A Study of intercultural adaptation and the development of intercultural sensitivity of Catalan/Spanish university students during study abroad
The present dissertation investigates the impact of university study abroad (SA) programmes on intercultural adaptation and intercultural sensitivity of bilingual students from a multilingual and multicultural background. The study also examines their motives for taking part in SA programmes, pre-de...
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| Formato: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2016 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | CBUC, CESCA |
| Repositorio: | TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/399299 |
| Acesso em linha: | http://hdl.handle.net/10803/399299 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Study abroad Stays abroad Academic mobility Intercultural adaptation Intercultural sensitivity Intercultural competence Higher education Estudis a l'estranger Estades a l’estranger Mobilitat acadèmica Adaptació intercultural Sensibilitat intercultural Competència intercultural Educació superior 316 |
| Resumo: | The present dissertation investigates the impact of university study abroad (SA) programmes on intercultural adaptation and intercultural sensitivity of bilingual students from a multilingual and multicultural background. The study also examines their motives for taking part in SA programmes, pre-departure expectations and concerns. This research focuses on a group of twelve bilingual Catalan/Spanish students and employs a longitudinal design with both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results demonstrate how adaptation varied greatly depending on social, linguistic, and academic abilities. The study provides evidence that SA experiences have an overall positive effect on intercultural sensitivity although sojourns may also contribute to the development of cultural stereotypes. Expectations, language fluency, personal and linguistic confidence, and previous SA experiences appear to be factors influencing both adaptation and sensitivity. This dissertation provides recommendations so that higher education institutions organizing SA programmes can cater better for their students’ needs and make their cultural transitions smoother. |
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