African American high school students are underrepresented in study abroad programs, and their lack of intercultural skills and international understanding can impede their personal and professional development, and limit their career opportunities. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative case study was to explore the influence of intercultural experiences through study abroad and immersion programs on African American high school students' intercultural competence. The conceptual framework drew on 2 theories: Bennett's development model of intercultural sensitivity and Kolb's experiential learning. Data from interviews and focus groups with 13 African American high school students, 2 parents, and 2 teachers as well as documents and field notes from a Northeast United States urban high school addressed the research questions pertaining to how students perceived travel abroad that fostered intercultural competence skills as well as how teachers and parents perceived students' personal development. Findings resulted from provisional codes used to identify pattern of codes, and central themes that indicated predeparture seminars and reflective practices enhanced intercultural skills. The portfolios suggested that most students became more reflective and accepting of cultural differences after their sojourn abroad. Recommendations based on the findings suggest increasing homestay experiences and planning and predeparture trainings. Future research is needed on how to attract more male African American students to such programs. The findings may contribute to positive social change by encouraging investment in homestay study abroad and immersion programs with adequate preparation and planning at inner city high schools that might foster intercultural competence skills.

Doctor of Education / With the heightened profile of language learning in a global community, language education is exploring a new model of intercultural language learning. The goal of intercultural language learning is to produce language users equipped with explicit skills in understanding connections and differences between their own culture and the culture of the target language. The research literature suggests that language learners’ resulting intercultural competence will encompass a range of characteristics. There have been few empirical studies, however, to provide illustration of intercultural competence, in order to assist teachers’ understanding of desired outcomes and student development. This case study investigates the characteristics of intercultural competence in young language learners in one Australian primary school. The learners have been engaged in an immersion language program for up to eight years, in one of three languages: French, German or Japanese. The study also investigates the behaviours and understandings in their language teachers which may facilitate the development of learners’ intercultural competence. It explores in summary what may be the nature of intercultural competence in the case study language learners. The study is relevant to research of both intercultural language learning and of immersion language classrooms. Using a case study design, the study incorporates qualitative data in the form of student focus group interviews, teacher interviews, and classroom observations. Data were collected at the case study school, in Sydney, Australia, over a school semester, and involved 49 Year 6 students and four teachers. Results of the study suggest a number of indicators of the case study students’ development in intercultural competence – that is, through understanding of language culture and identity. The student is and sees him or herself as a purposeful interactive communicator. The student understands the target language itself to be the vehicle of the target culture, and often displays metalinguistic curiosity and skills. Some students are able to critically reflect on their (multiple) linguistic and cultural memberships, and to negotiate their identity as a non-native language user. The study found that teachers provide a model of interculturality to their students. The teachers’ interculturality is enacted in their relationships and pedagogical choices, in their design of experiential learning tasks, and their facilitation of linguistic and cultural connections for their students. The study also found that the nature of the immersion language classroom itself facilitates intercultural competence in students. The study provides a case study illustration of intercultural competence in language learners which is relevant to research in intercultural language learning, immersion pedagogy and the emerging related pedagogy of content-based language learning.

Integration är ett komplext begrepp som kan ses utifrån flera perspektiv och synvinklar. Dramapedagogik emellertid utgår från olika typer av värdeord baserade i en gemensam värdegrund. Centrala begrepp i detta är demokrati, acceptens och alla människors lika värde. Syftet med uppsatsen är att kartlägga, systematisera och problematisera forskning om hur drama kan användas, eller har använts i integrationssyfte. Hur ser dialogen ut inom forskningsfältet drama och integration? Vad säger det om dramapedagogikens betydelse i integrationsprocesser? Kan man urskilja några teman och i så fall vilka? Som metod används en litteraturstudie med en kvalitativ ansats som vilar på utvalda begrepp som ingår i en integrationsprocess. Resultatet visar fyra olika kategorier där drama används som metod i integrationsprocesser. Drama för att främja mångkulturalism och interkulturell kompetens, kulturell identitet genom drama och teaterprocesser, drama som resurs för språkinlärning samt drama och teaterprocesser med syfte att spegla och engagera samhället. / Integration is a complex concept that can be approached from several perspectives and viewpoints. Drama in Education, however is based on different types of core values based in shared values. The keys to these are democracy, acceptance and equal dignity. The purpose of this paper is to identify, systematize and problematize academic research on how drama can be used, or has been used for integration purposes. What does the dialogue within the researchfield regarding drama and integration look like? What does it say about dramas role in integration processes? Are there any themes to be seen? The method used is a literaturestudie with a qualitative approach that is based on selected concepts included in an integration process. The results show four different categories in which drama is used as a method for integration. Drama for promoting multiculturalism and intercultural competence, cultural identity through drama and theater processes, drama as a resource for language learning and drama and theater processes in order to reflect and engage society.

This paper investigates how Latin America and its cultures are represented in textbooks on Spanish as a foreign language. The study aims at investigating how much attention and of what type is dedicated to Latin America in the investigated material, whether the textbooks contribute to giving a varied and nuanced image of the Spanish-American cultures and how this relates to the educational goal of promoting an intercultural competence.A qualitative method of analysis has been applied in order to carry out the analysis of three textbooks for intermediate levels of language studies: Caminando 3, Alegria and De acuerdo.The results of the investigation show that the investigated textbooks mostly present a simplified, ethnocentric, homogenized and sometimes postcolonial image of the Spanish-American cultures. Texts where the culture constitutes the context and not the subject can promote a process of identification and consequently an intercultural competence.The study’s main conclusions show that Spanish-American cultures are underrepresented in the investigated material and that a non-native perspective dominates in the majority of the texts. This combined with the lack of variety and profundity, may have consequences for the promotion of an intercultural competence and for teachers’ work with textbooks and cultural content.

Thirteen qualitative interviews have been conducted with key individuals who have profound knowledge and experience in the subject of crisis communication. The thesis used a theory testing approach and highlights the main issues regarding the influence of intercultural competence in crisis information, and to what extent social media channels are used for crisis communication. Also, it covers how the leadership during crises affects the communication from the perspectives of the key individuals. In this empirical investigation, the analytical method of thematization has been used in order to select essential themes throughout the qualitative interviews. These themes have been compared to the relevant theories within the subject - crisis communication, intercultural competence, and social media in crisis situations. The emerging conclusions from this study were the importance of pre-existing relations between organizations and authorities in crisis situations, and the amplifications of crisis communication through crisis networks operating between organizations. Another conclusion was that proactive crisis communication plans need to be of a consise and general design to be practical in crisis situations. Furthermore, one conclusion was that most organizations according to the interviewees were aware of the absence of intercultural competence, but due to lack of resources this was not prioritized. The last conclusion was that social media channels have a high interest level during crisis situations, but was seldom used to a large extent during crises

This report discusses the history of culture instruction in the language classroom and the increasing attraction to teaching culture as a process, as championed by Byram's (1997) discussion of objectives for intercultural communicative competence (ICC), rather than as the static facts reflected in traditional “culture capsule” lessons. Although according to Burwitz-Melzer (2001) such objectives left “teachers at a loss as to what to expect from their learners, how to structure their lessons and how to structure their lessons,” (p.31), using the recent outpouring of literature on ICC and its subfield, transcultural literacy, in this report Byram's original goals are adapted into an instructional timeline to guide teachers in encouraging the development of ICC, with evidence contradicting Byram's claims that such a process cannot be represented linearly or generalized to all language learning contexts. These goals are followed by resulting criteria for the selection of texts and supplementary tasks acting as the focal point of integrated language and culture lessons. These criteria are then translated into a rubric to assist instructors in identifying the aspects of a text that naturally encourage ICC development and which aspects require additional support in order to be beneficial for this purpose. Finally, this rubric is used to assess three lesson plans published in peer-reviewed journals for the contexts of English, Spanish, and German as foreign languages at the university level, as well as a text for a secondary EFL classroom with an example lesson plan of efficient language and culture integration, leading to a discussion of the need for future research on the interaction of text and task in cultural instruction. / text

With rising demand for a workforce that can work cross-culturally (Mangan, 2011; Orahood, Woolf, & Kruze, 2008), it is not surprising that study abroad numbers continue to increase to a range of countries, destinations, and program types (Open Doors, 2012). However, while study abroad is often touted as the ideal means to incite linguistic and cultural competence, the reality of student learning is not a given (Alred & Byram, 2002; de Nooy & Hanna, 2003; Einbeck, 2002; Freed, 1995; Kearney, 2010; Kinginger, 2008; Kinginger, 2009; Rivers, 1998; Wilkinson, 2000). If higher education wishes to endorse study abroad as a means to acquire the crucial knowledge, skills, and attitudes of a globalized workforce (Miller, 2009), it is imperative that colleges and universities promote and integrate study abroad into the curriculum to foster the development of 21st century global citizens. In order to examine what businesses actually valued in hiring, Trooboff, Vande Berg, and Rayman (2007) surveyed employers and found not only that they valued study abroad as a form of international education, but also that they specifically valued many intercultural skills. However, on average, the respondents did not believe that studying abroad led to the enhancement of these skills, echoing the dominant discourse of study abroad being a frivolous endeavor for wealthy white women (Gore, 2005). Trooboff et al. (2007) noted that students need to be better trained to translate their experiences for their potential employers. In a similar vein, Root and Ngampornchai (2012) recommended that students be trained in intercultural communication to better help them articulate their learning. Nevertheless, Deardorff (2008) noted that intercultural training should not be limited to pre-departure orientation, but that a series of workshops or even a course could help address intercultural learning needs. While a number of courses of this nature have been offered either before departure or upon return (eg. With rising demand for a workforce that can work cross-culturally (Mangan, 2011; Orahood, Woolf, & Kruze, 2008), it is not surprising that study abroad numbers continue to increase to a range of countries, destinations, and program types (Open Doors, 2012). However, while study abroad is often touted as the ideal means to incite linguistic and cultural competence, the reality of student learning is not a given (Alred & Byram, 2002; de Nooy & Hanna, 2003; Einbeck, 2002; Freed, 1995; Kearney, 2010; Kinginger, 2008; Kinginger, 2009; Rivers, 1998; Wilkinson, 2000). If higher education wishes to endorse study abroad as a means to acquire the crucial knowledge, skills, and attitudes of a globalized workforce (Miller, 2009), it is imperative that colleges and universities promote and integrate study abroad into the curriculum to foster the development of 21st century global citizens. In order to examine what businesses actually valued in hiring, Trooboff, Vande Berg, and Rayman (2007) surveyed employers and found not only that they valued study abroad as a form of international education, but also that they specifically valued many intercultural skills. However, on average, the respondents did not believe that studying abroad led to the enhancement of these skills, echoing the dominant discourse of study abroad being a frivolous endeavor for wealthy white women (Gore, 2005). Trooboff et al. (2007) noted that students need to be better trained to translate their experiences for their potential employers. In a similar vein, Root and Ngampornchai (2012) recommended that students be trained in intercultural communication to better help them articulate their learning. Nevertheless, Deardorff (2008) noted that intercultural training should not be limited to pre-departure orientation, but that a series of workshops or even a course could help address intercultural learning needs. While a number of courses of this nature have been offered either before departure or upon return (eg. Brewer & Solberg, 2009; Downey, 2005), it appears that only one study to date examined the process of intercultural learning as it relates to study abroad (Anderson & Cunningham, 2009). The current study attempts to fill the gap in research by examining the effectiveness of a three-credit general education course in intercultural communication on the process of becoming interculturally competent. Additionally, it also examined the ability of post-study abroad students who enrolled in this course to articulate what they had learned while abroad in comparison with post-study abroad students who had not enrolled in the course. While most of the students (n = 33) participating in this study had enrolled in the course in intercultural communication were preparing to study abroad, there were also a number of participating students (n = 6) who had previously studied abroad. In this mixed-methods research, whose findings are reported in three separate, yet related, articles, answers to the following research questions were sought: 1. How does intercultural competence develop in post-study abroad students over the span of a semester-long course focused on the development of intercultural communication skills through critical reflection? The first article of this dissertation examines the process of unpacking the study abroad experience two students went through upon return to the home campus through the lens of experiential learning (Kolb, 1984), transformative learning (Mezirow, 2000), and ethnocentric versus ethnorelative worldviews (Bennett, 1993). The second article uses these same frameworks to investigate the learning process for four pre-study abroad students enrolled in this same course to answer the question: 2. Are there noticeable differences in the development of intercultural competence in pre-study abroad students who are enrolled in a semester-long course focused on the development of intercultural competence? Lastly, the third article examines how post-study abroad students articulated their learning abroad differently by answering the question: 3. Are post-study abroad

Šio darbo tikslas – nustatyti ir įvertinti kooperuotų studijų metodo įtaką ugdant studentų tarpkultūrinę kompetenciją Filosofijos ir pilietinio ugdymo studijų programoje. Tyrimo instrumentas – autorių sukurtas atviro tipo interviu klausimynas. Magistro darbe, remiantis Lietuvos ir užsienio mokslinės literatūra bei dokumentų analize išanalizuotas tarpkultūrinės kompetencijos teorinis-hipotetinis modelis, atskleidžiantis jos sampratą, struktūrą, dimensijas ir ugdymo ypatumus akademinėje kultūroje; atskleista kooperuotų studijų programa, jos struktūra, metodika ir ypatumai. Tyrimas patvirtina autorių suformuluotą mokslinio tyrimo hipotezę, kad kooperuotų studijų metodas įtakoja Filosofijos ir pilietinio ugdymo studentų tarpkultūrinės kompetencijos raišką. / The aim of this paper is to measure and evaluate the impact of method of cooperative studies developing Philosophy and public science study program students‘ intercultural competence. The instrument of research – open interview questionnaire created by the authors. By analyzing the foreign and local academical literature theoretical-hypothetical model of intercultural competence was designed, which develop the conception, structure and education peculiarities in academic culture; cooperative study program, its‘structure, methodology and peculiarity was developed. The research confirmed the hypothesis that authors had formulated – that the method of cooperative studies have an impact on intercultural competence of the Philosophy and public science study program students‘.

Šio darbo tikslas - nustatyti ir įvertinti tarpkultūrinės kompetencijos ugdymo poreikio santykį ir sąsajas su kitataučių destigmatizacijos problemomis visuomenės transformacijos kontekste. Tyrimų instrumentai – trys autorės sukurti klausimynai ir du lauko tyrimo protokolai. Darbe tiriami tarpkultūrinės kompetencijos Lietuvoje šių laikų ypatumai ir esminės jos ugdymo prielaidos. Tarpkultūrinių kompetencijų ugdymas - kitataučių destigmatizacijos programa yra žmogaus asmenybės bei visuomenės požiūrio į kitataučius transformacijos mechanizmas. Tyrimai patvirtina autorės suformuluotas mokslinio tyrimo hipotezes, kad Lietuvos gyventojų tarpkultūrinės kompetencijos lygis yra vidutinis, kad rasinė bei etninė destigmatizacija susijusi su tarpkultūrinės kompetencijos ugdymu, kad efektyviausias ugdymo metodas, sprendžiant kitataučių destigmatizacijos problemą, yra patirtinis mokymas(-sis). / The arm of this work is to determine and evaluate the relations and connections of the need of foresting of intercultural competence with foreign– born destigmatization problems in public transformation contecst. Investigation instruments – three author`s created questionares and two field investigation proceedings. This paper analyses the modern peculiarities and educational assumptions of ethnical tolerance in Lithuania. The development of intercultural competence is the foreign-born destigmatization program, the mechanism of transformation of the human personality and the attitude of society to the foreign-born. Investigations approve the author`s formulated scientific research hypotheses, that intercultural competence level of the citizens of Lithuania is medium, that racist and ethnic destigmatization is related with the foresting of intercultural competence, that the most effective foresting method, solving foreign – born destigmatization, is experiential learning.

Magistro darbe, remiantis Lietuvos ir užsienio moksline literatūra analizuojamas kultūros studijų mokslinių tyrimų poveikis tarpkultūriniam ugdymui. Pateikiami tarpkultūrinių kompetencijų modeliai, pagrindiniai aspektai, lemiantys kultūros studijų pranašumą tarpkultūriškumo dimensijoje gilinant tarpkultūrines kompetencijas, bei aptariamos tarpkultūrinio ugdymo papildomumo galimybės. / Basing on the Lithuanian and foreign scientific literature this master thesis analyses the effect to intercultural education made by scientific research of cultural studies. Models of intercultural competences are provided in this paper, as well as basic aspects, determining the advantages of intercultural studies of getting deeper into intercultural competences in the intercultural dimension. The possibilities of complementary intercultural education are also discussed.