An integral part of the Open Online Catalogue of Intercultural Tools are the training materials about culture - e-learning materials, with exercises and tests allowing for self-assessment of intercultural competences.
The online training modules aim to help VET trainers to enhance their own cultural understanding as well as that of their students. The modules will help VET trainers to better understand their own and their student’s cultural background(s) by providing basic intercultural information, up-to-date intercultural models, tried-and-tested exercises and valid and reliable questionnaires allowing for self-assessment of own value orientations and intercultural competences.
The training material is divided into five modules which give an introduction to relevant intercultural topics.
Module I – What is culture
This module examines concepts of culture that capture its highly nuanced, multi-dimensional and dynamic nature. Three recent approaches will be presented which are particularly meaningful because they focus on the multi-dimensional nature of culture. It will start with an early definition of culture, explore where the concept of culture comes from, and then introduce the three recent approaches in more detail.
By the end of this module, you will have learned about:
- culture as complex social construct
- the definition of “world culture” of Hannerz, and his thoughts on how local and global cultures are connected
- the “fuzzy culture” approach of Bolten, and his concept of intercultural competence
- the UNESCO focus on culture as creative diversity, and its concept of “culture identity”
Module II – Models of culture
The iceberg model, the onion model and the cultural dimensions are essential in any Intercultural course. These models try to explain the differences and similarities when comparing various cultures. Diversity of culture can be easily explained by the fact that we are all dealing with the same challenges: how to find food and shelter, how to structure our society, etc. The solutions that a specific group of people might apply will differ from group to group.
These models also increase our sensitivity of cultural values and demonstrate that not everyone has the same values.
By the end of this module, you will learn:
- how to appreciate cultural diversity,
- to be able to compare and contrast various cultures,
- to understand your own cultural background,
- to evaluate how useful the application of „cultural dimensions” is to your relationship with other people.
To be continued….
