Developing intercultural competences through participatory strategies: a multiple case study

ABSTRACT

The training of professionals for a global world remains a challenge for Higher Education. From an intercultural educational approach, this study describes and analyses two educational proposals in Italy and Spain, which have helped to develop students’ intercultural competences, thanks to a teaching framework based on participatory strategies. A multiple case study with a qualitative approach is elaborated to analyse the data on the situation in order to describe and recognise the relevance of examining participation, collaborative culture and social transformation in two Master’s Degrees. Findings show that the synergy between participatory strategies and intercultural competences enhances dialogue and renegotiation of meanings, reconceptualisation of diversity, critical thinking and agency for change. The conclusions point to the need to generate collaborative networks to further mobilise the knowledge generated in training for intercultural professionals.

KEYWORDS:

• Intercultural education
• intercultural competences
• participatory strategies
• case study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the MINISTERIO DE ECONOMÍA Y COMPETITIVIDAD and European Regional Development Fund under Grant EDU2013-46491-R and EDU2015-68004-R. The authors collegially contributed to the preparation of the paper; however, Agostino Portera wrote paragraph 1; Marta Milani is the author of the introduction, the paragraphs 2 and 3 (only for the introduction and section A) and Auxiliadora Sales paragraph 3 (section B), methods, results and conclusion.

Notes on contributors

Auxiliadora Sales

Auxiliadora Sales is a Professor of Intercultural Education in the Department of Pedagogy, at Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain). The focus of her research is on inclusive intercultural education, teacher training, action research and school change. She is part of the research group MEICRI (Educational Improvement and Critical Citizenship). She is the main researcher in projects on the construction of inclusive intercultural schools and communities through citizen participation.

Website: https://www.uji.es/departaments/com/base/estructura/personal/?p_departamento=84&p_profesor=65534

Agostino Portera

Agostino Portera is a Professor of Intercultural Education and Head of the Centre for Intercultural Studies at the University of Verona; Director of the Master’s programme, Intercultural Competences and Management. He has published twelve books and several articles on intercultural education and competences. Latest book: Education and Intercultural Identity (with Z. BAUMAN), Routledge, London, 2021.

Website: https://www.dsu.univr.it/?ent=persona&id=449

Marta Milani

Marta Milani is a Marta Milani hold a PhD in Education and Lifelong Learning. She is a Senior (Tenure Track) Assistant Professor at the University of Verona (Italy), where she is involved in research and educational consulting at the Centre for Intercultural Studies. Her research interests include intercultural education, especially the development of intercultural competence at school, as well as on cooperative learning as a method to foster inclusion at school.

Website: https://www.dsu.univr.it/?ent=persona&id=8216