Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence - Center for ...

- gained empathy about how difficult life can be for others
- am mindful to be helpful and courteous with those with disabilities
- gained extra confidence
(BA8)
- it has changed my life
- I went for 3 months and stayed for 1-1/2 years
- also traveled in Latin America and want to go back
- it has changed me as a person
- broadened my horizons
- great on my CV and led to other interesting jobs
Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence
(BV6+I)
. . . had many abilities before the project. These were theoretical and I was able to put them into
practice . . very different from my previous experiences. I increased my interpersonal skills,
which I didn’t know much before going to Ecuador. Helped know many aspects of my life on a
deeper level.”
- put the theoretical into practice
- increased interpersonal skills
- helped in many aspects of my life on a deeper level
(SV3+I)
- became more patient (used to lose his temper)
- less judgmental
- growing as a person
- strengthened his personality
- learned alternative ways
Summary
What is abundantly clear from comments made by all alumni is that the IC sojourn was indeed
both a powerful and provocative experience that affected them and their lives in a great variety of
ways and on many levels – in behavior, personality, abilities, and characteristics, in addition to
KASA aspects (more on this later). They commented in various ways on how the experience “has
changed my life.” They gained in self-confidence, became more open-minded and tolerant,
developed language skills, and even improved in health! They also made new or different life
choices upon return home (more on this later too). This item relates to Assertions 4, 5, and 7, and
is discussed again in more depth below.
Assertion No. 4
Participant choices during the sojourn produce certain intercultural consequences
Discussion
Participants expressed varying levels of motivation and interest before arriving in Ecuador and
most indicated even higher levels upon arrival, with motivation continuing to increase mid-way
and at the end of the experience. On a scale from 0-5 (from none to extremely high), the British
volunteers ranked their motivation at the end of the experience in the following manner: 1 at 3, 2
at 4, and 5 at 5, while the Swiss volunteers ranked theirs as 1 at 3, 2 at 4, and 17 at 5. Of the total
Center for Social Development
Washington University in St. Louis
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