The Theory Behind Our Courses

We’d like to share with you the theory behind our online intercultural training courses. In this blog we’ll look at what makes up the framework of our courses and how it’s shaped the way in which we explore course topics. Although we’ve often gone into detail about all the unique elements that make up CulturaGo’s courses, we haven’t yet explored the foundation on which they stand. And so, we thought we’d share these points with you - the framework that prepares our learners for whatever cultural challenges they come across while studying and working abroad or engaging in diverse environments in their home countries.

Practice over theory

Culture is more than concepts and labels. It’s something that we do. It is an embodied experience that needs to be lived with all our senses in order to be learnt. This is one of the principles we follow in compiling our courses. We strive to offer our learners practical guidance, tips and advice from our authors and collaborators through interviews. That way their experience moving into a different cultural context is made smoother and their curiosity about different cultures is stimulated and they are ready to learn more.

Accountability, not objectivity

Objectivity implies the absence of a point of view because reality can be observed, measured and communicated in one way (historically, through quantitative/mathematical data). We are working with interpretations of cultures at CulturaGo. We offer a portrayal of how people interact somewhere else by using our writer's knowledge and experience, and by collecting the voices of very different people. Accountability then stands for the transparent and open process that our content goes through, whereby if something does not resonate with the mainstream anthropological or sociological literature, we amend it and strive for a better product. But it does not imply that it will hold forever, in case major new developments happen and everyone starts thinking about gender, or food, in a completely different way.

Diversity and variety in viewpoints

We are aware that in the field of International Education, there is not enough cultural preparation and marginalized identities are the ones who receive even less attention. This is a product of larger systems of power including patriarchy, racism, colonialism and heteronormativity that privilege the safety and mobility of certain identities and neglects the rest. We believe that safety, well-being and representation of diverse identities and experiences are intimately linked and we strive to reflect that in the profiles of the authors we choose, especially in our Identity-based modules, and with the people we invite as collaborators in our interviews.

Participative learning design and peer learning

As an online company, we understand the ever-shifting nature of users’ needs and we leverage on the open-endedness of online services to ensure that learners’ feedback becomes the main motor for all the new iterations of our courses and our Platform. We also believe in our learners’ potential to be the ones sharing knowledge with their peers and with us. That is why we created the CulturaGo Community Platform, a space created to support them and their experiences while allowing them to share and learn from one another.

Whether you are an educator looking to enhance your curriculum, or a business owner interested in offering our courses to your customers, we invite you to get in touch with us. We’d be thrilled to collaborate with you and provide our courses to a wider audience. Don't miss out on this opportunity to bring valuable educational content to your students, or boost your business offerings. Contact us to explore the possibilities!