It has been suggested that, in regards to globalization issues, U.S. institutions of higher education are progressing slowly when compared to most of the world. Americans themselves do not appear prepared for global competence. Bruestin (2010) reminds us that Americans scored poorly in the 2002 National Geographic-Roper poll of geographic knowledge. The author continues to point out that only 3 percent of U.S. college students participate in study-abroad programs, and enrollment in foreign language course has significantly decreased over the past 40 years. Reimers (2009) stated, “Yet in spite of growing awareness of the importance of developing global skills, few students around the world have the opportunity today to become globally competent.” He suggests that this is due to an absence of priority, a lack of resources and an obsolete mindset among educators.
The issues of globalization in higher education are complicated. Excitement is generated by the prospect of world-wide advances in technology, communication and social interconnectivity. However global interconnectivity skeptics fear of a loss of cultural authenticity as a result of the “McDonaldization”, or homogenization, of human cultural practices. Controversy surrounds the various world models of educational practices as they seek to inform and promote robust, ideological views of the development of knowledge exchange, economic capital, and human social equality. According to Brody (2007), “higher education, once the rarefied province of the elite, is now viewed by most nations as an indispensable strategic tool for shaping, directing and promoting economic growth” (p. 122). Furthermore, it is speculated that the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies are on track to become the leading world economic powers by mid-century. These economies will continue to generate a thriving middle class, thus increasing access and demand for higher education. Higher education enrollment in India has grown 6 percent and in China, 12 percent per year (Lederman, 2010). Regardless of the apparent growth of higher education in countries abroad, the democratic American higher education system continues to attract demand and serves as a global authority of educational practices. Green & Baer (2000) suggest “as institutions engage more deeply with entrepreneurial global initiatives, it is likely that they will be pushed to think differently about curriculum.” Therefore, to continue to remain competitive and prosperous, American higher education leaders need to challenge their curriculum. The integration of art and design education curricula practices can contribute to the transformation of teaching and learning intercultural competency.
Intercultural competence as a learning outcome is a critical dimension in the global education discourse. Based on a definition of cultural competence as cited in Schuerholz-Lehr (2007) defines intercultural competence as, “a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and policies displayed and applied by individuals that enable these individuals to interact effectively in cross-cultural situations” (p. 183). Intercultural education, like art education, constructs knowledge through multiple viewpoints, promotion of curiosity, flexibility and open-mindedness. These characteristics of learning are inherent in the pedagogy of art and design education. The growth of intercultural competence involves developing knowledge, skills, attitudes and values (Fleming, 2006). Likewise, the knowledge, creation and experience of art and design in education can contribute to the transfer of intercultural skills, shape personal values, and infuse global understanding. Nakamura (2007) points out that art can have a uniting power and is an important tool for transforming human relationships. He goes on to reminds us of the communicative power of art when he quotes Dewey,
Art is the extension of the power of rites and ceremonies to unite men, through a shared celebration, to all incidents and scenes of life. That art weds man and nature is a familiar fact. Art also renders men aware of their union with one another in origin and destiny. (p. 433)
The arts provide learners with a way of developing life skills and attitudes that are transferable across curricula and provide a framework for other learning experiences (Fleming, 2006). Eisner (2002) describes five different approaches to teaching the arts. A comparative analysis of these approaches to teaching the arts can provide insight to teaching intercultural competencies. The first approach portrays the experiential relational quality of art education and the ability for artists to reason in the absence of rule (Eisner, 2002). He further suggests that the arts teach students of the importance of acute attention towards nuance and the outcome of one’s choices. These qualities correspond to key concepts in intercultural education, such as the acquisition of knowledge, liberated inquiry, attitudes towards other cultures and the shaping of informed, sensitive ways of thinking. A second approach to teaching the arts concerns flexibility and the shifting of intention. This parallels intercultural competency characteristics of open-mindedness, exploration and discovery. A third approach to teaching the arts involves form-content relationship; in particular how messages are conveyed. A major goal of the arts and design in the realm of intercultural competency includes teaching students how to use visual communication and visual form as a tool to investigate meaning and purpose across world cultures. A fourth approach to teaching the arts deals with non-verbal communication and language. According to Eisner (2002), “not everything knowable can be articulated in propositional form.” This is a wonderfully complex approach that confirms the power of pure expression through the arts. Understanding alternative means of communication beyond verbal language is essential to learning cross-cultural skills aptitude. The last approach to teaching the arts focuses on the inherent qualities of the medium with which the artist work. The medium of the artist usually refers to actual, physical material and the artist’s task is to realize the possibilities of the medium, just as a sculptor transforms a crude piece of rock into a humanistic object of beauty. The medium of the intercultural competent student is represented within the constructs of the particular culture or human. The task of the intercultural competent student is to discover the possibilities of the formation of new cultural exchange.
Art and design education involves the engagement of the senses and expression of emotion, essential qualities which influence how humans develop relationships and navigate the world. Art and design curricula add value to intercultural competency learning outcomes.
References
Brody, W., (2010). College goes global. Foreign Affairs, 86 (2).
Brustein, W., (2010). Paths to Global Competence: Preparing American College Students to Meet the World. Retrieved April 16, 2010 from IIE Network website: http://www.iienetwork.org/page/84657/
Eisner, E., (2002). What Can Education Learn From the Arts About the Practice of Education? Retrieved September 13, 2010 from: http://www.infed.org/biblio/eisber_arts_and_the_practice_or_education.htm
Fleming, M., (2006). Justifying the Arts: Drama and Intercultural Education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 40, (1).
Green, M., & Baer, M., (2002). What Does Globalization Mean for Teaching and Learning? Retrieved September 13, 2010 from: http://joevans.pubworks.com
Lederman, D., (2010). American Universities in a Global Market. Retrieved September 12, 2010 from: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/08/31/clotfelter
Nakamura, K., (2009). The Significance of Dewey’s Aesthetics in Art Education in the Age of Globalization. Educational Theory, 59, 4.
Reimers, F., (2009). Teaching for the 21st Century: Leading for Global Competency. Educational Leadership, 67 (1).
Schuerholz-Lehr, S., (2007). Teaching for Global Literacy in Higher Education: How Prepared Are the Educators? Journal of Studies in International Education, 11 (180).
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