Darla K. Deardorff

Identification and Assessment of Intercultural Competence as a Student Outcome of Internationalization.

This study seeks to determine a definition and appropriate assessment methods of inter-cultural competence as agreed on by a panel of internationally known intercultural scholars. This information is validated by a sample of higher education administrators and can be used by administrators in identifying and assessing intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization efforts. Conclusions made from this study include identified elements of intercultural competence and assessment methods on which both the intercultural scholars and administrators agreed, resulting in the first study to document consensus on intercultural competence. Both groups agree that it is possible to assess degrees of intercultural competence and in so doing, that it is best to use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to assess intercultural competence, including interviews, observation, and judgment by self and others. Two models of inter-cultural competence are presented based on the findings of the study.

Enhancing International Research and Development-Project Activity on University Campuses: Insights from U.S. Senior International Officers.

In the interconnected world of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the ability of higher-education institutions to contribute to and benefit from international research undertakings, sustainable-development-project activity, and capacity-building endeavors requires transnational involvement. While the potential benefits are many, universities in the global North face institutional and financial constraints that limit their involvement in cross-border ventures. The article explores and places in comparative perspective the views of 40 U.S. senior international officers (SIOs) on changes they believe would enhance their university’s involvement in international research and overseas development-assistance projects. One important objective of this report is to generate awareness and further discussion regarding ways in which higher-education administrators can promote institutional involvement in international research and development projects. While a majority of the SIOs at non-Ph.D.-conferring institutions and at universities with enrollments of 15,000 and less believe that improvement in some dimension of their external environment would be most helpful in encouraging greater involvement in international research and development-project activity on their campus, three-fourths or more of their counterparts at Ph.D.-conferring institutions and at universities with enrollments that exceed 15,000 students identified an internal change as most needed. Viewed in totality, these exploratory findings suggest the need for diversified and long-term additionality in both internal and external financial support for campus-based international research, development-project, and capacity-building initiatives. Additional campus-based and external support will enable planned international research and development initiatives in less-connected regions of the world, such as Africa, to go forward.

The BIG Picture: Reflections on the Role of International Educational Exchange in Peace and Understanding

This chapter begins by outlining five prevailing myths that tend to surround the practice of education exchange. It goes on to argue that the main implication of these myths is that for any organization involved in international educational exchange, intentionality in preparing, sending and debriefing participants from such experiences is the key to success. The chapter sets forth three value propositions that should inform international educational exchange at its very core, and concludes by looking at the bigger picture of the role of educational exchange in promoting peace and international understanding.

Theories of Cultural and Educational Exchange, Intercultural Competence, Conflict Resolution, and Peace Education

How do cultural and educational exchanges affect relations between the populations of rival states and societies? Before this question can be answered, it is important to step back and explore foundational theories that contribute to a deeper understanding of the complexities of issues underlying such exchanges. As the issue of cultural and educational exchanges in rival states is an inherently interdisciplinary one, theoretical understandings of the topic from a diversity of academic fields can be employed as frameworks for analysis, as demonstrated in the chapters in this volume. This chapter highlights some of the major theoretical frameworks that underpin cultural and educational exchanges, including those in intercultural competence and other intercultural development theories, conflict resolution, and peace education. As demonstrated by chapters in this volume, no single framework can adequately describe the complex processes involved in bringing resolution to rivalries between states and societies, and more context-specific and holistic understandings of the embedded issues can lead to a greater potential for encouraging effective cultural and educational exchange programs. While it is not possible for this chapter to cover all the relevant theories needed to inform these complex processes, the theories briefly explored here, from different disciplinary perspectives, provide a more holistic, systems view that can be applied to the intricate issues inherent in cultural and educational exchanges in rival states.

Outcomes Assessment in International Education

Due to the growing trend in higher education accountability, many postsecondary institutions are now measuring student learning outcomes, including ones related to global or intercultural learning (de Wit, 2009; Deardorff & van Gaalen, 2012; Green, 2012; Egron-Polak & Hudson, 2014). However, a closer look is required at those assessment efforts which, although growing in popularity, are not always designed well, executed effectively, or leveraged to maximum effect.