Intercultural competence developed through transnational teaching experiences in Qatar: a narrative analysis.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20247192

Intercultural competence is a skill required by those who teach in transnational education that is, at branch campuses located in foreign countries (Crabtree & Sapp, 2004; Dunn & Wallace, 2004; Gribble & Ziguras, 2003; Leask, 2004). Despite the strong emphasis that has been put on the importance of having classrooms facilitated by interculturally competent faculty, there are strong indications that only minimal effort has been put into using well-structured professional development programs to build a high level of intercultural competence among faculty who teach transnationally (Gopal, 2011; Hoare, 2013; McAllister & Irvine, 2000; Teekens, 2003). Thus, a narrative analysis study was used to investigate the experiences of transnational faculty members regarding the development of their intercultural competence in light of their cultural needs. The data coming from semi-structured interviews were analyzed and coded using MAXQDA-12 data analysis software. Results indicated that intercultural competence is an indispensable skill for faculty working overseas. Additionally, results indicated that transnational faculty members prefer to rely on their local or transnational colleagues to advance their intercultural understanding and skills. Further, results indicated that intercultural development training is critical for new faculty members, however, it is less critical for those who are working in branch campuses which uphold Western standards or in countries where the Western culture tends to prevail. Moreover, exploiting the intercultural opportunities inherent in transnational teaching to the full advantage of faculty members working in international branch campuses emerged as a significant requirement for the proper development of transnational faculty intercultural development.