Cross-cultural professional competence in higher education

Abstract

There has been a sea change in the global economy precipitated by the phenomenon of globalization (Saee, 2002). One of the major trends arising from this has been an exponential growth in international education, principally emanating from the developed nations. Export of higher education services accounts for 3% of total world exports in services. In Australia and the USA education is the third and fifth service exporting industry respectively (Oosterlinck, 2002). Globalisation has created demand for new skills and knowledge due to an emphasis on international co-operation and understanding (Jenkins, 2001) coupled with the mobility of professionals, mass migration; and tourism around the world. As such intercultural skills are fast becoming key indicators of success in many professional fields including the higher education sector (Morey, 2000). Professionals within higher education are increasingly faced with major challenges associated with providing an effective teaching paradigm in an international setting. In academic tradition it is not the teaching that is emphasized, but an expertise within a discipline (Johnston, 1998) and as such often those who work in the higher education sector do not have formal teaching qualifications. It is not surprising therefore that today cross-cultural challenges are seen as most pressing in many academic circles around the world (Holton, 1997). Taylor (1997) and Cadman (2000) stress that the changes imposed by increased internationalization depend on universities emphasizing the areas of teaching and learning, while Morey (2000) and Badley (2000) pose the question what is required of international/global/multicultural teaching expertise in higher education.