Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce
Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce
We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming international conference on “Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce”. The conference is interdisciplinary, it will cover a diverse range of fields and perspectives on the development of critical thinking skills in different academic fields at universities and labour market institutions. Showcasing the holistic approach, the conference aims to explore the vital role of critical thinking in diverse academic disciplines and its significance in the ever-evolving landscape of labour market institutions.
The conference aims to bridge the gap between universities and labour market institutions, fostering a culture of critical thinking that thrives in the classroom and enhances professional growth in the workplace. This conference will serve as a platform for educators, researchers, and labour market professionals from diverse fields to explore innovative strategies, and share best practices and collaborate on integrating critical thinking skills into educational curricula.
Keynote speakers
Alistair Starling
Co-Founder and Managing Director of the European Diplomats
Luís Sebastião
Associate Professor in the Department of Pedagogy and Education, Director of the Center for Research in Education and Psychology, University of Évora
Dimitris Pnevmatikos
Professor in the Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Western Macedonia
Erika Vaiginienė
Associate professor in the Department of Business, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University
Inga Jončienė
Head of Business Development at Alliance for Recruitment
Adam Mastandrea
Assistant Professor in the Department of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Institute of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University
Daiva Penkauskienė
Director of Modern Didactics Center, Associate Professor in the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Mykolas Romeris University
Sandra Kairė
Associate Professor, Director of the Institute of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University
Kay Hemmerling
Dr Kay Hemmerling, Chairman at the Institute for Moral-Democratic Competence (IMDC e.V.)
Programme
Programme
Loreta Chodzkienė
Interweaving Critical Thinking Skills, Reflective Writing, and Intercultural Communicative Competence: Their Role in Intercultural Education
Interweaving Critical Thinking Skills, Reflective Writing, and Intercultural Communicative Competence: Their Role in Intercultural Education
Loreta Chodzkienė
Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University (Lithuania)
Abstract
In today’s increasingly globalised world, effective engagement across diverse cultures is of utmost importance. While institutions of higher education prioritize the development of students’ intercultural awareness, the role of critical thinking and reflective writing remain underexplored. This paper investigates the intertwinement of intercultural communicative competence (ICC), critical thinking skills, and reflection in intercultural education. Specifically, it examines how critical thinking contributes to students’ ability to interpret and evaluate observations in intercultural encounters, and to reflect on diverse perspectives.
The research question guiding this study is: How do critical thinking skills and reflective writing contribute to the development of students’ intercultural communicative competence? The study aims to elucidate the role of critical thinking skills and reflective writing in the course of “Intercultural Communication” through a project-based task designed for international students. Equipped with theoretical knowledge in the subject, introduced to the basics of critical thinking and reflective writing, the students embarked on a semester-length project to explore the socio-cultural aspects of the host country (in this case, Lithuania) and reflect on their experiences in diaries. To achieve the aim, there were pursued two objectives: firstly, to conduct a comprehensive literature review on critical thinking, reflective writing, and intercultural communicative competence to identify theoretical connections. Secondly, to analyze how critical thinking and reflective writing skills contribute to the development of students’ ICC. Drawing on the empirical evidence from 112 students (informants) representing 22 countries, the paper provides insights into the dynamics of students’ ICC development, identifies a range of key skills necessary to be developed in intercultural education, and offers considerations for future research and practice.
Keywords: critical thinking, reflective writing, development of intercultural communicative competence, international students, intercultural encounters.
References
Cottrell, S. (2017). Critical thinking skills: Effective analysis, argument and reflection (3rd ed.).
Macmillan international.
Deardorff, D. K. (2015). Intercultural competence: Mapping the future research agenda.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Vol. 48, 3-5.
Esen, M. (2021). Critical Thinking and Intercultural Competence: Review, Use, and
Classification of the 21st Century Skills in Intercultural EFL Education. International Journal of English Language Teaching 8(1), 23-32.
Facione, P. A. (8 December 2016). Critical thinking: what it is and why it counts. Insight
Assessment
Farrel, T. S. C. (2022). Doing reflective practice in English Language Teaching. Routledge.
Fisher, A. (2001). Critical thinking: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Fisher, A., Scriven, M. (1997). Critical thinking. Its definition and assessment. Edge Press.
Hunter, D. (2014). A practical guide to critical thinking : deciding what to do and believe (2nd
ed.). WILEY.
Inch, E. S., & Tudor, K. H. (2014). Critical thinking and communication: the use of reason in
argument. Pearson.
Miller, J. W., & Tucker, J. S. (2015). Addressing and assessing critical thinking in intercultural
contexts: Investigating the distance learning outcomes of military leaders. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Vol. 48, 120-136.
Moore, B. N., & Parker, R. (2021). Critical Thinking (13th edition). McGraw-Hill Education.
Sobkowiak, P. (2016). Critical thinking in the intercultural context: Investigating EFL textbooks.
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 6(4), 697-716.
Biodata
Assoc. Prof. dr. Loreta Chodzkienė graduated from Vilnius University in English Philology, did her internship at the University of Kent (UK), obtained a CELTA diploma at SIH, defended her PhD “EU Pedagogue’s Intercultural Communicative Competence and Its Developmental Socio-educational Factors” (Social Sciences). In 2017, she won a grant for a teaching visit at Gunma University (Japan).
Currently, L. Chodzkienė has been running courses on Communication across Cultures, Design of Academic Texts and Research Methodology at the Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University. She also supervises students’ (Inter)cultural internships. L. Chodzkienė investigates the factors contributing to the development of a person’s Intercultural Communicative Competence, analyses International (Incoming) students’ perspectives on the Lithuanian socio-cultural realia and conducts training courses on Intercultural Issues. Since 2021 the researcher has been exploring the benefits of Virtual Exchange through telecollaboration projects which provide an opportunity for Vilnius University students to collaborate with students from the University of Latvia, Leon University (Spain), Los Lagos University (Chile) and Austral University (Chile). The L. Chodzkienė designed a study book on “What Should Every Student Know about Intercultural Communication?”, disseminated her research findings in more than 25 scientific publications, and made presentations at more than 30 international scientific conferences.
