The Global People competency framework: competencies for effective intercultural interaction

This Competency Framework explains the competencies that are needed for effective intercultural interaction. In contrast to the Life Cycle Model for Intercultural Partnerships (see the Global People Toolbook) which presents the competencies by stage (i.e. key competencies are identified for each stage of a project life cycle), the Competency Framework presents them by clusters. Intercultural competencies can be grouped into four interrelated clusters, according to the aspect of competence they affect or relate to: - Knowledge and ideas - Communication - Relationships - Personal qualities and dispositions We overview these four clusters in Section 2. In Sections 3 – 6, for each competency cluster, we list the key component competencies, along with descriptive explanations of each of them. We also provide case study examples from the eChina-UK Programme to illustrate one or more of the following: - How the competency manifests itself; - Why the competency is important or is needed; - How the competency can be displayed in behaviour; - What problems may occur when the competency is not present. The Competency Framework is thus useful for those who wish to gain a systematic, in-depth understanding of intercultural effectiveness and the competencies need to achieve it

Sino-British interaction in professional contexts

This paper consists of two main sections. Section 2 provides a brief overview of and background to basic aspects of communication in a Chinese context. It provides some introductory information on the Chinese language, on naming patterns and on forms of address in the Chinese culture. It thus helps the reader gain some useful background information on Chinese communication, some of which applies to the interactional differences addressed in Section 3. The second section forms the largest part of the paper and discusses issues that members of the eChina-UK Programme (http://www.echinauk.org/) found particularly salient. It draws on case study examples, including recordings of project meetings, in order to exemplify communication issues that can impact on mutual understanding. We hope that these materials will help people with little experience of interacting with members of the Chinese culture to grasp some of the communication differences they may encounter. However, we strongly encourage the reader to refrain from forming immutable expectations of what communication with Chinese partners will be like. Rather, our aim is to increase sensitivity to the Chinese context and to raise awareness of the differences in interactional norms and principles that people may experience

The Global People landscaping study: intercultural effectiveness in global education partnerships

The Context The Higher Education sector in the UK is experiencing a period of rapid and competitive internationalisation. The market for higher education, at undergraduate and post graduate levels, is now truly global: many potential students can make choices about study destinations between an enormous range of institutions in any of the five continents. The audience for research is also global, with a proliferation of domestic and international journals, a multitude of international conferences in every discipline and widely disseminated international indices, ranking universities in terms of their publication and teaching performance. In particular, the recent growth of the major Asian economies has re-shaped the profile of many UK universities both in the composition of their student bodies and also in the number, nature and importance of their overseas partnerships. This Study It is within this context that the Global People project has been established, with the objective of providing knowledge and resources that will support those in the UK Higher Education sector who work, or wish to work, in international collaborations. Phases 1 and 2 of the eChina Programme (see Section1, Introduction) generated a great deal of learning about managing international education projects and Phase 3 of the Programme, the Global People project, was instigated with the aim of capturing this emergent knowledge for the benefit of others. This current report is a Landscaping Study that argues for the value of developing intercultural competence in order to better understand, create and manage productive and enjoyable partnerships with educational institutions outside the UK. Our arguments are supported by data from a wide range of research in disciplines as diverse as applied linguistics and international management. Key Findings a) The need for cultural awareness and sensitivity to diversity has been well established from studies in a range of disciplines. The high risks of mishandling intercultural interaction have prompted the development of a substantial literature both on perceived cultural differences and on the competencies that might be acquired to deal with this challenge. Although this concern has been driven by the financial requirements of international business, the internationalisation of Higher Education has imposed similar requirements on universities engaging in international collaboration. The challenge for academics and project managers is, within limited resources, to develop effective ways of identifying and acquiring the competencies needed to be interculturally effective. b) Interest in the cultural values of Chinese society has never been higher as global interaction with China, through business, government, education and science expands exponentially. There is a real danger in generalising about any nation’s cultural values and especially one where society and economy are changing so rapidly. However, the recent literature on China – from a number of disciplinary perspectives – argues that the influence of traditional Confucian values on Chinese behaviour is still strong. This means that values such as propriety, trustworthiness and the desire for harmony are still reflected in behaviour that is more relationship-based, restrained and consensual than may be normal in Western business relations. Working with Chinese partners will still be facilitated by an understanding of the centrality of social networks to Chinese private and public life and interaction in working teams will benefit from an appreciation of the Chinese respect for hierarchy and reluctance to pass judgement openly on colleagues. c) The majority of the work done on the impact of culture on e-learning has focused on issues of content and materials design. Too frequently this has been a concern for adaptation of existing materials for a local audience, rather than collaborative development of new materials by an intercultural team. As a consequence, there is limited insight into the complexities of designing and delivering learning programmes in different cultural contexts. What the research does show is that learning styles and preferences can vary between cultures and that this is related to the varying pedagogies dominant in particular national cultures. Understanding the implications of this diversity of pedagogies and reconciling cultural differences remain substantial challenges for those adapting or designing online learning programmes across a variety of cultures. d) Research into the performance of international teams offers many insights into good management practice. Principles of team selection, development, leadership and collaboration are well-established in the literature on global management and multinational partnerships. These principles recognise the importance of organisational culture, occupational culture and team roles as additional dimensions to that of national culture in influencing behaviour in project groups. International collaborations are viewed as complex dynamic systems which move through a life cycle, with valuable opportunities for reflection, learning and performance improvement. The implementation of transparent, and mutually agreed, norms, procedures and objectives is regarded as crucial to effective collaboration. e) At the level of the individual, an extensive literature exists on the competencies required to be effective in intercultural interaction. There is an apparently high degree of consensus on the core competencies that should be acquired by the culturally effective individual. Chief among these are self-awareness, cultural knowledge, language proficiency, openness, flexibility and communication skills. However, in many cases there is, at best, limited data to support the theories put forward. There is also a lack of clarity in the use of terminology, with no guarantee that researchers are using terms in the same way. The more detailed, applied research has succeeded in teasing out the knowledge and skills that may be critical in successful interaction by further breaking down broad competencies (e.g. ‘openness’) into more detailed behaviours (‘openness to new thinking; positive acceptance of different behaviour). A Way Forward A major obstacle to accessing and utilising the current knowledge and guidance on intercultural effectiveness is its dispersion across a large number of disciplines and the consequent disparity of the conceptual models and terminology employed. A framework for understanding intercultural effectiveness in international projects has a very high potential value to a wide range of professionals engaged in cross-cultural collaboration. There is substantial learning to be gained from the insights of different research disciplines but these insights need to be brought together in a way that practitioners from any field can access them without specialist knowledge. These ambitions have materialised in the form of the Toolbook, which is specifically designed to be used as a self-explanatory guide, complete with tools to stimulate awareness-raising and to encourage reflection on available resources and current practices

The Global People toolbook: managing the life cycle of intercultural partnerships

This Toolbook has been designed for those who are planning and running international projects and who feel a need for guidance. It has its origins in a major educational project, the eChina-UK Programme, that created new collaborations between UK and Chinese Higher Education Institutions around the development of e-learning materials. The rich intercultural learning that emerged from that programme prompted the development of a new and evidence-based set of resources for other individuals and institutions undertaking international collaborative projects. Although the main focus of the work is on intercultural effectiveness in international contexts, we believe that many of the resources have a more general value and are useful for those planning collaboration in any situation of diversity – national, regional, sectoral or institutional

Das Vermitteln von Kinderliedern in der Schule als Kulturbestandteil und musikdidaktische Kernaufgabe

Dieser Text thematisiert den theoretischen Hintergrund von aktueller Forschung zum Wesen und zur Entstehung der Kompetenz, Lieder im Kindergarten und in der Primarschule zu vermitteln. Das Lehren und der Erwerb von Liedern in der Bildung werden aus anthropologischer und strukturgenetischer Sicht begründet. Dabei erweisen sich die intergenerationelle Tradierung von Liedern, die humanspezifische vokale Lernfähigkeit und der generative Systemcharakter von Sprache und Musik als kulturpsychologische Konstanten. Jedes Kinderlied – die elementare sprach-musikalische Form – exemplifiziert die Anwendung einer Grammatik, die diesem Genre zugrunde liegt. Grammatik als expliziertes Regelwerk erlaubt es, wohlgeformte Lieder zu bilden und sie ästhetisch zu beurteilen. Zugleich vermitteln Kinderlieder Gefühle, die sozial geteilt und erinnert werden. Die Liedvermittlung im Kontext von formellem Klassengesang versteht sich folglich als komplexe Kulturpraxis und als musikdidaktische Kernaufgabe

Schulten, Maria Luise & Lothwesen, Kai Stefan (Hrsg.) (2017). Methoden empirischer Forschung in der Musikpädagogik. Eine anwendungsbezogene Einführung.

Rezensio

Tradierung von Kultur am Beispiel des Singens

Lieder-Singen ist eine besondere Form von soziokultureller Handlung, bei welcher Kinder schon im 2. Lebensjahr aktiv teilnehmen und durch welche sie in die sprachmusikalischen Konventionen einer Kultur eingeführt werden. Wie entwickelt sich das (Lieder-)Singen? Was verändert sich im Verlaufe der Kindheit? Um diese Prozesse zu rekonstruieren, hat die Autorin einerseits eine mikrogenetische Methode entwickelt, die erlaubt, computerunterstützt kindliches Singen trotz Normabweichungen zuverlässig zu analysieren und differenziert darzustellen. Andererseits hat sie bisherige Erkenntnisse über den Entwicklungsverlauf zu einer Entwicklungssequenz zusammengefaßt. Diese Entwicklungssequenz und die theoretischen Prinzipien werden vorgestellt, und die Art und Weise der Beschreibung der empirischen Phänomene wird an einem Beispiel veranschaulicht. (DIPF/Orig.

Song Transmission as a Formal Cultural Practice

From a biological point of view, the singing of songs is based on the human vocal learning capacity. It is universally widespread in all cultures. The transmission of songs is an elementary cultural practice, by which members of the older generations introduce both musico-linguistic rules and affect-regulative means to the younger ones. Traditionally, informal singing in familiar settings primarily subserves affect-regulation goals, whereas formal song transmission is embedded in various normative claims and interests, such as preserving cultural heritage and representing collective and national identity. Songs are vocal acts and abstract models that are densely structured and conform to cultural rules. Songs mirror each generations’ wishes, desires, values, hopes, humor, and stories and rest on unfathomable traditions of our cultural and human history. Framed in the emerging scientific field of didactics, I argue that research on formal song transmission needs to make explicit the norms and rules that govern the relationships between song, teacher, and pupils. I investigate these three didactic components, first, by conceptualizing song as rule-governed in terms of a grammar, with songs for children representing the most elementary musico-linguistic genre. The Children’s Song Grammar presented here is based on syllables as elements and on syntactic rules concerning timing, tonality, and poetic language. It makes it possible to examine and evaluate songs in terms of correctness and well-formedness. Second, the pupils’ learning of a target song is exemplified by an acoustical micro-genetic study that shows how vocalization is gradually adapted to the song model. Third, I address the teachers’ role in song transmission with normative accounts and provide exemplary insights into how we study song teaching empirically. With each new song, a teacher teaches the musico-linguistic rules that constitute the respective genre and conveys related cultural feelings. Formal teaching includes self-evaluation and judgments with respect to educational duties and aesthetic norms. This study of the three-fold didactic process shows song transmission as experiencing shared rule-following that induces feelings of well-formedness. I argue that making the inherent normativity of this process more explicit – here systematically at a descriptive and conceptual level – enhances the scientificity of this research domain

Zur Konstitution der Fachdidaktiken als Wissenschaft

Woran kann sich eine Verwissenschaftlichung der fachdidaktischen Praxis orientieren? Wir beantworten diese Frage, indem wir die Theorie der Systematizität vorstellen und Fachdidaktiken in diesem Rahmen als Wissenschaft skizzenhaft konzeptualisieren. Als erstes charakterisieren wir Spezifika der Fachdidaktiken. Dabei zeichnen sich bereits ei- nige der neun Dimensionen der Systematizitätstheorie ab, die wir anschliessend auflisten und eine davon – das Beschreiben – für die Fachdidaktiken näher ausführen. Schliesslich thematisieren wir die Ziele und normativen Bezüge der Fachdidaktiken, welche bei der Beschreibung und Beurteilung von didaktischen Prozessen unabdingbar sind und in ihrer Tragweite hier nur angedeutet werden können