Jonathan van Melle | Avans University of Applied Sciences (original) (raw)

Article by Jonathan van Melle

Developing Students’ Intercultural Sensitivity at the Home Campus: An Innovative Approach Using the Theory of the Creative Action Methodology Pedagogy, 2022

Higher education institutes, including research universities and universities of applied sciences... more Higher education institutes, including research universities and universities of applied sciences, face the challenge of developing effective internationalisation practices to prepare students for the demands of a globalising world. Researchers reporting on studies that are focused on universities’ internationalisation practices show that few practices are effective to develop students’ intercultural sensitivity. Broadly speaking, intercultural sensitivity means the ability to distinguish between real differences in values and behaviours across cultures, as well as the appreciation of values and behaviours even if they differ from one’s own. Interestingly, across the board researchers do not provide an explanation of what drives intercultural sensitivity development. This study reports on the impact of a new learning intervention that effectively developed local Dutch students’ intercultural sensitivity in the Netherlands, and it provides an explanation of this impact. For the intervention the theory of the Creative Action Methodology pedagogy (CAM) was used as a heuristic tool. CAM is a pedagogical approach that focuses on developing critical, analytical, and creative skills by having students break away from a culture of the truth. Results in this mixed-methods study, using the Intercultural Development Inventory and interviews, reveal that students significantly developed their intercultural sensitivity as they became empowered to break away from a culture of the truth.

Papers by Jonathan van Melle

European Journal of Education and Pedagogy, Mar 31, 2023

Intercultural sensitivity is one of the more influential fields of intercultural communication, e... more Intercultural sensitivity is one of the more influential fields of
intercultural communication, engagement, equity, and inclusion. It
describes the standard ways in which people experience, interpret, and
interact across cultural differences. Intercultural sensitivity starts with
the awareness that there are genuine differences between cultures and
that these variations are commonly mirrored in the approaches by which
people communicate and relate to one another. By recognizing how one
experiences cultural predictions about one’s effectiveness of intercultural
communication can be made. Educational interventions can be tailored to
facilitate intercultural sensitivity development. Generally, this
development signifies a move from an ethnocentric view to an
ethnorelative view. Researchers have undertaken several approaches, not
only to understand ethnocentrism but also to attempt to reduce it in
Higher Education Institutions. In this essay, we first discuss the concepts
of intercultural sensitivity and intercultural competence and how these
are connected. Then, we present several studies focused on
internationalisation practices to develop students’ intercultural sensitivity
and/or competence, finalising with an alternative pedagogical approach to
intercultural sensitivity development -The Creative Action Methodology
(CAM).

Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 2022

Higher education institutes, including research universities and universities of applied sciences... more Higher education institutes, including research universities and universities of applied sciences, face the challenge of developing effective internationalisation practices to prepare students for the demands of a globalising world. Researchers reporting on studies that are focused on universities' internationalisation practices show that few practices are effective to develop students' intercultural sensitivity. Broadly speaking, intercultural sensitivity means the ability to distinguish between real differences in values and behaviours across cultures, as well as the appreciation of values and behaviours even if they differ from one's own. Interestingly, across the board researchers do not provide an explanation of what drives intercultural sensitivity development. This study reports on the impact of a new learning intervention that effectively developed local Dutch students' intercultural sensitivity in the Netherlands, and it provides an explanation of this impact. For the intervention the theory of the Creative Action Methodology pedagogy (CAM) was used as a heuristic tool. CAM is a pedagogical approach that focuses on developing critical, analytical, and creative skills by having students break away from a culture of the truth. Results in this mixed-methods study, using the Intercultural Development Inventory and interviews, reveal that students significantly developed their intercultural sensitivity as they became empowered to break away from a culture of the truth.

Developing Students’ Intercultural Sensitivity at the Home Campus: An Innovative Approach Using the Theory of the Creative Action Methodology Pedagogy, 2022

Higher education institutes, including research universities and universities of applied sciences... more Higher education institutes, including research universities and universities of applied sciences, face the challenge of developing effective internationalisation practices to prepare students for the demands of a globalising world. Researchers reporting on studies that are focused on universities’ internationalisation practices show that few practices are effective to develop students’ intercultural sensitivity. Broadly speaking, intercultural sensitivity means the ability to distinguish between real differences in values and behaviours across cultures, as well as the appreciation of values and behaviours even if they differ from one’s own. Interestingly, across the board researchers do not provide an explanation of what drives intercultural sensitivity development. This study reports on the impact of a new learning intervention that effectively developed local Dutch students’ intercultural sensitivity in the Netherlands, and it provides an explanation of this impact. For the intervention the theory of the Creative Action Methodology pedagogy (CAM) was used as a heuristic tool. CAM is a pedagogical approach that focuses on developing critical, analytical, and creative skills by having students break away from a culture of the truth. Results in this mixed-methods study, using the Intercultural Development Inventory and interviews, reveal that students significantly developed their intercultural sensitivity as they became empowered to break away from a culture of the truth.

European Journal of Education and Pedagogy, Mar 31, 2023

Intercultural sensitivity is one of the more influential fields of intercultural communication, e... more Intercultural sensitivity is one of the more influential fields of
intercultural communication, engagement, equity, and inclusion. It
describes the standard ways in which people experience, interpret, and
interact across cultural differences. Intercultural sensitivity starts with
the awareness that there are genuine differences between cultures and
that these variations are commonly mirrored in the approaches by which
people communicate and relate to one another. By recognizing how one
experiences cultural predictions about one’s effectiveness of intercultural
communication can be made. Educational interventions can be tailored to
facilitate intercultural sensitivity development. Generally, this
development signifies a move from an ethnocentric view to an
ethnorelative view. Researchers have undertaken several approaches, not
only to understand ethnocentrism but also to attempt to reduce it in
Higher Education Institutions. In this essay, we first discuss the concepts
of intercultural sensitivity and intercultural competence and how these
are connected. Then, we present several studies focused on
internationalisation practices to develop students’ intercultural sensitivity
and/or competence, finalising with an alternative pedagogical approach to
intercultural sensitivity development -The Creative Action Methodology
(CAM).

Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 2022

Higher education institutes, including research universities and universities of applied sciences... more Higher education institutes, including research universities and universities of applied sciences, face the challenge of developing effective internationalisation practices to prepare students for the demands of a globalising world. Researchers reporting on studies that are focused on universities' internationalisation practices show that few practices are effective to develop students' intercultural sensitivity. Broadly speaking, intercultural sensitivity means the ability to distinguish between real differences in values and behaviours across cultures, as well as the appreciation of values and behaviours even if they differ from one's own. Interestingly, across the board researchers do not provide an explanation of what drives intercultural sensitivity development. This study reports on the impact of a new learning intervention that effectively developed local Dutch students' intercultural sensitivity in the Netherlands, and it provides an explanation of this impact. For the intervention the theory of the Creative Action Methodology pedagogy (CAM) was used as a heuristic tool. CAM is a pedagogical approach that focuses on developing critical, analytical, and creative skills by having students break away from a culture of the truth. Results in this mixed-methods study, using the Intercultural Development Inventory and interviews, reveal that students significantly developed their intercultural sensitivity as they became empowered to break away from a culture of the truth.