DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE: A CASE-STUDY OF SECONDARY STUDENTS’ STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCES

Abstract

According to the Institute of International Education (2019, np), in the 2017-18 school year, 314,751 American students participated in study abroad (SA) programs, indicating a potential need for understanding the impacts of SA on students. This study explored the experiences of American secondary students as they navigated a SA partnership between American and French perspectives throughout the 2018-19 academic year, including during family homestays. Using a case study approach, two American focal students were selected for close analysis, while the remaining seven participating students provided additional data for comparison. Data comprised student and parent interviews, students’ classwork, researcher notes, and students’ ongoing written reflections. Building on Bennett’s (1986) Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity and Hammer’s (2009) Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), this study explored the impact that a short-term SA exchange had on secondary two focal students’ development of intercultural competence and self-described sense of self/identity. Identity is perceived as a socially influenced sense of self that may be impacted by events throughout an SA exchange experience. This further develops the work by Benson, Barkhuizen, Bodycott, and Brown (2013) who see identity expression as being impacted by experiences which are often found while studying abroad. Data analysis and discussion were organized around the four primary themes of practical challenges, connections and common ground, lessons learned, and establishing oneself / identity claims. Focal students exhibited a general trend toward greater acceptance toward another culture along the IDI spectrum shaped notably by affective and familiarity factors, though the degree and types of change varied within each individual experience. Shifts in identity were explored through students’ own voices in the ways that each participant described themselves within their experiences, both in written and oral form. Implications for fostering intercultural development for secondary schools preparing a SA opportunity for students are also discussed. Practical suggestions for in-service secondary educators and the school staff who also support students are made.