Open AccessCONCEPTUALIZATION OF CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY, INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE, AND NOMOLOGICAL NETWORK: a contact hypothesis study of sociology of education
Author(s) -
Ashraf Alam
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
movimento
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2359-3296
pISSN - 1518-0344
DOI - 10.22409/mov.v7i15.45814
Subject(s) - intercultural relations , intercultural competence , psychology , introspection , intercultural learning , intercultural communication , conceptualization , cultural diversity , pedagogy , social psychology , cultural competence , study abroad , sociology , anthropology , artificial intelligence , computer science , cognitive psychology
This paper presents a qualitative research examining the extent to which sojourns abroad engage their partakers in intercultural interactions and explores whether experiences like this translates into intercultural growth in students. The results of this study demonstrated that studying abroad would not suffice for complete immersion into the local community or allow one to discover the nuances of another culture in their entirety. Nonetheless, students who were surrounded by their local and international counterparts were exposed to foreign cultures, and were motivated to explore and interpret the diversity they encountered. They were thus equipped with knowledge of unfamiliar cultures and were sensitised to cultural diversity. Such contact often challenged the students’ established opinions and ideas, which largely stemmed from stereotypes about specific cultures. Rethinking this, to varied extents, resulted in evolved attitudes and values. International engagement also stimulated introspection and a deepened understanding of identity among the students, thereby contributing to their self-awareness. By offering opportunities to experience cultural diversity, the sojourn prompts students to develop coping strategies and draw parallels with their own culture, along with fostering intercultural development to a certain degree, and is therefore of great significance for policy makers, curriculum developers, teachers and tertiary students.