Internationalizing the Curriculum for STEAM (STEM + Arts and Humanities): From Intercultural Competence to Cultural Humility

Abstract

Internationalization of the Curriculum (IoC) has proved essential to realize the potential of internationalization as a driver of quality in Higher Education. The broadening of topics, bibliographic materials and other resources that result from it improve the breadth and depth of the content, making it more comprehensive, updated, and relevant. Moreover, the Internationalization at Home (IaH) strand that seeks to mobilize the informal and the hidden curriculum to bring stay-at-home students an international experience similar to that of those going abroad widens access. However, both IoC and its IaH subset have centered mostly around individual disciplines. This article proposes an alternative view of IoC that focuses on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to reviewing the curriculum, in particular STEAM, including indigenous knowledge as it does not separate the arts and humanities from science (STEM). Using case studies and quoting instances of best practice, the article demonstrates that the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches advocated are better suited to pursue the learning outcomes sought by IoC.