Migration, Mobility, and Intercultural Learning in Study Abroad Programs: the Case of Germany and Ghana Educational Exchange Program

Human Arenas ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammed Abdulai
Author(s):  
Susan Oguro ◽  
Angela Giovanangeli

Although student international exchange programs commonly claim to facilitate participants' intercultural competence, questions remain as to how this competence might be adequately and validly assessed. In this article, the notion of Cultural Responsiveness is used to assist in interpreting and categorizing students' experiences and intercultural learning through study abroad programs. Data on the Australian undergraduate student participants' unique backgrounds, experiences and perceptions was collected after they had completed an exchange program in Switzerland or France. Using the Cultural Responsiveness categorization developed through this study, three parameters of students' intercultural experiences emerged: Awareness, Engagement and Bringing Knowledge Home. Using these three parameters, this article proposes that the notion of Cultural Responsiveness provides a useful method for identification of students' responses to the experiences of study abroad programs.


Author(s):  
Susan Oguro ◽  
Angela Giovanangeli

Although student international exchange programs commonly claim to facilitate participants' intercultural competence, questions remain as to how this competence might be adequately and validly assessed. In this article, the notion of Cultural Responsiveness is used to assist in interpreting and categorizing students' experiences and intercultural learning through study abroad programs. Data on the Australian undergraduate student participants' unique backgrounds, experiences and perceptions was collected after they had completed an exchange program in Switzerland or France. Using the Cultural Responsiveness categorization developed through this study, three parameters of students' intercultural experiences emerged: Awareness, Engagement and Bringing Knowledge Home. Using these three parameters, this article proposes that the notion of Cultural Responsiveness provides a useful method for identification of students' responses to the experiences of study abroad programs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Jackson

As internationalization efforts intensify, institutions of higher education (HE) across the globe are increasing participation rates in study abroad programs. In this paper I argue that international experience alone is often not enough to propel students to higher levels of second language (L2) proficiency, global-mindedness, and intercultural sensitivity. Challenging the ‘immersion assumption’, contemporary study abroad research findings point to the need for interventions to deepen and extend the language and intercultural learning of student sojourners. To optimize the potential of study abroad, it is imperative that more efforts be made to bridge the research–teaching nexus. To underscore this point, I offer examples of two courses for student sojourners that have been inspired by my own research. While both interventions were developed in an Asian context, the approach and methodology may resonate with educators and students in other regions.


Author(s):  
Steven T. Duke

College graduates in the 2010's will work in a world that is more globalized than ever before. Graduates need to be prepared to work with people from many parts of the world. Study abroad programs offer an ideal context in which teachers-in-training can learn about intercultural communication and different patterns of culturally-based behavior. This chapter first defines a series of key words; including culture, intercultural communication, intercultural communication competence, and intercultural learning. The chapter then provides an in-depth look at intercultural learning programs and courses developed and implemented by a variety of United States universities and study abroad organizations. Intentional, holistic, and research-driven methods of instruction are described. Suggestions and recommendations are also provided. This chapter also advocates that institutions implement cultural mentoring for faculty who lead study abroad programs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-205
Author(s):  
Annie Nguyen

In a qualitative study, photo narratives from eight students covering eighty total photos were collected and analyzed to understand the existing student experience across eight short-term study abroad programs from three different institutions in Texas. Photos and their connected narrative interviews were examined for compositional focus, statements connected to intercultural growth, and whether photos were related to planned program activities. Given the growing visual libraries of students, this research provides an initial look at ways digital media already exists in study abroad. Moving forward, photo narratives offer the potential for education abroad leaders to embrace digital media while enhancing intercultural learning through structured assessments rooted in visual theory and photoethnography to better prepare and reveal students’ stories, learning, and intent. Abstract in Vietnamese Trong một nghiên cứu định tính, những câu chuyện bằng hình ảnh của tám sinh viên bao gồm tám mươi bức ảnh được chọn, sau đó phân tích để hiểu được trải nghiệm của các sinh viên hiện có trong tám chương trình du học ngắn hạn từ ba cơ sở dại học khác nhau ở Texas. Các bức ảnh và các cuộc phỏng vấn về các câu chuyện được kết nối của họ đã được kiểm tra về trọng tâm thành phần, về các tuyên bố liên quan đến sự phát triển giữa các nền văn hóa, và về việc liệu các bức ảnh này có liên quan đến hoạt động của chương trình đã được lên kế hoạch hay không. Với các thư viện trực quan ngày càng tăng của các sinh viên, nghiên cứu đã cung cấp một cái nhìn ban đầu về các phương tiện truyền thông kỹ thuật số hiện có trong chương trình du học. Trong tương lai, việc tường thuật bằng hình ảnh sẽ mang lại tiềm năng cho các nhà lãnh đạo giáo dục ở nước ngoài tiếp nhận phương tiện truyền thông kỹ thuật số trong việc tăng cường học tập giữa các nền văn hóa thông qua các bài đánh giá có cấu trúc bắt nguồn từ lý thuyết trực quan và việc mô tả dân tộc học bằng ảnh để chuẩn bị và trình bày tiểu sử, quá trình học tập, và ý định của các sinh viên được tốt hơn.


2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Coffman ◽  
Kevin Brennan

American education operates as an export industry, as indicated by the proliferation of American study abroad programs in Africa and the influx of Africans seeking degrees from American universities. In this article, we have used statistics (from the Institute for International Education (IIE)’s Open Doors and NAFSA/SECUSSA) compiled to track this educational exchange and estimate economic investments made by students and their host institutions into the socio-geographical areas in which the programs take place. These statistics, coupled with the authors’ experiences in directing study abroad programs, suggest the urgency of adopting more equitable models of reciprocity. Commensurate with our desire to see more American students engaged in African studies at home and abroad, we further emphasize the need for a re-invigoration and deployment of the concept of “capacity building” to achieve such ideals. This entails examining the economics of exchanges, but also reconsidering the social and intellectual impacts of the ways in which study abroad programs are conceived and implemented.


Author(s):  
Lata Krishnan ◽  
Lan Jin ◽  
Charles Calahan

Participation in intensive, immersive, service-learning study abroad programs with intentional intercultural activities embedded in the course curriculum has been shown to enhance cultural competence as measured via the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®) (Krishnan, Masters, Holgate, Wang & Calahan, 2017; Krishnan, Lin & Benson, 2020). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative impact of embedding intercultural learning activities on students’ intercultural competence when included in an on-campus course compared to a study abroad program. The intervention group consisted of 34 students enrolled in the on-campus course which incorporated intentional intercultural activities. Forty-one students who did not take the course comprised the control group. Comparison of the pre- and post-IDI® scores showed a significant increase in intercultural competence in the intervention group and no change in score in the control group participants. Qualitative data supported these findings. The increase in group mean score is slightly lower than group mean score increases in study-abroad students. Results indicate that incorporating intentional intercultural learning activities in an on-campus course can be an effective mechanism for students to enhance intercultural competence without travelling abroad.


Author(s):  
Steven T. Duke

College graduates in the 2010's will work in a world that is more globalized than ever before. Graduates need to be prepared to work with people from many parts of the world. Study abroad programs offer an ideal context in which teachers-in-training can learn about intercultural communication and different patterns of culturally-based behavior. This chapter first defines a series of key words; including culture, intercultural communication, intercultural communication competence, and intercultural learning. The chapter then provides an in-depth look at intercultural learning programs and courses developed and implemented by a variety of United States universities and study abroad organizations. Intentional, holistic, and research-driven methods of instruction are described. Suggestions and recommendations are also provided. This chapter also advocates that institutions implement cultural mentoring for faculty who lead study abroad programs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-45
Author(s):  
Andrea Paras ◽  
Michael Carignan ◽  
Ashley Brenner ◽  
Jane Hardy ◽  
Jodi Malmgren ◽  
...  

With the proliferation of short term study abroad programs at institutions of higher education, there is a need for more rigorous assessment of how these pr ograms contribute to intercultural learning. This article presents a multi institutional comparative study of students’ intercultural learning in six short term study abroad programs in Canada and the U nited S tates , employing both quantitative and qualitat ive methods. The study combines pre and post IDI survey scores with a qualitative analysis of student writing to present evidence about the impact of specific program features on students’ intercultural learning, as well as an analysis of how the students themselves make sense of their experiences abroad. We argue that the extent of pre departure intercultural training has a positive relationship with intercultural learning outcomes. Additionally, we present evidence that service learning opportunities and intra group dynamics contribute to students’ intercultural competence. We conclude that mixed methods analysis provides the most effective way of identifying how different program factors contribute to intercultural growth, when that growth occurs in a pr ogram cycle, and how program leaders can provide effective intercultural interventions to best facilitate student learning abroad.


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