How reflection and essentialist and non-essentialist notions are used in practice

What is it about?

The paper is about how students reflected on the development of their intercultural competence in a group based project. The data is from their anonymised reflective writings of their experience of this group work and of working together to deliver an intercultural training sessions and a report about it. It shows how they reflected on essentialist and non-essentialist notions throughout the entire process, thus suggesting that rather than being teleological, such intercultural competence development continuously draws upon both types of notion.

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Why is it important?

It is important because traditionally it is assumed that intercultural competence develops teleologically along a standard path from essentialist ideas towards more non-essentialist ones. However, the data here shows that such perspectives often existed symbiotically side by side, and it is thus recommended that both be considered throughout intercultural competence and training.

Perspectives