The ECD 225: Foundations of Cultural Competence Course is one of many efforts related to NC State’s At Home in the World Initiative, a partnership between the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity and Office of International Services.

Educating for Global Connections and Local Commitments

Cultural competency among 21st-century graduates has become imperative as the job market globalizes and the workforce continues to diversify. To become responsible, productive citizens, our students must understand their own cultures and those of their neighbors at home and afar. By engaging higher education institutions in examining the collaboration potential between diversity/multicultural education and internationalization, the American Council on Education (ACE) seeks to address these needs through an initiative entitled “At Home in the World: Educating for Global Connections and Local Commitments.” For institutions to fulfill their service mission in a globalized society, we will need to advance the analytical frameworks, pedagogical enhancements, diversification strategies and innovative solutions to societal issues that the work in this intersection affords.

ACE’s Inclusive Excellence Group and its Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement are collaboratively promoting the At Home in the World Initiative to reach the ultimate goal of creating synergistic learning environments that empower students.

Three-Year Good Practice Project Funded by The Henry Luce Foundation

Through a three-year effort, ACE worked collaboratively with a select group of eight institutions to advance new analytical frameworks, enhance pedagogy and develop innovative ways of fostering collaboration between internationalization and diversity/multicultural education on campus.

The institutions explored connections between on-campus international and diversity efforts to better prepare students for the impact of globalization and improved cultural communication skills among students, faculty and staff. ACE provided consultation on the project and facilitated meetings between participants.

Selected institutions engaged with the ACE project team over approximately two years and then participated in a national conference (summer 2013) to disseminate findings and lessons learned.