Maximising Intercultural Learning in Short Term International Placements: Findings Associated with Orientation Programs, Guided Reflection and Immersion.

Campbell, Coral; Walta, Caroline

doi:10.14221/ajte.2015v40n10.1

Cited by 21 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Emerging from the current study, mobility as connecting is underpinned by the students’ accumulation of embodied cultural and social capitals as enablers of the students’ participatory capital in engagement with Asia. With respect to enhancing the embodied cultural capital, the finding lends support to the plethora of previous research on students’ increased intercultural competence emerging from outbound mobility, particularly in linguistically and culturally different settings (Bretag & van der Veen, ; Campbell & Walta, ; Scharoun, ). With regard to social capitals, the students’ perceived motivations to establish connections and networks in Asia are shaped by their pre‐existing habitus and desire to live, study and work in Asia, as well as their recognition that Asia is strategically important for their future and their country.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…The majority of the literature on education abroad explores students' motivations (Green, Gannaway, Sheppard, & Jamarani, 2015;Nerlich, 2013), preparation and support (Campbell & Walta, 2015;Dall'Alba & Sidhu, 2015), and development of personal and language skills and cultural/intercultural/global awareness and competence (Forsey, Broomhall, & Davis, 2012). Despite the significant role of student mobility in building people-to-people connections and governments' strategic goal of using student mobility for public diplomacy, the dynamics and complexities of how students' learning abroad can be capitalised on to enhance nation states' public diplomacy are unexplored through empirical studies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond the ‘normal’ to the ‘new possibles’: Australian students’ experiences in Asia and their roles in making connections with the region via the New Colombo Plan

Trần

2018

Higher Education Quarterly

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Introduced in 2014, the New Colombo Plan (NCP) represents the Australian government's signature initiative of student mobility and public diplomacy. The programme aims to expose Australian undergraduate students to the Indo‐Pacific. This article focuses on analysing Australian students’ experiences in Asia via the NCP. The article draws on a research project that includes policy discourse analysis and 52 interviews with government representatives, academics, mobility officers and Australian students learning abroad via the NCP. The research found that if well designed, NCP student mobility programmes have the potential to enable students to move beyond their initial instrumental goal of using learning abroad predominantly as a means to pursue their personal interest in travel and/or enhance their own employability towards engagement for the collective. The article proposes the notions of mobility as becoming and mobility as connecting as the conceptual frame to understand Australian students’ experiences and engagement with Asia in the current context characterised by the government's strategy to use student mobility as a vehicle of public diplomacy. It highlights the need to focus more on developing students’ in‐country participatory capitals and build a coherent mechanism to sustain NCP alumni's post‐return engagement with individuals and communities in the region and promote the region back in Australia. The article concludes with suggestions for related stakeholders to facilitate students’ roles in making meaningful, productive and sustainable connections between Australia and Asia.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the ‘normal’ to the ‘new possibles’: Australian students’ experiences in Asia and their roles in making connections with the region via the New Colombo Plan

Trần

2018

Higher Education Quarterly

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“…Awareness of cultural distance may be fostered by encouraging students to think of their own cultures and their perceptions of other cultures. Seminars and exercises that prompt reflective thinking on one's own culture can help prepare students for more openness, flexibility, and curiosity when engaging with other cultures [46]. Language proficiency, including familiarity with regional accents/dialects, has consistently been shown to be a powerful predictor of sociocultural adjustment and should be emphasized [4].…”

Section: Future Research and Practical Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birds of a Feather Fare Less Well Together: Modeling Predictors of International Student Adaptation

Gibbs¹,

Güneri

Pankau

et al. 2020

Sustainability

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Sociocultural adaptation to the host country is an important corollary to the psychological well-being of international students. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a model of sociocultural adaptation and psychological wellbeing. International students in Ankara, Turkey (N = 161, mean age = 22.35) completed online surveys. Consistent with our hypotheses, interpersonal connections with host nationals predicted greater sociocultural adaptation (β = 0.250, p = 0.001) and interpersonal connections with co-nationals resulted in poorer psychological adjustment (β = −0.171, p = 0.025). Host-country language proficiency led to better sociocultural adaptation (β = 0.262, p < 0.001), and perceptions of greater cultural distance had a negative impact on both psychological (β = 0.314, p < 0.001) and sociocultural adaptation (β = 0.328, p < 0.001). Thus, students who were able to engage in relations with host-country nationals fared better. Our results provide insight for sending and receiving institutions regarding the preparation (e.g., exploring cognitive frames for immersion, language skills, reviewing coping strategies) and supportive services (e.g., connection with host country nationals) that will facilitate the adjustment of international students. Drawing on the model of cross-cultural adaption proposed by Searle and Ward [9,10] and related literature, we modeled the effects of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors on the psychological and sociocultural adjustment of international students at a prestigious, comprehensive, public university in Ankara, Turkey. This university attracts over 1000 international students to its campus from 85 different countries. The largest proportion come from the Middle East and Central Asia and they enroll in the variety of majors/disciplines that are offered. The overall number of students who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs is 27,000. While the language of the country and the surrounding community is Turkish, the medium of instruction is English. Turkey is a developing country with a diverse population that has, over the last several decades, seen cultural shifts towards the adoption of several Western ideals, such as individualism and a nuclear family structure, but in many ways retains its collectivistic roots through cultural values of sharing and hospitality. With this specific cultural context established, questions surrounding how international students adjust to this environment can be explored. Sociocultural AdaptationSociocultural adaptation has been defined as "behaviorally based competencies required in various situations and circumstances during cross-cultural transitions" [11] (p. 1476). Examples include adjusting to living, working, and studying in a new environment, and the ability to perceive, understand, and respond appropriately to new cultural situations. Research on international student adjustment has been advanced by Ward and colleagues [9,12,13], who have analyzed numerous variables across their studies, such a...

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“…The increase in SA programs has brought about a number of research studies, many of which aim to identify key factors that lead to developing intercultural competence. These studies investigate such areas as what and how students learn in a SA context (Dunkley, 2009;Vande Berg, 2007), the critical element of pre-and post-management of SA programs (Chinnappan, McKenzie, & Fitzsimmons, 2013;Santoro & Major, 2012), service learning or community engagement within a SA program (Crabtree, 2013;Pusch & Merrill, 2008), and the impact duration of the program has on the learning outcomes of the SA participants (Anderson, Lawton, Rexeisen, & Hubbard, 2006;Campbell & Walta, 2015;Hamad & Lee, 2013).…”

Section: Study Abroad and Cultural Identity/identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Identification, Acculturation, and Academic Experience Abroad: A Case of a Joint Faculty-Led Short-Term Study Abroad Program

Lee

Negrelli

2018

jis

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The number of students expanding their academic programs to include learning experiences abroad has been steadily increasing over the past two decades. This study investigates the cultural identification of short-term study abroad participants and its influence on their acculturation process. By means of a widely used acculturation scale, it was found that there were statistically significant effects of cultural experiences on cultural identification, specifically decreases in cultural identification scores. Implications from this study suggest a deeper understanding of students’ ethnic identifications can be helpful in developing study abroad programs that promote the goals of student awareness, cultural sensitivity, and global competence.

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Maximising Intercultural Learning in Short Term International Placements: Findings Associated with Orientation Programs, Guided Reflection and Immersion.

Cited by 21 publications

References 17 publications

Beyond the ‘normal’ to the ‘new possibles’: Australian students’ experiences in Asia and their roles in making connections with the region via the New Colombo Plan

Beyond the ‘normal’ to the ‘new possibles’: Australian students’ experiences in Asia and their roles in making connections with the region via the New Colombo Plan

Birds of a Feather Fare Less Well Together: Modeling Predictors of International Student Adaptation

Cultural Identification, Acculturation, and Academic Experience Abroad: A Case of a Joint Faculty-Led Short-Term Study Abroad Program

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