic insights into the nature of technical translation course design. In so doing, I first provide a definition of specialized translation based on a survey of the literature in this field, conducted collaboratively with a research assistant. Then, I present a comparative table sourcing how technical translation has been taught, as a university course, across Canadian higher education institutions. Following this, I offer a rationale for student-oriented ways of teaching this course, all the while giving concrete steps to co-explore novel topics with undergraduate and graduate students. Finally, I generate a series of considerations and questions for further inquiry into the instruction of technical translation in Canada and worldwide. Keywords: technical translation, specialized translation, English-French translation, translation pedagogy, course design


Author(s):  
Elena Tkachenko ◽  
Kari Bratland ◽  
Jorunn Store Johansen

With growing diversity in the population, higher education faces a new situation with increasing student diversity. In our paper, we will explore questions concerning the consequences student diversity has for higher-education institutions. Based on our experience from three different R&D projects, the differences in culture and academic literacy practices give culturally diverse students challenges that have often been ignored in academia. Some other studies also document that this group of students has a much higher risk of dropping out and underachieving than majority students (Andersen & Skaarer- Kreutz, 2007; Støren, 2009). In our paper, we are going to discuss the students’ challenges and discourse of remediation that is often associated with their challenges and suggest how higher-education institutions can adjust their practices to be more oriented to intercultural communication. Intercultural communication as a dialogic approach may create dynamics in academic tutoring and lead to mutual change/transformation instead of a one-way adaptation of existing academic literacy norms. We argue that all teachers should be aware of cultural differences in literacy practices in the education systems and strive to adjust their teaching practices to the diversity in the classroom. This approach, we believe, can contribute to a better learning environment for all students, independently of their backgrounds. 


2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Jiang

This article critiques the notion of multiculturalism, which aims to assimilate minority cultures into a dominant culture rather than genuinely accept their ‘differences’. Therefore, the author proposes interculturalism as a policy for the multicultural campus because it values equitable treatment of all cultures. Recent years have witnessed an influx of international students into New Zealand's higher education institutions. The author asks whether these institutions have adequate strategies to accommodate the increasing cultural diversity on campus. Through a comparative analysis of multiculturalism and interculturalism, the author sees interculturalisation as an emancipatory process that should be supported, as it emphasises non-discriminative cultural reciprocity based on equality and respect.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1177
Author(s):  
Deniz Keba Ekinci

Intercultural communication is an interdisciplinary science that studies issues such as the interaction between people of different cultures, the emergence and preservation of cultural diversity, and the perception of foreigners. With globalization; the denaturation of the borders between the countries, the emergence of cultural diversity, an increase in intercultural communication and interaction are observed. Insuch an environment; multiculturalism, intercultural communication process, and intercultural communication competence is gaining importance. Multiculturalism refers to the existence of different cultures in a pluralistic society. Intercultural communication illustrates the communication and interaction between different cultures. Intercultural competence is with the acceptance of differences and the desireto livetogether. In this context, as a result of partnerships and cultural agreements between countries, various international student programs like Erasmus program take place between higher education institutions within the lifelonglearning. The implementations in higher education institutions where such education programs are carried out are the basis of this research. Cultural problems that the students who come to study here at Kocaeli University Faculty of Communication through different programs face in the educational process are discussed in the context of intercultural communication. In the study, qualitative research method was used. For students open-ended questions was applied in the form of an interview consisting of. The population of the study is comprised of foreign students studying at Kocaeli University Faculty of Communication by way of different programs. The data obtained by choosing sampling criteria, one of the purposive sampling methods, are assessed by classifying them according to certain characteristics. As a result, even though they lived some problems of international students in the education process, multicultural education in higher education institutions by enabling the formation of cultural environment they are to create awareness have been observed. In addition, this educational environments, with the acquisitions of intercultural communication and competence, bias by getting rid of the molds, are expected to develop awareness of the coexistence of different cultures. ÖzetKültürlerarası iletişim, farklı kültürlere mensup insanlar arasında iletişim, kültürel farklılıkların ortaya çıkması ve korunması, yabancının algılanması gibi konuları inceleyen disiplinler arası bir bilim dalıdır. Küreselleşme ile birlikte; ülkeler arasındaki sınırların yapaylaştığı, kültürel farklılıkların ortaya çıktığı, kültürlerarası iletişim ve etkileşimin arttığı görülmektedir. Böyle bir ortamda; çokkültürlülük, kültürlerarası iletişim süreci ve kültürlerarası iletişim yeterliliği olguları önem kazanmaktadır. Çokkültürlülük, çoğulcu toplumlarda farklı kültürlerin varlığını ifade etmektedir. Kültürlerarası iletişim, farklı kültürler arasındaki iletişim ve etkileşimi göstermektedir. Kültürlerarası yeterlilik ise, farklılıkların kabulü ve birlikte yaşama isteği ile gerçekleşmektedir. Bu bağlamda; ülkeler arasındaki birliktelikler ve kültürel anlaşmalar sonucunda, Yüksek Öğretim Kurumlar’ı arasında, çeşitli uluslararası öğrenci programları gerçekleşmektedir. Bu eğitim programlarının görüldüğü, Yüksek Öğretim Kurumları’ndaki uygulamaları çalışmanın temelini oluşturmaktadır. Farklı programlarla Kocaeli Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi’nde eğitim görmek amacıyla gelen yabancı öğrencilerin eğitim sürecinde karşılaştıkları kültürel problemler, kültürlerarası iletişim çerçevesinde ele alınmıştır. Çalışmada, nitel araştırma yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Öğrencilere yönelik açık uçlu sorulardan oluşan bir görüşme formu uygulanmıştır. Araştırmanın evrenini, farklı programlarla gelen Kocaeli Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi’nde eğitim gören yabancı öğrenciler oluşturmaktadır. Amaçlı örnekleme yöntemlerinden ölçüt örnekleme seçilerek elde edilen veriler, belirli özelliklere göre sınıflandırılarak değerlendirilmiştir. Sonuç olarak uluslararası öğrencilerin eğitim sürecinde bazı sorunlar yaşamalarına rağmen, gittikleri Yüksek Öğretim Kurumları’nda çokkültürlü eğitim ortamlarının oluşumuna olanak sağlayarak, kültürel farkındalık oluşturdukları görülmektedir. Ayrıca bu eğitim ortamları sayesinde kültürlerarası iletişim ve yeterlilik kazanımlarıyla, önyargı kalıplarından kurtularak, farklı kültürlerle birlikte yaşama bilincinin gelişeceği düşünülmektedir.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1668-1686
Author(s):  
Naltan Lampadan ◽  
Thomas D ◽  
G K Hibbert ◽  
H W Ginajil ◽  
F M Gara

As higher education institutions deal with the increase of international students, teachers are increasingly concerned with the potential challenges in dealing with teaching and learning in a culturally diverse classroom. The purpose of this study is to examine the level of culturally diverse teaching competence of teachers in international higher education institutions. The cultural diverse teaching competence is measured based on the five dimensions typology of multicultural education. They are awareness, relationship, instruction, respect, and prejudice. A cross-sectional survey design was employed with a sample of 241 participants was taken from a university located in Thailand. The results of the students thought that teachers were most competent at building respect for diversity and that teachers were least competent at general cultural awareness and combating prejudice. In addition, the majority of students come from single cultural and become more multicultural as they progress through school. Lastly, there were differences in cultural competence when comparisons were made by faculty.


Author(s):  
Knysh Olena

Implementation of an effective system of quality assurance is an integral element of higher education management. A deep understanding of the essence of the system approach to ensuring the quality of higher education requires the study of the best world practices. The article is aimed to analyze implementation strategies of quality assurance policy within Israeli system of higher education. The case of Israel illustrates implementation of a system for assessing and assuring quality standards in higher education that is recognized as one of the highest national priorities. Quality assurance at Israeli higher education institutions is regulated by The Quality Assessment and Assurance Division. Nevertheless, Israeli Council for Higher Education promotes culture of establishing internal mechanisms to assure academic quality. The case study of quality assurance strategies in Israeli higher education institutions was focused on the analysis of key activities managed by teaching and learning centers. These centers are dedicated to professional development of faculty members to promote learning outcome of study programs through innovative teaching methodologies. Missions and functions of the centers are based on common international standards. The spectrum of activities includes: professional development of teaching stuff (workshops for newly recruited both senior and junior stuff, and individual teaching consultations to senior stuff); technological and pedagogical support for curricula and course design (from lecture-based to fully online-courses support); implementation and integration of new technologies: particularly by scouting, absorbing and effectively implementing digital technologies; and conducting students’ teaching satisfaction surveys. Results obtained can promote further understanding of some of the key issues relevant to the implementation of an effective internal quality assurance system within Ukrainian institutions of higher education.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document