Cross-Cultural Design Practice at The Glasgow School of Art: The Local Community as a Cultural Mediator for International Students

Cross-Cultural Design Practice at The Glasgow School of Art: The Local Community as a Cultural Mediator for International Students

This study examines how the local community close to The Glasgow School of Art functions as a cultural mediator in the design education of international students. The research adopts a reflective practice approach, drawing on workshops and informal interviews with students and the Garnethill Multicultural Centre. The findings show that the community provides contextualized cultural insights, opportunities for building trust, and feedback mechanisms, which reshape students’ design decisions and foster cultural adaptation and the development of social sensitivity. From both student and community perspectives, the role of the cultural mediator is twofold: the community not only enhances cross-cultural understanding and design relevance, but also exposes tensions between academic design skills, community expectations, time resources, and sustainability. The paper argues for repositioning the community as a cultural mediator rather than a passive participant in design education; this shift can cultivate a more sustainable educational ecosystem for international students in a cross-cultural context.

Keywords: Cross-cultural, Design Education, Community Participation

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