ERIC Number: EJ1309266
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2046-469X
EISSN: N/A
Developing Business Students' Intercultural Competence through Intercultural Virtual Collaboration: A Task Sequence Implementation
Ferreira-Lopes, Luana; Elexpuru-Albizuri, Iciar; Bezanilla, María José
Journal of International Education in Business, v14 n2 p338-360 2021
Purpose: Allowing for interaction with foreign cultures without the need to travel, intercultural virtual collaboration represents a potential tool to develop business students' intercultural competence. This study aims to explore students' perceptions towards the implementation of a research-based task sequence in a project in which undergraduate Business students from Spain collaborated virtually with undergraduate business students from The Netherlands during a semester. More specifically, this paper investigates what intercultural competence indicators were mostly developed by the sequence implemented; how much each task from the sequence in question developed different intercultural competence indicators; and how much students enjoyed participating in each task. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected through after-task reflection questionnaires. A quantitative analysis of Likert-type questions was carried out and open-ended responses were used to illustrate findings. Findings: Results reveal that the task sequence developed different dimensions of students' intercultural competence and, particularly, fostered a positive attitude towards intercultural relationships, increased students' cultural knowledge and awareness and equipped students with skills to work in diverse teams. It also showed that as complexity grew along the sequence, the average students' perception of their intercultural competence development tended to decrease. The majority of students' very much liked participating in the different tasks. Originality/value: Designing telecollaborative projects can be very challenging and understanding the learning potential of different pedagogical strategies for virtual collaborative environments can help teachers to take better-informed decisions.
Descriptors: Business Administration Education, Undergraduate Students, Positive Attitudes, Intercultural Communication, Virtual Classrooms, Competence, International Educational Exchange, Teamwork, Global Approach, Student Projects, Electronic Learning, Sequential Approach, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Spain; Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A