Interculturality and the study abroad experience: students’ learning from the IEREST materials

Abstract

Additional information:Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. AbstractThis study investigated how a "while abroad" (IEREST) intercultural experiential learning programme i) encouraged mobile student sojourners to explore the concept of "interculturality"; ii) promoted their intercultural engagement/communication during their stay abroad; and iii) invited them to reflect on their own (developing) interculturality. As students demonstrated their intercultural learning and perspectives, how did they (re)interpret and (re)construct the IEREST learning materials? Data drew on questionnaires, reflective journals and focus groups from two groups of mobile university students (in Italy and the United Kingdom). The findings illustrated how students' initial expectations of the programme (meeting new people, improving language) were exceeded. Through reflection of experience, and discussion with peers, tutors, members of the host community students realised that "interculturality" is multifaceted and complex; they expanded their small culture spheres to explore community cultures (gender, age, locality); they acknowledged the effort, work, and time required in interpreting bilateral understandings of self and other, and the possibilities of such understandings for global/intercultural citizenship. The outcomes offer implications for intercultural learning and training in the study abroad context, materials development, and further research concerning student mobility and intercultural education in other contexts.La ricerca ha inteso investigare le modalità attraverso cui un programma di educazione interculturale, basato su un approccio esperienziale e rivolto a studenti universitari in mobilità (IEREST), i) abbia incoraggiato gli studenti ad indagare sul concetto di 'interculturalità'; ii) abbia promosso il loro impegno e la comunicazione interculturali; iii) li abbia sostenuti nella riflessione sul proprio sviluppo di capacità interculturali. Ci si è pertanto chiesti in quale modo gli studenti abbiano recepito, reinterpretato e ricostruito i concetti sottostanti ai materiali didattici IEREST. I dati, raccolti in Italia e nel Regno Unito mediante questionari scritti, diari riflessivi e focus group, mostrano come gli studenti abbiano acquisito una consapevolezza interculturale oltre le loro aspettative iniziali (incontrare persone nuove, migliorare la lingua). Attraverso la riflessione sulle esperienze vissute e attraverso l'interazione con i propri pari, con gli insegnanti e con membri della comunità locale, gli studenti h...

Negotiating interculturality in internationalising higher education: a multi-voiced exploration

“…For example, Turner (2009, p. 252) discussed how her multicultural group work intervention 'failed to enable students to overcome their attitudinal or interactive difficulties', while students 'unhappily coexisted in groups but did not fully inhabit them'. Others have also noted that learning activities conducted in internationalised classrooms did not necessarily enhance students' intercultural competence (Holmes et al, 2016;Pitts & Brooks, 2017). Some have cautioned that such activities may even end with cultural segregation and reinforced stereotypes (Trede et al, 2013;Woods et al, 2011), anxieties around mindful interaction and passive xenophobia (Harrison & Peacock, 2010), and withdrawal from multicultural interaction in the future (Spencer-Oatey & Dauber, 2017).…”

Evaluación de estrategias educativas de integración intercultural

“…A través de un programa de aprendizaje experiencial intercultural, los estudiantes amplían sus esferas culturales reconociendo el esfuerzo para interpretar sus puntos de vista y el de los demás, y las posibilidades de estos aprendizajes para una ciudadanía global intercultural, (Holmes et al, 2016). Desarrollar la conciencia intercultural, apoyada a través de oportunidades para expresar emociones y sentimientos ayuda a los estudiantes a comprender conceptos inter- 2 2 5 6 -1 5 3 6 • 1 1 3 • culturales, fundamentales para un pensamiento intercultural (Holmes et al,2015).…”

Social formation for interaction in international mobility programmes: a case of Danish students in China

“…They are often lauded as a way to prepare and engage students for a globalised world (Wendy, 2019). Therefore research attention is called for, with a need for more studies on short-term mobility (Grey, Cox, Serafini, & Sanz, 2015;Holmes, Bavieri, Ganassin, & Murphy, 2016;Walters, Charles, & Bingham, 2016).…”