Abstract
Intercultural competencies and the digital platform is intwined in the fabric of teaching, learning, and assessments for student success in higher education. These are integral to virtual learning and exchange within higher education that are expected to develop these competencies. However this is not always the case because these are not always explicitly integrated into the academic agenda. Universities in South Africa are regionally and globally engaged through collaborative research, international students and exchange programmes but it is not enough to have these students engage on a specific topic, expect them to develop intercultural competencies. The development of intercultural competencies must go beyond academic engagements, integrating social justice issues into developing cultural competency that will enable students to develop their intercultural competencies. This model adopts an intersectional perspective which recognizes that social identities interact to shape people’s sense of themselves and their experiences. If activities and skills to improve students’ intercultural competencies are not purposefully infused into the face to face and digital learning platforms, then developing these competencies and expected outcomes will not be achieved. This research is aimed at assessing whether the integration of these competencies as a teaching and engagement strategy to deliberately infuse intercultural activities into the digital platform, contributes to the development of intercultural competencies in students at universities’ in South Africa. The findings are relevant for higher education academics and internationalisation practitioners interested development of students’ intercultural competencies.
Presenters
Naziema Begum JappieDirector, Center for Educational Assessments, University of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Learner Diversity and Identities
KEYWORDS
Digitally enabled, Diversity, Higher education, Intercultural competencies, Internationalisation
