We evaluated the effects of transformative learning and intercultural shared experiences with Russian university students. Specifically, we studied their perspectives and attitudes toward others (those with different ethnic backgrounds, world views, and attitudes) for an intervention group of 47 students and a comparison group of 51 students. Methods: Ten intercultural seminars were conducted over six years in this mixed methods study; participation in the seminars was the independent variable. The same pre-/post- self-assessment questionnaire was analyzed to measure perceptions of the students participating and not participating. Students in the comparison groups received neither instruction, intervention, nor interaction. Test scores were the dependent variable. Qualitative data were collected as ethnographic action data for the emergence of themes, patterns, and corroboration. Findings: The seminars resulted in statistically significant differences in perceptions of others among and between intervention and comparison groups. Intervention group members showed measurable growth of intercultural competencies and positive perceptions of others as indicated by quantitative data, discussions, and interviews. Qualitative data provided explanation and elaborative meaning for the quantitative data. Conclusions: This study supports the hypothesis that student informants participating in transformative learning and language and culture seminars experience increases in their development of intercultural competencies. Qualitative and quantitative data support the proposed theory. True education, whatever that may be, will have the greatest tendency to civilize and humanize people in their relations to one another. Plato
Published in | International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 9, Issue 6) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18 |
Page(s) | 338-361 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Key Terms Are, Intercultural Competencies, Transformative Learning, Others, Mixed Methods, Intervention Group, Comparison Group
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APA Style
Stewart, T., Seauve, H. (2024). Transformative Learning and the Development of Young Peoples' Intercultural Competencies. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 9(6), 338-361. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18
ACS Style
Stewart, T.; Seauve, H. Transformative Learning and the Development of Young Peoples' Intercultural Competencies. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2024, 9(6), 338-361. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18
@article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18, author = {Tomm Stewart and Hillamaria Seauve}, title = {Transformative Learning and the Development of Young Peoples' Intercultural Competencies }, journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society}, volume = {9}, number = {6}, pages = {338-361}, doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20240906.18}, abstract = {We evaluated the effects of transformative learning and intercultural shared experiences with Russian university students. Specifically, we studied their perspectives and attitudes toward others (those with different ethnic backgrounds, world views, and attitudes) for an intervention group of 47 students and a comparison group of 51 students. Methods: Ten intercultural seminars were conducted over six years in this mixed methods study; participation in the seminars was the independent variable. The same pre-/post- self-assessment questionnaire was analyzed to measure perceptions of the students participating and not participating. Students in the comparison groups received neither instruction, intervention, nor interaction. Test scores were the dependent variable. Qualitative data were collected as ethnographic action data for the emergence of themes, patterns, and corroboration. Findings: The seminars resulted in statistically significant differences in perceptions of others among and between intervention and comparison groups. Intervention group members showed measurable growth of intercultural competencies and positive perceptions of others as indicated by quantitative data, discussions, and interviews. Qualitative data provided explanation and elaborative meaning for the quantitative data. Conclusions: This study supports the hypothesis that student informants participating in transformative learning and language and culture seminars experience increases in their development of intercultural competencies. Qualitative and quantitative data support the proposed theory. True education, whatever that may be, will have the greatest tendency to civilize and humanize people in their relations to one another. Plato }, year = {2024} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Transformative Learning and the Development of Young Peoples' Intercultural Competencies AU - Tomm Stewart AU - Hillamaria Seauve Y1 - 2024/12/25 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18 DO - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18 T2 - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society JF - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society JO - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society SP - 338 EP - 361 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-3363 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.18 AB - We evaluated the effects of transformative learning and intercultural shared experiences with Russian university students. Specifically, we studied their perspectives and attitudes toward others (those with different ethnic backgrounds, world views, and attitudes) for an intervention group of 47 students and a comparison group of 51 students. Methods: Ten intercultural seminars were conducted over six years in this mixed methods study; participation in the seminars was the independent variable. The same pre-/post- self-assessment questionnaire was analyzed to measure perceptions of the students participating and not participating. Students in the comparison groups received neither instruction, intervention, nor interaction. Test scores were the dependent variable. Qualitative data were collected as ethnographic action data for the emergence of themes, patterns, and corroboration. Findings: The seminars resulted in statistically significant differences in perceptions of others among and between intervention and comparison groups. Intervention group members showed measurable growth of intercultural competencies and positive perceptions of others as indicated by quantitative data, discussions, and interviews. Qualitative data provided explanation and elaborative meaning for the quantitative data. Conclusions: This study supports the hypothesis that student informants participating in transformative learning and language and culture seminars experience increases in their development of intercultural competencies. Qualitative and quantitative data support the proposed theory. True education, whatever that may be, will have the greatest tendency to civilize and humanize people in their relations to one another. Plato VL - 9 IS - 6 ER -