International Mindedness and Intercultural Competence: Perceptions of Pakistani Higher Education Faculty

This qualitative study endeavored to examine higher education faculty members’ understanding of international mindedness and intercultural competence and sought their views on professional development programs competency in evolving an internationally minded stance. The focus of this study was on international mindedness because in the current era of globalization, it has become imperative to inculcate world mindedness in students and to prepare them for global citizenship. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews held with eight faculty members teaching at two higher education institutions in Karachi, Pakistan. Dominant findings demonstrated that most participants had limited insight regarding the concepts and that these were applied minimally in their current teaching practices. Although, lauding an international minded approach, most participants considered understanding of local cultures more relevant before moving on to international visions. Participating faculty also reflected that there was lack of professional development and that for understanding local and international dynamics, specialized education programs were an important factor. The study concluded with implications for professional growth platforms to foster global mindedness in educators in order for them to promote international mindedness in students.


Introduction
Being a developing country, Pakistan is striving for betterment in several sectors, including education at all levels. The current study focused on international mindedness and intercultural competence of higher education faculty members because in the existing situation of interconnectedness to the rest of the world, it is of prime importance to develop international mindedness and intercultural competence in students. Friedman (2005) considered the world to be highly interconnected due to technological advances and emphasized that no country or region of the world could elude the consequences of this transformation. It is thus essential that faculty members promote international mindedness so that they can guide their students to be global citizens of the future.
The logic of adopting an internationally minded and interculturally responsive stance in pedagogical practices is the need of the times; whether it is through education, media, business, technology, or in multiple other ways, peoples of the world are interacting with one another. In Zhao's (2010) words "what used to be required of a small group of individuals -diplomats, translators, cross-cultural communication consultants or international tour guides, has now become necessary for all professions" (p. 425). Pakistani students go abroad for further education, business executives travel to meet their counter parts from various countries and families migrate to new destinations. For Harrison (2014), the growth of global economies and migration leanings, underscore the need for education to prepare students to be internationally minded citizens.
Additionally, the Committee for Economic Development (2006) in Washington DC, citing research of professors from George Washington University, stated that local teams could no longer handle business challenges on their own; instead, "global teams work together across cultural barriers and time zones for extended periods of time…the success of multicultural teams is becoming critical in the global market" (p.6). It is therefore essential to develop a worldview if we want to understand the world better (Taylor, 2008).
Most importantly, international mindedness broadens thinking, builds tolerance and respect for other cultures and communities, thus contributing to the achievement of peace and harmony (Haywood, 2007). By valuing other cultures and countries, not only do people shed the stance of ethnocentricity, but also pave way for becoming global citizens (Duckworth, W. Levy, & J. Levy, 2005). As such, educators have to comprehend the significance of living in an interrelated world and so develop international mindedness in their students (Harrison 2014;Hill 2012). Thus, the significance of an internationally minded and interculturally aware faculty cannot be underestimated in today's global scenario.

Purpose of study and research questions
The purpose of this study was to examine university teachers' awareness of and attitudes towards international mindedness and intercultural competence and their willingness to incorporate these aspects in education. Additionally, there is dearth of empirical studies regarding awareness of international mindedness and intercultural competence in higher education faculty in Pakistan. Thus, endeavoring to fill a minute part of this gap and considering the relevance of building international mindedness in higher education faculty, the following research questions guided this study: 1. How do faculty members in the higher education sector understand the terms international mindedness and intercultural competence?
2. How relevant is it to develop international mindedness and intercultural awareness in students and does current practice encourage this at all?
3. What is the role of professional development programs in evolving an internationally minded stance in educators?

Literature Review
Keeping in mind the topic and research questions, the literature review focused on concepts of international mindedness and intercultural competence; further, it highlighted the role of professional development programs for educators in building international mindedness. In 2007, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) report outlined the civic, intercultural and ethical learning goals that higher education would need to achieve if it was to cultivate global citizens for the 21st century. Among other things, crucial factors of learning included civic knowledge pertaining to local and international contexts and intercultural knowledge and competence.
Regarding components of international mindedness, Haywood (2007) proposed interest in the world, open attitudes towards others and their way of life, tolerance and acceptance of the interconnectedness of human affairs. Additionally, Haywood categorized IM (international-mindedness) in different forms, such as, Political IM, Diplomatic IM, Human Rights IM, Multicultural IM and Globalization IM. However, he underscored that educators need not focus on any specific kind of IM, but should support a general disposition of learners' towards international mindedness.
While Haywood (2007) suggested an open attitude towards others as the crux of international mindedness, Hill (2007) focused more on the contribution of international mindedness in building of values in students that supported them to become conscientious world citizens. From the educational viewpoint, Muller (2012) added that an international minded education can be defined as instruction for reducing ethnocentrism, increasing comprehension and respect for other cultural perspectives and supporting a global viewpoint. Thus it can be gauged that Haywood, Hill and Muller acclaimed open mindedness, which in turn reduces ethnocentrism and builds respect for other cultures. However, both Hill and Muller approached the subject of international mindedness from the perspective of education and Haywood's was a more general perspective. Duckworth, W. Levy, and J. Levy (2005) also emphasized the development of international mindedness as a key aspect for educators, so that they (educators) may rise above ethnocentric perceptions and behaviors. Harwood and Baily's (2012) perspective has a wider scope, involving understanding and engagements that are indispensable for both national and international citizenship. Thus, they consider IM from the national perspective as well, indicating that for being good citizens of one's own country and of the world, open mindedness is a requirement.
Moving on to intercultural competence, Deardorff (2009) described this as the skill to interconnect suitably and effectually in cross-cultural situations. Deardorff further elaborated that intercultural competence was more than just a basic understanding of cultures; it meant recognizing, valuing, and even adapting to cultural differences. Hiller and Wozniak (2009)  Considering the educational perspective, Heyward (2002) endorsed the inclusion of intercultural literacy in the curriculum because he highlighted this as a vital component for preparing students for success in a globalized world. Heyward defined intercultural literacy as "understandings, competencies, attitudes, language proficiencies, participation and identities necessary for successful cross-cultural engagement" (p.10). Heyward recommended intercultural literacy to be part of curriculum and Dooley and Vilanueva (2006) Vooren and Lindsey (2012) considered international mindedness and multiculturalism as complementary to each other. The viewpoints of these authors therefore demonstrated a subtle connection between international mindedness and intercultural understanding.
In addition, Munro (2007) advised educators to help students understand a topic from different cultural viewpoints because each interpretation has unique value. Ball (2009) proposed a different aspect, specifically from the viewpoint of CLCC's (culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms), and advocated generative change as a process for teachers to expand their professional and personal knowledge by combining it with the knowledge gained from students and using this to cater to their (students) needs. In order to raise international mindedness and intercultural awareness among educators, Heyward (2002), Duckworth, W. Levy and J. Levy (2005) and Dooly and Vilanueva (2006) advocated professional development; however, there is a slight difference in the views of the authors on the modes of achieving these goals. Duckworth, W. Levy and J. Levy emphasized on cultural immersion to build international mindedness of teachers because this aided in understanding cultural diversity largely. However, from Heyward's (2002) perspective, cultural immersion was not sufficient for the development of intercultural literacy. He recommended engagement with the host culture for achieving maximum exposure. Habib Dooley (2008) also underscored professional development for educators to inculcate intercultural understanding but recommended a slightly different approach. She supported the use of the transformative model, which involves a change in concept. According to her, for multicultural literacy, transformation involves the shift of teachers in understanding concepts related to language and culture. When transformation (of concepts) occurs, teachers can use the understandings to improve their pedagogical practices. Black and Bernardes (2014) raised another relevant point by highlighting that teachers inspire generations of students and therefore must have an in depth understanding of global issues and intercultural perspectives to improve social justice and human condition globally. In addition, Coulby (2006) accentuated on an education which respects diverse backgrounds of people and accepts multicultural reality of a global world; otherwise, there was the hazard that it might become an instrument for the "inculcation of national and religious fundamentalism" (p. 246).
Regarding empirical research, Black and Bernardes (2014) conducted a mixed methods research to examine the extent of changes that were observed in personal and professional behaviors, values and approaches of 46 Canadian teacher candidates who participated in a three-week teaching practicum in Kenya. Elucidating on the findings of the research, Black and Bernardes underscored that teachers' experience of the practicum in Kenya substantially increased the participants' international mindedness. The teacher candidates increased their efforts to build community and were more open minded towards globalizing their program of studies. Thus, this research demonstrated that offering cultural exposure to teachers could enhance open mindedness and cultural awareness in them.
James and Davis (2010) described a self-study conducted by faculty from the Kent State University's College of Education, Health and Human Sciences in 2010. For increasing international content throughout the curriculum, each faculty member had to complete a questionnaire; the aim was to examine what international mindedness meant to each one of them, and in what ways were they incorporating the concept in their undergraduate programs. Moreover, the questionnaire also explored how IM could help learners. Some faculty members responded that it was a commitment to human rights, others said it was advocacy and social justice; for a few faculty members, it signified awareness of ways in which people are connected to others around the globe. Later on, faculty members discussed each of these themes and agreed that these were all critical aspects of international mindedness. Thus international mindedness is a vast umbrella term and can represent different aspects for individuals.
The above literature review highlighted features of international mindedness and intercultural competence. Furthermore, it elucidated how teacher education programs could enhance faculty's exposure to international mindedness so that they could in turn impart the knowledge to students.

Methodology
The current study aspired to examine higher education faculty members' perspectives regarding international mindedness and intercultural competence. Charmanz (2006) underscored the necessity for research problems to shape the methods chosen. Expressing similar views, Corbin and Strauss (2008) stated that research questions should guide the methodological approach. Since qualitative research is an endeavor to secure an exhaustive understanding of the phenomenon being studied (Denizen & Lincoln, 2005;Patton, 2002) it was best suited for the current study, because the study attempted to comprehend university faculty members' perceptions of international mindedness and intercultural awareness. Moreover, it also sought to find whether faculty thought it was or was not necessary to develop such practices in the classrooms. All qualitative researchers need to be aware of their biases (Luttrell, 2010;Patton, 2002) and maintain objectivity and neutrality (Rajendran, 2001). Ethical issues were considered throughout the current research process. In order to ensure research credibility, the following measures were employed: • The research was conducted with an open mind and no pressure whatsoever was exerted on the participants to answer questions to the liking of the researcher.
• There was a follow up meeting to request participants to verify transcripts to confirm that nothing had been misquoted or misrepresented while transcribing data.

Participants
Participant selection strategy for the current study was 'purposeful' because this technique is widely used in qualitative inquiry for the selection of information rich cases (Patton, 2002). This strategy entails selection of persons who can contribute to knowledge regarding the phenomenon being investigated (Cresswell & Clark, 2011). Furthermore, Bernard (2002) elaborated that purposeful selection strategy also takes into consideration the accessibility, readiness and inclination of people to participate in a research project.
Regarding the number of participants, two male and two female faculty members participated from a private university in Karachi, whereas one male and three female faculty members participated from a public university in the same city. In all, there were eight participants whose ages ranged between 30 and 45 years approximately. For confidentiality purposes, each participant was asked to choose a pseudonym. Table 1 provides profiles of the participating faculty members.

Data collection
Data were collected through individual, semi-structured interviews with participants. All interviews lasted between an hour and an hour and ten minutes. Based on my research questions, interviews were the most appropriate strategy for data collection. In semi-structured interviews, the order of the questions can be changed, even though the researcher has an interview guide; also, additional questions can be asked (Kajornboon, 2005).

Data analysis
After transcriptions, data were analyzed by coding initial concepts; each transcript was read several times and contingent to what the data uncovered, a conceptual label was assigned. Saldana (2009) defined a code in qualitative data as "a word or short phrase that symbolically assigns a summative, salient, essencecapturing, and evocative attribute for a portion of language -based on visual data" (p.3). Thus transcripts were read numerous times to figure out the frequency with which the concepts occurred because this ensured not only inclusion of viewpoints of participants but also helped significantly in identifying recurring patterns and themes. Ryan and Bernard (2003) explained that frequent patterns combine to make a group of recurrent ideas from data and thus facilitate the researcher to answer the research question/questions. Consequently, codes that have common indicators are merged to form themes (Buetow, 2010).

Findings
Recurrent themes that manifested from data and were related to the research questions, included participants' understanding of international mindedness as knowing about the world and intercultural competence as having knowledge about the cultures of other countries. Regarding the relevance of developing an appreciation of these concepts among students, barring one participant, all others welcomed this but with certain reservations; five participants emphasized on the relevance of understanding the diverse cultures within Pakistan before moving on to comprehending outside cultures. All except one faculty member said that there is minimal role of these aspects in current pedagogical practices. One participant, however, considered the concepts irrelevant in Pakistani higher education milieu. Participants were very vocal about dearth of professional development and along with that, two participating faculty members also spoke about redundant course content. Excerpts from interviews and perspectives of participants are included in a discussion of themes derived from data.

Marginal understanding of international mindedness and intercultural competence
Seven participant faculty members perception of international mindedness and intercultural competence was that the frameworks pertain to knowledge about the world and about other cultures respectively. Sunaina, a faculty member at a private university, described the two terms as:

"Consciousness of world happenings is perhaps being international minded and having knowledge about cultures of the world is I think intercultural
competence. But you know these concepts have to slowly evolve and be understood; such notions just do not come to you." Salman, another faculty member from the private sector, considered international mindedness as being world minded. Additionally, he found little difference between the terms international mindedness and intercultural awareness. He was also of the view that these concepts are currently in demand. What follows is an excerpt from his interview:

"International mindedness…well yes, this is very much in demand these days. International mindedness is to know and understand the world and be world minded.…. Understanding the world is important and if we really aim to understand the world…well this is a global village, it is important but…
if not applied, then these are just buzz words; …both terms actually mean the same, with little difference." All faculty participants from the public sector had similar views, namely that the terms indicate knowing about the world and cultures of the world. Mahira, though was a little more elaborate, she expressed that she was not so sure if she had it right. In her words:

"International mindedness is knowing how people of the world live and how they understand things and intercultural competence is to understand different cultures and how people live according to the cultural norms; this is what I think, …I'm not so sure, but yes, that's what I think it is."
Arif's perceptions differed a little from what the others had said. He mentioned some deeper aspects of the two concepts and considered that if we are to be in the global market, we must indeed develop these aspects in students. This excerpt from his interview will further highlight his views:

Understanding ethnicity and cultures within Pakistan
Regarding relevance of developing international mindedness and intercultural competence in students, though all except one participant accepted the relevance of international mindedness for students, five of them underscored the need for understanding cultures within Pakistan before moving to the outside world. Aliza, a faculty from the public sector university had this to say: Arif, a faculty from the private sector, who had been more expressive in his views on international mindedness, accepted the relevance of the concept of IM and of intercultural awareness. In the extract that follows, he highlighted reasons why he thought IM was not considered in education in Pakistan.

"Unfortunately, in Pakistan, less focus is given to internationalization …
and more to individual and national identity…. we need to focus more on the international part. Our students go abroad for higher education; also, others go out of country, so why not prepare them for what is to come…." The participant who considered that there was no relevance of developing an understanding of the concepts of IM and intercultural competence was Sumbul from a public sector university. She was quite emphatic in her opinions and expressed it in the following words:

Minimal role of international mindedness in current teaching practices
Regarding the role that international mindedness and intercultural awareness have in the syllabi being currently taught, participating faculty members specified that it was either minimal or none. However, faculty teaching business or interpersonal communication in the private sector did specify that they discussed business communication within different cultures and highlighted the differences between business communication in Pakistan and in other countries. Mahira, elaborating on incorporation of the concept of international mindedness, said: "Faculty members of reputed universities have a growing inclination to include new and modern concepts, maybe even strategies for international mindedness. But many of them lack the knowledge. They don't even know how to do it." Two faculty members from the public sector found curriculum and pedagogy responsible for not including the concepts. In this connection, Adeel said: "Our students are burdened with bulk of information, rather than useful information." Rehma, found pedagogical practices lacking in this respect. In her words: "Our teachings have become obsolete…we are trying but there has to be something different." Sunaina from the private sector had a different take on this. In her words:

Professional development
All eight participants underscored the need for professional development, with Aliza saying: "They usually focus on training of school teachers; we hardly have any professional help." On the same lines, Rehma, said: "Some workshops, a few seminars, these are no good. There should be proper professional development for teachers at all levels from basic to higher." Sumbul, who had earlier on stated that there was no need to incorporate aspects of IM in curriculum and pedagogy, was of the view that even though professional development was important, it was not so for developing the concepts of international mindedness and intercultural awareness because according to her, these concepts were not relevant and were not needed by students.
Another faculty member, Salman, from the private sector, while responding in the negative regarding inclusion of IM in current teaching practice or curriculum, said: "Not only is international mindedness not incorporated, new concepts usually don't find a path in our curriculum. Teaching methodology of some instructors and lack of resources such as a rich curriculum are responsible for this." In summary, findings supported by data mostly expressed participants' understanding of international mindedness and intercultural awareness as being related to knowing about countries and cultures. Most participants believed that incorporating these concepts would be helpful for students; however, they considered that understanding the diverse Pakistani cultures should precede comprehension of world cultures. In addition, a factor regarding change of curriculum came up briefly. Most importantly, all except one participant underscored the need for professional development for introducing innovations and new concepts in education.

Discussion
Keeping in mind the research questions and blending literature with data analyzed from participants' interviews, this discussion focused on key areas of the findings, namely perceptions of participants regarding international mindedness and intercultural competence. Furthermore, the discussion focused on their views regarding relevance and inclusion of these concepts in current practice and finally, their opinions on the contribution of professional development programs in evolving an internationally minded stance in educators.
Considering participants' understanding of the concepts of IM and intercultural competence, it has been illustrated in the findings that most participating faculty members approached the concepts at outward, surface value. They defined international mindedness as knowing about the world and intercultural competence as having knowledge about other cultures.
In scholarly literature however, IM is considered as a much broader and deeper framework; IM supports in detaching ethnocentricity (Duckworth, W. Levy, & J. Levy, 2005) and values diverse viewpoints of the peoples of the world; furthermore, it inculcates respect for all (Vooren and Lindsey (2012). The superficial knowledge about the two concepts indicates that professional education programs should change their approach and should help promote faculty members' comprehension of the concepts in the deeper sense and offer support to faculty in preparing students for success in an interconnected world.
Additionally, some participants' use of words and phrases like "perhaps," "not so sure" indicated that they were not very clear on what international mindedness meant. In a study conducted by Gallavan (2008) in a university in the mid-south in the United States, the author interviewed teacher candidates regarding their understanding of international mindedness; she referred to their responses as lacking lucidity and clarity. Thus, it is not only Pakistani faculty but also educators in developed countries that are unclear in their understanding of this concept. Most importantly, this is also an indicator for professional development programs to guide faculty in developing an internationally minded stance. Gallavan (2008) recommended teacher educators to develop cohesive programs to prepare teachers with knowledge and temperament required for teaching in the 21 st century.
Moving further, one participant considered international mindedness and intercultural competence as similar concepts. Literature also finds an association between the two concepts; Dooly and Vilanueva (2006) and Duckworth, L. Levy, and J. Levy (20005) mentioned a subtle connection between international mindedness and intercultural understanding. Vooren and Lindsay (2012) also reflected that international mindedness and intercultural attitudes are complementary to each other.
Regarding relevance of these frameworks for education, five of the participants agreed that incorporation of the concepts of international mindedness and intercultural awareness in pedagogical practices and curriculum are relevant and positive factors for students, yet all five felt that priority for Pakistani students was to understand cultures within their country. Though Levy (2007) supported this argument, he emphasized on professional development programs to simultaneously focus on domestic multicultural issues as well as on global content. While priority of local issues is understandable, it is evident that Levy advocated concurrent understanding of local and global cultures. Educators in Pakistan also could be conditioned via professional development programs to focus on local and global content simultaneously. Research also demonstrates that teacher education has the capacity to build teachers' acceptance of cross-cultural difference and understanding (Alfaro, 2008).
One participant, as reported in the findings, did not believe in the relevance of international mindedness for students and showed unwillingness to add new content. Ball (2009) observed that teachers who are comfortable with the status quo needed to reflect on their own teaching practices and should be willing to bring a change in their own attitudes towards culture and learning. This self-reflection could also be introduced through professional development programs. Ball emphasized that "other initiatives are doomed to fail if the primary agents of instruction are incapable of acting as generative agents of change in our schools and classrooms" (p. 70).
Another factor as indicated by the findings, related to participants' views regarding minimal incorporation of the frameworks of international mindedness and intercultural competence in their pedagogies and courses. In James and Davis' (2010) opinion, even if teachers desire to prepare students for global citizenship, they consider themselves unprepared to do so. Again this is an indication for professional development programs to help educators build strategies for developing international mindedness in students. Seven of the eight participating faculty agreed that professional development would make a difference not only for fostering strategies to build international mindedness but also for promoting an understanding of local cultures. Literature has also underscored the role of professional development educators in assisting to build approaches to international mindedness. Black and Bernardes (2014) emphasized that teachers motivate generations of students; therefore, it is imperative that they have an understanding of international perspectives to contribute to improvement of global environment.
Thus findings from this study make a strong case for professional development of teachers. Faculty members are unaware of culturally competent pedagogical strategies on how to respond to culturally sensitive ways (Piage & Goode, 2009). It is through professional training that educators will be nurtured and motivated to introduce innovations in their practice. Furthermore, through professional education, teachers can reflect on their own pedagogical practices and this study advocates the need for professional teacher education programs in Pakistan.

Implications and Conclusion
Insights gained from this study are very relevant for education policy planners, curriculum developers, administrators and above all, for professional development educators in Pakistan who need to bring innovation in their programs in order to meet challenges of globalization. Moreover, faculty members also need to be more open minded to new approaches in this era of global change which is bringing the world closer.
This research has contributed to exploring perspectives of selected participant faculty regarding international mindedness and intercultural competence. It has endeavored to fill a grain of the gap in Pakistani scholarly literature because it lacks empirical studies on international mindedness. Nonetheless, the study had its boundaries which include the findings not being generalizable, since this was a qualitative research involving few participants from only two universities of one city. Future research will entail conducting a mixed methods study to include participants from various universities located in several cities of Pakistan.
As a concluding thought, this research has been insightful in underscoring the relevance of international mindedness and intercultural awareness to develop global citizens in the interconnected world. It has also underscored the relevance of teacher education for developing internationally minded faculty so that faculty could in turn promote world mindedness in students in order to prepare them for world citizenship. The AACU (2007) report said, "This is a pivotal moment for higher education, a time when we must work together for the kind of learning graduates need for an interdependent and volatile world. And it is also a precarious moment when short-sighted educational choices may prove permanently limiting…." (p.7). The relevance of innovation in higher education in all countries of the world to cater to the times could not have been more aptly portrayed than in the above quote.