Innovative Educational Technologies and Competencies in Higher Education

Discutir competências interculturais na educação superior brasileira pressupõe um olhar para os aspectos culturais e desenvolvimento de competências nesse contexto, conceitos diretamente entrelaçados com discussões acerca da qualidade. A predominância de “formatos monoculturais arcaicos” que reproduzem diversas formas de racismo ou ainda um ambiente que se fundamenta em uma interculturalidade funcional nos instiga a nutrir reflexões sobre a evolução do contexto da educação superior na América Latina. Além disso, competências é um tema fundamental no ambiente educacional, visto que, preparar os discentes para o mundo global já é mais do que uma realidade. Essa pesquisa buscou analisar a percepção dos discentes quanto ao conceito de competências e competências interculturais e suas práticas em uma universidade pública brasileira. O caminho percorrido foi uma pesquisa de campo, qualitativa, estudo de caso, com uso de questionário e da Análise Textual Discursiva (ATD). Os principais resultados trouxeram confirmação teórica da predominância no Brasil do conceito de competências como input, o conceito de competências interculturais como uma ramificação deste e polissêmico, bem como os elementos (contexto, atores sociais e práticas) como essenciais para o desenvolvimento de competências interculturais na educação superior.

Introduction Inclusion and diversity have become increasingly important in the context of sport in recent years. Numerous sports organizations and sports policymakers are committed to enable more inclusive sport. Led by the idea of a sport for all, everyone should be able to participate in sport regardless of gender, sexuality, dis_ability, race, or class. Inclusive sport does not only require specific structural conditions. It also demands social actors who have the skills to deal with the challenges of social diversity in an open, appreciative, and innovative way. Coaches, officials, teachers, journalists, and economists working in the field of sport need to be familiar with the topics of gender equity, diversity, and inclusion. This is where the project “Understanding and Experiencing Diversity” (funded by the Swiss Federal Office for Sport) comes in. It aims to develop and test a concept for promoting gender and diversity competence in sport-related higher education, thus enabling social actors to shape sport in a diversity-conscious and inclusive way. Methods The project is being carried out over a period of three years and consists of four project phases. After a phase of conceptual clarification regarding the theoretical framework and terminology, current approaches to gender and diversity competence (in the sport studies context) are being critically analysed. Against this background, phases three and four of the project will focus on the development of a sport-related teaching concept for gender and diversity competence and its testing at three different universities. Results/Discussion The understanding of gender and diversity competence developed in this project is theoretically based on the “trilemma of Inclusion” by Boger (2019). It thus refers to inclusion and non-discrimination as a complex structure of normalization, deconstruction, and empowerment. This is also linked to an intersectional perspective on social differentiation and discrimination (Degele & Winker, 2011). Regarding the promotion of gender and diversity competence in higher education, the attitude of social actors towards diversity and inclusion proves to be particularly important. This aspect has not yet been systematically considered in the context of sport-related higher education in German-speaking countries. The teaching concept developed in this project therefore emphasizes the aspect of attitude (Rischke et al., 2017).

Several review articles focusing on the development of intercultural competence in higher education have already been published. What the field lacks is a review article focusing on the evaluation of existing methodological approaches to investigating the teaching of intercultural competence in higher education. This review of 44 articles published between 2018 and 2022 aims to examine trends, classify, summarize, and evaluate approaches to researching intercultural competence, with a particular emphasis on technology-supported interventions. It demonstrates what characterizes this research (e.g., in terms of sample size or assessment instruments) and highlights areas for methodological improvement and thus a platform for future research directions.

This chapter focuses on the contribution scientific evaluation can make to the modeling and measurement of competencies in higher education. The chapter is divided into three parts. In the first section, the basics of scientific evaluation are briefly described with a specific focus on relevant aspects of program evaluation.

PurposeThis paper aims to provide insights into the relation between professional development (PD) and organisational change processes towards sustainability, with a specific focus on empowerment.Design/methodology/approachThe paper builds upon a constructivist approach, combining a literature review, a desk research on key publications and reports and a socio-political analysis to reveal the specific context in Flanders, Belgium. Findings are then connected to earlier insights from research on organisational change for sustainability.FindingsThe paper provides a number of PD initiatives that focus on sustainability in general and in a single higher education (HE) institution. Framing such initiatives as an organisational change process offers insights on how elements of empowerment are currently incorporated in PD initiatives and how it can strengthen them to lead to the further integration of sustainability competences in HE.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations are linked with the kind of sources used in the constructivist approach. The analysis only looks at written reports on the topic, albeit it also builds upon the first-hand experiences of educators in the HE institution focused upon in the case.Practical implicationsThere is a need to frame PD initiatives as an organisational change process towards sustainability with specific attention towards empowerment. Without this framing, PD approaches comprise the risk of being left in the margins or being understood as single initiatives without any connection to the bigger picture, i.e. the transition towards sustainability in HE.Social implicationsInterlinking PD and organisational change provides opportunities to frame the sustainability transition within the university in a wider societal context.Originality/valueThe paper provides an original contribution to the debate on sustainability competences, as it frames the PD within an organisational context, rather than focusing on the individual role of educators.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to diagnose and understand Portuguese academics’ perspectives on the components of intercultural competence and on the importance of its development by higher education students.Design/methodology/approachAcademics’ perspectives were identified during two discussion and reflection sessions included in the overall training program Intercultural Competence in Higher Education: building proposals with academics that took place at a Portuguese public university. Data were collected through audio recordings of the two sessions and observation notes and were subject to content analysis, drawing on Deardorff’s process model of intercultural competence (2006).FindingsAcademics recognize the multidimensionality of intercultural competence, acknowledging that it comprises attitudes (acceptance and respect; curiosity and openness), knowledge (others’ cultural contexts; self-knowledge and cultural self-awareness) and skills (observation and listening) that altogether will lead to individuals’ desired internal and external outcomes. The development of intercultural competence by higher education students, regarded in close relation to higher education internationalization, is considered crucial for changing prejudiced attitudes, preparing students to live in a global world and empowering them professionally.Originality/valueThe study sheds light on an issue that has been insufficiently addressed by research: academics’ perspectives on intercultural competence development, namely, in the Portuguese higher education context.

Resumo Competências interculturais na educação superior, em especial brasileira, constitui um tema incipiente apesar de sua importância longínqua e de ser um espaço indiscutivelmente composto de um rico arcabouço cultural. Ambiente com a predominância da perspectiva funcional da interculturalidade (CANDAU, 2012; WALSH, 2009), ainda carece de reflexões acerca do desenvolvimento de saberes sobre as temáticas que a permeiam. Este artigo buscou uma interlocução conceitual acerca de competências interculturais na educação superior, a partir de uma pesquisa bibliográfica do tipo qualitativa e exploratória, apropriando-se das principais publicações nacionais e internacionais a respeito do tema. A reflexão conceitual partiu de discussões acerca de competências e interculturalidade , bem como a junção dos dois construtos (competências interculturais) na educação superior. Portanto, foi possível realizar uma releitura com base nos conceitos de competências na ótica de inputs (corrente predominante norte-americana com ênfase no conjunto de características do sujeito) e outputs (corrente predominante europeia com foco nos resultados) e da interculturalidade (interação entre culturas) com concepção de classificação como relacional, funcional e crítica de Walsh (2009). Entende-se que a partir desta pesquisa sejam incitadas novas discussões e olhares acerca do tema, bem como estudos empíricos que venham agregar os resultados aqui apresentados, além de incentivar a busca por didáticas a serem implementadas que visam ao desenvolvimento de competências interculturais na Educação Superior.

Cross-national assessment of students’ competences in higher education is becoming increasingly important in many disciplines including economics but there are few available instruments that meet psychological standards for assessing students’ economic competence in higher education (HE). One of them is the internationally valid Test of Understanding in College Economics (TUCE), which has been adapted and employed successfully in HE systems in various countries, but the test results have seldom been used for international comparisons of students’ Economic Content Knowledge (ECK). Here, we compare the German and the Japanese test adaptations of the TUCE with reference to the American original in order to determine their suitability for comparative analyses of ECK in HE among these countries. Having critically examined the two test adaptations, we present a comparative analysis of students’ test scores in Germany and Japan and evaluate potential differences with regard to students’ acquisition of ECK while investigating country-specific influence factors.

Developing an intercultural communicative competence in higher education is becoming crucial within globalization transformations, covering all areas of educational activity. The Saratov State Agrarian University is a reference university with students from close and distant countries. Thus, the issue of intercultural communication, combining traditional forms, methods and teaching aids with innovative ones is important. The main pedagogical technologies in this context are, first of all, information technologies in combination with methods of enhancing learning. The formation of intercultural communicative competency among students was carried out in control and experimental groups. The process of training and the formation of this competency in the control groups was carried out according to the traditional method, while the modern educational technologies were used in the experimental groups. The components that make up the structure of intercultural communicative competence: general cultural, communicative, and strategic, were introduced in stages, over the course of three semesters of studying the discipline Foreign Language. The first stage was aimed at the formation of basic intercultural knowledge; the second stage emphasizes a more expanded and in-depth acquisition of intercultural knowledge, the ability to build communication strategies, and the development of behavioral models. The third stage was to consolidate the acquired skills, making creative tasks, projects aimed at the formation of all components of intercultural communicative competence. In the process of mastering the cultural material by students, they gradually learned another culture, cultural values through the perception of the national picture of the world.

Abstract. In the current conditions of explosive development of information technologies in education, rapid obsolescence of knowledge, "death" of entire segments of professions and in¬creasing local and global competition for talent, the problem of developing and implementing a modern, competitive individual educational trajectory (IET) of students comes to the fore. Among the tools and organizational approaches designed to solve this problem, the task of forming, developing and improving the institute of tutors is highlighted. In the deep and extensive academic discussion that has developed in recent years around tutoring, the topic of tutor support at the university stands out. However, at the moment, this part of the discussion does not put an end to one of the most important issues for the organization of work of this category of aca¬demic staff – that there is a model of competence of a tutor at the university. The relevance of this issue is also confirmed by the absence of a separate professional standard of tutoring, which is certainly necessary in higher education organizations. Today, the standard "specialist in the field of education" includes only a generalized function – "tutor support of students". The article analyzes various approaches and views on the model of tutors' competencies in higher education. A working model of the competencies of this professional group is presented on the example of a modern Russian university that has successfully implemented the concept of an individual educational trajectory in its activities. There are described practical approaches and solutions for using the above model in the processes of attracting, evaluating, training and developing tutors at the university. The prospects for further development and scaling of the tutor competence model in other universities of the Russian Federation are considered. As a result of the research, new models and algorithms for the formation of tutor competencies are proposed, which can be used for scaling and implementation in higher education. This research and its results may be of interest to the management of higher education institutions, representatives of services and departments responsible for the development of new educational technologies and improving the quality of human capital of higher education institutions.

The State of Service Related Competences in Montenegro

PurposeThis study aims to explore an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach for advancing knowledge and understanding of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) at higher education institutions (HEIs).Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study conducted an explorative experiment to elaborate on forms to advance a pedagogical approach that embeds sustainability. The design of the pedagogical project was explorative and interdisciplinary, using a predefined framework on key competencies for sustainability.FindingsThe findings showed that an interdisciplinary approach can create a learning setting that stimulates students’ problem-solving competencies for sustainability-related issues. Students were trained in the five key sustainable competencies addressed by Wiek et al. (2011). Moreover, although it is not always possible to arrange an interdisciplinary pedagogical setting, this might be a key condition for the development of students’ key competencies regarding their understanding of the SDGs. Addressing the SDGs from an interdisciplinary perspective paved the way for the development of students’ strategic competencies, including systems thinking and anticipatory competencies.Practical implicationsThe pedagogical project, as an interdisciplinary explorative experiment, was shown to be a potentially suitable method to counteract “cherry-picking” approaches to teaching the SDGs at HEI.Originality/valueThe pedagogical approach advanced in this paper, extends active learning and interdisciplinarity in higher education. The authors argue that this approach encourages students to take ownership of and responsibility for their learning process and indicates a changed mindset and behavior.

The concepts of sustainability and sustainability competence are controversial, complex, difficult to define and measure, and have varied meanings for different people and practices. Given the complex nature of sustainability, there is limited availability of paradigmatic frameworks to guide educators in assessing sustainability competencies. This paper introduces the Dispositions, Abilities and Behaviours (DAB) framework, which influenced the design of an intervention in 2013-2014 that profiled sustainability competencies among final year undergraduate students in a higher education institution. The results of the mixed methods study indicate that the DAB framework has good potential as a guide to educators or researchers in understanding and profiling sustainability- related abilities, attitudes and actions (areas of performance) of cohorts of students within higher education settings.

This study investigates the role of student self-government in developing managerial potential among university students in Kazakhstan through a quasi-experimental design. The research assessed how structured participation in self-government affects leadership qualities, organizational skills, and self-efficacy. Two comparable student cohorts were observed over one academic year: an experimental group (n = 90) that participated in a structured self-government program and a control group (n = 78) that followed the standard curriculum. Both groups completed identical pre- and post-intervention assessments using validated psychometric instruments measuring motivation, self-esteem, achievement drive, and psycho-emotional wellbeing. Statistical analyses revealed that the experimental group showed significant improvements in self-orientation, self-esteem, and psycho-emotional indicators (Cohen's d ≈ 0.4–0.6), whereas the control group exhibited no meaningful change. These results demonstrate that systematic engagement in student self-government can moderately enhance managerial potential through experiential leadership practice. The findings underscore the educational value of structured self-governance initiatives for fostering managerial and leadership competencies in higher education.

This article presents findings from case study research of an interdisciplinary approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at Higher Education (HE) bachelor level. The interdisciplinary approach was applied in the ‘Sustainable Competences in Higher Education’ (Sustain-Comp) project, funded by Erasmus Plus (2022-2024). The research question was: To what extent did the interdisciplinary approach to teaching ESD foster sustainable competences – and what were the implications and limitations? Participants in the project were lecturers and researchers from University of Agder in Norway, Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, UCL University College in Denmark. The Community of Prac-tice (COP) developed an interdisciplinary 10 ECTS curriculum that was tested during fall semes-ter 2023 in a full-scale pilot for 25 students. It was integrated in an English as a Second Lan-guage course (ESL) in the Teacher Education department, at UCL University College. The find-ings suggest that the interdisciplinary, ESD 1,2, and 3 approaches to some extent fostered sus-tainable competences among students regarding cognition (new knowledge), socio-emotions (engaging in problems), behavior (act for solutions).