Indonesian lecturers' conceptualising and internalising of intercultural competence into teaching at universities

Idi Warsah, Mirzon Daheri, Ruly Morganna
Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup, Indonesia
Toto Suharto
Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Mas Said Surakarta, Indonesia

Intercultural competence (IC) has been one of the main targets of multicultural education. Our research investigated the conceptualisation of IC by lecturers at the State Islamic Universities of Bengkulu (known as PTAIN Bengkulu) and their efforts to internalise IC into learning processes. This mixed-method research employed a concurrent-embedded model with a sample of 435 lecturers. Results revealed that the lecturers had considerable understanding of IC demonstrated by a mean = 3.94. Their conceptualisation of IC was represented by attitudes of openness to cultural diversity, consciousness and acceptance of cultural stereotypes, skills in cross-cultural communication and conflict resolution, sensitivity to cultural norms and values, cultural flexibility, and willingness to learn from other cultures. They internalised IC by using intercultural materials, facilitating intercultural discussions, using language and teaching style responsive to cultural diversity, presenting cultural sensitivity materials, providing intercultural experiences, providing feedback supporting IC development, and collaborating with other lecturers and students from different cultural backgrounds.
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Authors: Dr Idi Warsah (corresponding author) is a professor in Islamic educational psychology. He has been teaching at Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup, Indonesia, for 20 years. His research interests cover critical pedagogy, multicultural education, educational psychology, and Islamic education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9406-1415 Email: idiwarsah@iaincurup.ac.id Mr Mirzon Daheri is a lecturer in Islamic education. He has been actively teaching at Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup, Indonesia, for 7 years. His research interests include multicultural education, sociocultural education, and Islamic education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9627-2873 Email: mirzondaheri@iaincurup.ac.id Mr Ruly Morganna is a lecturer in English education. He has been teaching at Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup, Indonesia, for 10 years. His research interests are in multicultural education, intercultural communication, and teaching English as a foreign language. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2188-2511 Email: rulymorganna@gmail.com Dr Toto Suharto is a professor in Islamic educational philosophy. He is an active and experienced lecturer at Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Mas Said Surakarta, Indonesia. His research interests encompass multicultural education, critical pedagogy, and Islamic philosophical discourses. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8351-9067 Email: toto.suharto@staff.uinsaid.ac.id Please cite as: Warsah, I., Daheri, M., Morganna, R. & Suharto, T. (2025). Indonesian lecturers' conceptualising and internalising of intercultural competence into teaching at universities. Issues in Educational Research, 35(2), 838-860. http://www.iier.org.au/iier35/warsah.pdf