Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany

Abstract

University education is increasingly becoming international. Therefore, it is important that universities prepare their new students for the challenges of an intercultural academic environment. The aim of the current study was to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of an intercultural peer-to-peer training offered to all new incoming students at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany. The training aims to facilitate the social and academic integration of students at this international university. A total of 117 first-year undergraduate students completed a pen-and-paper questionnaire with 47 items one semester (6 months) after attending the intercultural training. The results suggest that participants liked the structure of the training and the use of senior students as peer trainers. It appears that the training improved the awareness of the effects of culture (own and other) on the social life of students. However, the training was less adequate at preparing the participants for the student-centered academic culture at this university. In light of its cost-effectiveness, the intercultural training could be easily adopted for use at other universities as part of the campus-wide orientation activities. However, regardless of their culture, all new university students require more assistance to academically adapt to and succeed in multicultural classrooms.

Definition of intercultural competence (IC) in undergraduate students at a private university in the USA: A mixed-methods study

“…But what exactly is IC and how can students acquire such a competence? Borrowing from the business expertise on expatriate preparation for international assignments [ 3 ], many institutions worldwide offer extracurricular activities, such as training in IC (for example see [ 4 ]) designed to translate the internationalization policies into practice [ 1 ]. However, such training programs as well as institutional mission statements and policies often do not explicitly define IC nor explain how it can be acquired [ 5 – 7 ].…”

Understanding the Integration of Psychological and Socio-cultural Factors in Adjustment of Expatriates: An AUM Process Model

“…The concept of socio-cultural adjustment is closely related to behavioral adjustment (Tahir, 2018) and highlights the role of various factors that lead to individuals’ cultural and social adaptation. Psychological adjustment, on the other hand, refers to individuals’ personal welfare and reflects the emotional and mental well-being of individuals (Ward & Kennedy, 1993) that may not be visible to others (Hippler et al, 2014; Kedzior et al, 2015). Overall, the concepts of psychological and socio-cultural adjustment are inter-related, yet distinct from each other (Selmer, 2004), as psychological adjustment is considered as a deeper and a broader phenomenon (Abugre, 2018).…”

Competence of Faculty, Staff, and Administrators in Hispanic Culture: Evidence from Three Surveys of Personnel and Students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

“…As Haupt and Connolly Knox (2018) stated, -By increasing cultural competency knowledge, skills, and abilities…our graduates… [become] more credible, empathetic, relatable, and trustworthy, and less inclined to negatively apply biases, stereotypes, and preconceived notions‖ (p.538). These are worthy goals and they are being pursued around the globe, in Europe (Kedzior et al, 2015;Koskinen et al, 2012) and the United Kingdom (Kruse, Rakha & Calderone, 2018), in Australia (Pillay & James, 2015), in Hong Kong (Bodycott, Mak & Ramburuth, 2014), and in the United States (Haupt & Connolly Knox, 2018). These efforts are occurring in a variety of academic fields including -emergency management and homeland security‖ (Haupt & Connolly Knox, 2018, p. 538), education (Sandell & Tupy, 2015), medicine (Swanberg et al, 2015), and nursing (Jeffreys & Dogan, 2012).…”