Global Learning Experience: Developing Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange

Titolo Rivista EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY
Autori/Curatori Melissa Ockerman, Marta Milani, Elisa M. F. Salvadori, Agostino Portera
Anno di pubblicazione 2023 Fascicolo 2023/2
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 22 P. 288-309 Dimensione file 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/ess2-2023oa16402
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It becomes clearer every day that the world faces a broad array of global challenges that will likely be solved if people – especially young people – from a wide range of backgrounds holding diverse beliefs and practices, develop the competences to sit with those different from themselves to solve problems – or they will not be solved. An evidence-based practice to help mitigate this challenge in higher education has been the proliferation of Information and Communications (ICT) and e-learning strategies. A virtual exchange program, the Global Learning Experience (GLE), provided an ample opportunity to structure collaborative international learning experiences, and thus foster the development of intercultural competence, amongst graduate level counseling and social work students. Using a naturalistic-interpretive paradigm, the authors examined students’ general perceptions about the GLE, how it both benefited students and posed challenges, and, importantly, how it impacted students’ development of intercultural competence. We offer implications and recommendations.

It becomes clearer every day that the world faces a broad array of global challenges that will likely be solved if people – especially young people – from a wide range of backgrounds holding diverse beliefs and practices, develop the competences to sit with those different from themselves to solve problems – or they will not be solved. An evidence-based practice to help mitigate this challenge in higher education has been the proliferation of Information and Communications (ICT) and e-learning strategies. A virtual exchange program, the Global Learning Experience (GLE), provided an ample opportunity to structure collaborative international learning experiences, and thus foster the development of intercultural competence, amongst graduate level counseling and social work students. Using a naturalistic-interpretive paradigm, the authors examined students’ general perceptions about the GLE, how it both benefited students and posed challenges, and, importantly, how it impacted students’ development of intercultural competence. We offer implications and recommendations.

Keywords:; Intercultural competence; Intercultural education; Intercultural counselling; Counsellor education; Virtual exchange

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  • Examining the effects of international mindedness among prospective teachers on intercultural competence in higher education institutions: an empirical analysis Kamran Hyder Malik, Hazri Jamil, Aziah Ismail, Gul Muhammad Rind, Sobia Bhutto, in Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education /2024
    DOI: 10.1108/JARHE-08-2023-0409

Melissa Ockerman, Marta Milani, Elisa M. F. Salvadori, Agostino Portera, Global Learning Experience: Developing Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange in "EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY" 2/2023, pp 288-309, DOI: 10.3280/ess2-2023oa16402