From ‘intercultural-washing’ to meaningful intercultural education: Revisiting higher education practice

Sommier, Mélodine; Lahti, Malgorzata; Roiha, Anssi

doi:10.47989/kpdc130

Cited by 3 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The analysis reveals that there were none that would have completely rejected the non-essentialist views, even though the analysis of the students' expectations prior to the course did reveal the typical wishes for essentialist shortcuts about national culture, exotic rhetoric of diverse customs, traditions, and expectations of "culture"-specific lists of dos and don'ts [15,43].…”

Section: Non-essentialistmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many students in higher education (HE) have already been exposed to what Sommier et al [15] call "intercultural washing," which refers to "institutional discourses conveying misleading impressions regarding the importance placed on interculturality" (p. 3). This might provide students with particular expectations about a course on IC, and some might also be disappointed and even alienated by critical or non-essentialist discourse [15]. As Sommier et al [15] point out, the "heyday of cross-cultural communication is not over, and its legacy is a challenge for intercultural communication, particularly in the context of teaching and implementation in HE" (p. 5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This might provide students with particular expectations about a course on IC, and some might also be disappointed and even alienated by critical or non-essentialist discourse [15]. As Sommier et al [15] point out, the "heyday of cross-cultural communication is not over, and its legacy is a challenge for intercultural communication, particularly in the context of teaching and implementation in HE" (p. 5). Despite the growing interest in global issues and IC in general, it has been stated that higher education institutions (HEI) and educational curricula often fail to incorporate the latest theoretical developments [3,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Sommier et al [15] point out, the "heyday of cross-cultural communication is not over, and its legacy is a challenge for intercultural communication, particularly in the context of teaching and implementation in HE" (p. 5). Despite the growing interest in global issues and IC in general, it has been stated that higher education institutions (HEI) and educational curricula often fail to incorporate the latest theoretical developments [3,15]. As educators at HEIs, our attempt has been to move away from essentialist approaches to culture and IC toward more critical and non-essentialist ones.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overcoming Essentialism? Students’ Reflections on Learning Intercultural Communication Online

et al. 2022

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The fields of intercultural communication (IC) and intercultural education are in flux and the paradigmatic shift is away from essentialist approaches on culture and interculturality towards seeing IC and interculturality as flexible, fluid, contradictory, political, and ideological constructs. This study presents a virtual exchange project, a joint introductory course on IC between a Finnish university and a French university. One of the objectives of the course was to provide students with a more critical, non-essentialist perspective on interculturality. This study presents an analysis of 32 students’ texts (learning logs) that are processed qualitatively using content analysis to find answers to questions of (1) how students make sense of their experience of learning IC through multilingual online interactions, and (2) how different approaches on culture and interculturality are reflected in students’ leaning logs. The learning logs are written by participants during their six-week learning experience. The findings indicate that students gained confidence in interacting with people from diverse backgrounds and using multiple languages. How students reacted to and reflected on the more critical perspective on interculturality varied greatly, with many learning logs seeming to juggle between different approaches. The online environment was considered a major source of concern prior and at the beginning of the course, but as the course progressed it did not represent a barrier within the documented experiences. Our analysis aims to help teachers of IC to better address the needs of different learners. We also discuss the challenges and possibilities of a multilingual intercultural virtual exchange with a view to creating safe and motivating spaces for teaching and learning about interculturality.

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Section: Non-essentialistmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overcoming Essentialism? Students’ Reflections on Learning Intercultural Communication Online

et al. 2022

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Driving and Embracing Change: Learning and Teaching Languages and Communication in Higher Education

2024

JYU Studies

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When considering the title of this book, we, as its editors, had to reflect on the notion of change. Change is constant and inevitable, but fundamental changes do not happen overnight. Such changes result from actions and measures that address deep, complex and interrelated systemic issues, and thus require a shift in mindset. Fifty years ago, Gregory Bateson (1972/2000), an early advocate for ecological thinking, warned that solving the challenges facing society requires a re-examination of the ideas that have dominated thought since the industrial revolution. For Bateson, ecological thinking meant more than adding an environmental perspective and implied the need to revisit the core values and principles that form the basis of societies. Similarly, in the field of education, as Selby (2000) has argued, ecological thinking involves a shift to a more holistic worldview and an awareness of the interconnections and interdependencies of power issues influencing culture, development, environmental and social justice, equity, health, and peace, as well as the interplay between our outer and inner worlds and between different disciplinary epistemologies. These ideas have special significance in the dynamic landscape of contemporary higher education, which faces complex challenges and often unforeseen and/or unpredictable changes and events, such as shifts in government policy or the COVID-19 pandemic. The constantly evolving changes necessitate strategic, future-oriented planning and decision-making in addressing the most critical questions relevant to universities today: the provision of education that is accessible and equitable to all and that meets the changing needs of economies and societies; internationalisation and the growing linguistic and cultural diversity at universities alongside the increasing dominance of English in academia; financial sustainability and the increasing competition for funding; technological advancements; and the well-being of both students and staff. These questions are linked to larger social, economic, geopolitical, technological, ideological, and environmental changes, which directly or indirectly influence higher education: intensifying global migration, deepening social inequalities, escalating armed and cyber conflicts and threats, increasing political/ideological polarisation, the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation that diminishes trust in science, ethical issues surrounding AI, and the impending environmental crisis. On a more practical level, interest and investment in learning languages other than English is diminishing. These challenges are relevant in the Finnish higher education context, too, and they require flexibility and continuous adjustments not only in institutional strategies and frameworks but also in mindsets, pedagogical practices, and working cultures.

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Beyond a Shared Theme

Dinger,

Jayton

2024

Promoting Intercultural Agility and Leadership Development at Home and Abroad for First-Year Students

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In this chapter, the authors provide a descriptive overview of a living and learning community for first year university students aimed at cultivating global perspectives and intercultural learning. Grounded in the values of global citizenship education, they detail how they employ the dialogic method to construct a scaffolded experience for the cohort. The authors highlight key curricular and co-curricular activities that guide students through the complex process of building capacity for global citizenship beginning with the self and their local lived experiences and ending with a reflection of and a commitment to the well-being of a global “other.” The authors and the implementor of the living and learning community situate the learning in the context of the sustainable development goals articulated by the United Nations in 2015. This chapter serves as a case study and a method for delivering a global intercultural learning experience.

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From ‘intercultural-washing’ to meaningful intercultural education: Revisiting higher education practice

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

Overcoming Essentialism? Students’ Reflections on Learning Intercultural Communication Online

Overcoming Essentialism? Students’ Reflections on Learning Intercultural Communication Online

Driving and Embracing Change: Learning and Teaching Languages and Communication in Higher Education

Beyond a Shared Theme

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