Cultural intelligence (CQ), defined as an individual’s ability to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity, can be developed through experience, education and training. The positive relationship between certain types of experiences, such as an internship abroad, and the development of CQ, has been previously demonstrated. The research described in this article aims at verifying such positive relationship in a specific context: the IES Rome’s internship program. The analysis is based on the observation of the experiences of more than a hundred American interns, who worked for Italian and international organizations in Rome within the last three years. The findings clearly confirm the correlation between an internship abroad and the development of CQ. Good linguistic skills, or at least motivation and attitude to develop them, is evidently a key factor. The availability of a cultural training is also very important in order to increase awareness, motivation and knowledge of the host country, the essential “building elements” of cultural intelligence.
L’intelligenza culturale (CQ), cioè la capacità di essere efficaci in contesti caratterizzati da diversità culturale, è una competenza che può essere sviluppata attraverso l’esperienza, l’educazione e la formazione. È stato dimostrato che alcune tipologie di esperienze, tra le quali un tirocinio all’estero, favoriscono lo sviluppo del quoziente CQ. La ricerca si propone di verificare questa relazione positiva in un contesto particolare, scelto come oggetto di analisi: il programma tirocini del consorzio universitario americano IES Roma. L’analisi si basa sull’osservazione dell’esperienza di più di cento studenti americani, che negli ultimi tre anni hanno svolto un tirocinio presso organizzazioni italiane o internazionali con sede a Roma. La correlazione tra esperienza di tirocinio all’estero e sviluppo dell’intelligenza culturale trova pieno riscontro nell’esperienza di IES. Il possesso di solide competenze linguistiche, o almeno la motivazione e l’attitudine ad acquisirle e migliorarle, risulta essere un fattore chiave nella maggior parte dei casi osservati. Lo stesso dicasi per la presenza di un supporto didattico e formativo finalizzato a migliorare la consapevolezza, la motivazione e le conoscenze degli studenti, elementi costituenti le diverse dimensioni dell’intelligenza culturale.
Sviluppo dell’intelligenza culturale. Case study: il programma tirocini del consorzio IES
Zanazzi S
2010
Abstract
Cultural intelligence (CQ), defined as an individual’s ability to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity, can be developed through experience, education and training. The positive relationship between certain types of experiences, such as an internship abroad, and the development of CQ, has been previously demonstrated. The research described in this article aims at verifying such positive relationship in a specific context: the IES Rome’s internship program. The analysis is based on the observation of the experiences of more than a hundred American interns, who worked for Italian and international organizations in Rome within the last three years. The findings clearly confirm the correlation between an internship abroad and the development of CQ. Good linguistic skills, or at least motivation and attitude to develop them, is evidently a key factor. The availability of a cultural training is also very important in order to increase awareness, motivation and knowledge of the host country, the essential “building elements” of cultural intelligence.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
