The Power of Myth-understandings

Critical Skills for Effective Intercultural Doctoral Supervision of Chinese Students
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-041-00650-3
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 142 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 385 g

The book addresses the misunderstandings and implicit stereotypes that continue to arise in and influence the intercultural encounters of staff and international doctoral students.

In addition to providing real-life examples, the author demonstrates that misunderstandings recur due to a lack of implicit and complex intercultural knowledge and practical tools for applying this knowledge in daily practice. She proposes the concept of "myth-understanding" to describe a temporary and transitional state of clarity deficiency before misunderstandings arise, which helps to create a "buffer zone" to address potential misunderstandings between international students and their supervisors. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of misunderstandings, the book sheds light on the positive side—it indicates that intercultural differences can provide an opportunity for both supervisors and students to develop implicit intercultural knowledge, challenge their preconceptions of each other, and reassess their own educational perspectives and practices.

The book will attract scholars of intercultural education, European university staff and professors who interact with international students, intercultural education officers, and doctoral students with an international (especially Asian) background.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Professional Reference

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hu, Yanjuan

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Teildisziplinen der Pädagogik Multikulturelle Pädagogik, Friedenserziehung
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Bildungswesen: Organisation und Verwaltung
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Schulen, Schulleitung Universitäten, Hochschulen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 General introduction 2 Fear and joy, contentment and anguish: Reconciling neglected emotions of international doctoral students 3 “I don’t believe you”: Misunderstandings between a Chinese doctoral student and a Dutch supervisor 4 Asking a “stupid” question? Fostering independence within the zone of proximal development 5 Bridging the operational gap: Decoding and operationalizing the implicit complex intercultural knowledge in practice 6 Problems or promises? Intercultural differences as catalysts for mutual learning 7 A practical guide: How to celebrate intercultural differences and effectively address misunderstandings

Über Autor(innen)

Yanjuan Hu is an associate professor in Higher Education at the Faculty of Education, Southwest University. She obtained her PhD from Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching, the Netherlands. Her current research interests include transcultural teaching and learning, virtual internationalization, supervision of student research, and teacher professional development.