When difference creates dissonance: understanding the ‘engine’ of intercultural learning in study abroad

Why do some study abroad students improve their intercultural skills, while others revert to less sophisticated ways of making sense of cultural difference? Both intercultural competence theory and transformative learning theory attempt to explain why student intercultural learning occurs, but they only provide partial answers. Building on our previous study assessing intercultural competence in a 2015 field school in India, this article applies the concept of cognitive dissonance to explain the process behind intercultural learning. In the context of study abroad, students experience cognitive dissonance when they encounter cultural differences or similarities that confound previously held expectations about culture. Adapting Maertz, Hassan, and Magnusson’s cognitive dissonance resolution framework, we employ qualitative analysis of students’ written reflections to show how the resolution of cognitive dissonance could act as the ‘engine’ of intercultural learning.     

Design and implementation of a telecollaboration project for primary school students to trigger intercultural understanding

ABSTRACT

Telecollaboration involving children around the world allows them to develop international understanding (IU). This paper reports on the design and implementation of a telecollaboration project between Japanese and Australian primary school students. The main purpose of the project, which integrates the contents of Social Studies and foreign language (FL) education, is to promote student interest in learning their own and a foreign language, as well as a foreign culture, using an educational social network site (SNS), in this case Edmodo. This study focused on Japanese students in particular. The exchange of cultural information online became a meaningful and authentic activity for communication in FL. Additionally, the evaluation showed that the Japanese students became more motivated to learn English and initiate IU. A curriculum-based telecollaboration project involving a long-term plan – instead of a one-off activity – is recommended in order to develop young students’ IU in FL education.     

Transnational learning experiences and teacher transcultural capacity: the impact on professional practice – a comparative study of three Australian schools

In school education, one of the few visible responses to increasing globalisation of educational practice has been the implementation of short-term experiential overseas student learning programmes. This paper analyses the results of a comparative research project on three Australian schools that offer such learning experiences. It argues that teachers who possess or who are capable of developing a transcultural – as opposed to an intercultural – capacity are more likely to be effective educators on these special programmes, as well as being more receptive to the personal and professional development that derives from participation in them.     

Students as a resource for introducing intercultural education in business schools

Despite a recognized need for a global mindset, opportunities for US business school students to gain hands‐on diversity training regarding intercultural issues remain rare. The reasons for this neglect include a lack of agreement on how to teach intercultural awareness and a paucity of faculty qualified to do so. In order to introduce intercultural education into a core business course, students were offered the opportunity to participate in an extra‐credit project that required the development of a proposal for an international joint venture and afforded them the chance to learn about each other while pursuing a superordinate goal of value to each. Thirty‐nine cross‐cultural teams were created, each of which had a partner from the US and a partner from a different country. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that the value of the project was closely related to the amount of learning that reportedly took place in both the business and cultural realms. Importantly, 73% of the students reported a strong interest in meeting people from different cultures as a result of participation in the project.     

Interactions among future study abroad students: exploring potential intercultural learning sequences

The study presented in this article aims to explore if and how intercultural learning may take place in students’ class interaction. It is grounded in the assumption that interculturality is not a clear-cut feature inherent to interactions occurring when individuals with presumed different linguistic and cultural/national backgrounds talk to each other, but that interculturality is co-constructed during interaction. In other words, every ‘interdiscourse interaction’ is potentially intercultural. We have assumed this perspective while investigating student–student class interactions that took place in an intercultural education course aimed at enhancing students’ intercultural learning in view of their sojourn abroad. Interactional data were analysed from the perspective of conversation analysis. Then, drawing on the notion of séquence potentiellement acquisitionelle as well as on a constructivist approach to intercultural learning, we conclude that, in interaction with their peers, learners can co-construct ‘potential intercultural learning sequences’ (PILS), which present recognisable interactional and discursive features.     

Culturally responsive online design: learning at intercultural intersections

Abstract

This article presents evidence-based guidelines to inform culturally responsive online learning design in higher education. Intercultural understanding is now a recognised core learning outcome in a large majority of Canadian public universities; however, supporting design methodology is underdeveloped, especially in online contexts. Our search for valid intercultural learning design criteria began with two questions: What is the research evidence for learning design practices that support intercultural learning? In what ways do current course design rubrics address intercultural learning? For answers, first we explored recent literature reviews, articles, books, professional discourse on cultural aspects of learning, and the related internationalisation and Indigenous literatures on formal learning. Next, we examined three course design rubrics commonly used in Canada to identify practice supports and gaps in relation to the literature. Various research-indicated supports are present in these rubrics; however, major gaps include critical and holistic pedagogies, explicit intercultural learning outcomes, and intentional diversity group work. The proposed guidelines synthesise key research-indicated supports for intercultural learning and show how they can be integrated in core online course design components. The guidelines present a base for online design methodology to support intercultural learning and enable formative evaluation of pedagogy, learning activity and assessment applications.     

Culture and personality in international schools: are trait differences in students’ personalities attenuated or amplified?

International schools provide a unique context for examining the influence of culture on adolescent personality and identity. In order to investigate whether intercultural education attenuates or amplifies known cultural differences in personality, the traits of 81 students from Chinese, North American, and mixed Chinese-North American cultural backgrounds were assessed. An online version of a Five Factor Model (FFM) personality inventory was used to measure personality. Students participating in the study attended a large, American international high school in Hong Kong. Despite previous studies showing cultural differences in personality, MANOVA results yielded no significant differences between the personality traits of students from Chinese, North American or mixed Chinese-North American cultural backgrounds. The findings support theories that propose intercultural schooling is associated with acculturation. Paradoxically, numerous qualitative investigations of cultural identity have concluded that a more distinctive, amplified cultural identity emerges when individuals move to more multicultural environments. The paper considers these different findings and the role of personality in culturally diverse classrooms. Implications for intercultural education are discussed.     

Developing intercultural competence of teachers of English as a foreign language through an international project

This paper reports an international project which took place at Nicolaus Copernicus University, where students and teachers from four European universities met for a two-week summer school. The main objective was to develop intercultural competence of teachers of English as a foreign language and their ability to demonstrate this skill during an English lesson. The paper depicts the tools implemented in the project and shows how they affected the learning outcomes by presenting the students’ and teachers’ perspectives.     

Intercultural knowledge,awareness and skills observed in a foreign language classroom

This article reports on findings from a research study conducted in a university-level Japanese course, which utilised intercultural learning approaches, methodologies and techniques. The purpose of the investigation was to assess student intercultural development as conceptualised in Deardorff's Process Model of Intercultural Competence.) The findings suggest that when an appropriate learning environment is provided, component elements of intercultural competence will develop. Emergent conclusions also highlight the importance of external engagement, reflection, scaffolding and training in foreign language classrooms.     

Transformative learning for social integration: overcoming the challenge of greetings

Many universities in different parts of the world are seeking to enhance the cultural diversity of their staff and student body and yet repeated studies have shown that good integration can be difficult to achieve. Although several studies have examined the reasons why such integration is difficult, there has been very little research into the actual process of social integration. This paper addresses this gap through a qualitative study of intercultural learning. Students were asked to focus on a behaviour that was personally or professionally important to them but that they were having difficulty adapting to. The paper reports the varying, unfolding experiences of six of these students as they faced the affective, behavioural and cognitive challenges of adjusting to different greeting patterns and the strategies they used for gradually overcoming them. Drawing on the literature and the findings, an intercultural growth model is proposed. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings for enhancing social integration at university.     

Teachers’ silences about racist attitudes and students’ desires to address these attitudes

In this article, we use ethnographic data to explore school-based perceptions of racism. We draw on the findings of a one-year study conducted in two upper secondary classes in a Swedish school. The starting point of the analysis was student discussions of racism in the school and the surrounding neighbourhood, which prompted an examination of teacher and student responses to racist and nationalist ideas. We concluded that the school seldom acted in line with recommended approaches for promoting non-racist and intercultural education. We suggest that the response is related to educational ideals that emphasise learning ‘objective’ facts (as opposed to values) and a de-contextualised view of teaching.     

Inclusive schooling: fostering citizenship among immigrant students in Europe

Growing ethnic and cultural diversity within Europe has brought increased attention to the impact and inclusion of immigrant populations and has also presented societies with valuable opportunities for intercultural learning between diverse groups. Using the International Civic and Citizenship Study data from 24 European education systems, in this paper we explore whether fostering an atmosphere of inclusion in schools relates to select attitudes and behaviours typically associated with an inclusive society, particularly among immigrant students. Our study is able to tease out some of the differences related to social class among immigrant students, opening up important avenues for discussion and future research. According to our findings, first generation immigrant students from higher socio-economic status backgrounds tended to have significantly more negative attitudes toward their resident country. Findings also collectively suggest that local-level practices, such as improving immigrant student participation in schools and positive relations between immigrant students and teachers, could be significant factors in fostering an inclusive society. Based on these results, we describe several education policies and practices that can promote greater inclusion, such as encouraging increased civic participation within the school and community, and providing a forum where students can contribute to school governance.     

IN and ICE as a Means to Promote a ‘New Personhood’ in Europe

Intercultural negotiation (IN) and intercultural education (ICE) are two emerging perspectives which break away from traditional regional and national identity concepts. The underlying philosophy is to view the European person as one who is capable of dealing with diversity (of both a social and cultural nature), and to focus socialization and (school) education on the enhancement of individual capacities to cope with intercultural communication and negotiation, and with differences in learning styles and socialization. The dichotomy “Us — Them” is overcome and supplanted by an intercultural ‘common ground’ of diversity within which the person develops his/her profile. In this paper some approaches to IN and ICE are brought into focus and analysed. The aim of the paper is to highlight how IN and ICE could become vehicles for personhood development after the nationalistic era in Europe.     

Pupil Mobility: Using Students' Voices to Explore their Experiences of Changing Schools

This article explores the ways in which students' voices can be used to analyse the process of moving schools, at a time outside of those that young people normally change schools. The paper is based on a study in a secondary school and uses qualitative data collected by researchers and student co‐researchers. Two areas were raised by students as important about being at a new school: the perceived challenges and their perceptions of learning in a new environment. It is argued that to respond to issues that arise due to mobility, an engagement with students' views is necessary. Furthermore, this can facilitate policy‐makers, school leaders and educators in providing more effective support for those young people.     

Promoting a European Dimension of Intercultural Education

In order to obtain an effective implementation into school curricula, intercultural education needs the cooperation of different actors and the sharing of experience between educational institutions, school heads, teachers and intercultural education practitioners. This article presents the outcomes of two seminars organized by the European Federation for Intercultural Learning in 1997 to review intercultural education materials for secondary schools and to promote European cooperation projects. It also discusses a project to adapt an intercultural education handbook presently being carried out in six member states during the 1997–1998 school year. This handbook is intended as a starting point for further international cooperation among European secondary schools in the field of intercultural education.     

Encountering and dealing with difference: second life and intercultural competence

With increasing cultural diversity as a result of globalization, intercultural competence (IC) to interact and co-exist in multicultural environments is recognized as being very important. Research indicates that cultural knowledge alone, or even being immersed in a different cultural environment does not necessarily lead to the development of IC necessary to deal with differences in behaviour, communication styles, and values and beliefs. Rather, it requires intentional development particularly of critical awareness of an individual’s cultural identity, and the values and beliefs that underpin one’s attitude and behaviour. Providing effective learning and teaching approaches to facilitate development of these affective and behavioural dimensions, challenges traditional pedagogical practices. Second life (SL), a multi-user virtual environment, potentially provides effective intercultural experiential learning opportunities to develop the desired IC by challenging personal beliefs and assumptions underpinning cultural frameworks and identity. This paper evaluates SL as one of the approaches used to develop IC in a first year IC module in a New Zealand university. Based on data from two case studies, it presents and discusses significant findings in terms of using SL and the development of students’ IC.     

European Perspectives on Intercultural Communication

Some of the major aspects of intercultural communication in Italy in particular, and in Europe in general, are summarised in this paper. In the wake of developments in favour of political and social minority rights in the United States, voluntary movements in Europe arose in the 1970s and became stronger in the 1990s. Among their many activities, volunteers working to further intercultural education have taken on the role of multipliers, spreading the application of intercultural learning. They have served alternately as trainers of young people and students of experts, functioning as hinges between teaching and learning. In many European countries, intercultural education in schools is still left to volunteer initiatives. The peculiarity of intercultural communication lies in its pragmatic approach to reality. It is based on a few abstract general truths, such as the fact that all humans have a culture, value orientation, etc. allowing them to understand and interpret an endless amount of practical experiences. Here, we shall present an anthropological approach to intercultural relations, considering various issues, such as the differences between cultural and national identities, the development of ethnocentrism as a response to perceived foreign threats, and the differences between assimilation, inclusion and integration. The focus on the Mediterranean region provides an example of the intercultural communication that takes place among many western and eastern cultures.     

Problematising international placements as a site of intercultural learning

This paper theorises some of the learning outcomes of a three-year project concerning student learning in international social work placements in Malaysia. The problematic issue of promoting cultural and intercultural competence through such placements is examined, where overlapping hegemonies are discussed in terms of isomorphism of social work models, that of the nation state, together with those relating to professional values and knowledge, and the tyrannies of received ideas. A critical discussion of cultural competence as the rationale for international placements is discussed in terms of the development of the graduating social worker as a self-reflexive practitioner. The development of sustainable international partnerships able to support student placement and the issue of non-symmetrical reciprocation, typical of wide socio-economic differentials across global regions, is additionally discussed.     

Intangible culture,cooperation and intercultural dialogue among university students

This paper focuses on intercultural competence and dialogue across cultural borders between university students from different Portuguese‐speaking countries. Various principles and strategies for intercultural education are summarised, and the project cultures@esec, based on such principles and strategies, is described. The project was focused on cultural heritage. The identities of African students and the intangible culture were also explored. Part of the project involved frequent contacts between domestic and international students, cooperation under equal‐status conditions, joint decision‐making and active learning. Results show that sharing knowledge and ideas, and working under pleasant learning conditions, can help reduce cultural barriers and prejudice and contributes to intercultural sensitivity and competence.

Este artigo centra‐se na competência intercultural dos estudantes universitários de países lusófonas e no diálogo entre culturas. São identificados, de forma sumária, alguns princípios e estratégias de educação intercultural e apresentado o projecto cultures@esec, que se baseia em tais princípios. O projecto esteve orientado para a valorização da herança cultual dos estudantes africanos e respectivas identidades e explorou a cultura intangível dos seus países. O trabalho desenvolvido implicou frequentes contactos entre os estudantes nacionais e estrangeiros, decisões conjuntas e cooperação em igualdade de estatuto. Os resultados mostram que partilhar conhecimentos e ideias e trabalhar em condições de aprendizagem agradáveis ajuda a quebrar barreiras culturais e a combater o preconceito e estimula a sensibilidade e a competência intercultural dos estudantes.