Intercultural Competence, A Necessity in 21st Century Classrooms: Are Teacher Educators in Tanzania Interculturally Competent?
Abstract
Recently, teacher educators have been required to possess strong academic credentials and intercultural competencies to teach successfully. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the extent to which teacher educators possess the skills of intercultural competence. Also, the study examines the factors that influence the intercultural competence of teacher educators. A sample of 300 teacher educators selected from two Tanzanian university colleges is used. The results indicate that teacher educators had higher mean scores in the dimensions of attitude, external outcomes, internal outcomes, and skills but significantly lower mean scores in the dimension of knowledge. Furthermore, factors such as living abroad, duration of staying abroad, level of education, academics' teaching experience, and the faculty from where the academics come are significantly related to at least one dimension of intercultural competence. For instance, academics' level of education is significantly related to the attitude, knowledge, and skills dimensions of intercultural competence. Therefore, the results have far-reaching implications for policy and future research.
Downloads
References
Behrnd, V., & Porzelt, S. (2012). Intercultural competence and training outcomes of students with experiences abroad. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36(2), 213–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2011.04.005
Chen, G. M., & Starosta, W. J. (1996). Intercultural communication competence: A synthesis. Communication Yearbook, 19(1), 353–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.1996.11678935
Chi, R., & Suthers, D. (2015). Assessing intercultural communication competence as a relational construct using social network analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 108–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.011
Costello, J. (2015). Students' stories of studying abroad: Reflections upon return. Journal of International Students, 5(1), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v5i1.442
Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241–266. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306287002
Duvivier, R. (2017). Effects of study abroad on graduate student dispositions, knowledge and skills. College Student Affairs Journal, 35(2), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1353/csj.2017.0010
Feng, J. B. (2016). Improving intercultural competence in the classroom: A reflective development model. Journal of Teaching in International Business, 27(1), 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/08975930.2016.1172540
Garrote, M. (2016). Intercultural competence in teaching: Defining the intercultural profile of student teachers. Bellaterra Journal of Teaching & Learning & Literature, 9(4), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/jtl3.670
Garson, K. (2016). Reframing internationalization. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 46(2), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.47678/cjhe.v46i2.185272
Gong, Y., Hu, X., & Lai, C. (2018). Chinese as a second language teachers' cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence. System, 78, 224–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.09.009
Hett, G., & Hett, J. (2013). Education ethics in intercultural research: Reflections on the challenges of conducting field research in a Syrian context. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International, 43(4), 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2013.797753
Holland, C. K. (2013). Classroom intercultural competence in teacher education students, interns, and alumni. University of North Florida.
Holmes, P., & O'Neill, G. (2012). Developing and evaluating intercultural competence: Ethnographies of intercultural encounters. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36(5), 707–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2012.04.010
Hudelson, P., Perron, N., & Perneger, T. (2011). Self-assessment of intercultural communication skills: A survey of physicians and medical students in Geneva, Switzerland. BMC Medical Education, 11(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-11-63
Jackson, J. (2015). Becoming interculturally competent: Theory to practice in international education. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 91–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.012
Kealey, D. J. (2015). Some strengths and weaknesses of 25 years of research on intercultural communication competence: Personal reflections. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 14–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.005
Lieberman, D. A., & Gamst, G. (2015). Intercultural communication competence revisited: Linking the intercultural and multicultural fields. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 17–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.007
Maharaja, G. (2018). The impact of study abroad on college students' intercultural competence and personal development. International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta, 7(2), 18–41. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2019.9.4.6
Messner, W. (2015). Measuring existent intercultural effectiveness in global teams. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 8(1), 107–132. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-05-2014-0044
Miller, J. W., & Tucker, J. S. (2015). Addressing and assessing critical thinking in intercultural contexts: Investigating the distance learning outcomes of military leaders. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 120–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.07.002
Morley, L., & Lugg, R. (2009). Mapping meritocracy: Intersecting gender, poverty and higher educational opportunity structures. Higher Education Policy, 22(1), 37–60. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/hep.2008.26
Nadeem, U. M., Mohammed, R., & Dalib, S. (2020). Retesting integrated model of intercultural communication competence (IMICC) on international students from the Asian context of Malaysia. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 74, 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.10.005
Nair-Venugopal, S. (2015). Issues of language and competence in intercultural business contexts. Language and Intercultural Communication, 15(1), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2014.985304
Odağ, Ö., Wallin, H. R., & Kedzior, K. K. (2016). Definition of intercultural competence according to undergraduate students at an international university in Germany. Journal of Studies in International Education, 20(2), 118–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315315587105
Peng, H., Lu, W., & Wang, C. (2009). A framework for assessing high school students' intercultural communicative competence in a computer-mediated language learning project. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 20(1), 95–116. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ826784
Peng, R., & Wu, W. (2016). Measuring intercultural contact and its effects on intercultural competence: A structural equation modeling approach. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 53, 16–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2016.05.003
Polat, S., & Barka, T. O. (2014). Preservice teachers' intercultural competence: A comparative study of teachers in Switzerland and Turkey. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 14(54), 19–38. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/59884#page=21
Portera, A. (2020). Intercultural competence in education to foster European identity. Journal of Educational Sciences, 40(2), 14–27. https://doi.org/10.35923/jes.2019.2.02
Portera, A., & Milani, M. (2021). Intercultural education and competences at school. Results of an exploratory study in Italy. Profesorado, 25(3), 49–67. https://doi.org/10.30827/PROFESORADO.V25I3.21527
Presbitero, A., & Attar, H. (2018). Intercultural communication effectiveness, cultural intelligence and knowledge sharing: Extending anxiety-uncertainty management theory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 67, 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2018.08.004
Rathje, S. (2007). Intercultural competence: The status and future of a controversial concept. Language and Intercultural Communication, 7(4), 254–266. https://doi.org/10.2167/laic285.0
Salisbury, M. H., An, B. P., & Pascarella, E. T. (2013). The effect of study abroad on intercultural competence among undergraduate college students. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 50(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1515/jsarp-2013-0001
Scarino, A. (2009). Assessing intercultural capability in learning languages: Some issues and considerations. Language Teaching, 42(1), 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444808005417
Shamim, F., & Qureshi, R. (2013). Informed consent in educational research in the South: Tensions and accommodations. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 43(4), 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2013.797729
Streitwieser, B. T., & Light, G. J. (2018). Student conceptions of international experience in the study abroad context. Higher Education, 75(3), 471–487. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734- 017-0150-0#
Tingting, Y. (2014). Diploma serves diplomacy: China's "donor logic" in educational aid. China: An International Journal, 12(2), 87–109. http://muse.jhu.edu/article/553150
Trede, F., Bowles, W., & Bridges, D. (2013). Developing intercultural competence and global citizenship through international experiences: Academics' perceptions. Intercultural Education, 24(5), 442–455. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2013.825578
Vižintin, M. A. (2018). Developing intercultural education. Dve Domovini, 47, 89–106. https://doi.org/10.3986/dd.2018.1.06
Vižintin, M. A. (2022). The role of teachers in the successful integration and intercultural education of migrant children. Cambridge Scholars. https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-8780-9
Vögtle, E. M., & Windzio, M. (2023). Does academic freedom matter for global student mobility? Results from longitudinal network data 2009–2017. Higher Education, 87, 433–452. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01015-x
Wang, Y., & Kulich, S. J. (2015). Does context count? Developing and assessing intercultural competence through an interview- and model-based domestic course design in China. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 48, 38–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.013
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitted article, which will be published online in the Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal (for short: CEPS Journal) by University of Ljubljana Press (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Kardeljeva ploščad 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). The Author’s/Authors’ name(s) will be evident in the article in the journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in the hands of the publisher.
- The Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit themselves to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
