Intercultural competences in Education: A critical research review and presentation of a research project

Author(s):

Agostino Portera(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

07. Social Justice and Intercultural Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

07 SES 10 B, Intercultural Education: Competences of Teachers

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-04

15:30-17:00

Room:

B005 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Sabine Krause

Contribution

In the present era of globalization, interdependence and multicultural societies there is a growing need for InterculturalCompetences (IC) at the cognitive, emotional and relational levels which endow teachers and counsellors with the ability to operate in linguistically and culturally complex contexts. However, despite the vast amount of international research and publications on the subject, the concept of “Intercultural Education” and the term “InterculturalCompetences” are often misunderstood and require more precise definition (Grant and Portera 2011). Both the concept of Intercultural Education (IE) – first coined in the US in the 1930s and then ‘reinvented’ in Europe in the 1980s – and the term IC – used since the 40s mainly in the military and business fields – are often popularly misunderstood and require more precise definition. Especially regarding the concept of IC, despite the vast international literature (mostly in English), there still remain many gaps and limitations: misunderstandings, different conceptions at the terminological, semantic and operative level, erroneous application in education and vocational training, and the imprecise, reductive, and often incorrect use of established measures of IC (see also Deadorf 2009).

The present contribution aims both to present and critically analyze previous research, in order to reflect about what we can learn for the present and the future and also to give further impulse to the discussion of Intercultural Competences. The presentation will be based on 1) a comprehensive review of the major achievements and limitations of educational research on Intercultural Competence; 2) a presentation of an extensive empirical study carried out between 2009 and 2013.

Method

The goal of the research project, carried out by the Centre for Intercultural Studies in Verona (Portera 2013a), was to develop a theoretical model of IC founded upon the existing literature and empirical data. The first phase consisted of a critical analysis of the literature regarding IC, the research methods and results. The conclusions drawn from the literature review were used to develop a grid of indicators to define IC. In the second phase, ‘privileged operator’ (practitioners with intercultural work experience) in the fields education, business, law, healthcare, and cultural mediation were consulted. The research method was based on a qualitative study, using focus groups (of about two hours and divided by sector) and semi-structured interviews about ‘critical incidents’ they had encountered and the ‘successes’ they had had (about 10-15 interviews for each field). In certain cases was also used the method of participant observation to study the operators on the job. Finally, the findings were then analyzed and discussed in additional focus groups.

Expected Outcomes

The study relies allows to develop a theoretical model of Intercultural Competences with implications at the practical-operative, methodological and vocational levels. The Research also intend to give impulses at methodological level for further researches in this field.

References

- Deadorf D.K., eds. 2009, The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. - Grant, C.A., and A. Portera, eds. 2011. Intercultural and multicultural education: enhancing global interconnectedness, New York: Routledge. - Portera, A., Intercultural Competences in Education. In print Intercultural Education, 4, 2014.

Author Information

Agostino Portera (presenting / submitting)

University of Verona

Education

Verona

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