Global Citizenship and Intercultural Engagement

L12 annual

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  • Title: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Engagement: Insights from an Online Course for International Exchange Students
  • Author(s): Jane Jackson
  • Publisher: Common Ground Research Networks
  • Collection: Common Ground Research Networks
  • Series: The Learner
  • Journal Title: The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review
  • Keywords: Global Citizenship, Online Teaching and Learning, Critical Reflection, Intercultural Pedagogy, International Education
  • Volume: 23
  • Issue: 1
  • Date: June 23, 2016
  • ISSN: 1447-9494 (Print)
  • ISSN: 1447-9540 (Online)
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/15-26
  • Citation: Jackson, Jane. 2016. "Global Citizenship and Intercultural Engagement: Insights from an Online Course for International Exchange Students." The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review 23 (1): 15-26. doi:10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/15-26.
  • Extent: 12 pages

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Abstract

This article reports on an online, credit-bearing, general education course, which aims to foster global citizenship and meaningful intercultural learning in study-abroad students. With the help of an e-Learning platform, international exchange students from a Hong Kong university shared their international experiences in forum discussions, small group fieldwork debriefings, and reflective essays. Guided critical reflection prompted them to think more deeply about their intercultural interactions and responses to cultural difference. The analysis of the data (e.g., forum posts, fieldwork reports and discussions, questionnaire responses, interview transcripts, reflective essays) revealed that most participants developed a higher level of intercultural competence, became more mindful of their intercultural attitudes and behaviors, and became more aware of what it means to be an empathetic, ethical global citizen.