Influence of an Education Abroad Program on the Intercultural Sensitivity of STEM Undergraduates: A Mixed Methods Study

Autor/inn/en	Demetry, Chrysanthe; Vaz, Richard F.
Titel	Influence of an Education Abroad Program on the Intercultural Sensitivity of STEM Undergraduates: A Mixed Methods Study
Quelle	In: Advances in Engineering Education, 6 (2017) 1, (32 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1941-1766
Schlagwörter	STEM Education; Undergraduate Students; Mixed Methods Research; Study Abroad; Multicultural Education; Foreign Countries; Engineering Education; Cultural Awareness; Cultural Pluralism; Science Instruction; College Faculty; College Science; Intercultural Communication; Intervention; Semi Structured Interviews; Pretests Posttests; Massachusetts; Thailand (Bangkok) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? STEM; Studies abroad; Auslandsstudium; Multikulturelle Erziehung; Ausland; Ingenieurausbildung; Cultural identity; Kulturelle Identität; Kulturpluralismus; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Fakultät; Interkulturelle Kommunikation; Master-Studiengang
Abstract	Education abroad programs are becoming more common as a mechanism for developing the global competencies of engineering graduates. An increasing body of research shows that intercultural learning does not occur "de facto" in such programs. This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to explore changes in students' intercultural sensitivity over the course of a project-based education abroad experience in Thailand that was designed with proactive interventions to foster intercultural learning. In addition, we aimed to compare the intercultural development of students in U.S.-only project teams with those who were in cross-national teams with students from a partner university. Although the study group as a whole did not show a statistically significant gain in a quantitative measure of intercultural sensitivity, greater gains were seen from students in cross-national teams. A few qualitative results suggest learning that was not evident from quantitative measures. Overall, this study reinforces the challenges of facilitating and assessing intercultural learning during education abroad. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Society for Engineering Education. 1818 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 412-624-6815; Fax: 412-624-1108; Web site: http://advances.asee.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01