ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book refers to the dangers of essentialism, of perceiving 'other cultures' as deficient, and of simplifying and overgeneralising what we find when we travel abroad. It focuses on the role and perceptions of the educators who are responsible for helping and directing their students in these very difficult voyages of discovery. The book elaborates the role of intercultural educators and the awareness and difficulties that they themselves need to face. While intercultural competence may require being able to operate and somehow conceal prejudices, interculturality requires a deeper knowledge. This knowledge base that is necessary to inform interculturality, which might be connected with postcolonial and critical theory, is referred to in the book. The book presents a discussion of how the need to acquire this knowledge by both educators and students impacts on the pedagogic process.
