Assessment of the Effectiveness of Curriculum Designed to Support the Intercultural Development of Students in Educational Travel Programs

Abstract

Many students participate in international educational travel programs as part of a study abroad experience facilitated by colleges and universities, and these programs have been the focus of studies into their effectiveness in building intercultural sensitivity for participants. However, many other students engage in international educational travel through specialty service providers and these programs have been largely unexamined in terms of the effectiveness of their curricula in building intercultural sensitivity in students.

The present study focused on the students who participated in the three-month long gap semester programs offered by one international educational travel provider between September and December 2023. A mixed methods design was employed to answer the question; how does the curriculum they experience help to improve students’ intercultural sensitivity? In phase one of the project, the Intercultural Development Inventory  (IDI) was administered at the beginning and the end of the students’ travel programs to answer sub-question one; to what extent do the IDI scores of participants change through the course of their educational travel experience? In phase two of the project, individual interviews were conducted with students and course instructors to answer sub-question two; what are instructors' and students' perceptions of how curriculum components influence their intercultural sensitivity?

The results show that about a third of the participants had meaningful increases in their IDI scores though the mean change for the cohort did not reach the level of a meaningful change set for the IDI. Students who started lower on the IDI scale were more likely to increase their scores than those who started their programs at higher developmental levels. In interviews, though students shared positive reports about their programs, they were also aware of the ways that their interpretation of their experiences in their course may have reinforced the intercultural mindsets of minimization or polarization-reversal. Instructors revealed their own challenges in scaffolding student development of intercultural sensitivity due to a variety of choices they made and challenges inherent in their job role.

Overall, the current curriculum offered by this educational travel organization would benefit from revision to align with the developmental level of their student population in terms of their intercultural sensitivity. Recommendations include implementing the teaching of a conceptual framework for intercultural sensitivity as part of the organization’s core curriculum as well as increasing the instructor training on how to develop opportunities for students to reflect on culture (their own and those of the places they are traveling).

Date of Award	7 May 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Nicola Savvides (Supervisor) & Reka Ratkaine Jablonkai (Supervisor)