From Classroom to Boardroom and Ward

Abstract

A strategic approach to internationalize learning in higher education institutions is to use the curriculum and classroom cultural diversity to create opportunities to broaden students' intercultural perspectives, appreciate sociocultural variability in professional practice, and improve their intercultural interaction skills. There is no clear consensus, however, on how to "link the global classroom to the global workplace." The article examines an evidence-based approach to embed intercultural competency development in classroom teaching using an established intercultural resource (EXCELL) in an international human resource management course; a general communication course; a pharmacy course comprising only Saudi Arabian students; and a generic first year pharmacy course. Subsequently, stakeholder analyses with Business, Nursing, and Pharmacy academics and professionals led to the development of intercultural critical incidents for the curriculum. Strengths and limitations of the intercultural resource and recommendations for incorporating intercultural competency development in curriculum design in Business and Health disciplines are discussed.

Developing nurses’ intercultural/intraprofessional communication skills using the EXCELLence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership Social Interaction Maps

“…EXCELL is a theoretically rigorous, schematic, evidence-based, professional development resource that has been tested in multiple disciplines in relation to enhancing communication competence in general, and intercultural communication competence in particular (Caruana & Ploner, 2012;Mak, Westwood et al, 1999). To date, it has not been tested in the discipline of nursing (Barker & Mak, 2013).…”

“…EXCELLence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership has been used and evaluated across disciplines in the higher education sector in England, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand over two decades, particularly in communication capacity building in pharmacy, psychology, accounting and management (Barker & Mak, 2013). It has also been used extensively with international students and in immigrant job-search programmes (Wong, 2001).…”

“…Indeed, both SBAR and SAGE & THYME have merit and tend to represent situational specific behavioural scripts and complex interaction. EXCELL, however, is a simplistic generic skills training protocol used to enhance communication skills and mitigate issues with cultural perspectives through raising self-awareness (Barker & Mak, 2013;Fejzic, Barker, Hills, & Priddle, 2016). The raising of selfawareness through the EXCELL model is reported to enhance the cultural/intraprofessional communication skills in psychology, pharmacy and business professionals, and hence can also assist nurses to better communicate with others from their own cultural background but also from different cultural backgrounds.…”

Living comfortably with diversity

“…Baker and Mak 33 suggest that the specific communication practices of seeking help, making social contact and participating in groups are fundamental to helping students to become familiar with and engage the multiple literacies that exist in the cultural context. This section will outline the ways in which students integrated these skills into their modus operandi.…”

Fostering cultural inclusiveness and learning in culturally mixed business classes

“…More recently, internationalisation agendas have become prominent in universities’ strategic plans (Elkin et al 2008; Mak 2010) and are reflected in graduate attributes linked to global citizenship (Lilley et al 2014). In order for all students to achieve such desirable attributes as global citizenship, educators need to develop effective strategies to foster cultural inclusiveness and effective intercultural interactions in classrooms and on campuses (Barker and Mak 2013). …”