Intercultural Dialogues and Higher Education, Prerequisites for Strengthening the Europe-Asia Relationships

Abstract

This paper is aimed at debating intercultural competences and intercultural dialogue issues within a multicultural learning environment. It supports the idea of cultural dimension and quality in higher education with a focus on intercultural sensitivity, intercultural dialogue and intercultural effectiveness. The paper disseminates a part of the results obtained within the national research project Parteneriate/Partnership 92116. The research project takes into account ethical and moral issues in higher education with special references to equality of chance, management of diversity and intercultural dialogue-as prerequisite for higher education development and sustainability. The designed methodology consists of case studies, interviews and questionnaires applied both to the Faculty of Business Administration (with subjects taught in foreign languages) at the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest and the Faculty of Engineering in Foreign Language at “Politehnica” University from Bucharest. Qualitative interpretation refers to students opinions regarding intercultural sensitivity within the two faculties that function as multicultural learning environments. The team supports the idea according to which intercultural sensitivity and intercultural dialogue issues are very important for better understanding the complexity and dynamics of multicultural learning environments. Intercultural competence and effectiveness can make the difference for the quality and sustainability of higher education. In Romania the previous studies concerning intercultural sensitivity have focus mostly on the ethnic dimension. The originality of our research regards the fact that it focuses mostly on topics such as intercultural effectiveness and intercultural dialogue analyzed within a multicultural learning environment where students interact by learning the same subjects in a foreign language.