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Strategies to embed intercultural competence as a soft skill in university curriculum

Sidek, Safiah and Soejatminah, Sri 2010, Strategies to embed intercultural competence as a soft skill in university curriculum, in TARC 2010 : The proceedings of the TARC International Conference on Learning and Teaching : Emerging Trends in Higher Education Learning and Teaching, Tunku Abdul Rahman College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pp. 39-46.

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Title Strategies to embed intercultural competence as a soft skill in university curriculum
Author(s) Sidek, Safiah
Soejatminah, Sri
Conference name International Conference on Learning and Teaching (2010 : Petaling Jaya, Malaysia)
Conference location Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Conference dates 18 - 19 Oct. 2010
Title of proceedings TARC 2010 : The proceedings of the TARC International Conference on Learning and Teaching : Emerging Trends in Higher Education Learning and Teaching
Editor(s) [unknown]
Publication date 2010
Conference series TARC International Conference on Learning and Teaching
Start page 39
End page 46
Total pages xxi, 443 p.
Publisher Tunku Abdul Rahman College
Place of publication Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Keyword(s) Intercultural competence (IC)
Soft skill
University curriculum
Outcome-based
International experience
Summary Intercultural competence (IC) has become significantly important as we interact and function in the global workplace and multicultural societies. To be effective in operating within a diverse multicultural society, understanding, negotiating and managing the differences is crucial. Additionally, the rich diversity should be celebrated in order to have a safe, sustainable and harmony global community. Specifically, internationalization in higher education has led to a significant increase in the importance of IC for students and staff. For international students, “learning shock” and different expectations of teaching styles require them to develop IC in order to be able to interact and facilitate their learning in different cultures. For local students, the increasing numbers of international students and new immigrant students result in the necessity to develop IC. For educators, IC enables them to be responsive to the diverse multicultural student body in order to deliver quality teaching and learning.
In this paper, based on the literature review, we attempt to suggest ways to embed intercultural competence as the soft skill in the university curriculum. Two complementary strategies will be discussed. The first approach focuses on embedding IC in the university curriculum. Considering IC is an abstract skill and difficult to measure, an outcome-based approach will be proposed to map students’ development of IC. The second is through international experience program that provides cross-cultural experience for students. This strategy describes how teaching practicum in other culture appears to be compatible with the principles to develop intercultural competence.
ISBN 9789670115009
Language eng
Field of Research 130299 Curriculum and Pedagogy not elsewhere classified
130103 Higher Education
Socio Economic Objective 930399 Curriculum not elsewhere classified
HERDC Research category E1 Full written paper - refereed
Copyright notice ©2010, Tunku Abdul Rahman College
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30035276

Document type: Conference Paper
Collection: School of Education
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