Gender Divides in Higher Education

Cultures differ in nature and intensity of differentiation between the sexes, gender, gender roles, gender-role ideologies and gender stereotypes, but gender differentiation exists universally. This chapter explores the awareness students of building-related degrees from different cultural backgrounds have gained about their capabilities as future professionals. More particularly, the chapter will analyze the acquisition and development of competencies that go beyond the technical skills demanded by most companies in the building industries (i.e. project management, safety control or computer-aided design). These additional skills seem to resonate with male-oriented meanings, especially for on-site jobs, although it appears that traditional gender associations have been dislodged in many contexts. To that end, a survey including competency choices was completed by a population of 100 students from different countries. Results from the study seem to point out that gender gaps have been bridged in many cases. When differences are observed, they do not account for the bulk of data, and are distributed randomly. This finding runs contrary to prior expectations about stereotyping in career choice and awareness of self-capacities.

Using the Medicine Wheel for Curriculum Design in Intercultural Communication

In December 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released its calls to action for reconciliation related to the oppressive legacy of Indian Residential Schools. Required actions include increased teaching of intercultural competencies and incorporation of indigenous ways of knowing and learning. Intercultural Communication as a discipline has primarily been developed from euro-centric traditions based in three domains of learning referred to as Bloom's taxonomy. Scholars and practitioners have increasingly identified problems in the way that intercultural competency is taught. The decolonization of education is implicated in finding solutions to those problems. Indigenization of education is one such effort. This chapter posits the Medicine Wheel, a teaching/learning framework that has widespread use in indigenous communities, for use in instructing intercultural communication. Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains, is missing the fourth quadrant of the Medicine Wheel, spiritual. Examples of the spiritual quadrant are offered.

Understanding Social Identity through Autoethography

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss how instructors could use autoethnography as a course assignment to help students understand their cultural identities and build their intercultural communication competences in higher education classroom. Autoethnography is a qualitative research method that helps people examine their relationship with a group or a culture. The chapter provides an overview of literature relevant to intercultural communication competences, social identity, and autoethnography and then describes the author's use of autoethnography in an undergraduate course “Social and Cultural Foundations of Education” taught at a large public university in the United States. In her class, the author uses this method to help students examine their cultural identity, or relationship with groups based on their religion, culture, nationality, ethnicity, or other groups relevant to the course.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the Intercultural Development Index, and Intercultural Communication Competence

Given the inherent pluralism of Canadian society, the emphasis on intercultural communication competence (ICC) is a logical extension of second language education in the 21st century. This chapter explores the import of implementing the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in Teacher Education. To support the development of ICC, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a validated tool, was used to assess the intercultural communication competence of second language preservice teachers in Canada. The purpose of this discussion is to examine if teaching and learning about the CEFR in a Curriculum and Instruction course in the area of French as a second language can provide the necessary parameters to promote intercultural communication competence (ICC) of preservice language teachers. In order to assess ICC of preservice teachers, the Intercultural Development Index was administered during the Fall semester of a one year, Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Education Certification Program.

The Philosopher's Teahouse

In this chapter the author discusses The Philosopher's Teahouse initiative which provides a forum for students across cultures, linguistic backgrounds and disciplines to dialogue on current social issues and learn from each other's cultural perspectives, thereby building relationships of inclusion and empowerment. The author explores the research and theoretical framework that informed The Teahouse, including an explanation of critical multicultural language pedagogy, the connection between language and power and how critical multicultural language pedagogy addresses these issues. She discusses how she applied the theory to establish a student-focused multicultural forum at a Canadian university, outlining the objectives, past themes, the organizational process involved and the impact of the program on students and faculty. She ends the chapter with an analysis of the challenges and implications of The Teahouse in preparing students for equal and active participation in a pluralistic society.

Target Language, Target Culture

Learning a language must result in becoming competent in a new culture because accessing the culture language stands for and being able to share its cultural content requires learning not just the meaning but also the historical and social background of its vocabulary. Words reveal the linguistic and social behavior of native speakers and give students a full understanding of the target language. This chapter deals with different concerns present in foreign language classrooms, a space where language and intercultural competence must be developed. It describes some linguistic competence-related concerns (Section 1), then it deals with specific intercultural related aspects of grammar and perception which are part of the linguistic competence to be developed in class (Section 2) and it finishes with a general description of three basic ways used in the Spanish-as-second-language (SSL) classroom in order to teach language and culture so as to help students to develop intercultural competence (Section 3).

Integrating Intercultural Competencies into the Professional Skills Curriculum

Intercultural competence is increasingly seen by employers as a desirable graduate capability needed in today's diverse and intercultural workplace. This chapter reports on a curriculum intervention - a 20-hour online intercultural skills course - aimed at introducing a large number of undergraduate students enrolled in a co-operative education program to fundamental intercultural concepts and ideas. The chapter seeks to contribute to the literature on intercultural skill development by discussing the course model and its implementation, student perceptions of their level of intercultural competence prior to and after the course, and the challenges involved in the delivery of the course. The main purpose of the chapter is to discuss how courses and programs that aim to develop professional skills may offer a promising vehicle for fostering students' intercultural competence, particularly when these courses utilize online learning tools to enable greater access to intercultural learning.

Intercultural Teaching Competence in the Disciplines

As universities continue to internationalize their curricula and recruit a growing number of international students, instructors facilitate learning in increasingly diverse classrooms. This chapter explores the application of Intercultural Teaching Competence (ITC) by faculty members across the disciplines at a large Canadian research university. Based on focus group interviews with instructors in eighteen disciplines, it provides varied and concrete examples of how instructors mobilize intercultural teaching competence to navigate diverse classrooms, promote perspective-taking and global learning goals among students, practice culturally relevant teaching, and validate different ways of knowing and communicating among students through assessment practices. Placing disciplines at the centre of the discussion in this way elucidates the extent to which ITC may be adapted to fit the contours of the academic field and allows readers to explore best practices for facilitating the development of intercultural competence among students in their disciplines. Finally, the implications of disciplinary differences in ITC are discussed for faculty development and curriculum support.

Internationalization and Intercultural Learning

This chapter presents the findings of a mixed-method study that sought to measure upper level students' intercultural development and their perceptions of intercultural learning in academic settings. Quantitative data was provided by participants (n=178) completing the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and was analyzed to determine which demographic variables influenced IDI scores. Focus groups provided qualitative data to understand students' experiences learning in multicultural, academic environments. The results show significant overestimation of intercultural competence in the sample, which taken together with the student voice, provide a snapshot of intercultural learning and development across the disciplines. The findings clearly indicate a need for intentional pedagogy and curricular revision in order to prepare graduates as professionals and citizens in increasingly multicultural and globalized contexts.

Turning Good Intentions into Good Teaching

Higher education classrooms are increasingly diverse in regards to student culture, including race, gender, nationality, and intersecting identities. Yet faculty members oftentimes do not have adequate training in teaching, cultural competence, or intercultural communication. Building upon the principles of Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC), the authors in this chapter explore different bodies of literature in order to pull together common principles for promoting culturally responsive pedagogy in U.S. higher education. The purpose of this chapter is to focus on teaching practices that go beyond inclusive intentions, and instead focus on pedagogy that is truly responsive to diverse groups of students, especially in terms of the most prominent cultural aspects, such as race, gender, and nationality. Specifically, five principles are described and detailed: 1) Instructor awareness of epistemology, 2) Recognition of diverse knowledge systems, 3) Inquiry based instruction, 4) Incorporation of student choice, and 5) Expanded use of formative feedback.