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Innovations in transport and information communication technology have led to an ever expanding global perspective and playing field, for both business and citizens. Educational institutes play an important role in preparing students for this new reality. One way of doing this is for students to engage in educational travel experiences. Indeed, over the past two decades increasing numbers of students participated in study abroad programs, study tours, international internships and relatively new short-term programs such as international research projects. Yet, at the same time, globalization seems to have reduced some of the traditional benefits of educational travel, as the challenge of adapting to a different cultural environment has become easier than it has been in the past. Equally, there is a need to reconsider the competencies that educational travel should develop, as there is a noticeable shift towards pointing out the professional relevance of these experiences. The aim of this research is to work towards a competence framework and investigate how the learning of competencies is related to overcoming cultural distance. Based on these findings, implications for learning programs are formulated.
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1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3. Research method
4. Findings
5. Theoretical and practical implications
Content
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Towards an international perspective
Opportunities
1) International business
2) Discover new ways of living
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Ontological insecurity
1) International value chains, global reorganizations, interdependent markets.
2) Global power is shifting from West to East. Cultural differences increase the chance of conflicts in international business and politics.
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Higher Education and Internationalization
Educational travel: • Study abroad • International internship • Study tour • International research project.
It is unclear what competencies should be learned.
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Research objectives
1) Which competencies are developed?
2) How does cultural distance influence the learning of competencies?
3) What are the practical implications for learning programs?
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Relevance
1) Education: Increase effectiveness and efficiëncy of the learning experience.
2) Students: Articulate learning experience towards recruiters.
3) Business: More students with international work experience.
4) Government: Prepare students for an uncertain and international society.
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Research method
Literature study 1) Educational travel 2) Expatriates 3) Management skills 4) Learning Empirical research 1) 967 questionnaires among international interns
2) 116 evaluation reports of participants in the ‘International
Research Project’
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Findings competence framework
1) Cross-cultural competencies
2) Management competencies
3) Personal development
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Cross-cultural competencies
Relationship Foreign language proficiency Factual cultural knowledge
Relationship efficacy
Perceptual Conceptual cultural knowledge Contextual cultural knowledge
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Management competencies
Technical knowledge Quantitative skills
Functional knowledge International business
knowledge
Intrapersonal Problem solving skills
Interpersonal Collaboration
Communication
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Personal development
Independence
Flexibility
Self awareness Expanded view of the self
Self-assurance
Expanded worldview Perceptual questioning skills Awareness of the state of the
world
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Cultural distance
Huntington, S. P. (1993). The clash of civilizations. Foreign Affairs 72(3): 22-49.
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Theoretical implications
My research confirms that: 1. Students learn a significant amount of competencies during
educational travel experiences.
2. The learning process is hampered by: • Spending too little time abroad. • Staying in an ‘expat bubble’. • Poor quality of employment.
3. A support structure would help students to gain more from their international experience.
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
Implications for learning programs
The importance of reflective learning: 1) Assess the progress made in competence learning.
2) To understand initially vague concepts such as underlying cultural values.
3) Realistically assess the learning process.
E. van 't Klooster www.getupandgo.nl
For more information: Erik van ‘t Klooster Puntegaalstraat 45 3024 EB Rotterdam The Netherlands Telephone: +316-54386822 Email: [email protected] Website: www.getupandgo.nl