Teaching Project Management Principles by Proverbs in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Environments

Abstract

This chapter shares the author's experience of teaching Project Management to diverse international students at three European universities. Besides didactic and technical challenges, there also were cultural and linguistic diversity challenges to be addressed. Working in small teams was a solution to better understand differences, encouraging intercultural communication. Specifically, the chapter is focused on particular aspects of the educational process: a single course (Project Management) and a single instrument used as teaching aid: proverbs as illustrative examples while teaching the abstract principles of project management. Although the use of proverbs for moral education is old and universal, their use while teaching abstract concepts of scientific management—as project management principles—is a premiere. The lessons learnt as result of the author's teaching experience and studies on the management meaning of proverbs, in different cultural and linguistic environments, open research avenues for further comparative, cross-, and inter-cultural studies.