Bridging the Intercultural Competence Gap Between the University and the Enterprise

John Holder University of Chichester

12th June 2012

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The employability context

§  HE institutions are compelled to ensure the employability of their graduates.

§  There is a need for skills and competences such as proficiency in a foreign language(s), mobility, flexibility and empathy to support effective strategies in working in and with culturally and linguistically diverse teams.

§  European Commission flagship programmes such as New Skills for New Jobs and Youth on the Move focus on strategies to support the smooth transition of students from HE to employment.

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Internationalisation & HE

INTERNATIONALISATION At institutions of higher education

§  Inputs / resources §  Needed for implementation of components of internationalisation (i.e. interested

students, funding, institutional leadership and support) §  Activities / components of internationalisation

§  (college leadership, faculty international involvement, curriculum, study abroad, international students / scholars / faculty, international co-curricular units (Ellingboe, 1998)

§  Outputs of internationalisation §  i.e. Number of international students, number of study abroad programmes,

number of students studying foreign languages, etc.) §  Outcomes of internationalisation

§  (i.e. interculturally competent graduates) (Knight, 1997) §  Intercultural competence – what is it? §  How do higher education administrators define it? Intercultural scholars? §  How can it be assessed?

§  = Long-term impact of internationalisation (Deardorff 2004)

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Intercultural Competence

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A"tudes:  Respect  (valuing  other  cultures);  Openness  (witholding  judgement);  Curiosity  and  discovery  (tolera<ng  

ambiguity).  

Knowledge  and  Comprehension:    Cultural  self-­‐awareness,  deep  cultural  knowledge,  sociolinguis<c  awareness  

Skills:  To  listen,  observe  and  evaluate;  To  analyse,  interpret  and  

relate.  

External  outcome:    Effec<ve  and  appropriate  

communica<on  and  behaviour  in  an  intercultural  situa<on.  

Internal  outcome:    Informed  frame  of  reference  shiG  

(adaptability,  flexibility,  ethnorela<ve  view;  empathy).  

Individual

Interaction

Process orientation

Process model of intercultural competence (Deardorff 2004)

The SKILL2E Project

§  SKILL2E: Sustainable Know-How in Intercultural Learning in Student Placements and the Knowledge Transfer to Enterprises.

§  2 year Erasmus Lifelong-Learning project (ends September 2012).

§  Partners: A range of HE institutions and enterprises from the EU, Turkey and the USA.

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Project Partners

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Aim and Objectives

§  To bridge the intercultural competence gap between universities and enterprises.

§  To use an assessment instrument to enhance intercultural competence;

§  To provide intercultural training to prepare and support interns on work placements;

§  To use cultural mentors in the workplace to facilitate the integration of placement students/employees from diverse cultural backgrounds.

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Interlinked aspects

§  Intercultural competence assessment §  Pre-placement training

§  Cultural mentoring

§  Intercultural reflection

§  Enterprise handbook 8  

SKILL2E Double Learning Loop

Intercultural  awareness  training    at  home  ins<tu<on  

adapted  to  students’  orienta<on  

Students’  orienta<on  is  measured  either  in  an  

individual  or  group  profile    

Work  placement  Cultural  

mentoring  at  placement  

Structured  report  on  comple<on  of  work  

placement  (if  possible)  

Ini<al    IDI    assessment  

Second  IDI  assessment  

Result  /  feedback  on  cultural  orienta<on  /  competence  

gain  

Reflec<on:  Interflec<on  PlaRorm    (free  diary  /  guided  ques<ons)  and  other  life  

experiences  which  may  be  non-­‐work-­‐related  

Finish  for  those  students  who  don’t  need  any  cultural  

training  

Blue for students; Red for companies; Green for universities.

Intercultural Sensitivity

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Intercultural competence assessment

The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)

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(Hammer et al. 2003)

Initial findings and challenges

§  Intercultural competence assessment (IDI) – feedback and plan.

§  Pre-placement training – typically 4 hours: different start/end times; culture; culture shock; tailoring to students.

§  Cultural mentoring – student and enterprise buy-in. §  Intercultural reflection – DL engagement; depth of reflexivity;

personal / public? §  Enterprise handbook – KISS

§  Evaluation – Q-sort §  Dissemination §  Exploitation – encouraging (esp. UK) students to take part in

international work placements; embedding; requirement / crediting as part of work placement.

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References

§  Bennett, M.J. 1993. Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In M. Paige (ed.), Education for the intercultural experience. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

§  Deardorff, D. K. 2004. The identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of international education at institutions of higher education in the United States. Unpublished dissertation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

§  Ellingboe, B. J. 1998. Divisional strategies to internationalise a campus portrait: results, resistance and recommendations from a case study at a US university. In J. A. Mestenhauser and B. J. Ellingboe (eds.), Reforming the higher education curriculum: internationalising the campus (pp. 198-228). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx.

§  Hammer, M.R., Bennett, M.J. & Wiseman, R. 2003. The Intercultural Development Inventory: A measure of intercultural sensitivity. In R.M. Paige (Guest Editor), Special issue on the Intercultural Development Inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27, 421-443.

§  Hammer, M.R. (in press). The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI): A New Frontier in Assessment and Development of Intercultural Competence. In M. Van de Berg, M., Paige, R. M., & Lou, K. (Eds.) (in press). Student learning abroad: What our students are learning, what they’re not, and what we

can do about it. Sterling, VA: Stylus. §  Knight, J. 1997. A shared vision? Stakeholders’ perspectives on the internationalisation of higher

education in Canada. Journal of Studies in International Education, 1 (1), 22-24.

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