1
Intercultural Communicative Competences as Learning Goals in Secondary
Education
Factors influencing ICC implementation: an exploratory research
Author: Anne Danielle Oldeman 0219649
MA Thesis: Engelse Taal en Cultuur: Educatie en Communicatie
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. R. de Graaff
August 2012, Utrecht University
2
Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 4
1. Introduction: motivation and relevance .................................................................................. 5
2. Background information on ‘culture’ and ‘ICC’: a theoretical framework ................................ 7
2.1 Use of the term ‘culture’ in this ICC study ........................................................................... 7
2.2 ICC explained ....................................................................................................................... 8
3. Research question ..................................................................................................................... 11
3.1 Research question ............................................................................................................... 11
3.2 Parameter setting ................................................................................................................. 12
3.3 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 13
4. Literature studies ....................................................................................................................... 14
4.1 Method ................................................................................................................................ 14
4.2 Part I – ICC theories from the research field ...................................................................... 15
4.2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 15
4.2.2 Knowledge, know-how and being ............................................................................... 15
4.2.3 ICC Framework ........................................................................................................... 17
4.2.4 Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 18
4.3 Part II – Conceptions of ICC in European and national educational policy making .......... 19
4.3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 19
4.3.2 ICC policy at European level ....................................................................................... 20
4.3.3 ICC policy at national level ......................................................................................... 25
5.3.4 Summary findings literature study 2 on ICC policy making ....................................... 32
4.4 Conclusions comparison ICC research literature and ICC policy making ......................... 33
4.4.1 Comparison dimensions and levels .............................................................................. 33
4.4.2 Comparison role of ICC as learning goal .................................................................... 34
4.4.3 Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 34
5. Case studies ............................................................................................................................... 35
5.1 Case studies introduction .................................................................................................... 35
5.2 Method ................................................................................................................................ 35
5.2.1 Respondents ................................................................................................................. 35
5.2.2 Description and justification of the case studies .......................................................... 37
5.2.3 Method for data collection - interviews ....................................................................... 37
5.2.4 Data preparation and processing .................................................................................. 40
5.2.5 Method of analysis ....................................................................................................... 41
5.3 Research results interviews ................................................................................................. 43
5.3.1 Interpretation interview results .................................................................................... 43
5.3.2 Discussion of additional results ................................................................................... 44
5.3.3 Consideration of secondary results .............................................................................. 46
6. Discussion and conclusion ........................................................................................................ 46
6.1 Discussion of result literature studies in combination with interview results .................... 46
6.1.1 What have the studies shown? ..................................................................................... 47
6.1.2 Conclusiveness of the research results ......................................................................... 49
6.2 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 50
Final word ............................................................................................................................. 52
3
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 53
Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 56
Appendix 1 Organised labels for language proficiency and ICC development........................ 56
Appendix 2 Organised labels for socio-cognitive development and ICC dveopment .............. 57
4
Summary
Intercultural communicative competences (ICC) are a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes
which are considered important in inter- and cross-cultural interaction. They are valued at such a
level that researchers, policy makers and teachers are looking for ways of implementing and
evaluating ICC in secondary education. Moreover, European and Dutch educational policy are
making ICC one of their policies’ leading goals in language education. The aim of this research
is to learn to what extent ICC goals can be reached in secondary education. Answering this
question utilises a literature study which looks at the different policies and research literature on
ICC development. In addition, several case studies in the form of interviews with secondary
school teachers have been done to investigate which concepts from the literature study can be
traced back to the educational field. The results show that all three basic ICC dimensions of
knowledge, know-how, and being from the research field can be traced back in both educational
policy and the educational practice. However, the ICC conceptions found in educational policy
and educational practice, do not structurally cover all dimensions at their different levels.
Moreover, the ICC conceptions found in educational policy and educational practice are
supportive of European citizenship as a learning goal instead of an independent set of
competences that should explicitly be added as a learning goal to language learning curricula.
5
1. Introduction: motivation and relevance
The organisation of Europe today with open borders leads to a growing number of interactions
between people from different countries with different cultural backgrounds. Language is our
means of communication but language alone does not enable us to communicate effectively.
Consider the different social and hierarchical values people have grown up with, which differ per
country and/or culture and which may have a noticeable effect on communication. The need for
more specialised communication skills in cross-cultural contact to support effective
communication has not gone unnoticed and European organisations and policy makers in the
educational field have done research and made recommendations on this subject. The European
Commission in the 2007 LACE (Languages and Cultures in Europe) study for example
expressed the wish to incorporate methods into secondary education especially designed to
stimulate the development of intercultural communicative competences (ICC) (European
Commission). On a national level the European Platform, which is involved with language and
culture education in the Netherlands, has incorporated intercultural communicative competence
in its vision statements (European Platform “Vision Mission”). Furthermore, a study by Ildiko
Lázár et al., commissioned by the European Centre for Modern Languages, has shown that
language teachers, the ones who will eventually execute the policies on language teaching and
ICC, also see the necessity of incorporating ICC in foreign language classes. “In the last two
decades many language teachers, teacher educators and researchers have expressed the belief
that the primary aim of second and foreign language acquisition is to enable learners to
communicate with people coming from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds”
(Developing and Assessing 5).
At all dimensions of education ranging from European policy making to classroom teaching
recommendations and attempts have been made to incorporate ICC in secondary education. In
the Netherlands there are already many secondary schools which are registered as Elos schools
by the European Platform (schools which are internationally oriented and incorporate Europe as
a learning environment). These schools offer a potential context for ICC development. However,
the successful realisation of ICC as a learning goal in secondary education depends on a number
of factors such as teacher input, curriculum and language proficiency; a selection of which will
be further explored in this study.
6
My personal interest in ICC started when I participated in a pilot study for the NIFLAR project
(Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and Research), coordinated by Utrecht
University, in which video-web communication was used as an educational tool for stimulating
foreign language proficiency and intercultural communicative competences (“Secondary
Education”). This study was conducted at two secondary schools, one in Hilversum, The
Netherlands, and one in Granada, Spain. Pupils from the Dutch school took the role of English
language experts as they were close to graduation level and the Spanish pupils were the Spanish
language experts. During video- web communication sessions the pupils conducted a series of
tasks which were designed to stimulate a conversation based on making acquaintance and
cultural exchange. The goal of these video-web sessions was to improve language proficiency,
elicit cultural exchange and also to stimulate the pupils' intercultural communicative
competences. Interviews with the pupils and evaluations after the studies showed they
experienced that their language proficiency had improved. Furthermore, they had developed a
positive attitude towards the video-web communication method as a means of foreign language
learning. Some pupils made remarks that showed their awareness of and interest in the other
culture and in cultural differences.
This observation triggered my interest in doing further research into de development of ICC
skills as a learning goal. Moreover, from a teacher’s perspective I had been wondering to what
extent ICC could be taught to secondary school pupils as it appeared to me to be a very abstract
subject from their perspective. Didactic theory tells us that a learner can be ‘ready’ or not to
understand or learn something, think for example of Krashen’s input hypothesis of i+1 (20-39)
and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (qtd. in Ageyev 17-19). I think this is especially
the case with adolescent secondary school pupils who are often in a phase of high mental and
cognitive development which influences their way of thinking and learning as can also be
learned from Jean Piaget’s “Intellectual Evolution from Adolescence to Adulthood”. In the video
web sessions pupils would frequently ask the guiding teachers for the translation of words. Also
in their preparation and evaluation would they ask how the say something in the other language.
This also raised the question whether language proficiency is not the starting point for
intercultural communication and therefore for developing intercultural communicative
competences. My personal involvement in the above-mentioned pilot study, and being a
7
language teacher interested in the intercultural facets of my subject led to these questions on the
implementation of ICC in secondary education.
This thesis has the following structure. First, the theoretical framework offers a more elaborate
definition of intercultural communicative competences (ICC) as it forms the basis for this
research. The theoretical framework will be followed by the main research question, research
questions and a parameter setting which gives a definition of the variables. Thereafter, the
methodology and findings will follow in two parts as two different methods for research have
been used. First, the methodology of the literature studies will be presented followed by the
findings of these same literature studies. Then the methodology and findings of the case studies
will be discussed. The findings will be combined in the conclusion in an attempt to answer the
research question. The research will then be discussed and evaluated and recommendations for
further research will be made.
2. Background information on ‘culture’ and ‘ICC’: a theoretical
framework
This theoretical framework will establish the definition of intercultural communicative
competences as it is understood for this study. The basis of the concept of ICC as it is referred to
in this thesis is built upon the prior research and studies done on this concept. Before setting out
this framework with a full description of ICC it is beneficial to the understanding and coherence
of this thesis to first form a definition of the term ‘culture’ to later specify ‘intercultural’ in ICC.
Culture is overtly present in ICC and as there are many different explanations for the
phenomenon, it is important that it is clear which concept of ‘culture’ is used in this context.
Therefore this theoretical framework will start out by forming a definition of culture before
moving on to ICC.
2.1 Use of the term ‘culture’ in this ICC study
Studies describing culture differ widely but they also share some common grounds. The
similarity that is most relevant to this study is the culture model that shows there are both more
8
directly visible layers of culture and deeper, less visible layers of culture. The more visible layers
are manifest through for example arts, eating and drinking habits, history and literature, things
which can more easily be observed by an ‘outsider’ such as a tourist. The more invisible layers
of culture can be described as beliefs, attitudes, values, perceptions and communication styles
(Lázár et al., Developing and Assessing 7). Perception of these less visible layers can be made
through closer contact and more thorough study of a target culture. Brembeck has created an
iceberg analogy of culture because the tip of the iceberg represents all of a culture that can really
be seen, whereas the invisible and bigger part of the iceberg lies hidden under the water. These
deeper layers can also include ‘definitions of beauty or respect to patterns of group decision
making, ideals governing child-raising, as well as values relating to leadership, health, prestige
and love’ (qtd. in Lázár et al., Developing and Assessing 7). Complementing and refining the
iceberg analogy there is a similar analogy by Larcher (qtd. in Fennes and Hapgood 17).
Larcher’s analogy has a top layer of conscious cultural aspects such as laws, rules and customs
and an unconscious layer of culture which is based on tradition, routine behaviour and
unconscious habits. A combination of these two analogies with both a visible, conscious or easily
perceivable top layer and an unconscious and less visible part is how culture will be referred to
in this report. This choice has been made because it is felt that these analogies are most
beneficial to the context of this research. That is, to fully understand the ramification of
classroom ICC a definition of culture is needed that allows for visible and unconscious layers of
culture. Moreover, the presence of either of these layers in learning contexts supporting the
development of ICC gives some ground for assessment of the effectiveness of these contexts.
Therefore the definition of the concept of culture which will be used in this research refers to
culture as being layered, with layers ranging from easily perceivable and conscious cultural
aspects to unconscious layers that are not directly visible.
2.2 ICC explained
Moving on to a description of ICC, it has to be noted that intercultural communicative
competence is not a one dimensional skill. Competence to communicate effectively in a cross/inter-cultural setting requires multiple competences, skills and knowledge. Together these form
a certain degree of ICC in a learner. A general definition of ICC is described by Lázár as “[…]
9
the ability to communicate effectively in cross-cultural situations and to relate appropriately in a
variety of cultural contexts” (Developing and Assessing 9-10). It is similarly described by
Byram, Gribkova and Starkey (11) and Corbett (2). ICC means more than interacting through
language proficiency as Lázár cites Beneke, saying: “Intercultural competence will be the ability
to cope with one's own cultural background in interaction with others. In a wider sense, it
involves the use of significantly different linguistic codes and contact with people holding
significantly different sets of values and models” (Developing and Assessing 9). This definition
has also been used by Denise Lussier who says that “[i]ntercultural competence will be
considered as the ability to interact effectively with people from cultures that we recognise as
being different from our own, knowing that cultures simultaneously share and differ in certain
aspects, e.g. beliefs, habits and values.” (Lussier “Assessing”) She takes it one step further as she
quotes Hall: “Interacting effectively across cultures means accomplishing a negotiation between
people based on both culture-specific and cultural-general features that are on the whole
respectful and favourable to each. This implies the criss-crossing of identities and the “positions”
to which they are summoned; as well as how they fashion, stylise, produce and “perform” these
positions”(Lussier, Guidelines 25).
ICC is here defined as taking cultural differences (in communication) into account by adjusting
communicative behaviour when necessary when relating to someone from a different cultural
background. This should be done in such a way that the parties involved can still positively
identify with the positions they take. ICC means that a person is able to adapt in such a way that
he/she does not have to play a role or feel they step out of their comfort zone but rather that
he/she can actually identify with the mediated position he/she takes.
The definitions of ICC by Lázár, Byram and Lussier all refer to the ability to cope with aspects
from a target culture which lie mostly below the surface of the iceberg (beliefs, habits and
values). This illustrates that ICC deals with ‘shallower’ and ‘deeper’ cultural layers. The scope of
the term culture in ICC is more than the basic visible aspects of a target culture which may cause
implications for implementation in the classroom practice.
So far this theoretical framework set out a definition of the concept of culture and the role it
plays in ICC. ICC as a notion has been defined so that its meaning will be less ambiguous
throughout this thesis.
10
In the introduction it was already mentioned how the research field, educators, and educational
policy makers have made their interest in ICC in secondary education explicit. Learning aids
have been and are being developed and recommendations for classroom implementation are
being made. However, implementing something within an already existing context means
encountering different factors within that context which may influence implementation. The
educational context is a multi dimensional one with many different factors possibly influencing
the outcome of any type of change. Think for example of the different levels of policy and
decision making which reach from a European level to the level of teacher and pupil. Then there
is the organisational dimension, the dimension of teaching material, and many more. Moreover,
different studies show that language proficiency can be a factor of substantial influence in the
success of intercultural communication (Welch et al.; Peltokorpi; Dooley; Kramsch; European
Platform). But the influence of language proficiency on ICC development has not yet been fully
investigated. Also, the age group targeted in secondary education is dealing with a stage of
socio-cognitive development which influences the way they perceive the world and ‘others’ and
their sense of ‘being’ of which the last one is specifically related to one of the ICC principles
(Harter & Monsour qtd. in Santrock 293; King & Kitchener and William Perry qtd. in Santrock
114). Current ICC recommendations seem to not yet have taken this into account. These were
two more specific examples of factors which are overtly present in the context of secondary
education and which other research has shown as possible factors to influence the successful
implementation of ICC.
The abovementioned research field, educational policy makers and educators are also part of the
educational context, each of which influences of the implementation of ICC. Even though they
all support ICC implementation in secondary education, the way they approach this could be
suggested to affect its success. However, this also seems not yet to have been investigated.
To investigate all potential factors from the educational context that may influence ICC
implementation would lie far outside the scope of this research. Therefore the focus will be on a
set of factors outside the classroom that can be suggested to affect the successful implementation
of ICC in secondary education namely: European and national educational policy making as well
as research recommendations from the ICC research field. As the research field and the
educational policy makers make recommendations for the educational practice it will be
11
interesting to see to what extent these research and policy recommendations correspond and to
what extent they can be traced back in the educational practice.
This is not an extensive study of all factors affecting ICC implementation but it aims at making a
modest contribution to the insights in different factors which can be suggested to influence the
development of ICC in the educational practice.
3. Research question
3.1 Research question
To what extent can ICC goals be reached in secondary education?
To answer the main research questions the following three research questions will be answered:
What conceptions of ICC for secondary education can be found in:
1. ICC research literature on ICC principles and goals?
2. European and national education policy?
o To what extent do European and national policy, concerning intercultural
communication education at secondary schools, correspond to ICC principles and
goals from ICC research literature?
3. the educational practice?
o What concepts of ICC from research questions 1 and 2 can be traced back in the
educational practice based on case studies?
Research question 1 focuses on ICC theory from the research field and which ICC principles
from that field are aimed at secondary education. Research question 2 focuses on policy making
and will be answered through a literature study in which policies on a European and national
level will be compared with each other and with ICC principles. Research question 3 focuses on
the educational practice. A qualitative research will be done in the form of case-studies through
semi-structured interviews to gain insight in the educational practice of ICC. The input from the
interviews with educators will be utilized as an exploratory link between the ICC theory and the
educational practice.
12
The complete research consists of two theoretical literature studies and a series of case studies.
The literature studies will lead to an exploratory theoretical analysis of the research questions.
The interviews function as support for the analysis and provide a link with the educational
practice. The findings of these studies will be combined in an attempt to answer the main
research question.
3.2 Parameter setting
Terminology used in the research questions can be explained as follows:
ICC goals
ICC goals are the three dimensions of ICC; knowledge, know-how, and being plus the different
levels at which these dimensions can be acquired. This definition has been chosen because it is
widely adopted in the research field of ICC, especially in relation to implementation in different
kinds of education and training. A more thorough explanation has been given in the theoretical
framework of this thesis. The word ‘goals’ is used here because it refers to the educational
context in which learning goals are set that determine the content and levels of subjects in school
curricula. ICC will be approached as a learning goal but has in itself different dimensions and
levels and therefore the plural form ‘ICC goals’ has been chosen.
ICC principles
ICC principles closely correspond to ICC goals with respect to part of its contents. ICC
principles also consist of the three dimensions, knowledge, know-how and being of ICC.
However, they do not refer to ICC as learning goals but to the preconditions or ingredients for
effective intercultural communication. ICC principles stand for what ICC is based on:
knowledge, know-how and being.
Educational practice
The educational practice consists of the view of educators on their own conduct and their
observations of pupils and colleagues. The way different educators practice, see and experience
secondary education in their own context reflects the educational practice in this study.
13
European and national policy concerning intercultural communication education at secondary
schools
These are the suggestions and recommendations made to the educational field at secondary
school level by official European and national institutions and organisations involved with
language and internationally oriented teaching. The words ‘suggestions’ and ‘recommendations’
are used here as secondary schools are to a substantial degree free to design their own curricula
and cannot be forced to implement European and national policy.
National
Dutch, from The Netherlands
Secondary school pupils
Secondary school pupils are pupils following compulsory secondary education between the ages
of 12 to 18.
3.3 Methodology
The research questions will be answered through two literature studies and a series of case
studies. The aim is to form a theory on the extent to which the factors from the research
questions affect the development of ICC in secondary education. Investigating all possible
factors that could influence ICC in secondary education would surpass the practical barriers of
this thesis. Therefore the perspective taken here is that of a top down view on ICC research,
European, and national policy, and the educational practice. The first two research questions will
be investigated through literature research and the results will be compared to case studies from
the educational practice. This report therefore consists of two parts; the literature studies and the
case studies. Each part has its own more elaborate methodology, results and conclusions. The
instruments for case studies will be substantially based on the findings from the literature studies.
14
4. Literature studies
4.1 Method
The first literature study, which focuses on research question 1, concerns the ICC research field.
Researchers in this field have investigated the implementation of ICC in educational practice.
They have developed different ICC frameworks which may help to determine different levels
and dimensions of ICC in learners and teaching materials. This is beneficial for this research as
the research frameworks can be used to evaluate levels of ICC development in frameworks from
outside the research field. They can also be used to evaluate ICC acquisition levels in learners
and ICC teaching by educators, thereby linking the ICC research theory to the educational field.
Moreover, ICC research might offer insights into what has so far been done with ICC in the
educational field. ICC research publication will be studied to map out the recommendation from
the research field for the educational practice. The data from this literature study will be used to
form a framework which can in turn be used to evaluate the applicability of European and
national policy on ICC in secondary education.
The second literature study is linked to the second research question and focuses on European
and national policy concerning ICC implementation in secondary education. The data collection
will be based on different sources concerning intercultural education which have been published
on a European level by the European Union. Most of these sources are based on suggestions
which originate from the European Commission. For information on educational policies on a
national level, sources from the European Platform will be consulted. They have a wide range of
publications from national researchers in the field of international and intercultural education in
Europe and The Netherlands. The findings from this literature study will be compared to the ICC
framework from the literature study of research question one. This will result in an analysis of
similarities between ICC principles in policy making and recommendations from the research
field. The theories that flow from these literature studies will be compared to the findings from
the case studies from the educational practice in chapter 6 in an attempt to answer the main
research question.
15
4.2 Part I – ICC theories from the research field
4.2.1 Introduction
The aim of this chapter is to expand on the description of ICC in the theoretical framework and
show how ICC is translated and subdivided into separate competences which can be developed at
different levels. These competences can serve as a model for the educational field. They can be
used to evaluate learning materials, learners’ developmental stages and the ICC range of
educational curricula and policies. To facilitate such an analysis, an ICC framework from the
research field, which includes these competences, will be presented as a tool for investigating the
presence and depth of ICC principles in other sources outside the field of research.
4.2.2 Knowledge, know-how and being
Competence consists of and can be achieved through a combination of three factors: knowledge,
attitudes and skills (Vernout; Mulder qtd. in Vernout). Knowledge is part of ICC because a
learner has to have knowledge about similarities and differences between cultures and how they
may affect communication. Attitudes belong to ICC because a learner has to be willing to
suspend judgment towards the target culture. Moreover, ICC requires an open-minded attitude
towards other cultures and the willingness to cope with differences. Skills are part of ICC
because the learner has to be able to adapt his/her communication style to a form which is most
beneficial to the cultural differences between the communicators. Naturally, these three
components of intercultural communicative competence are linked. Knowledge, skills and
attitudes are also referred to as knowledge, know-how and being, where know-how is similar to
skills and being to attitudes (Byram, Nichols and Stevens 5-7). Lázár adds a list of competences
that go with successful ICC which can also be placed under the notions knowledge, skills and
attitudes. They are:
-
observation,
interpreting and relating,
mediation and discovery,
attitude formation to increase respect,
empathy,
tolerance for ambiguity,
to raise interest in, curiosity about and openness towards people from
other cultures,
- and to encourage the willingness to suspend judgment
(Developing and Assessing 9)
16
Lussier also refers to some of these competences as she cites Byram when she describes what
attitudes and skills ICC entail: “Attitudes implies curiosity and openness as well as readiness to
see other cultures and the speaker's own without being judgmental. The skills include abilities of
interpreting and relating, discovery and interaction as well as critical awareness/political
education” (Lussier “Assessing”). A combination of these competences will help a learner to
become intercultural communicatively competent.
To monitor a learner’s progress in acquiring these skills and competences for ICC, an assessment
model has been made by Lussier. This assessment model bases itself on the three dimensions of
ICC; knowledge, know-how and being.
-
Knowledge: Intercultural awareness which involves the understanding of the relation
(similarities and distinctive differences) between the world of origin and the world of the
target communities.
-
Know-how: Ability to function linguistically. Interact in and adjust to different contexts.
Develop abilities to interpret and negotiate interaction in terms of skills: social, living,
vocational and professional, leisure. These imply the abilities to use a variety of language
strategies in order to communicate with those from other cultures, as well as the capacity
to overcome stereotyped relationships.
-
Being: Cultural awareness and understanding of other cultures. Critical competence of
appropriation of self-identity and the ability to accept and interpret other cultures. A level
of transcultural competence, the valorisation of otherness and the integration of other
values than those of one’s own culture.
(Lussier, Guidelines 25-26)
Lussier’s dimensions can be used to track learning development and can also be used to set
learning goals and evaluate learning materials. These dimensions will be used as a reference
when exploring notions of ICC in other sources by means of the ICC framework presented
below.
17
4.2.3 ICC Framework
To facilitate the assessment and evaluation of pupils’ ICC competences, educators can use a
framework created by Lussier which includes the three ICC dimensions and which sub-divides
each dimension in three levels of competence. The levels range from low profile to middle and
high profile. The framework is given below in tables 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2.
Levels of Performance for ICC dimensions (Lussier “Assessing”)
Levels of performance - Knowledge
Dimension
Knowledge /
Savoirs
Low profile
Level of recognition
Medium profile
Level of comparison
High profile
Level of analysis
Minimal facts for
specific features of
other cultures
Seeking additional information about products and
practices, traditions, values etc.
of other cultures
Thorough knowledge about
specific characteristics of
other cultures /products,
practices, traditions, values
etc.
Stereotyped images
Diversified images
Clear perceptions of images
carried by different sources
Specific facts or
elements to one's own
culture or the target
culture
Diversified facts:
-ways of living,
-traditions
-other culture values
Diversified characteristics
of other cultures
Table 1.0
Levels of performance – Know-how
Dimension
Low profile
Medium profile
High profile
Level of functioning
Level of interacting
and adjusting
Level of negotiating
-Display minimal
experience in functioning
in non-ambiguous
intercultural situations
Know-how /
Savoir-faire
-Difficulty to adjust to
unfamiliar intercultural
situations
-Display appropriate
use of linguistic
patterns to act and
react in ambiguous
intercultural
situations
-Facility to adjust to
conflict situations on
the base of cultural
discrepancy /Use of
appropriate verbal
and non-verbal
behaviours
Table 1.1
- Display language analysis
comparing and questioning
different language patterns
-Readiness for negotiation in
conflict situations
18
Levels of performance - Being
Dimension
Low profile
Medium profile
High profile
Level of
understanding
Level of accepting
and interpreting
Level of integrating and
internalizing
Cultural awareness
Critical
appropriation
Transcultural competence
Tolerance
Empathy
Sympathy
Being/
Savoir-être
Sensitivity
Sense of alterity
Openness
Realizing that
there are differences in
beliefs and values
Appreciating
different beliefs and
values from other
people and cultures
Adjusting to and integrating different
beliefs and values from other people
and cultures
Table 1.2
Mulder and Fasoglio made a table based on Lussier’s three dimensions in which they suggest by
which learning principle a learner may develop competence in these dimensions. This table
(Table 2) shows which aspects of ICC can be directly taught and which should be allowed to
develop. The educational practice could benefit from this knowledge for creating learning
materials and integrating ICC in (language) curricula.
Savoir faire (know-how)
Savoir être (being)
Savoir (knowledge)
Intercultural Competence
Skills
Behavioural
Attitudes
Affective
Feelings
Knowledge
Cognitive
Understanding
Promoted / (allowed to)
develop
Taught
Table 2 (Mulder and Fasoglio 201)
The table suggests that knowledge can be taught and that being and know-how require
development and cannot be achieved through direct teaching. They can, however, be promoted,
which might be done through the efforts of school. The extent to which this development can be
stimulated in an educational context will be explored in the case studies.
4.2.4 Conclusions
In an attempt to answer the research question of what conceptions of ICC for secondary
education can be found in ICC research literature, this literature study shows that the ICC
19
research field offers a framework which sets out ICC principles under the categories
‘knowledge’, ‘know-how’ and ‘being’. These categories can be transposed into learning goals
which can each be set and reached at three different levels ranging from low profile, medium
profile to high profile, either through direct teaching or through stimulation. Lussier’s framework
serves as support for ICC assessment in learning materials and learner development. Therefore,
this ICC framework will be used as an instrument in the next literature study to investigate what
conceptions of ICC for secondary education can be found in European and national educational
policy.
4.3 Part II – Conceptions of ICC in European and national educational policy
making
4.3.1 Introduction
This chapter is a literature study of educational policy documents at European and national level
in an attempt to answer the second research question of this thesis:
-
To what extent can ICC principles be found to correspond to European and national
policy concerning international education at secondary schools?
With European policy reference is made to the documents issued by the European Council’s
department of language education. With national policy reference is made to the European
Platform which is a Dutch knowledge centre for internationalisation in primary and secondary
education and teacher training, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
and the European Commission. In this research question one of the variables is policy
concerning international education. This has been formulated as international education instead
of ICC education because aspects of ICC have been treated as part of international education
rather than as a subject or learning goal in itself.
To investigate to what extent ICC principles can be found to correspond to European and
national policy concerning international education at secondary schools, an analysis will be made
of European policy and subsequently of national policy. In the case of European policy a
document called ‘Education and Training 2020’ by the European Union will be used as the main
source of analysis (European Union). First it will be explored which aspects of the document
contain references to ICC principles. If any ICC references can be found these will be
20
categorised in the ICC framework dimensions ‘knowledge’, ‘know-how’, and ‘being’ as well as
placed at a certain level of that dimension (low, medium, or high). The findings will be described
as well as presented in a table. The frequency of occurrence of the different dimensions will also
be made visible. This will lead to a descriptive conclusion of the correlation between the ICC
framework and the European Union’s education policy. Secondly, the same procedure will be
repeated for notions of ICC as they are referred to and used by the European Platform in a
framework called CFEC (Common Framework of European Competence) (European Platform
“CFEC”). This will be a representation of ICC in national education policy. The choice for this
framework will be justified below. The chapter will conclude with a summary and conclusions in
an attempt to answer the second research question of this research.
4.3.2 ICC policy at European level
The European Union has come up with a strategic framework called “Education and Training
2020” in which they present common strategic objectives and cooperation for Member States
with respect to (international) education (European Union). The goal of this framework is to
‘support Member States in further developing their educational and training systems. These
systems should better provide the means for all citizens to realise their potentials, as well as
ensure sustainable economic prosperity and employability’ (European Union). Among the four
strategic objectives for the framework there are two objectives which refer directly and indirectly
to ICC. The first refers to the improvement of the quality and efficiency of education and
training in which the acquirement of key competences is mentioned. These key competences,
which the EC recommends all European citizens to learn, will be shown to include elements of
ICC. The second strategic objective comprises promoting equity, social cohesion and active
citizenship. It requires ‘all citizens to acquire and develop skills and competences needed for
their employability and foster further learning, active citizenship and intercultural dialogue’
through education. Again, a reference is made to competences European citizens are required to
possess to promote intercultural relations. A closer look will now be taken into these key
competences recommended by the European Council and an analysis will be made to what extent
they relate to the ICC principles discussed in the previous chapter.
In December 2006 the European Parliament and Council made recommendations on key
competences for Lifelong Learning, a programme to support the continuing development and
21
improvement of education and training in the Member States (European Union) . These are the
key competences referred to above and some are accompanied by a description of necessary
knowledge, skills and attitudes. They are designed for and should be acquired by part of the
target group involved in this research namely: ‘young people at the end of their compulsory
education and training, equipping them for adult life, whilst forming a basis for further learning’
(European Union). These are the three ICC relevant key competences (numbers 1, 2 and 6 out of
eight key competences), including the necessary skills and knowledge:
-
Communication in the mother tongue (1), which is the ability to express and interpret
concepts, thoughts, feelings, facts and opinions in both oral and written form (listening,
speaking, reading and writing) and to interact linguistically in an appropriate and creative
way in a full range of societal and cultural contexts;
-
Communication in foreign languages (2), which involves, in addition to the main skill
dimensions of communication in the mother tongue, mediation and intercultural
understanding. The level of proficiency depends on several factors and the capacity for
listening, speaking, reading and writing;
-
Social and civic competences (6), Social competence refers to personal, interpersonal
and intercultural competence and all forms of behaviour that equip individuals to
participate in an effective and constructive way in social and working life. It is linked to
personal and social well-being. An understanding of codes of conduct and customs in the
different environments in which individuals operate is essential. Civic competence, and
particularly knowledge of social and political concepts and structures (democracy,
justice, equality, citizenship and civil rights), equips individuals to engage in active and
democratic participation.
(European Union)
Because of the descriptive nature of these three key competences, one key competence can
contain references to different dimensions and levels of ICC. The first ICC related competence,
found in key competence 1, concerns the ability ‘to interact linguistically in an appropriate and
creative way in a full range of societal and cultural contexts.’ The reference to the ability to
interact appropriately in cultural contexts is a direct reference to ICC. The skills that come with
22
this key competence are, however, limited to language skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing). This competence refers mostly to language proficiency and can be positioned in the
medium profile of know-how in Lussier’s framework of ICC dimensions and competency levels,
corresponding to ‘display appropriate use of linguistic patterns to act and react in ambiguous
intercultural situations’. The second key competence elaborates on the first adding ‘mediation
and intercultural understanding’ (European Union). Mediation, can be suggested to correspond
to being part of the dimension of intercultural ‘know-how’ in the high level profile. The highlevel profile refers to a level of negotiation which can be interpreted as a synonym for meditation
in this context. The next mention of ICC in this second key competence is intercultural
understanding. However, this description is a general one which makes it difficult to place in one
of the dimensions. The ICC dimension of ‘being’ shows in the low-profile that a level of
understanding is required. Therefore the most logical position and interpretation of cultural
understanding would be in the low-profile of the dimension of ‘being’. The sixth key
competence concerns social and civic competences. The ICC principles which can be found here
are based on knowledge and know-how. One of the competences points to ‘forms of behaviour
that equip individuals to participate in an effective and constructive way’. This corresponds to
the medium profile of ‘know-how’ as a level of interacting (which is a form of behaviour and
participation) and adjusting. ‘An understanding of codes of conduct and customs in the different
environments in which individuals operate’, and ‘knowledge of social and political concepts and
structures’ can be categorized in the ‘knowledge’ dimension as this concerns information and
‘knowledge about specific characteristics of other cultures/products, practices, traditions, values,
etc.’ (Lussier “Assessing”.). The level of ‘knowledge’ reached here lies somewhere between
medium- and high profile as ‘an understanding’ in the key competence is not similar to
‘thorough understanding’ in Lussier’s high profile but can be suggested to be of a higher level
than ‘seeking information’.
This analysis is summed up in Table 3.0 below. The print in Italics refers to the European Key
Competences and the regular print points to the corresponding description in the ICC framework.
The grey fields indicate that this profile is missing in the key competences.
23
Conceptions of ICC in European Key Competences
Dimension /
Level
Low
profile
Knowledge
Medium profile/
High profile
Key competence 6
An understanding of codes of conduct and
customs in the different environments in
which individuals operate
Knowledge of social and political
concepts and structures
Dimension /
Level
Know-how
Dimension /
Level
Being
Low
profile
Seeking additional information about
products and practices, traditions, values etc.
of other cultures
Thorough knowledge about specific
characteristics of other cultures /products,
practices, traditions, values etc.
Medium profile
Key competence 1
To interact linguistically
in an appropriate and
creative way in a full
range of societal and
cultural contexts.
Key competence 6
Forms of behaviour that
equip individuals to
participate in an effective
and constructive way
Low profile
Key competence 2:
Intercultural understanding
High profile
Display
appropriate use of
linguistic patterns
to act and react in
ambiguous
intercultural
situations
Key competence 2
Mediation
Negotiation
Medium profile
High profile
Level of
interacting and
adjusting
Level of understanding
Realizing that there are
differences in beliefs and
values
Table 3.0
Number of ICC principles in European Key Competences
Dimension /
Level
Knowledge
Know-how
Being
Table 3.1
Low Profile
Medium profile
High profile
2x (both from key competence 6)
2x (key competence 1 and 6)
1x (key competence 2)
1x (key competence 2)
Total
2
3
1
24
Knowledge as it is described in the key competences consists mostly of knowledge of and
proficiency in the language of the foreign culture and of knowledge concerning ‘social and
political concepts and structures (democracy, justice, equality, citizenship and civil rights)’ (key
competence 6). This kind of cultural knowledge would be labelled as top of the iceberg
knowledge as language and political and judicial structures are easy to perceive and easily
studied. These topics can be discussed in class as it is knowledge based on concrete and visible
facts. However, social concepts such as the abovementioned equality can be linked to deeper and
less easily visible cultural layers which in effect requires a higher profile of ICC. The key
competences as they are recommended by the European Commission prescribe and focus mainly
on behavioural skills and tools which will help an individual function in an intercultural context.
This corresponds to the ICC dimension of ‘know-how’. From the key competences it becomes
apparent that know-how is considered the most important learning goal. This is easily explained
when looking at the recommendation by the European Commission following these key
competences. This recommendation states that ‘EU countries should try to ensure that initial
education and training offer all young people the means to develop the key competences to a
level that equips them for adult and working life, thus also providing a basis for further
learning’(European Union). ‘The means’ and ‘to equip them’ can be interpreted as know-how, so
in that respect the key competences’ focus on know-how is justified by the recommendation.
However, these competences remain external tools as extensions to an individual’s
communicative competences. They do not elicit a change in position or identity which is
necessary for effective cross-cultural communication. As was mentioned before, ICC can only be
respectful and favourable to all parties involved if all individuals can criss-cross their identities
and change their positions to the intercultural context in which they find themselves. This is a
form of ‘being’, the intercultural communicative dimension which has not been found in the key
competences. Integrating and internalizing aspects of other cultures is not required in the key
competences. However, the European Commission also states in its recommendations that the
key competences should be achieved at the end of compulsory education and provides a basis for
further learning. Thus, ‘being’ as a post secondary education learning goal is not necessarily
excluded.
25
4.3.3 ICC policy at national level
Zooming in on ICC policy on a national level, focus is on the European Platform as the
representative and leading organisation for intercultural education in The Netherlands. The
European Platform is a Dutch knowledge centre for internationalisation in primary and
secondary education and teacher training, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture
and Science and the European Commission. Their goal is that all primary and secondary school
pupils achieve a foundation based on internationalisation so that they may be prepared to study,
work and live in an international context. Herewith, the European Platform confirms its shared
vision with the European Union to stimulate European citizenship. The European Platform is
convinced that many of today’s pupils will be living, working and learning in an internationally
oriented society and that education has the task to incorporate internationalisation in its curricula
to prepare pupils effectively (European Platform “Vision, Mission”).
To support European and international orientation, the European Platform coordinates the
internationalised curriculum known as Elos (education stretching borders / Europe as a learning
environment) which has been adapted by numerous schools throughout Europe and which
requires internationalisation to be a substantial part of their curriculum and that these schools
offer extra language education at a high level (European Platform).
Elos has also developed a Common Framework for European Competence (CFEC) which
‘provides indicators for the Europe Competence’ for students aged 12-19’ (European Platform
“CFEC”). This CFEC framework is based on competences following the Lisbon strategy and
aims to support European citizenship through education by the implementation of EIO (European
and international orientation). Just as the key competences from the European Union, the Elos
CFEC framework describes competences for the target group of secondary school pupils. What
is more is that the framework actually gives an idea of what level (credit level) of competence
development can be expected at what age. For example, a 16 year old should have reached credit
level 3 and an 18 year old secondary school graduate should reach up to credit level 4 (European
Platform “CFEC”). The CFEC framework is much more detailed and elaborate than the key
competences from the European Commission and focuses more on the applicability in the actual
teaching practice. As with the European key competences above, the CFEC will be analysed for
competences that relate to the ICC principles. This analysis will first be given in a description
and will then be presented in a table.
26
In the CFEC several competences are described which correspond to ICC principles. The CFEC
framework as a whole is not explicitly an ICC framework as it is designed for the more general
European competence. The framework’s domains, which describe EIO communication across
cultures, stress language proficiency and the ability to express oneself as dominant factors in
intercultural communication. Therefore, the references relevant to ICC are frequently connected
to language proficiency. Also, different ways of making contact and establishing communication
through different channels are given a considerable part in the framework. They comprise the
skills for setting up and maintaining communication and intercultural exchange. For the
complete CFEC framework of 4 domains visit the Elos website.1 Here, the focus will be on those
specific domains which contain descriptions more closely related to ICC. Their relevant content
is given below in Table 4.0 and will be compared to ICC principles from the ICC framework.
In EIO domain two, cross-cultural communication is presented in the context of every-day life.
In this domain the pupil’s development consists of several different communicational skills such
as showing respect for the opinion of people from a different culture and being aware of
stereotypes and discrimination. The last stage of this domain also requires of pupils to be able to
adapt their way of communication to the cultural context they are in, without losing their own
identity. There are several identifiable similarities with Lussier’s ICC framework in these skills.
First of all, the ICC medium level profile of ‘being’ (‘appreciating different beliefs and values
from other people and cultures’), shows similarities with what the CFEC framework describes as
showing respect for the opinion of people from a different culture, although ‘showing’ could also
indicate that it requires some kind of skill which would fall under ‘know-how’. Second,
awareness of stereotypes and discrimination complies with the more advanced medium level of
comparison in the knowledge dimension. Lastly, the adaptation of ways of communication
corresponds to know-how in a medium level profile as it entails interacting and adjusting and
requires the learner to ‘Display appropriate use of linguistic patterns to act and react in
ambiguous intercultural situations.’
1
Link to Elos website and complete CFEC: http://www.europeesplatform.nl/sf.mcgi?3046
27
ICC related competences from CFEC
Credit level:
Domain EIO2
I can
communicate
effectively and
cope in
everyday life
in a European
/ international
setting.
Credit level:
Domain EIO-3
I can collaborate
constructively
with peers from
other countries
on a common
thematic task or
project.
1
I can connect
with persons
from
Europe and
other parts of
the world.
EIO-2.1.3
2
I can show
respect
(verbally and
nonverbally)
for the opinion
of
persons from a
different
cultural
background.
EIO-2.2.3
1
I show interest
and respect for
others in Europe
and the wider
world.
EIO-3.1.3
3
I can talk
about how
stereotypes
and
discrimination
work, in a
multicultural
group.
EIO -2.3.3
2
I am aware that
how persons
from
other cultures
act, might arise
from
different norms
and values than
my own.
EIO-3.2.3
4
I can adapt to
other ways of
communicatio
n during a stay
abroad,
without giving
up my own
identity.
EIO-2.4.3
3
I exchange my
opinions about
European and
international
affairs with
students from
other countries,
and learn about
different points
of
view. EIO-3.3.3
5
I can identify
and interpret
explicit
or implicit
values in my
own or
others’
communicatio
n in a
common
language.
EIO-2.5.2
4
I can cope with
problems arising
in
collaboration
with students
and
teachers from
other countries.
EIO-3.4.3
6
I can discuss
controversial
international
issues with
people
from other
backgrounds
in a
common
language,
while
acknowledgin
g differences
in norms
and values.
EIO-2.6.2
5
I understand how
national and/or
international
decisions effect
shared
objectives (such as
Millennium
Development
Goals,
sustainability
etc.), and how this
is seen in my
and my partners’
country.
EIO-3.5.1
I can participate
actively in
planning and
running a new
project
with groups/teams
of students and
teachers from other
countries.
EIO-3.5.2
Table 4.0 (European Platform “CFEC”)
The third EIO domain focuses on collaboration. When individuals seek to achieve something, as
a group, in a cross-cultural context, there is a willingness to make communication work. This
28
third domain shows that learners are expected to learn about differences in communication and
problems in communication which might arise from different cultural backgrounds. In addition,
they are also expected, at least in the fourth stage, to be able to cope with these differences and
problems in an effective way. This domain description of competence corresponds to the ICC
principles of know-how on a medium level of interacting and adjusting where ‘Display
appropriate use of linguistic patterns to act and react in ambiguous intercultural situations’ and
‘Facility to adjust to conflict situations on the base of cultural discrepancy /Use of appropriate
verbal and non-verbal behaviours’ are also indicators of intercultural communicative
competence. Learning about different points of view can be categorized under ‘knowledge’ at a
medium level as this requires learners to seek information about traditions and values from other
cultures. Awareness of how cultural background influences a persons behaviour corresponds to
the lower level of ‘being’ which focuses on cultural awareness. In the introduction of this
paragraph about the European Platform it was mentioned that they were pleased to see that
international education in secondary schools had a positive effect on ‘social skills, increased
topic comprehension, better knowledge of the partner country and increased language skills.’
These learning goals and skills can be hosted under knowledge (of topics and partner country)
and know-how (social skills and language proficiency). This shows how the focus of the EIO
programme is based mainly on competences from these two dimensions. A summary of the
above is given in the tables below (Tables 5.0, 5.1 and 5.2). The print in Italics is the reference to
the Common Framework for Europe Competence by the European Platform and the regular print
points to the corresponding description in the ICC dimensions framework.
The main focus in the CFEC framework’s ICC related domains lies with the dimensions of
knowledge and know-how (see Table 5.3). As one of the European Platform’s missions is to
prepare pupils to take part in the international community, it makes sense that their framework
focuses on offering them the tools to do so. After all, a higher profile of being is something
which should be allowed to develop (Mulder and Fasoglio 201) and might be suggested to follow
after this preparation. However, ‘being’ is also assigned a mentionable share in the CFEC
framework, although with a slightly lower frequency and on a lower level. The determination of
the levels is problematic here. As can be seen from Table 5.4, the credit levels from the CFEC
(ranging from 1 to 6) do not seem to correspond to the profile levels from the ICC framework. A
29
high CFEC credit level can correspond to a low profile ICC framework level and vice versa. This
shows that the determination of levels is not unambiguous.
Conceptions of ICC in CFEC - Knowledge
Dimension /
Level
Knowledge
Low profile
Medium profile
High profile
EIO 2.3.3 (medium and high)
I can talk about how stereotypes and discrimination
work, in a multicultural group.
(between medium and high)
Diversified images
Diversified facts:
-ways of living,
-traditions
-other culture values
Clear perceptions of images carried
by different sources
EIO 2.1.1
I know how friends in other
countries communicate with each
other, about which topics, and
can
join in.
EIO 2.2.1
I know how daily life in a family
in
another country is structured.
Seeking
additional
information
about products
and practices,
traditions,
values, etc. of
other cultures
EIO 2.3.1
I know how family and friendship
relations in another country work.
EIO 3.1.3
I show interest and respect for
others in Europe and the wider
world.
EIO 3.3.3
I exchange my opinions about
European and international
affairs with students from other
countries, and learn about
different points of view.
Table 5.0
Level of
comparison
Seeking
additional
information
about products
and practices,
traditions,
values etc. of
other cultures
30
Conceptions of ICC in CFEC – Know-how
Dimension /
Level
Know-how
Low profile
Medium profile
EIO 2.1.1
I know how friends in other
countries communicate with each
other, about which topics, and can
join in.
EIO 2.6.2
I can discuss controversial
international issues with people
from other backgrounds in a
common language, while
acknowledging differences in norms
and values.
Level of interacting and
adjusting
Display appropriate use
of linguistic patterns
to act and react in
ambiguous intercultural
situations
EIO 2.1.3
I can connect with persons from
Europe and other parts of the
world.
EIO 2.4.3 (also 2.2.3)
I can adapt to other ways of
communication during a stay
abroad, without giving up my own
identity.
EIO 3.5.2
I can participate actively in
planning and running a new project
with groups/teams of students and
teachers from other countries.
EIO 3.4.3
I can cope with problems arising in
collaboration with students and
teachers from other countries.
Table 5.1
Facility to adjust to
conflict situations on the
base of cultural
discrepancy /Use of
appropriate verbal and
non-verbal behaviour
High
profile
31
Conceptions of ICC in CFEC - Being
Dimensions /
Level
Being
Low profile
EIO 2.5.2
I can identify and
interpret explicit
or implicit values
in my own or
others’
communication in
a common
language.
EIO 3.5.1
I understand how
national and/or
international
decisions effect
shared
objectives (such
as Millennium
Development
Goals,
sustainability
etc.), and how this
is seen in my and
my partners’
country.
EIO 3.2.3
I am aware that
how persons from
other cultures act,
might arise from
different norms
and values than
my own.
EIO 3.3.3
I exchange my
opinions about
European and
international
affairs with
students from
other countries,
and learn about
different points of
view.
Table 5.2
Cultural
awareness
Realizing that
there are
differences in
beliefs and values
Medium profile
EIO 2.2.3
I can show
respect
(verbally and
nonverbally)
for the opinion
of persons
from a
different
cultural
background.
Appreciating
different beliefs and
values from other
people and cultures
High
profile
32
Dimension /
Level
Knowledge
Know-how
Being
Low Profile
4x
Medium profile
5x
7x
1x
High profile
Total
+ 1x medium/high
6
7
5
Table 5.3
Dimension /
Level
Knowledge
Know-how
Being
Low Profile
Medium profile
5,5,2,3
1,2,3,1,3
1,6,1,4,2,5,4
2
High profile
Total
+3
6
7
5
Table 5.3
5.3.4 Summary findings literature study 2 on ICC policy making
Policies and suggestions from respected institutions such as the European Commission and the
European Platform may affect the content of school curricula. This literature study has shown
that both European and national policies aim for European citizenship in international and
intercultural education. ICC is part of this citizenship formation and plays a role in the
recommendations and frameworks which have been analysed. When looking at the proportions
of ICC in the education policies the following can be concluded. In European education policy 3
out of 8 key competences contained ICC goals. However, it should be taken into account that the
three relevant key competences (1, 2 and 6) were of such a descriptive nature that fragments
from each description have been used to be compared to the ICC framework. Therefore the
number of ICC relevant fragments is higher (6x) than the number of relevant key competences.
In the CFEC 15 out of 72 ‘can do’ statements contained ICC goals (the ones which could be
categorised in 2 dimensions/levels have been counted only once). Considering that European
citizenship is the main objective of these policies and not ICC specifically, these numbers would
suggest that ICC receives a fair amount of attention in these policies. But before such
conclusions can be drawn a closer look will be taken at the amount of attention that is given to
the different dimensions and levels of ICC.
In the European key competences the ICC goals were found mostly in the dimensions of
knowledge and know-how at a medium to high profile level. Being was referred to once and at a
low profile level. The 15 ICC goals from the CFEC were more or less equally divided over the 3
33
dimensions with a slight majority in knowledge and know-how. However, the goals for
knowledge and know how were set at a medium to high profile whereas being remained mostly
in low profile.
It has been shown that both on a European and on a national level the dimensions of knowledge
and know-how received most attention. The European key competences gave more general
descriptions, each containing different references to ICC goals, whereas the CFEC Framework
was already built up of different levels and ‘can do’ statements to be used as evaluation and
assessment tool in the educational practice.
4.4 Conclusions comparison ICC research literature and ICC policy making
In this conclusion an attempt will be made to answer the question to what extent European and
national policy, concerning intercultural communication education at secondary schools,
correspond to ICC principles and goals from ICC research literature. The findings from literature
studies 1 and 2 will be combined. This comparison will first look into the relationship between
the different ICC dimensions and their levels. Then the comparison will be made of the role ICC
gets as a learning goal in ICC research literature and in European and national policy for
secondary education. Lastly, a conclusion will be drawn with a reference to the educational
practice.
4.4.1 Comparison dimensions and levels
ICC research has developed a framework in which ICC consists of three dimensions which can
each be reached at three different levels. ICC as a learning goal means mastering these
dimensions to a level that complies with the set learning goals. Not one level is intrinsically more
important than the other for developing ICC. Therefore, from the point of view of ICC research
literature all three dimensions get the same emphasis. It is mentioned however, that the
dimension of knowledge is easiest to teach whereas the dimension of know-how and being must
be promoted/supported to develop.
In European policy making the key competences show references to ICC goals. The analysis of
these references has shown that European policy making places most emphasis on knowledge
and know-how, both of which can be placed at a medium to high profile level within Lussier’s
34
framework. The dimension of being does not play a substantial role in these competences. The
single occurrence is at a lower level of competence.
On a national level the European Platform offers the CFEC with references to ICC development.
As with the European key competences, the focus is concentrated on the medium and higher
profile levels for knowledge and know-how. However, the CFEC makes comparatively more
references to being, albeit at a lower profile level.
4.4.2 Comparison role of ICC as learning goal
When looking at the research literature on ICC it becomes apparent that ICC is a learning goal in
itself with a separate status and should receive a visible place in language education at secondary
schools. Tools for assessment are being developed which point to the goal of ICC
implementation in the schools’ curricula. From the ICC research field point of view, ICC should
be integrated in the second and foreign language curricula of secondary education (Lázár et al.
Developing and Assessing). European and national policy makers show a different priority to
ICC in their policy documents. They are not focussed on having ICC as a learning goal and do
not mention it explicitly. European and national policy view aspects of ICC as integrated tools to
achieve the goal of European citizenship. ICC is to a certain extent implicitly interwoven with
their bigger picture in the formulation of goals to achieve European citizenship.
4.4.3 Conclusions
The underrepresentation of ‘being’ shows a discrepancy between the ICC principles from
research theory and the policies and recommendations made for educational practice on a
European and a national level. This means that the message the educational practice receives
from the policy makers does not fully correspond to the ICC goals from the research field. Cause
for this gap could at least partially be explained through a difference in objectives. ICC research
literature has a different role in mind for ICC in secondary education than European and national
policy makers, that is, the ICC research field preferably sees ICC fully integrated in second and
foreign language curricula, whereas policy making does not yet show an explicit role for all ICC
dimensions and levels in its frameworks and mission statements.
Knowledge and know-how might not have been made explicit as ICC learning goals in the CFEC
but they are present in at least the medium and high profile. This means that educational policy at
35
a national level does recommend the development of at least these two ICC dimensions. The
dimension of being is an affective and feeling-based dimension which is more difficult to teach.
It therefore does not fit as a tool to be given to pupils to develop European citizenship which
might explain why it is not included in the CFEC at any levels above the low profile.
If a successful implementation of all ICC dimensions in secondary education is desired, direct or
indirect ways need to be found to raise overall interest in the educational field for the dimensions
and levels of ICC which have so far remained underexposed.
This research will now continue with looking at ICC in the educational practice. Before any
conclusions will be drawn on the implementation of ICC in secondary education, the educational
field will be examined as formulated in research question three. The report of this field research
in the form of a series of case studies will be presented in the following chapter.
5. Case studies
5.1 Case studies introduction
The aim of this research is to study the phenomenon of ICC implementation in secondary
education by exploring to what extent theory and practice around this subject correspond.
Theories of educational policy and ICC research have been examined through literature studies 1
and 2. For the study of the educational practice, in attempt to answer research question 3, the
choice has been made for the method of multiple case studies in which data collection consists
foremost of semi-structured interviews. This method section will explain why multiple case
studies were the most beneficial choice for this research and why semi-structured interviews
were used as method for data collection.
5.2 Method
5.2.1 Respondents
To study the implementation of ICC in secondary education school practice the choice fell on the
research units of Elos secondary schools and more specifically their educators. In this research
these educators are considered the representatives for the educational practice as referred to in
36
the research questions. The schools that were approached are listed as Europa Plus or Elos
(Europe as learning environment at school) schools, indicating that they spend special attention,
time and effort in educating their pupils in internationally oriented surroundings which should
enable them to continue their studies or work in an internationally and culturally diverse
environment. The schools have also been involved in international and cross-cultural projects
and can be considered national landmarks in internationalisation in secondary education.
Preliminary research that was carried out before approaching the respondents included the study
of the involvement of the different secondary schools with intercultural projects and
programmes. Sources that were used were the schools’ websites and some of the schools’
publications. Further, information was gathered on the projects the respondents themselves had
worked on. This was done beforehand to form a basic idea of the schools’ ideas on intercultural
projects.
The choice for these secondary schools and interviews with these particular educators was based
on both practical and substantial reasons. First of all the respondents were relatively easy
accessible and were willing to cooperate. This was an advantage as the interviews were time
consuming and it is generally not easy to find participants willing to sacrifice a substantial
amount of time. The educators that were approached had all been involved as organisers,
executers and/or participants in international and cross-cultural projects. Both the schools and the
participants themselves seemed to take particular pride in their European policy and international
orientation. They were therefore also willing to share and present their experiences.
The respondents came from Dutch secondary schools in the regions of The Hague (Hofstad
Lyceum), Nieuwegein (Anna van Rijn College) and Hilversum (Comenius College). The
respondents were selected on the basis of their experience with intercultural projects, their
accessibility and availability for this research. At the Hofstad Lyceum more respondents than the
ones initially approached offered to help with this research and shared their experiences as well.
The following respondents participated in this research:
Hofstadlyceum, The Hague:
- Social sciences teacher
- Science teacher
- History teacher
- Coordinator of internationalisation and Dutch teacher
Anna van Rijn College, Nieuwegein:
37
- Senior policy maker
Comenius College, Hilversum:
- English teacher
- Spanish teacher
5.2.2 Description and justification of the case studies
A qualitative research method has been chosen because the data required consists of people’s
experiences with and thoughts about different ICC subjects. In qualitative research opinions and
behaviours are usually described or explained (Boeije 261). As this research consists for a
substantial part of descriptions of the views of a specific group (secondary school educators on
ICC implementation), which are used as data to test certain theories, the basic method for this
research lies with the grounded theory method. This type of research often consists of a
description of the variation of the group’s vision which is being researched (Boeije 264). With
this method the researcher can develop or test a theory on the basis of systematically obtained
and analysed research data. The theory itself fits with the research because it has been developed
from the same data it is supported by. The theory in this study examines ICC conceptions as
learning goals in educational policy and educational practice. As this theory is formed through
literature study as well as from data obtained and analysed from qualitative research it is based
on the grounded theory method.
Cases studies are most beneficial because they allow a phenomenon to be studied within its own
context (Baarda et al. 114). In this study the phenomenon is the process of the implementation of
ICC and the context are the secondary schools. The phenomenon is a complex one with different
factors influencing it. The case studies provide the possibility to study some of these factors with
more depth and as a coherent unity (Baarda et al. 114).
5.2.3 Method for data collection - interviews
A typical method of data collection in this kind of qualitative research is the interview (Boeije
264). Choice for this method of data collection meant that the carrying into effect of this research
was not easily established in the research plan beforehand since it is based on data in the form of
peoples’ thoughts and experiences which are not fixed and cannot be predicted in advance. What
could be established beforehand were the topics for the interviews and some general questions as
well as a more general study and preparation into the subjects of research through the
38
abovementioned literature studies. The type of data that is needed for this study (people’s
opinions and experiences) requires open questions and room for elaborate answers as each
person’s experiences will be unique. Therefore, the interview is the most suitable method of data
collection for this research and preferred to for example a survey.
An advantage of the interview is that the subjects of the questions can be predetermined but that
the order in which they are treated can be adjusted to the moment. This leaves room for any
additional information or subjects to rise which can be used as well. It therefore leaves more
options for spontaneous data collection. Moreover, the interviewees each have different
experiences with international and intercultural projects. Even if the situations and contexts had
been the same, their experiences of these contexts would still differ. This richness and variation
in experience asks for openness in the interview structure and questions.
Boeije states that field researchers need to be open-minded when entering the field (262 and
265). However, they can use previous knowledge to give direction to the search for data and data
collection and this is what has been done in this study. The questions and topics for the
interviews have been formulated based on the ICC background knowledge from the literature
studies. The desired data consisted of educators’ input on intercultural experiences from which
ICC notions could be abstracted. The flow of their responses would deliver this data in the form
of experiences, observations and examples. To enhance this flow of information the interviews
remained ‘open’. The qualitative interview is characterised by the use of an interview guide
which offers topics of conversation to be used. Before the actual interview started the
interviewees were given the following list of ICC characteristics (translated to Dutch) so they
could hold on to that in their descriptions:
-
Observation,
interpreting and relating,
mediation and discovery,
attitude formation to increase respect,
empathy,
tolerance for ambiguity,
to raise interest in, curiosity about and openness towards people from
other cultures,
and to encourage the willingness to suspend judgment
This list is based on Lázár (Lázár et al. Developing and Assessing 9) and can also be found in
Literature study 1.
39
The interviewer plays an important role in this type of interview as he/she steers the interview
questions and the amount of time spent on each topic. Due to the open nature of the interview,
the interviewee could be given the freedom to give elaborate answers. The interviewer
encourages the respondents to talk freely about the selected topics and records what is being said.
In an open interview the questions designed beforehand do not all have to be asked, neither does
the order in which the questions are asked matter. Depending on the flow of the conversation the
interviewer adapts his/her questions from the guideline. Comparability between different
interviews and/or themes can be realised by using a schematic summary of the topics which have
to be addressed. As mentioned before, the guiding topics were not directly aimed at the ICC
dimensions of knowledge, know-how, and being. However, to enhance the possibility of
comparability and to serve the interviewer as a guideline, the topics were subdivided in three
different perspectives. As can be seen from the list below, the first perspective concerned
questions on a general school level, the second was that of the educator and his/her practice, the
third perspective aimed at the pupils.
Interview topics:
The main interview topics and guiding questions were asked in Dutch but have been translated to
English for this report.
-
ICC as a learning goal
o School projects

What sort of intercultural projects have you participates in?

What were the main objectives of the intercultural projects?

How were projects prepared?

To what extent were projects evaluated with the pupils? (what topics came
up?)

What sort of interaction was there between pupils from different
backgrounds? (what sort of tasks, what sort of conversation topics?)
o Teachers’ observations on intercultural projects

How did pupils experience the projects?

How did pupils experience the interaction with foreign pupils?
40

Were there ever any difficulties in the communication and what were they
based on?

How were difficulties handled?

To what extent do pupils / are the pupils asked to reflect on the
intercultural communication?
o Teachers’ observations on ICC related pupil behaviour

To what extent could you see that pupils used ICC skills?

To what extent do pupils adapt their language use in an intercultural
situation?

-
To what extent do pupils adapt their attitude in an intercultural situation?
ICC language proficiency and socio-cognitive development
o To what extent does language proficiency play a role in the development of ICC
with pupils?
o To what extent can pupils be taught ICC?
o To what extent does age play a role in the development of ICC with pupils?
o To what extent does personal development play a role in the development of ICC
with pupils?
The interviewees were prepared prior the interviews by an informative email. The message
contained an explanation of ICC and mentioned the main topics for the interview which
corresponded to the abovementioned list. The interviews were held in Dutch, took between thirty
minutes to an hour and they were recorded with the permission of the respondents. The
interviews were held at the schools of the respondents. Most interviewees received flowers or a
bag of English liquorice as a token of appreciation for their time and participation.
5.2.4 Data preparation and processing
The data from the recorded interviews that was considered useful was written out in one
document. For efficiency reasons the researcher refrained from transcribing conversation that
was irrelevant for this research but which was included in the respondents’ flow of answering.
This is a natural consequence of a semi-structured interview. The transcriptions were then read,
compared and reread. A data base was built with useful sentences and fragments from the
41
respondents as units for analysis. This was done by collecting each sentence fragment that
contained potentially relevant information regarding the research question. The collected
fragments were then reviewed and given a descriptive label. Some fragments and sentences
received more than one descriptive label because they contained terms that were relevant for
answering elements in the research question in different ways. This labeling process was
repeated to ensure all useful fragments were labeled. The labels contained a summarized
description, representing each useful interview fragment, but were much easier to work with than
bits and pieces of sentences. The labels were collected in one database from which they could be
taken for categorisation. The process of categorisation depended on the content of the labels and
the interview topics and is described in further detail below in 5.2.5.
5.2.5 Method of analysis
Common practice suggests reviewing the research aim and perspective prior to the data analysis.
This was also beneficial for the categorisation of the labels. The aim and perspective of this part
of the research finds its source in research question 3 and can be described as follows:
o Aim of this research -> to investigate what concepts of ICC from literature studies 1 and
2 can be traced back in the educational practice.
The overall aim refers back to the main research question which should also be kept in
mind and that is to what extent ICC goals can be reached in secondary education.
o Perspective of this research -> The perspective of this part of the research is that of the
educational practitioners as representatives of the educational practice.
Bearing these aims and perspective in mind, the labels that resulted from the interviews were
sorted and reorganized into categories that were relevant for the answering of the research
questions. The categories were made through the interaction of the interview topics and a
comparison of reoccurring themes in the different labels by mixing and matching them. The
three main categories that followed from this organization are:
-
School’s input for ICC in class and/or in projects/excursions
-
Teachers’ input for scaffolding pupils’ ICC development
-
Respondents’ observation of pupils’ ICC behaviour
In addition, two categories could be formed that contained labels with data on:
42
-
Respondents’ views about the relationship between language proficiency and ICC
development
-
Respondents’ views about the relationship between adolescents’ socio-cognitive
development and their ICC development.
However, these last two subjects are of lesser importance when looking at the aims of this
research and will only be discussed briefly (see 5.3.3).
To answer research question 3 the labels, now categorised according to the three main categories,
were organised in a table so that their content could be compared to the concepts of ICC from
research questions 1 and 2. These concepts consisted of the three ICC dimensions ‘knowledge’,
‘know-how’, and ‘being’ and the more elaborate descriptions of their meaning although these
descriptions are not reproduced in the table for efficiency reasons (they can be reviewed in tables
1.0, 1.1, and 1.2 in chapter 4.2.3). In addition, after the categorised labels had been matched to
one of the three dimensions, they were also scaled at one of the three levels of development; low
profile, medium profile, and high profile. The complete table that resulted from this can be found
here:
The numbers each represent one label from an interview fragment. The alpha-numerical in front
of the numbers indicate which educator gave the comment. So all the A’s are statements from
one educator and all the B’s are from another, etc.
Organised interview data referring to ICC conceptions
School input
Intercultural
subjects/knowledge
offered by school/in
class/for exchange
programmes
Teacher input
Pupils’ ICC
capabilities with
teacher input as
scaffold (from
teacher point of
view)
Pupils’ output
Knowledge
Know-how
Being
A7, B6, B63
B5, A21, A68, B71,
C88, C94, D111, D138,
E147, F167, F168,
F170, G208, G216,
G219, G220
C86
-
A18, C73, C77, D105,
F163, F165, F183, D,
137, G225
A8, A38, A43, A57,
E159, D122, D132,
G198
B2,B3,B4, A23, A29,
A35, C78, E140, E142,
G223
A34, C91, D106, D137,
G201, G210
A10, A13, A19, A22,
A36, C74, C84, D114,
D119, D128, G197,
G199, G203, G204,
G205, G212, G217,
G218, G224, G226
Knowledge
Know-how
Being
-
A24, C85, D107, F162,
F164, F185, F186,
G221
-
A28, B33, D136
C102, D115, E154,
F187, G215
A41, A42, D134, E158,
F161, F188,
Knowledge
Know-how
Being
F175, E153
E152, E153,
High
Medium
Low
High
Medium
Low
43
Pupil ICC behaviour
observed by teachers
-
F174
A26, A30, A31, A48,
E155, F165, F171, F176,
F178, F179, F180, F195
C83, C98, E156, G206,
G209
A25, C75, C76, C90,
D116, E157, F177
-
-
C79, D127, F169
B14, B15, B16, A20,
A27, A39, A43, A49,
A56, A57, C96, C103,
E151, F166
A1, A44, C95, D113,
E149, G202
High
Medium
Low
negative
Table 6.0
5.3 Research results interviews
5.3.1 Interpretation interview results
In this paragraph an interpretation of the categorised labels is given, including examples of label
contents to serve as illustrations.
The above table with the categorised interview data first of all shows that the educators’
observations and experiences related to ICC are almost all in the low- and medium profiles. High
profile concepts of ICC form a marginal exception as only 5 out of 226 labels could be
categorised as high profile.
Next, when speaking of ICC related aspects in school programmes and projects, the input school
is said to offer, focuses mainly on the domains of knowledge and being. Being occurs mostly in
the low-profile level whereas knowledge is more evenly spread between low- and medium
profile. Examples and types of knowledge input can be found in the following labels: C88 One of
the discussion topics used in intercultural projects is gender, E170 Tasks contain topics such as
getting to know each other, family, living environment, life outside school (all interpersonal),
G208: School prepares pupils with classes on country, culture and cultural differences, G219
Pupils are shown that working conditions and communication with colleagues is not the same
abroad.
Input for the development of being is shown for example in labels: A8 School stimulates pupils
to form an opinion on European affairs, D119 Pupils have to be taught that sometimes you just
accept that someone made a mistake without punishing or correcting them, G198 School’s effort
has led to more understanding for other cultures and more openness towards cultural
differences. G225 Getting to know the other is partially guided by school as school offers tools
and prepares pupils to encounter differences.
44
Third, the type of teacher behaviour that intends to stimulate ICC can be said to focus foremost
on the dimensions know-how and being. Examples of teacher behaviour focussing on know-how
can be found in labels A24: Teacher gives input on how to behave in a certain context, C85:
Pupils are assisted by a teacher in evaluating their communication, D107: Teachers help guide
pupils in conflict situations, caused by misunderstandings due to cultural differences, by showing
the context of the situation. The development of being is stimulated by teachers for example in
the following ways: E158 Pupils need to be made aware that they are developing ICC. E153:
ICC teacher is there to help prevent and bend prejudices, F188: In the beginning pupils don’t
show a lot of empathy in problematic situations. A teacher should make them aware.
When educators referred to pupil behaviour that could be related to ICC, they reported mostly on
concepts of know-how and being. For example in A26: Pupils adapt their behaviour to the
situation, and F179: Pupils adapted their language use in accordance with the proficiency level
of their exchange partner, are indicators of know-how. Again it should be noted that being
occurred mostly at a low profile level and could be found for example in the following labels:
A57: Pupils who have experienced the prejudices of others are much more careful in making
judgments about others themselves, C96: Pupils see that pupils from a different background
respond differently to the subject of homosexuality, F166: In the course of time pupils became
more aware of their own way of treating others.
5.3.2 Discussion of additional results
The above results are taken directly from an interpretation of the data as categorised and
organised in the table. However, the content of the labels offers more suggestions about ICC in
the educational practice. A few other interesting results follow.
First of all the labels show that when educators talk about ICC they use very general terms. The
dimensions knowledge, know-how, and being as they are known from the research field are not
straightforwardly mentioned as such. Educators give examples of behaviour, thoughts and
observations that indicate concepts of ICC, but they are not directly stated as such. Therefore it
was up to the researcher to interpret the fragments and labels and translate them to concepts of
knowledge, know-how, and being. The fact that the educators did not often use ICC terminology
despite the information they had been given in advance and the list they had received at the
45
beginning of the interview might be an indication of a general unfamiliarity with the concepts of
ICC within educational practice.
When educators were asked about the different intercultural projects in which they had
participated and the goals of these projects, a wide variety of examples were given, the following
table show the nature of the projects and their anticipated goals:
Project type
Email correspondences
Video web projects
Exchanges
International projects
In school European game
Anticipated goal
Improve language proficiency, getting to know
each other, work together
Improve language proficiency, getting to know
each other, compare food, compare life and
cultures, culture exchange
Historic knowledge, behaviour abroad, ask for
directions, buy something, compare school
cultures, discuss common topics, work
together, do an interview
Cooperation between pupils from different
countries
European historic knowledge
The projects listed above show a lot of potential for ICC development, especially in those
projects where pupil cooperation and interaction forms a key component of the tasks. Although
the project contexts offer potential for ICC development the question remains to what extent ICC
was a conscious learning goal and what other efforts have been made to stimulate its
development. For example, when educators were asked to what extent pupils were made to
reflect on or evaluate their communication, they answered this mostly happened in resolving
conflict situations but hardly as a general learning opportunity.
Another interesting result is that the topic of European citizenship frequently arose in the
educators’ input in the interviews. European citizenship was a reoccurring topic and knowledge
and attitudes related to Europe were common topics in teacher input and projects. Especially
topics such as European history and European current affairs came up frequently. This might be
a sign that educators have learning goals in mind that correlate more with the Europe
competences from the European Platform’s CFEC than ICC goals.
The input from the educators could also indicate that schools do not structurally assess ICC
development in relation to the intercultural (exchange) projects they offer. Projects are
46
sometimes evaluated but an assessment of intercultural competences is not explicitly mentioned
as part of the curriculum. ICC development seems to be taken as something which might occur
as a (side) effect with school projects, but is not formulated as a learning goal in and of itself.
5.3.3 Consideration of secondary results
Educators were also asked about the role of language proficiency as a precondition for the
development of ICC. The shared common opinion is that language is considered a precondition
for developing ICC (see table in the appendix 1). Educators state that without language
proficiency there is no communication and that stands in the way of cultural exchange. A most
striking example was given of an international project in which a Spanish pupil could not really
actively participate due to insufficient language proficiency. The teacher said that the pupils
could understand most but could say nothing. Another teacher had to help translate everything he
said (comments belonging to labels C81 and C82). This finding suggests that language
proficiency may be a precondition for ICC in secondary education.
When asked about the relationship between adolescents’ socio-cognitive development and its
relationship to ICC development, the ideas from the educators were very different. This can be
seen in more detail in the table with labels in appendix 2. For example one educator said that
pupils already have ICC (see label D111). Another educator said that they are absolutely
incapable of some of the ICC aspects such as postponing judgement (see label A52). There is
also the common opinion that pupils grow towards ICC in the course of time or that they are
capable of learning a lot with the right support. Opinions on this question vary in such a way that
it is not possible to draw any preliminary conclusions.
6. Discussion and conclusion
6.1 Discussion of result literature studies in combination with interview results
The main research question of this research is to what extent ICC goals can be reached in
secondary education. In the introduction it became apparent that there are many possible
influencing factors. This study meant to function as exploratory research into the effects of a few
factors that can be suggested to influence achievability of ICC goals in secondary education. The
47
factors that have been studied are those of ICC research literature on ICC principles and goals,
and the conceptions of ICC in European and national policy. To link this research to educational
practice it has investigated which concepts of ICC from ICC research literature and European
and national policy making could be traced back in the educational practice as shown in the case
studies.
6.1.1 What have the studies shown?
The literature studies have shown that ICC research for ICC implementation in secondary
education has developed a framework which can be used to identify and assess different levels of
ICC development. The framework consists of three dimensions of ICC: knowledge, know-how,
and being, which can each be reached at three different levels. The second literature study has
shown that both European and national policy makers make some references to ICC concepts in
their frameworks for (foreign) language education. However, these ICC concepts need to be
interpreted from the policy documents and do not cover all dimensions let alone all levels of
competence in these dimensions. Especially the dimension ‘being’ receives little to no attention.
This means that policy makers at these levels do not send a message to the educational practice
on ICC implementation that is in line with ICC research recommendations.
In this light it is not very surprising that the interviews held with several educators to represent
the educational practice show that ICC education does not consistently cover all dimensions.
Know-how and being are mostly stimulated by teachers and can be traced back in pupil
behaviour, but not at a high level profile. Knowledge input is given by schools but does not show
itself in educators’ observation of pupils.
When comparing this to the findings from the literature studies on the European and national
policies it can be seen these policies focus mainly on knowledge and know-how whereas the ICC
development outcome of the educational practice shows most indications of know-how and
being. This might partially be explained by the aforementioned table in 4.2.3 by Mulder and
Fasoglio (201). According to them knowledge can be taught whereas know-how and being are
behavioural and affective competences that should be promoted or allowed to develop instead of
being taught. The interviews show that educators’ input indeed focuses on know-how and being.
The interviews also showed that at a slightly higher level of organisation, the schools’ input
focussed more on knowledge and know-how, as do the European and national policies. When
48
looking at it from a hierarchical perspective it can be seen that high up the ladder the ICC goals
focus on what can be taught whereas lower down the ladder (educators and pupils) indications of
ICC concepts are found that have to be promoted. There is however the problem of know-how
which is present in policy making as well as in the educational practice. This problem would
undermine the above suggestion were it not that the labels from the interview data suggest that
apart from being stimulated and allowed to develop as suggested by Mulder and Fasoglio (201),
know-how can also be taught. Under the category of teacher ICC input, many examples can be
found of know-how, a few which of which are given here:
o
o
o
o
o
A24: Teacher gives input on how to behave in a certain context
E154: Pupils were told to adapt their language use to the level of a less proficient partner
F162: Teacher makes pupils aware of different meaning gestures Spain/Netherlands
F164: Pupils were made aware to pay attention to what they said and how they said it
G221: Pupils can be taught how to communicate with people from a different culture as
long as it is well structured
Know-how can therefore be developed through direct teaching as well as through promotion.
This would justify the above suggestion that policies mostly recommend ICC dimensions that
can be taught and the educational practice shows most examples of the ICC dimensions knowhow and being that should be promoted or allowed to develop. Therefore, the differences in ICC
goal formulation and learning outcome between policy making and educational practice can be
suggested to be inherent to the possible teaching strategies behind the three ICC dimensions.
Moreover, the goal of the open interviews was to indirectly elicit examples of ICC conceptions
in the educational practice through a free speech flow of the interviewees. The interviews show
that ICC concepts can be discovered within educators’ personal input, observations and
experiences but that these concepts of ICC are given in general terms. Although the interviewees
had been informed about ICC beforehand, and were given a list of competences as guidelines
during the interview, they did not refer to these. This shows that ICC and ICC related
terminology is not yet standardised in secondary education.
Neither does the educational practice seem to have clear goals set for the levels at which
secondary school pupil should develop ICC. Although the projects mentioned in the interviews
provide promising contexts for ICC development, they are not optimally used for this learning
goal. Therefore, ICC seems to be part of secondary education as an almost coincidental sideeffect of language and culture education projects. This conclusion would correlate with the
49
results from the literature study, that ICC goals are not explicitly mentioned in the frameworks
by European and national policy makers.
In the introduction it was said that on all levels that have been investigated in this study (that is:
ICC research field, European and national policy making for secondary education, and the
educational practice) there is a positive attitude towards ICC implementation in secondary
education. This exploratory study has shown that in spite of a positive attitude towards ICC
development, the approaches are not consistently pointed at structurally implementing ICC in the
school curriculum which makes it difficult for uniform ICC learning goals to be set. It depends
on the educators which concepts of ICC are promoted as learning goals.
6.1.2 Conclusiveness of the research results
Due to the exploratory nature of this research and the limited number of educators that have been
interviewed as representatives of the educational practice, the results can not be generalised.
However, the discussion following from the research results can and has been used to make
suggestions on the effects of some factors on ICC goals in secondary education. This theory can
be used as a motivation for further research. The information from this research can also be the
basis for an extensive survey in the educational practice to reach a bigger and more
representative group.
The secondary results from the interviews in 5.3.3 also lead to suggestions for further research.
The conceptual idea that language proficiency may be a precondition for ICC development
supports the theories by Welch et al.; Peltokorpi; Dooley; Kramsch; European Platform as
mentioned in the theoretical framework (2.2) Because these studies were not aimed at secondary
school pupils it might be interesting to do further research in this area. The educational practice
could benefit from this knowledge to develop a sharper definition of the preconditions for ICC
development and to define the link between language education and culture education.
The mixed responses on the relationship between pupils’ socio-cognitive development and ICC
development prevent the possibility for drawing any preliminary conclusions. It would be
interesting however, to do further research as it may be beneficial in the formulation of realistic
learning goals concerning ICC education.
50
6.2 Conclusion
Following from personal interest and involvement in language education and ICC related
projects and from knowledge that ICC implementation is positively regarded by both educators
and policy making authorities, this study has been carried out into ICC implementation in
secondary education. The main research question was: To what extent can ICC goals be reached
in secondary education?
To answer this research question three factors that play a role in the success of the achievability
of ICC goals in secondary education were described. These factors consisted of the ICC research
field, European and national policy making, and the educational practice. In addition, it was
investigated to what extent these three factors correlated in their conceptions of ICC. This led to
the answering of the following research questions:
What conceptions of ICC for secondary education can be found in:
1. ICC research literature on ICC principles and goals?
2. European and national education policy?
o To what extent do European and national policy, concerning intercultural
communication education at secondary schools, correspond to ICC principles and
goals from ICC research literature?
3. the educational practice?
o What concepts of ICC from research questions 1 and 2 can be traced back in the
educational practice based on case studies?
The description of the first two factors was done through literature research which has been
presented in chapter 4 together with the answers to research question 1 and 2. The description of
the educational practice was done through open interviews with educators as representatives for
this field. The results have been presented in chapter 5. A discussion of the combined results has
been presented in chapter 6.1.
ICC in secondary education is a phenomenon that has been widely embraced. The results of this
research show that the ICC research field, the educational policies on European and national
level, and the educational practice each have a different interpretation of ICC education.
51
The ICC research field offers the most developed defined definitions of ICC and its possible
levels of development in a multi-dimensional framework.
The conceptions of ICC from European and national educational policy do not fully correlate to
those from the ICC research field. Some ICC conceptions can be interpreted from their
documents which focus on the dimensions knowledge and know-how. However, the dimension of
being is underrepresented. It deserves recommendation that policy making defines clearer ICC
goals in its documents if their goal is to fully stimulate ICC goals in secondary education in all
three dimensions. This implies that both the ICC research field and the policy makers would
benefit from sharing their knowledge on ICC development if they both want to aim for ICC
implementation in secondary education.
The conceptions of ICC that can be found in the educational practice do not fully cover all ICC
dimensions and that they differ from those at European and national policy level. Conceptions of
ICC in the educational practice are mostly related to know-how and being. The higher level
profile of the dimensions is hardly reached. It is recommended that secondary schools receive
clearer recommendations for ICC learning goals if it is to be structurally implemented in the
educational practice. Consequently, they could also benefit from easy access to materials and
assessment instruments based on the findings of the research field.
Based on these results this research proposes that the different interpretations of ICC in
secondary education by the abovementioned factors influence one another in the practicability of
ICC goals in secondary education. Further research is recommended but so far this leads to the
conclusion that there is room for expanding the extent to which ICC goals can be reached in
secondary education.
52
Final word
I would like to say a word of thanks to all who have helped and supported me with this study. In
particular I would like to thank the educators from the Hofstad Lyceum (Den Haag), Comenius
College (Hilversum), and the Anna van Rijn College (Nieuwegein). They readily sacrificed their
time and shared their expert insights, showing enthusiasm and dedication as educators concerned
with international and culture education. I would also like to thank the European Platform for
letting me browse through their library. As a researcher and as a language teacher I hope to have
helped bridge the gap between theory and practice through my research into ICC. I also hope to
have made a modest contribution to the educational practice where it concerns the integration of
ICC in secondary school curricula.
53
Bibliography
Ageyev, V., et al. Vygotsky’s Educational Theory in Cultural Context. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2003. Google Books Search. Web. 3 Aug. 2012.
Baarda, D., M. de Goede and J. Teunissen. Basisboek Kwalitatief Onderzoek: Handleiding voor
het opzetten en uitvoeren van kwalitatief onderzoek. 2nd ed. Groningen: Noordhoff
Uitgevers bv, 2009. Print.
Boeije, H. Onderzoeksmethoden. 8th rev. ed. Den Haag: Boom/Lemma, 2009. Print.
Byram, M., B. Gribkova and H. Starkey. Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language
Teaching. Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 2002. Council of Europe, n.d. Web. 6 Aug.
2012
Byram,. M, A. Nichols, D. Stevens. Developing Intercultural Competence in Practice. Exeter:
Cromwell Press Ltd, 2001. Google Books Search. Web. 6 Aug. 2012.
Corbett, J. An Intercultural Approach to English Language Teaching. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters, 2002. Google Books Search. Web. 6 Aug 2012.
Dooley, K. “Intercultural Conversation: Building Understanding Together.” Journal of
Adolescent and Adult Literacy 52.6 (2009): 497-506. Ebscohost. Web. Oct. 2011.
European Commission. LACE: Languages and Culture in Europe. The Intercultural
Competences Developed in Compulsory Foreign Language Education in the European
Union. Europa. European Commission, Oct. 2007. PDF file. Aug. 2012.
European Platform. “Vision, Mission and Ambition”. European Platform. 2008-2010. Web. 18
Feb. 2012.
---. “CFEC.” Table. European Platform. Elos, 2012. Web. 6 Aug. 2012
European Union. Education and Training 2020: Council Conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a
strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020).
[Official Journal C 119 of 28.5.2009]. European Union, 23 Oct 2009. Web. 6 Aug. 2012.
---. Key Competences for Lifelong Learning: Recommendation 2006/962/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for
lifelong learning. [Official Journal L 394 of 30.12.2006]. European Union, 23 Oct 2009.
Web. 6 July 2011.
54
Fasoglio, D and H. Mulder. “Taal en interculturele competentie: de culturele ontdekkingsreis van
de homo parlans gaat verder dan de school.” De Toekomst van het Talenonderwijs:
Nodig? Anders? Beter? Ed. R. de Graaff and D. Tuin. Enschede: NaB-MVT, and Utrecht:
IVLOS, Utrecht University, 2009. 197-207 Print.
Fennes, H and K. Hapgood. Intercultural Learning in the Classroom. London: Cassell, 1997.
Print.
Kramsch, C. “From Language Proficiency to Interactional Competence.” The Modern Language
Journal 70.4 (1986): 366-72. Jstor. Web. Oct. 2011.
Krashen, S. D. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Pergamon Press, 1982.
sdkrashen, n.d. Web. 12 May 2012.
Lázár, Ildikó, et al. ed. Developing and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. A
Guide for language Teachers and Teacher Educators. Strasbourg Kapfenberg: Council of
Europe Publishing, 2007. Print.
---. Incorporating Intercultural Communicative Competence in Language Education. Council of
Europe Publishing. Kapfenberg 2003.
Lussier, Denise. “Guidelines for the Assessment of Intercultural Communicative Competence
(ICC).” Developing and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. A Guide
for Language Teachers and Teacher Educators. Ed. Ildikó Lázár, et al. Strasbourg
Kapfenberg: Council of Europe Publishing, 2007. 23-40. Print.
Lussier, Denise. “Assessing the Three Dimensions of ICC”. European Centre for Modern
Languages. Council of Europe, n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2012
Modern Language Association. Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.7th ed. New York: The
Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Print.
Peltokorpi, V. “Intercultural Communication in Foreign Subsidiaries: The Influence of
Expatriates’ Language and Cultural Competencies.” Scandinavian Journal of
Management 26.2 (2010): 176-88. Sciencedirect. Web. Oct. 2011.
Piaget, Jean. Intellectual Evolution from Adolescence to Adulthood. Karger Publishers, 18 Dec.
2009. Web. June 2012.
Santrock, J. Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2003. Print.
“Secondary Education.” NIFLAR - Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and
Research. Niflar, 2004. Web. 6 Aug. 2012.
55
Vernhout, A. “Begrippen en Definities.” Competentiedenken. N.p. 24 May 2012. Web. 15 Aug.
2012.
Welch, D., L. Welch and R. Piekkari. “Speaking in Tongues: The Importance of Language in
International Management Processes.” International Studies of Management and
Organisation 35.1 (2005): 10-27. Jstor. Web. July 2012.
56
Appendices
Appendix 1 Organised labels for language proficiency and ICC development
Language proficiency and ICC development
Language proficiency and pupils’ ICC behaviour
Language
Language
proficiency as
proficiency as
precondition
learning goal in
for ICC
ICC projects
B72, C80, C81, C82,
A40, C87, C97, E139,
E155: pupils showed awareness of their lack of expertise towards their communication
D116, D133, D135,
E141, F160
partner.
E143, E144,
F171: Pupils were eager to ask teacher for language and behavioural advice for their
E148, F172, F176,
video web sessions because they did not want to come across as rude.
F178, F180, F184,
F193, F194, G213
F173: Language proficiency deficits were sometimes cause for a good laugh but not a
barrier in video web sessions.
F179: Pupils adapted their language use in accordance with the proficiency level of their
partner
F195: When there is awareness of low language proficiency pupils show understanding
F196: With increased language proficiency the foreign partner will tolerate fewer
mistakes.
57
Appendix 2 Organised labels for socio-cognitive development and ICC
dveopment
Adolescent socio-cognitive development and ICC development
Adolescent selfAdolescent
Younger
centred world
behaviour
adolescents
Older adolescentes
B60: pupils’start growing from a
self centred perspective
B61: exposing them to a bigger
world might scare them into a
protective mode
B62: some pupils can step out of
their self centeredness and see
others
A46: unaware of the meaning of
their discriminatory behaviour
A47: disrespectful gestures
A31: behave well
A47: ignorance
A59: do not postpone
judgment
B64: pupils start looking outside
their self centered world from the
5th grade onwards
D110: ICC skills are shown in
relation to their own world of
experience
D111: Pupils’ world expands with
exchange programmes but they
already show ICC skills and don’t
need to be taught.
D117: When pupil does not feel
well it is difficult to show
understanding for other culture.
A52: cannot postpone judgment
yet
C100: more difficult
communication
A53: prejudiced
D112: young age can be cause
for small dramas
C93: tolerance can be discussed
A55: judgment can be
influenced by others
F182: too young to see
miscommunication is based
on cultural differences
C93: misunderstandings can be
discussed
D121: lack the experience for
tolerance for differences
F188: In the beginning pupils
don’t show a lot of empathy in
problematic situations. A
teacher should make them
aware. This is a hard thing to
learn for adolescents.
D123: Age does not play a role in
ICC, developmental stage does.
Things have to fit in pupil’s world
of experience
D124: it is ineffective to talk
about something outside a
learner’s world of experience
D125: Secondary school pupils
are at a stage in which they realize
there is a world other than their
own.
D128: During their high school
career cultural differences can be
more explicitly discussed as pupils
can refer to their own
experiences
D131: Pupils do not need to grow
up or become older to acquire
ICC, it has to be part of where
they come from.
F189: Adolescents are curious.
They seek limits, meet different
people, discover themselves. They
have an open nature
F190: ICC should start at
adolescence. Before that, pupils
are less curious
F191: The better a pupil knows
him/herself and their
environment, the better he/she
sees differences in others
E145: not enough self-reflection
for ICC development
Age differences in general
E150: insecure
C99: cause for difference in ICC
G202: prejudiced
C99: difference between 16 and 18 too big
A31: show interest
C101: topic interest differs a lot
A58: develop the capability of
postponing judgment
A59: postponing of judgment
A69: Most pupils will reach a level
in which they can form their own
opinions on Europe by the end of
secondary school.
C92: show interest in cultural
ambiguities
58