International education provides opportunities for students to grow personally, and to learn in a rich and intense educational environment. The outcomes of such opportunities emphasize not only traditional academic competence, but also changes in motivations, attitudes, self-identity, and values. It is these latter, co-academic, concepts that are the focus of this book. Its goal is to give solid substance to the growth and transformation approach to study abroad. It defines the central concept of intercultural competence, sets it within the framework of transformative learning theory, and offers ideas and strategies for facilitating its development. In doing so, it goes far beyond traditional emphases on the achievement of such formal skills as foreign language acquisition or specific knowledge of course content in national literatures, arts, or history.
This book provides study abroad educators with a theoretical framework and examples of practice to craft more meaningful activities that will make a long-term difference in the quality of student experiences, and set the stage for transformative change. If we plan to send a million students a year to study abroad within the decade, we need approaches to maximize student growth outcomes in an efficient and effective way.
It is also relevant for anyone engaged in courses in adult education, college student services, comparative and international education, international business, intercultural relations, and service learning that involve study abroad, and that raise corresponding issues of curriculum design.
Buy Developing Intercultural Competence and Transformation: Theory, Research, and Application in International Education by Victor Savicki from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, BooksDirect.