1 What is Interculturality?
Learning Objectives
By the time you finish this chapter, you will be equipped to:
- Explain the components of intercultural competence.
- Define interculturality.
- Distinguish between intercultural competence and interculturality.
- Reflect on current intercultural strengths and areas for development.
What is Interculturality?
What does it mean to be a person who practices interculturality? This might be a new term, and so to begin, we need to explore what the term means.
Many resources on intercultural development, especially those developed in the 1980s and 1990s, talk about intercultural competence. Often, this term is used without a clear definition, making it difficult to understand what we are trying to achieve. Intercultural competence requires having a set of attitudes (like respect and openness to others), skills (like observation and listening), and behaviours (acting appropriately in different situations) (Deardorff, 2011). This is a helpful way of thinking about what we are trying to grow and develop.
Attitudes
· Respect (valuing other cultures)
· Openness (to new ideas and perspectives)
· Curiosity
· Tolerating ambiguity (moving ahead when things are unclear)
Skills
· Observing cultural practices in a new situation
· Active and deep listening
Knowledge
· Knowledge about differences in cultural values
· Knowledge of self and one’s own cultural values and biases
This set of knowledge, skills and attitudes is intended to change both who we are internally by helping us develop more flexible and open ways of dealing with difference in the world. It is also meant to have practical and observable outcomes in our ways of interacting with others and new intercultural situations.
While this framework helps us to understand what we might be trying to learn and develop, here are two problems with the idea of intercultural competence. The term seems to suggest that we can learn a set of skills, and then become competent, without a need to grow further. This ignores the reality that intercultural learning is lifelong, and that we never fully achieve mastery without a need to learn more. The second problem is that it suggests that intercultural development is only individual. That is, we can assess our own intercultural competence without thinking about how those who are relating to us feel about our interactions and behaviours (Tervalon & Murray-García, 1998).
For some of these reasons, the preferred term that developed in Europe is interculturality (Medina-López-Portillo & Sinnigen, 2009). Interculturality focuses more on relationships. This means that interculturality does not focus on gaining individual knowledge and skills, but on developing good ways of relating to those who are different from us. It also involves thinking about how historical and current injustices affect relationships between people who are different from us.
United Nations Definition of Interculturality
Interculturality is a dynamic concept and refers to evolving relations between cultural groups. It has been defined as “the existence and equitable interaction of diverse cultures and the possibility of generating shared cultural expressions through dialogue and mutual respect.” Interculturality presupposes multiculturalism and results from ‘intercultural’ exchange and dialogue on the local, regional, national or international level (UNESCO, 2006, p. 17)
Reflection Point
Take a minute to write down your personal definition of interculturality, based on what you know now. This definition will likely continue to develop and change. By keeping a record of where you are now, you will be able to trace your growth through this learning process.
Application: Student Intercultural Self-Development Guide
Intercultural development is a lifelong journey that shapes ways of thinking, emotional responses, ways of relating to others, and ways of advocating for change in the world. Intercultural growth occurs through participating in intercultural life experiences, reflecting on how these experiences shape us, and identifying steps for ongoing development.
This self-assessment includes reflection questions in five intercultural domains. Honestly reflect on your current level of development. This process will help you to identify strengths that support you in effective cross-cultural relationships and to set intentions for ongoing development.
Student Intercultural Self-Development Guide | Word Document
| Not like me at all | Not often like me | A little bit like me | Very much like me | |
| Affective (attitudes and emotions that support interculturality)
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| I am curious about other people, other contexts, and other ways of seeing the world. | ||||
| I am open-minded when I explore new situations. | ||||
| I can withhold judgement when I encounter a situation I do not fully understand. | ||||
| Cognitive (ways of thinking interculturally)
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| I am a lifelong intercultural learner | ||||
| I avoid stereotypes when describing the cultural identities and values of others | ||||
| I can identify multiple culturally-influenced points of view on an issue | ||||
| I can tolerate ambiguous situations where the right action/answer is not immediately clear | ||||
| Intrapersonal (internal intercultural development)
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| I can identify the factors that contribute to my identity(ies) | ||||
| I can identify my strengths, weaknesses, and limitations | ||||
| I engage in regular self-reflection to support my ongoing journey of growth, change, and development. | ||||
| I can recover from setbacks and mistakes in intercultural relationships, continuing to actively engage with others. | ||||
| Relational (intercultural development expressed in relating)
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| I can develop relationships with others from a different cultural background than my own. | ||||
| I can adjust my communication style when interacting across a linguistic difference. | ||||
| I can adjust my way of relating to demonstrate sensitivity for someone else’s cultural preferences. | ||||
| I can express empathy in an intercultural situation. | ||||
| I can relate to others from a place of equality, working to eliminate any power imbalances in the relationship. | ||||
| Social (intercultural understanding that supports equity and justice)
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| I am aware of how my identities influence relationships in my own and in other cultures. | ||||
| I am able to challenge discriminatory ideas. | ||||
| I am able to identify actions to take when I observe a social injustice. | ||||
| I am able to support other communities’ efforts towards equity. |
Page (2021) Informed by: (Deardorff, 2006; Foronda et al., 2016; King & Baxter Magolda, 2005)
Chapter References
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
Deardorff, D. K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2011(149), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.381
Foronda, C., Baptiste, D.-L., Reinholdt, M. M., & Ousman, K. (2016). Cultural humility: A concept analysis. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 27(3), 210–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659615592677
King, P. M., & Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2005). A developmental model of intercultural maturity. Journal of College Student Development, 46(6), 571–592. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2005.0060
Medina-López-Portillo, A., & Sinnigen, J. H. (2009). Interculturality versus intercultural competencies in Latin America. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 249–263). SAGE.
Tervalon, M., & Murray-García, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2010.0233
UNESCO. (2006). UNESCO guidelines on intercultural education. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000147878
