Mobilizing resources for intercultural learning through study abroad: From Durham to Brisbane, Australia Dr Erika Hepple Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology

Overview. Developing intercultural learning through Study Abroad Overview . Developing intercultural learning through Study Abroad . Durham: the IEREST Project . Brisbane: The Global Networking Intercultural Capabilities Program . Future plans . Students’ Perceptions of the Program .

Developing intercultural learning through Study Abroad Developing intercultural learning through Study Abroad . Develop university students as engaged intercultural/global citizens (Khondker, 2013) . To counter discourses of terror and promote intercultural communication, understanding and empathy . Cultural diversity is “the common heritage of humanity” (UNESCO, 2001) . Exposure to other cultures, without specific intercultural training, can deepen existing prejudices (Paige & Vande Berg, 2012; Scoffham & Barnes, 2009) . Erasmus network in Europe, individual university programs in Australia

Durham: the IEREST Project IEREST= Intercultural Educational Resources for Erasmus Students and their Teachers Consortium of 6 European universities 7 global ally partners to trial and feedback on resources 3 Modules Building intercultural capacity: pre-departure preparation during the experience support, post-experience reflective workshops

Theoretical Framework Critical Cultural Theory (Holliday, 1999, 2016) Culture as “small culture” rather than “large culture” (Holliday, 1999, 2016): Culture can be conceptualised beyond essentialism, which reduces people to less than what they are, working through stereotypical representations Multiple identities (Dervin, 2012) People’s identities are multifaceted In communication, people (re)negotiate and (re)construct who they are Age, gender, social class, language all create impressions of self and other within a context Reflective Experiential Learning promotes intercultural learning (Kolb, 1984)

IEREST Teaching package: 10 activities 1. Perceptions of self and other 2. Anti-discrimination study circle 3. Exploring narrative in intercultural mobility contexts 4. Meeting others abroad 5. Intercultural geography 6. Experiencing interculturality through volunteering 7. 24h Erasmus life 8. One, two, many… Erasmus experiences 9. Bringing interculturality back home 10. Mobility beyond the Academy

Brisbane: The Global Networking Intercultural Capabilities Program (GNIC), QUT . Supports transformative intercultural learning through study abroad, adapting IEREST materials .Established February 2016 to embed an intercultural pathway . Addresses QUT graduate attributes Engagement and Connection - Predeparture workshops include networking opportunities for domestic students to interact meaningfully with international students - Post-Experience workshops connect students with leadership and career development programs on their return to QUT. (Internationalisation-at-home) .

Structure and Implementation of GNIC Program

Global Networking Intercultural Capabilities Program Overview Predeparture Workshops 1) Going abroad: Connecting with your new community 2) Encountering different values and navigating prejudices when studying abroad 3) “What do you really mean?” Developing intercultural communication skills PostExperience 1) Unpacking your study abroad experiences 2) Repacking your SA experiences for your future careers Online Resources 1) Providing online resources to support f2f workshops 2) Developing the online interactive community learning spaces 3) Integrating f2f & online site for Blended Learning

GNIC Online Resources

Students’ feedback on learning outcomes achieved Pre-departure Workshops Post-Experience Workshops Found it really eye opening – hadn’t considered how I would identify myself over there, made me start considering. Made me think I should stop worrying and just be positive about the experience. Thinking about unintentional racism in the form of stereotyping and the single story concept. Think about other people’s perspectives, ask questions, answer questions, and I realised I don’t know much about the country I am visiting. Learning how to deal with cultural stereotypes and how to better communicate in social situations Makes you question the purpose of your travels. Made me re-evaluate my goals/expectations of going overseas and whether or not these goals were met or changed Professionally, I know what skills I have above others that haven’t gone on exchange Really understanding ‘Global Minded’ and putting ‘words’ to the skills I gained Realising I had all these skills that I was not aware of More confidence and have a greater understanding of what I can/hope to contribute CV skills, personal reflection

Further Information The IEREST website: http://www.ierest-project.eu/the-project Beaven, A. & Borghetti, C. (2016). Interculturality in Study Abroad. Language and Intercultural Communication 16(3): 313-317 Holmes, P., Bavieri, L. & Ganassin, S. (2015). Developing intercultural understanding for study abroad: Students' and teachers' perspectives on pre-departure intercultural learning. Intercultural Education 26(1): 16-30. Kinginger, C., (2015) Student mobility and identity-related language learning. Intercultural Education 26(1): 6-15

Dr Erika Hepple e.hepple@qut.edu.au Contact Dr Erika Hepple e.hepple@qut.edu.au