Assessing intercultural effectiveness outcomes in a year-long study abroad program

As study abroad efforts take on increased importance in colleges and universities, it is vital that we use the resources of the academy to research the impact and effectiveness of these programs (Lederman, 2007). Action research assessing the efficacy of intercultural pedagogy using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI, Hammer, 2007 and Hammer and Bennett, 1998) was conducted in a year-long study abroad program to central England. Three groups were compared using IDI pre and post. Group 1 students (n = 16) were in a Psychology of Group Dynamics course which integrated intercultural effectiveness and diversity training pedagogy including cultural immersion, guided reflection, and intercultural coaching. Group 2 (n = 16) was students in the same study abroad experience who were not in the intervention. Group 3 (n = 13) was a control group of students who stayed home. Statistically significant difference was found from pre to post-IDI scores between students in Group 1 and the other two groups. Students’ change scores pre to post in Groups 2 and 3 were not statistically different. As Vande Berg indicates, to simply send students to a location abroad for academic study is not sufficient toward facilitating the larger goal of creating effective global citizenship (Lederman, 2007). Findings from this research lend empirical support for this assertion, adding that it is not enough to send students to study abroad without intentional pedagogy focused on outcomes of intercultural effectiveness.