Intercultural Competencies in Higher Education:a systematic review from 2016 to 2021

In the present digital age, students and professionals can interact and collaborate anywhere in the world through multiple means of communication. This article analyzes the scientific evidence of intercultural competencies in higher education from January 2016 to August 2021 out of the publications available in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Inclusion and exclusion criteria resulted in 325 articles being selected for review. The findings denote the relevance of this thematic area in teaching language, international experiences, virtuality, and collaborative learning. The approach with the highest incidence was qualitative research for case study designs, and the research trends proposed by the authors highlight intercultural education and virtual interaction to support global collaboration. The present work describes the studies carried out in this field in the last six years and aims to be valuable for future research related to educational innovation, the development of intercultural competencies, and international cooperation.

Automated summary

This article analyzes the scientific evidence of intercultural competencies in higher education from January 2016 to August 2021. A total of 325 articles were selected for review, and the findings highlight the importance of language teaching, international experiences, virtuality, and collaborative learning in this field. Qualitative research and case study designs were the most common approach, and the research trends proposed by the authors emphasize intercultural education and virtual interaction to support global collaboration. This study describes the research conducted in this field over the past six years and aims to contribute to future research on educational innovation, intercultural competencies, and international cooperation.