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1 – 10 of 409The leaders of the future will have to lead with intercultural competence and with the ability to facilitate this development of competence in others. The development of skills in…
Abstract
The leaders of the future will have to lead with intercultural competence and with the ability to facilitate this development of competence in others. The development of skills in undergraduate students to meet this challenge is paramount to the establishment of effective leadership for the future. Within this study, researchers address the challenge by quantitatively examining intercultural competency outcomes students derive from leadership-based study abroad experiences. For five years, researchers utilized a pre-post intercultural competency survey of student participants in a leadership education study abroad program in Zambia, Africa. Using the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES), data was analyzed for seventy-eight students who participated in this five-week study abroad course. The results demonstrate statistically significant growth on students’ intercultural competency across all ten measures of dimensions and sub-scales. Recommendations provide a framework for leadership educators to employ pedagogies that influence intercultural development within study abroad as a means of developing global leadership in their students.
With the overarching goal of cultivating global citizens, many higher education institutions have developed and implemented co-curricular leadership programs for their…
Abstract
With the overarching goal of cultivating global citizens, many higher education institutions have developed and implemented co-curricular leadership programs for their constituents. Quantitative research on the impact of leadership programs on undergraduate students has shown an increase in self-awareness and social consciousness, both characteristics of global citizens. Yet, research has failed to adequately address the impact of leadership programs on global students’ sense of self. Global students include any individual who has spent a significant portion of their developmental years outside the country of higher education, including international students, children of international religious missionaries, international military personnel, international businesspeople or government diplomats. The central question that informed this qualitative inquiry was: How do former global students who participated in a co-curricular intercultural leadership program describe the impact of their involvement on their current sense of self in post-baccalaureate life? For this qualitative inquiry, grounded theory case study was utilized to explore the experiences of 15 former global students who participated in a co-curricular, intercultural leadership development program. This empirical research into the impact of co-curricular leadership programs on global students’ sense of self in their post-baccalaureate life contributed to the theory of intercultural competence development. It also provided practical implications for the components of high impact leadership programs as well as the value of providing developmental programs for global students.
Tanju Deveci, Glenda Elgamal, David Dalton and Donald John Langille
This study investigated the effects of an intercultural communication (IC) course on Emirati university students' intercultural sensitivity (IS).
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the effects of an intercultural communication (IC) course on Emirati university students' intercultural sensitivity (IS).
Design/methodology/approach
The participants were 89 Emirati students. The course required student involvement in a variety of tasks and activities, both inside and outside the classroom. The development of the students' IS was tracked using two instruments: the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) and a reflective writing task.
Findings
The difference between the students' overall pre-test and post-test scores was at a statistically significant level. The data from the reflective writing papers showed that the course developed the students' IS with a particular effect on their awareness of other cultures, barriers to effective communication and self-confidence.
Originality/value
In an increasingly globalized world, the findings of this study highlight the importance of a course designed to enhance university students' IS and therefore intercultural competence. They also indicate the need for more experiential learning to bridge in-class and out-of-class experiences which facilitate the development of students' intercultural competence.
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This qualitative research set out to understand what teachers’ assessments were of the context of teaching as it relates to the curriculum, and what they consider appropriate for…
Abstract
Purpose
This qualitative research set out to understand what teachers’ assessments were of the context of teaching as it relates to the curriculum, and what they consider appropriate for an optimal teaching and learning experience in a university English language teaching (ELT) context.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were deemed required to understand the effects and understanding teachers had of the ELT curriculum as it played out in their teaching context. Focus group interviews and observations were the main method for data generation.
Findings
The context has a bearing on the ongoing development of teachers’ intercultural sensitivity (IS) frames and how they address IS over time in their context of teaching as it pertains to curriculum.
Originality/value
This is an original research paper which gives insight to knowledge about the relationship between ELT, curriculum and culture.
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Jonna Koponen, Saara Julkunen, Mika Gabrielsson and Ellen Bolman Pullins
The purpose of this paper is to explore how business-to-business (B2B), intercultural, interpersonal salesperson–customer relationships develop using the lens of identity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how business-to-business (B2B), intercultural, interpersonal salesperson–customer relationships develop using the lens of identity management theory (IMT; Imahori and Cupach, 2005).
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses qualitative semi-structured interviews on 18 targeted relationships with customers from another culture conducted with business-to-business salespeople.
Findings
The findings indicate that our respondents' relationships moved from trial toward enmeshment and on occasion toward the renegotiation phase, as described in IMT. In the case of low cultural diversity between salesperson and customer, the relationships reached the trial and enmeshment phase. In the case of high cultural diversity between salesperson and customer, the relationships on occasion evolved toward the renegotiation phase. Salespeople's cultural intelligence (CQ) facilitates the development of interpersonal, intercultural salesperson–customer relationships.
Originality/value
The authors transfer IMT from the personal relationship development arena to B2B intercultural, interpersonal relationships, address a gap in the literature in the understanding of salesperson–customer interpersonal relationships in different contexts and develop a theoretical model to understand intercultural, interpersonal salesperson–customer relationship development across different levels of cultural diversity.
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José-María Romero-Rodríguez, María Soledad Ramirez-Montoya, Leonardo David Glasserman-Morales and Magdalena Ramos Navas-Parejo
The aim of this paper was to analyse the creative competence of students before and after a micro-learning experience carried out in a collaborative online international learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper was to analyse the creative competence of students before and after a micro-learning experience carried out in a collaborative online international learning (COIL) environment between Spanish and Mexican university students in the field of education and entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
A single-group quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measures was adopted. The composition of the group was natural and included a total of 57 students who participated in the COIL experience. The duration was three weeks, where students from both countries were linked together in the development of a micro-learning project. The creativity self-efficacy scale was used as a data collection instrument.
Findings
The micro-learning activities through COIL developed the creative competence of the participating students. In particular, the groups from both universities improved their scores on the creative competence in the post-test compared to the pre-test measure.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of this study were linked to the sample loss of some cases, as some students did not complete the post-test measure. The main implication of the study was to demonstrate that COIL experiences are suitable for developing certain skills in students, such as creative competence or co-operative work.
Originality/value
COIL experiences break down the barriers of physical space and give students an active role, allowing them to fully develop competences and offering an intercultural perspective, which encourages open-mindedness and understanding of the world.
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