Intercultural competence in the classroom: a systematic review of classroom-based research on teaching and learning practices for developing intercultural competence in different educational contexts

Abstract

This review provides an overview of researched classroom-based teaching and learning practices designed to enhance student intercultural competence across various educational contexts. From a total of 4904 systematically screened peer-reviewed studies, we identified 28 studies that examine teaching and learning practices focused on developing the intercultural competence of secondary and upper-secondary students within classrooms. We utilised a multifaceted analytical approach to evaluate the studies, which included analysing contextual factors and identifying researched classroom practices for intercultural competence development. The results synthesised three key teaching and learning practices studied for enhancing students’ intercultural competence: learning about culture, reflecting on culture, and experiencing culture. These practices have been researched to varying extents across different school subjects, grade levels, countries, target student groups, and class sizes. The findings presented in this review enrich our understanding of researched classroom teaching and learning practices that promote intercultural competence and underscore the need for further research on how to cultivate intercultural competence in classrooms.