Cross-cultural Skills Research Articles

Core competencies for the global workplace: A cross-cultural and skill-based simulation project in accounting

ABSTRACT This paper examines a multi-faceted workplace simulation project as a curriculum design strategy to address the expanding core competencies that constrained accounting programmes must incorporate. The problem-based learning simulation incorporates technical content with communication and cross-cultural skills competencies. Using Q methodology, this study reveals how students perceived their engagement in the simulation project. The results indicate strong agreement amongst students regarding the effectiveness of the simulation project procedures and the usefulness of its outcomes. However, a clear disparity was evident in terms of students’ perspectives on the level of acquiring the cross-cultural and team competencies that the simulation project sought to instil. Suggestions for future implementations are explored.

Формирование универсальных компетенций студентов магистрантов педагогических направлений

The aim of the research was to develop and implement a teachers training master degree program with active integration of soft skills at all the stages to form students’ system and critical thinking, project management skills, teamwork and leadership, communication and cross-cultural interaction skills. To solve these problems, the program included specialized practice-orientated courses based on the principles of pedagogical ergonomics and the latest technologies (ball-rating system, workshop, case study, “agile” principle, pedagogical situations’ modeling and others). The research resulted is a unique, effective and validated program and a set of training materials to develop universal competencies of master degree students.

A survey of Korean elementary schoolteachers on their communication with students and parents from migrant backgrounds and the need for quality language services

This paper investigates communication problems facing teachers when they interact with students and parents from migrant backgrounds, and explores the need for quality language services in educational settings. According to a questionnaire-based survey of 142 elementary schoolteachers, about 20–25 per cent of respondents frequently experienced difficulties in communicating with students and parents who lacked Korean language proficiency. However, the teachers usually managed without outside assistance largely because of the lack of language support services. Effective communication is needed through the delivery of more language services to support children’s learning, school education and parents’ meaningful participation in both. Most teachers surveyed supported more effective language services in their schools, but were not very vocal in advocating for professional interpreting services. Instead, they tended to emphasise other forms of language and cultural training for multicultural students and their parents. This response may derive from their lack of experience with professional interpreting services, and a lack of awareness of the limited resources available for quality service provision or the influence of assimilation policies. The findings also indicate that teachers do not consider the interpreting and translation skills of language service providers as highly as cross-cultural mediation skills, understanding of the education system or interest in individual students’ needs. The results call for further research into what would constitute best practice in educational interpreting to effectively mediate cultural differences between schools and multicultural families, and address the needs and concerns of teachers, students and parents from multicultural backgrounds.

Gender paths in international careers: an approach centred on demands and resources

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the interplay between international experiences and male and female top managers' career paths, taking into consideration gender differences. Furthermore, the research investigates the specific job and personal demands and resources related to the different types of international work experiences.Design/methodology/approachThis study provides an in-depth subjective reconstruction of the international professional experience of 37 male and female top managers employed in Italy, using semi-structured interviews.FindingsParticipants highlighted the benefits of their international assignments (IAs) in terms of the development of managerial, soft and cross-cultural skills. Family issues and cultural differences were frequently cited as challenges by the top managers interviewed. Culture shock and perceived difficulty in managing multicultural teams were reported by both women and men. Men reported experiencing long periods of separation from their family more often than women and cited the support of their partner as a valuable resource. In addition to the support of a partner, women also indicated that certain job resources and welfare policies played a crucial role. Moreover, women appear to be more interested in work-family management issues, thus suggesting that the traditional division of roles between men and women continues to persist in Italy.Originality/valueThis study provides an insight into the extrinsic factors linked to career success, as well as the challenges and the resources associated with different forms of global work other than traditional expatriation. It takes into consideration a specific country, Italy, where a traditional family paradigm persists, providing an insight into better understanding the link between IA experiences and gender roles in global mobility. Managerial implications are also discussed.

Aviation lecturers in the new normal world of learning

An aviation lecturer in the new normal world of learning have to understand the changes surrounding aneducational circumstance in the aspects of economy, society, politics, administration, environment, and technology, together with the pandemic of COVID-19 which causes a new normal way of living. The concept of new normal way of living are wearing face mask and carrying alcohol gel, enforcing social distancing measures, using technologies and digital system, decreasing social meeting or meeting in a small group instead, avoidingunnecessary touch, and giving precedence to health and hygiene. The aviation lecturers in the new normal world of learning need to understand the learning concept in the 21st century which focus on making learners achieve 21st century skills, i.e., critical thinking&problem-solving skill, creativity & innovation skill, cross cultural understanding skill, collaboration/teamwork & leadership skill, communications/information & media literacy skill, computing & ICT literacy skill, and career & learning skill. Roles and duties of aviation lecturers have to be modified in many roles as a citizenship of the 21st century, a good member of a group, a co-leaner/co-investigator/guide or facilitator, an educational developer, a technology man, a creator of Professional Learning Community (PLC) and a professional aviation personnel. Necessary skills of aviation lecturer in the new normal world of learning include 21stcentury skills, professional lecturer skill, learning design skill, multi teaching skill, critical thinking skill, technology skill, teamwork skill, communication skill, service skill/service mind, multicultural skill and aviation professional skill.

Research on the infiltration of cross-cultural awareness in higher education stage in the background of globalization

At the university level, the penetration of cross-cultural awareness is of great significance to talent training. This article uses empirical research to study the cross-cultural adaptability of international students, and on this basis, puts forward four suggestions for the penetration of cross-cultural awareness among university students. This is of great significance for strengthening the penetration of cross-cultural awareness during colleges and universities, cultivating and enhancing the cross-cultural communication skills of college students, and adapting to the trend of global international communication.

Культурна компетентність як фактор успішної професійної діяльності

Article analyzes the problems of cultural competence as the main factor of successful professional activity of applicants for higher education in economic specialties, since the formation of personality culture as the most important condition for its self – organization and self-development is one of the leading tasks of modern education. A generally accepted and important characteristic of a specialist is a certain set of professional knowledge and skills, which may not coincide in the composition, structure, and severity of certain qualities in representatives of different types of activity. The article analyzes cultural competence and as a result of the study, it turns out that where emotional intelligence is powerless, a person with a well-developed emotional intelligence understands what all people have in common and what distinguishes each of us from the other. A culturally competent person, while also being a specialist in economic specialties, is able to determine which properties of a particular person are characteristic of all people, which are only for him, and which are neither universal nor unique. Therefore, he adapts quite easily to the Customs and traditions of the new environment: he gets into the habit of observing and consciously adapting to the new environment. The findings state that cultural competence is the result of a development process that requires long-term commitment. This is not a specific end product that can be achieved based on the results of a two-hour master class, it requires an active learning and practice process for a long time. It’s easier to talk about becoming culturally competent than to do it. Professionals who work with different ethnic and cultural groups and can therefore become more culturally competent by advancing through three main stages: developing awareness, acquiring knowledge, and developing and maintaining cross-cultural skills.

Challenges of Interaction in Multicultural Class of Future Mining Engineers within Computer Supported Collaborative Learning

The inclusion of computer mediation and distance education has influenced the training of future mining engineers in Kuzbass universities. This study investigates the issues of students’ interaction in multicultural groups within Computer Supported Collaborative Learning. CSCL served as a conceptual framework to guide the presented study. Forty-eight Russian and Indian students participated in the experiment. To assess the peer interaction in multicultural groups four questionnaires were designed. The authors used comparative analysis to analyze the interviews of the participants. To process the data, the Pearson’s correlation analysis was performed. In the result of comparative analysis of the participants’ interviews some conclusions on students’ interaction in multicultural class were done. Foreign students demonstrate positive attitude towards collaborative learning activities while one in two Russian students displays reluctance and frustration in relation to cross-cultural collaborative learning environment. The results suggest that the main challenges for implementation of CSCL in higher education institutions of Kuzbass are insufficient cross-cultural skills of students and even teachers and the lowquality digital infrastructure of universities.

Language Contribution to Cultural Diversity: The Case of Fulfulde in the Extreme North in Cameroon

The capacity to interact efficiently with people of diverse cultures entails awareness of one's own cultural worldview, attitude towards cultural differences, knowledge of dissimilar cultural practices and cross-cultural skills. That is why m any staff development models that address diversity emphasize on the importance of learning culturally specific information including communication patterns, health beliefs and behaviors, religious practices, symbols, and rituals. Before, people’s differences were primarily learned through cultural or racial identities. Examples: African American, Asian and such identities suggest general expectations like religion, communication, career or behaviours. Pragmatically cultural differences have also been noted in the ways in which language is used. Therefore, language has a major adaptive advantage that differentiates Homo sapiens from other species and has been partially responsible for the evolutionary success of humans. Thus, the linguistic doctrine stipulates that no language is superior since all dialects are effective means of communication. The main objective is to stress on how language can affect culture although being part of it, consequently the best way of integration is by speaking the language of that community. In methodology we used participant observation, interviews and essential we have use both descriptive and analytical nature since our survey complement desk research. Models of living and learning could help individuals avoid stereotyping behaviour, adopt mutually acceptable objectives and measures for change. This is by being simple, accepting cross-cultural experiences while making room for improvement.

Implementing a cross-course design for online international exchange in geography courses

In 2017, the University of Groningen (UG) in The Netherlands and DePaul University in the USA (DePaul) connected undergraduate students in geography courses using an Online International Exchange (OIE) assignment involving videoconferencing. Whereas many international OIE projects are designed on joint alignment principles connecting similar courses and developing similar aims and assignments, this project had a cross-course setup with diverging learning outcomes. In the UG course, OIE was a pretravel activity primarily aimed at developing disciplinary skills. DePaul implemented OIE as an intercultural awareness assignment. Through reflection on the design process and thematic analysis of student reflections, we conclude that the OIE introduced students in the DePaul course to international perceptions and encouraged self-reflection, whilethe OIE stimulated disciplinary skills and introduced intercultural awareness to the UG course. Moreover, OIE stimulated cross-cultural project management skills, increasing awareness of differing educational and urban contexts and thereby training the students in global citizenship. Therefore, this cross-course OIE shows that adapting OIE design to local curricular needs using pre-existing courses can enhance and deepen disciplinaryspecific learning outcomes through cross fertilization, and may create unexpected new learning outcomes. This expands the potential application and benefits of OIE for the internationalization of higher education.

Celebrating the Last 10 Years of Community College Internationalization

Celebrating the Last 10 Years of Community College Internationalization

The New Palestinian Science and Math Curricula in Light of the 21st Century Skills: A Critical and Enlightening Study

The purpose of this study was to analyze the new Palestinian science and math curricula in light of the skills for the 21st Century to investigate the extent to which these curricula are able to prepare citizens who have a balanced degree of skills they need to live effectively in the 21st Century. The researchers developed a rubric and then used as a general framework for content analysis of the curricula. The rubric consisted of twelve main themes; creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, information literacy, media literacy, information and communications technology literacy, flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, and leadership and responsibility. Findings of content analysis indicated that the existing curricula represent the skills for the 21st century poorly with low focus and insufficient attention on most skills that had been analyzed. In a second section, the paper offers a general conceptual framework with relevant models for reshaping the curricula with relevant authentic tasks that emerge from the Palestinian socio-cultural context in order to enable students to accommodate the 21st century skills, and provide school teachers with tangible mechanisms to enhance students’ skills for the 21st century. The paper concludes with a set of policy recommendations, and suggestions for further research about the relevance and effectiveness of this conceptual framework, and the improvement models in the new Palestinian curricula.

Life and Career Skills among Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Students in Vocational Colleges

This research aims to investigate whether life and career skills are being embedded by the education institutions especially in the technical and vocational education since it provides a semi-skilled and skilled workforce to compete in the global labor market. Furthermore, this study focusses on vocational college students because there is little study on the life and career skills being done to this institution. Besides, this study also will compare the life and career skills between male and female students. A quantitative approach using a cross-sectional survey design was employed to determine the information of life and career skills from respondents. An instrument consist of 80 items was developed by the researcher by adapting and adopting questions related to life and career skills. Based on the pilot study, the findings show that the value for Cronbach's Alpha for five elements of life and career skills is more than 0.7. This is indicated the instrument to be considered as a reliable questionnaire. The total sample in this study is 275 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students in Vocational Colleges in Johor, were selected using random sampling. The actual study data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for The Social Science (SPSS) version 21. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using a t-test. This result in this research shows that the Flexibility and Adaptability skills at the highest level possessed by the students in vocational colleges in Johor. The finding this study also showed that there were statistical differences between male and female students in vocational colleges on Flexibility and Adaptability skills, Social and Cross-cultural skills, Productivity and Accountability skills, and Responsibility and Leadership skills. However, there was no significant difference between students' gender on Initiative and Self-direction skills. The mean score of male students was higher compared to female students in all five elements of life and career skills. Finally, some suggestions for future studies were discussed to help future researchers to find gaps in the field of 21st-century skills.

Research-to-Resource: Use of Technology to Support 21st Century Skills in a Performing Ensemble Program

In a global society, 21st century skills are fundamental for every student. Furthermore, in today’s digital world, technology is expected to be part of students’ learning experiences. In the following research-to-resource article, I provide practical strategies and ideas for integrating technology into a performing ensemble program in order to develop students’ 21st century skills. In particular, I provide specific practices which use technology to fulfill 21st century skill—creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, technology literacy, and cross-cultural skills.

Refugee Health Curriculum in Undergraduate Medical Education (UME): A Scoping Review

Phenomenon: An increasing number of refugees in recent years has led to changes in healthcare delivery. Historically, health care providers did not receive systematic and longitudinal training in refugee health. There is increasing interest among educators in developing educational opportunities for medical students to gain more training on how to care for this population. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and analyze existing literature on educational content and methods of delivery in Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) curricula related to refugees. Approach: The authors conducted a scoping review. Our search was conducted in seven electronic bibliographic databases. The search strategy was restricted to English language and scholarly articles. Three members of the research team tabulated and summarized extracted data. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted to present findings. Findings: Of the 717 publications found, 24 met our inclusion criteria. The articles included in this review were published between 2003 and 2019. Thirteen (57.6%) were descriptive papers, three (11.5%) qualitative, four (15.3%) quantitative, and one (3.8%) mixed methods. Other publications included one commentary, one letter to the editor, and one review paper. Three main descriptive themes were identified: (1) Content related to refugees’ curriculum, (2) Teaching strategies, and (3) Learning outcomes. Insights: Studies included in our review suggest that delivering refugee health curricula to medical students improve self-perception of cross-cultural knowledge, communication, and physical exam skills that are necessary to deliver proper healthcare. Medical schools should focus on developing a longitudinal and standardized approach to teaching refugee health through the use of interactive and diverse learning methods while engaging with the community to ensure a better provision of health care for vulnerable populations.

Interculturality in Teacher Education in Times of Unprecedented Global Challenges

As societies face unprecedented challenges that are global in scope and “more-than-wicked” in nature, educators and educational policy makers emphasize the importance of deepening knowledge about the causes of these problems, creating policies to address them more efficiently, and offering more compelling moral arguments that might persuade people to change their convictions, and ‐ as a consequence ‐ their behaviour. These concerns shape how policies on the study of interculturality are approached in contemporary teacher education in our contexts in Canada and the UK. Our research, however, positions these as problems that cannot be solved with improved information, enhanced cross-cultural skills, or moral claims, because they are rooted in modernity’s systems, which structure the possibilities for co-existence on the planet. We see these problems as ontological challenges of being that emerge from a modernist ontology rooted in colonial violences. Our approach therefore explores an orientation to intercultural education which enables student teachers to expand their understanding of cultural and ecological relationships beyond existing frameworks of modernist knowledge, politics, and economic systems. In this paper, we share some of our current learning about the affordances and limitations of dominant approaches to intercultural education, and then explore how the method of “social cartography” can enable engagement with ontological problems in teacher education in a way that generates possibilities for imagining decolonial learning futures, beyond modernity.

The cross-cultural communications impact on increasing business profitability in digital technologies use

The main objective in this paper is to analyze the impact of cross-cultural communication on increasing business profitability. In order to do that, the research is based on three main concepts: cross-cultural skills, which are considered in our study one the most strategical tools for companies’ success, concerning both the profitability and the image of any company. Cross-cultural communication, as stated by the anthropologist Edward Hall in his book The Hidden Dimension. Hall is most associated with proxemics, the study of the human use of space within the context of culture. Bearing in mind Hall’s considerations, the paper emphasized the need and importance of cross-cultural education for employees, as long as the goal of the companies is to position themselves internationally. Intercultural communication. Hall’s ideas have also had a significant impact in communication theory, especially intercultural communication, where it inspired research on spatial perception that continues to this day. In the digital economy, there are different indicators for measuring the level of cross-cultural skills within a company: a financial indicator such as return on sales has an important role. Sales play a fundamental role in the activities of any company and they are causally related to the cross-cultural skills of employees and entrepreneurs concerning company’s management. Business management style as well as the type of cross-cultural communication existing in the company will determine the international position of any company. Communication and cross-cultural skills contribute to a positive image of the company, since these are skills pointing out at companies with multilingual staff, with personal and professional experience living and working in different countries, experts on using innovative technologies, characteristics which will strongly impact on final profitability results. The paper concludes focusing on the importance for all the international companies to invest in the concept of intercultural communication and cross-cultural skills as a way of behaving in business, since these skills will reward them with increasing ratios of business profitability in international markets.

Student learning venture overseas in the transnational research partnership – a Taiwan and US PIRE case study

PurposeTransnational learning has become a mainstream issue in recent years due to the rise of global education. There are many kinds of overseas learning, including degree-seeking, joint/double degree, student exchange, internship, service learning and so on. The scope of learning may involve research, teaching/learning and community service. The purpose of the case study is to investigate how the Taiwanese students participating in an international internship project of the US–Taiwan Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) acquire professional knowledge and soft skills, including cross-cultural awareness, interdisciplinary communication, skill development and social networking. It also explores how a joint research project contributes into a collaborative educational program.Design/methodology/approachTo better understand participants' experiences in the PRIE, this study held three focus groups and seven in-depth interviews on the students, faculty members and project managers for data collection.FindingsThree major findings are shown in the study. First, participants agreed that the overall learning experiences in knowledge acquisition or skill development have been positive. Second, participants obviously expressed their greater interests in intercultural interaction with the locals, which did not happen quite often during the internship. Third, the extent of interest in applying for the PIRE deg ree program after the internship program is escalating year by year.Research limitations/implicationsMore investigation into participants’ social and cultural engagement in similar project will be needed for future research.Practical implicationsThe results will be implicated into other cross-border education project evaluation.Originality/valueThis study manages to investigate the cross-border research initiative from different participants' perspectives and received comprehensive feedbacks.

Internalization of Student Cross-Cultural Skills

Global business and education involve crossing borders, and the truly important borders are the ones that signify changes in cultures. Such borders are often the same as political borders but can a...

“Those who can’t hear must feel”: Confronting racism, privilege, and self with pre-service teachers

ABSTRACT Teacher education courses on multicultural education, social justice, and international cross-cultural experiences have been used to increase pre-service teachers’ (PST) cross-cultural skills and awareness. Critical researchers have shown that without intentional facilitation and program design, PSTs hold onto (if not become more entrenched in) biases and stereotypes. Building on that literature, this article shares the author’s practices designed to help PSTs go “outside of [their] bubble” to actively engage with racism, privilege, and the self while participating in international programs. These practices emphasize the importance of emotional and uncomfortable experiences. The article shares the importance of learning about racism and privilege at home before travel, using multi-modal reflections and dialogue, and teacher educators and program leaders similarly engaging in critical self-reflection. Specific activities and stances are shared to encourage their implementation in other programs, as well as areas to improve how international programs engage PSTs in critical self-reflection.