Abstract
Universities faced unique challenges due to the pandemic. One area that was impacted was traditional study abroad programs. When international travel halted at most universities, this created pedagogical challenges for educators, which we used as opportunities for continuing students’ global identity development regardless of obstacles. Globalization, the multidirectional process of connecting places and cultures through communication and commerce which increases similarities, based on the underlying ideology, globalism, is a modern reality. We posit that the concomitant personality trait, global identity, and its component, intercultural competence, are critical to thriving in our diverse and interconnected world. Not surprisingly, education can play a key role in fostering global identity and intercultural competence. Education at all levels face similar challenges and barriers to achieving these goals. General challenges include the proliferation of misinformation, declining authority of experts, pandemics and political unrest, and polarization of groups and ideologies. In addition, there are challenges and barriers for global leaders and leaders in training that can hamper progress. Awareness of this need as well as ways to meet these challenges and address barriers, thereby influencing the development of global identity and intercultural competence, is the focus of our presentation. We use a concrete example of an online global identity course with a traditional study abroad component pre-pandemic, changes due to COVID-19, and plans for the future.
Presenters
Meg MilliganAssociate Professor, Psychology, Troy University, Alabama, United States Paige Paquette
Associate Professor, Department of Teacher Education, Troy University, Alabama, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Global Identity, Intercultural Competence, COVID-19, Study Abroad
