Intercultural development in global service-learning

• Main Author: Jones, Stephen W.
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 2011
• Subjects: Electronic data processing Distributed processing; Service learning; Service learning Research; Intercultural communication; Cross-cultural orientation; International and Area Studies; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/789; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1788&context=uop_etds

This research project examined the effects of participation in a six-month global service-learning program in the intercultural development of a group of students. The students under consideration herein participated in the 2009 program year of the Grace University EDGE Program, which took place in Mali, West Africa. The present research builds on and contributes to three primary areas of research: intercultural development, service-learning, and study abroad. As the literature in these areas revealed the lack of a consistent way to assess global service-learning, I tried a three-part method of assessment. First, the Intercultural Development Inventory formally measured growth in intercultural competence. Second, guided course-writing generated by the students was used to facilitate followup interviews of most participants, especially considering the intersections between IDI results and students' self-perceptions as reported in their papers. Third, the interviews were coded and explored for information related to the process of intercultural development. The participants, overall, demonstrated positive intercultural competence gains while undergoing a complex process involving the impetus for and experience of development, ultimately resulting in changed patterns of thought.