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The overarching purpose of this paper is to explore the transformation of intercultural education in Cyprus in the context of European integration. More specifically, it indicates the ways in which intercultural policy has been formed by complex and often counteractive influences. The analysis draws upon policy documents collected from the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) and interviews carried out with Cypriot policy-makers. Europe has come to play an important role in the development of Cypriot intercultural policy by becoming a mechanism of pressure for educational change. Through monitoring processes, Europe has indicated problems deriving from the culturally pluralistic character of the Cypriot society that should be addressed by national policies. In this context, Cyprus has initiated an educational reform, including a reform of the national curriculum towards a more intercultural orientation. Nonetheless, the findings of this research assert that there is a gap between policy rhetoric and practice.

This study reports on an analysis of the policy dynamics influencing intercultural education in the Greek–Cypriot context. The authors aim to examine the context and content of educational policies and directives which have been initiated and/or developed at the Greek–Cypriot level. To this end, the authors drew upon policy documentary and data derived from interviews conducted with Greek–Cypriot policy-makers and education officers.

It appears that intercultural education became an important part of the state’s rhetoric. Cyprus has initiated an educational reform, including a reform of the national curriculum towards a more intercultural orientation. Therefore, since 2008, the state and particularly the MEC have replaced the previously used term of multicultural education with the rhetoric of intercultural education and inclusion as the preferable educational responses to immigration.

The findings of this study suggest that the development of intercultural education requires the re-conceptualisation and re-structuring of the Cypriot educational system and schooling. The state should adopt a balanced governance model between school autonomy and centralised management.

This paper can help schools and teachers to improve their intercultural education approach.

The findings could be helpful for improving the intercultural education policy in Cyprus.

These research finding are the first that deal with intercultural education policy in Cyprus.

The purpose of this study is to diagnose and understand Portuguese academics’ perspectives on the components of intercultural competence and on the importance of its development by higher education students.

Academics’ perspectives were identified during two discussion and reflection sessions included in the overall training program Intercultural Competence in Higher Education: building proposals with academics that took place at a Portuguese public university. Data were collected through audio recordings of the two sessions and observation notes and were subject to content analysis, drawing on Deardorff’s process model of intercultural competence (2006).

Academics recognize the multidimensionality of intercultural competence, acknowledging that it comprises attitudes (acceptance and respect; curiosity and openness), knowledge (others’ cultural contexts; self-knowledge and cultural self-awareness) and skills (observation and listening) that altogether will lead to individuals’ desired internal and external outcomes. The development of intercultural competence by higher education students, regarded in close relation to higher education internationalization, is considered crucial for changing prejudiced attitudes, preparing students to live in a global world and empowering them professionally.

The study sheds light on an issue that has been insufficiently addressed by research: academics’ perspectives on intercultural competence development, namely, in the Portuguese higher education context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers’ and head teachers’ perceptions of the implementation of intercultural education within the 13 intercultural primary schools (IPSs) in Greece.

The research methodology adopted is a mixed-method approach. It has been employed to add breadth and depth to the analysis and to achieve a better understanding of the issue examined. The research methods used include questionnaires administered and interviews conducted with teachers and head teachers.

The results indicate that great importance is attributed to the use of cooperative learning, group work and the interdisciplinary approach to implementing intercultural education. The findings provide suggestions for the creation of a school environment in which the intercultural dimension will be promoted, so as to meet the educational needs of native, foreign and, repatriate pupils attending both intercultural and mainstream primary schools.

The research study focusses on primary education. Nonetheless, some of the findings may be applicable to secondary education.

The contribution of this study to the topic examined is significant since this is a country-scale research conducted among the 13 IPSs – and there has been no previous research conducted in all 13 IPSs in Greece – and different pupil populations. Therefore, teachers’ views and practices allow international readership to be informed of the Greek intercultural context as well as to reflect a variety of teaching approaches and methods that can be well adopted by intercultural practitioners and which in turn can contribute to the improvement of the entire spectrum of pedagogy and pursue further research.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the intercultural sensitivity of students in teacher educational programs at higher education institutes (HEIs) in Georgia.

This research explored the intercultural sensitivity among 355 randomly selected students in teacher education programs at higher education institutions in Georgia. A questionnaire based on the Development Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) and Cushner et al. (2006) model of sources of cultural identity was developed as a research instrument and adjusted to the Georgian context to measure the students’ intercultural sensitivity.

The results showed that a majority of the students were in the ethnocentric phase of intercultural sensitivity, as defined by Bennett (1993); students in teachers’ educational programs were selectively sensitive to different sources of cultural identity; students were selectively tolerant to different groups in the population with the same source of cultural identity and the level of educational attainment, as well as the location of the higher education institution affected students’ level of intercultural sensitivity.

The findings of this study carry valuable practical importance as they can be used to improve teacher education programs at higher education institutions in Georgia.

The study has scientific value in that the instrument used to assess intercultural sensitivity was developed for the Georgian context, and students’ intercultural sensitivity to 12 different sources of cultural identity was investigated.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the intercultural competence of pre-service special education teacher candidates through the contents of a graduate-level multicultural perspectives course.

This study used a graduate-level multicultural perspectives course to examine the intercultural competence of special education teacher candidates. A paired-samples t-test of significance was performed to investigate the pre- and post-growth of participants’s cultural sensitivity using the intercultural development inventory (IDI).

Participants’ intercultural sensitivity mean score suggested that their intercultural competence needs to be improved. The results showed no significant difference in the overall mean developmental scores between pre- and post-tests. However, significant differences were found between the pre- and post-test scores in perceived orientation and acceptance cluster.

A significantly higher perceived score was identified suggesting that participants might overestimate their level of intercultural sensitivity. Different from the existing literature, this study suggested that gender and education level were significant predictors of post-test developmental scores.

There are many studies regarding the value of gaining cultural awareness, but limited empirical evidence has been shared on programs that use integrated learning and capacity building interventions to specifically build cultural competence in aspiring undergraduate leaders. This qualitative case study examined the effects of interventions designed to build intercultural competence in first-year honors students participating in a leadership development program using co-curricular activities, undergraduate research, and a short-term education abroad. Data collected from two cohorts who completed the first year of the program revealed students’ perceptions of their short-term education abroad experience’s impact on their intercultural competence and leadership development. The study demonstrates the value of integrated leadership and intercultural competence development among undergraduate students.

The purpose of this study is to identify intercultural competencies in community instructors who serve in CONAFE in Chiapas, México.

The study applied a mixed methods method, based on an ethnographic design with a naturalistic approach. The quantitative instrument was applied to 119 community instructors; from these participants, four interviews were conducted with a sample of case-type participants, and four cases are presented.

The results show differences between community instructors who demonstrate intercultural skills and those who require developing them. It is concluded that teachers should receive training that strengthens their intercultural competences to enable indigenous children to take advantage of the knowledge they acquire in their community and the pedagogical advantage offered by the use of their mother tongue in the teaching–learning process.

This educational research about intercultural competences in the field of indigenous education, community education and intercultural education provides significant learning that advances the understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity.

This paper aims to postulate an emerging unified cultural‐convergence framework to converge the delivery of instructional technology and intercultural education (ICE) that extends beyond web‐learning technologies to inculcate inclusive pedagogy in teacher education.

The paper explores the literature and a tech‐infused multicultural learning community to identify what a unified cultural‐convergence theory might consist of and how it could be shaped to align instructional technology and critical ICE in teacher education. Four questions are asked: What key learning do these two disciplines make available to teachers and educators that are essential for today's highly diverse, complex classrooms? What can we draw from a convergence of multiculturalism and global education that will help us derive a new theoretical understanding of a unified cultural‐convergence theory to connect IT and ICE education? What knowledge, skills and dispositions comprise three essential components of this literature synthesis? How can this new unified cultural‐convergence theory and relevant components be taught, practiced, and measured? The paper contains several tables, figures and over 50 sources in the research bibliography that were selected from a review and analysis of 100 documents.

The paper discovered instructional technology and intercultural educators employed web‐learning technologies in very similar ways to position critical ICE strategies into programs or courses in teacher education. The learning technologies models that were attempting to support multicultural education (MCE)/ICE and IT education included corporate, universities, research centers, schools, and government partners. Reportedly, according to the research, teacher educators in IT education do not employ instructional technology practices that differ from practices that are needed or valued by MCE educators to merge critical intercultural structures into teacher education through web‐learning technologies. This was good news as the researcher moves toward a recommendation for a research agenda that could be shared by educators from the two groups.

The paper is limited to literature reviews, reports, and evaluation documents.

The paper offers implications for curriculum development in educational technology and MCE using ICTs

This paper aims to present the qualitative findings on students’ and teachers’ experiences in communicating and interacting with students and teachers from different ethnic backgrounds in the Malaysian vision schools initiative.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted involving 15 informants comprising of three headteachers, three teachers and nine students. The interviews centred on the informants’ experiences and views living and experiencing the reality of the vision schools which is comprising three major races; Malays, Chinese and Indians; which is represented by the three school types which are a national school, Chinese vernacular and Indian vernacular schools.

The interview data revealed that the intercultural communication in the vision schools had triggered intercultural understanding and awareness of cultural diversity in the schools. However, the interview data with experienced teachers showed some drawbacks of the intercultural dynamics at the school complex. Among the weaknesses were the absence of structured and formal training on intercultural and multicultural education, lack of trust and poor social skills which may have hindered effective intercultural communication from taking place.

This study presents the informants’ experiences and views on the reality of intercultural interaction among students and teachers in the context of the Malaysian vision school initiative.

The purpose of this case study is to explore to what extent US university undergraduates participating in a research abroad program through US–Taiwan Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) developed intercultural awareness and cross-cultural adaptability skills. It also suggests additional program design features to enhance students' international experiences.

To better understand participants' experiences in the PIRE program, this study adopts a mixed-methods approach. Demographic questionnaires, pre- and postsurveys, observational field notes and individual interviews were conducted for data collection and analysis.

Students perceived the experience abroad to improve their intercultural awareness and skills such as openness to cultural differences, coping with challenges abroad and effectively working in diverse teams. Specifically, quantitative findings reflected group gains in the areas of flexibility/openness and perceptual acuity, whereas qualitative findings indicated growth in students' emotional resilience and personal autonomy.

Additional data collection methods, such as pre-/postinstruments or a longitudinal study would provide a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of education abroad on students' intercultural learning.

Evaluation of programs and outcomes can help identify areas to maximize student learning and assess the value of education abroad.

This is original research and makes a contribution to education abroad programs in postsecondary education.