Revisiting Cultural Pluralism in the Age of Transnational Migration: Toward a Conceptual Framework of Transcultural Competence

Global Civilization Studies

GCS, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.11-26

Print ISSN: 3106-0978; Online ISSN: 3106-0986

Journal homepage: https://www.gcsjournal.com

DOI： https://doi.org/10.64058/gcs260102rcpat

Revisiting Cultural Pluralism in the Age of Transnational Migration: Toward a Conceptual Framework of Transcultural Competence

Shibao Guo and Sinela Jurkova

Abstract: This article revisits cultural pluralism in the age of transnational migration. Based on comprehensive literature review, we compare and contrast three prominent frameworks that are often used to address cultural pluralism, including interculturalism, multiculturalism, and transculturalism. Our analysis shows that in the context of transnational migration, the static and passive notion of interculturalism and multiculturalism that essentialize groupism and ethnicity fails to capture the evolving dimensions of multilayered diversity and identity. Ever-increasing transnational mobility across borders and the multidimensional cultural representations and identities involved are leading to transculturalism as a new way of being and learning where individuals interact with each other in a culturally dynamic environment. As such, we propose a conceptual framework of transcultural competence as a holistic model for human development that involves inquiry, framing, positionality, dialogue and reflection, all of which challenge our taken-for-granted frames of reference and expand our worldviews. It captures the continuity of evolving, an individual’s transaction across multiple cultures, reflecting the new realities and demands of a transnational world and the cultural pluralism in society.

Keywords: Cultural pluralism, interculturalism, multiculturalism, transculturalism, transcultural competence

Author Biographies: Guo Shibao (Corresponding author), Professor at the Werklund School of Education, the University of Calgary, Canada, research interests: transnational migration, Chinese diaspora studies, internationalization of higher education, and international student mobility. E-mail: guos@ucalgary.ca; Sinela Jurkova, PhD in Educational Research, the University of Calgary, Canada, research areas: transcultural transformative learning, transnational migration, intercultural communication, community development, theories and practices for inclusive and anti-racism education.

题目：再论跨国移民时代的文化多样性：构建超文化胜任力的理论框架

摘要：本文再论跨国移民时代的文化多样性问题。在全面的文献综述基础上，本文比较和对比通常被用于讨论文化多样性的三种重要框架, 即间性文化主义、多元文化主义和超文化主义。本文的分析显示：在跨国移民语境中，将群体主义与族裔属性进行本质化的间性文化主义与多元文化主义及其静态和被动态概念，无法展现出多层多样性与身份属性的动态变化维度。日益增加的、跨越边界的跨国流动性问题，以及涉及其中的文化再现与多重身份的多维度问题，构建超文化主义作为个体在活跃文化环境当中相互交往的新型经验与知识。有鉴于此，本文提出作为人类发展教育模式的超文化胜任力理论框架，涉及探索、架构、位置性、对话和反思，以及挑战我们习以为常的认知框架和扩展世界知识的所有难题，聚焦探讨变革的连续属性、跨越多种文化形态的个体行为，反映出的是跨国世界与文化多样属性在社会语境中的诸多新现象与新问题。

关键词：文化多元主义；间性文化主义;多元文化主义；超文化主义；超文化胜任力

作者简介：郭世宝（通讯作者）,加拿大卡尔加里大学韦尔克隆德教育学院教授，研究兴趣：跨国移民、华侨华人移民研究、高等教育国际化、学生流动。电邮:guos@ucalgary.ca；赛琳娜·朱尔科娃，加拿大卡尔加里教育研究博士，研究兴趣：跨文化变革型学习、跨国移民、跨文化交流、社区发展、融入与反种族主义教育的理论与实践。