Degree Name

MA in International Education

First Advisor

William Hoffa Cultivating Cross-Cultural Competencies (C4), is a curriculum proposal designed for World Camp. C4’s in-country curriculum is designed specifically for World Camp’s Malawi volunteers and is intended to complement existing programming. Grounded in Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory, C4 will explore principles of High and Low Context Cultures, Ethnocentrism, Stereotyping and Cultural Generalizations. Structured around group discussion sessions, reflection papers, speakers and journal exercises, volunteers will apply the theories and principles noted above to acquire greater awareness of self-identity, cultural-identity and cross-cultural competencies. By adopting C4’s curriculum, World Camp will increase support to volunteers as they begin to process and understand the challenges that come with learning to navigate a new and unfamiliar culture. By evoking the intellectual analysis of cultures, C4 will increase the effectiveness of World Camp’s program by cultivating culturally adept volunteers who are able to efficiently and successfully carry out World Camp’s mission. C4 is an International Education Design and Delivery Course Linked Capstone that aims to transform cultural uncertainties into understandings and cross-cultural challenges into competencies. With the knowledge and perspectives gained via C4’s curriculum, volunteers will develop life-long skills that can be applied to their personal, academic and professional lives.

Abstract

Cultivating Cross-Cultural Competencies (C4), is a curriculum proposal designed for World Camp. C4’s in-country curriculum is designed specifically for World Camp’s Malawi volunteers and is intended to complement existing programming. Grounded in Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory, C4 will explore principles of High and Low Context Cultures, Ethnocentrism, Stereotyping and Cultural Generalizations. Structured around group discussion sessions, reflection papers, speakers and journal exercises, volunteers will apply the theories and principles noted above to acquire greater awareness of self-identity, cultural-identity and cross-cultural competencies.

By adopting C4’s curriculum, World Camp will increase support to volunteers as they begin to process and understand the challenges that come with learning to navigate a new and unfamiliar culture. By evoking the intellectual analysis of cultures, C4 will increase the effectiveness of World Camp’s program by cultivating culturally adept volunteers who are able to efficiently and successfully carry out World Camp’s mission.

C4 is an International Education Design and Delivery Course Linked Capstone that aims to transform cultural uncertainties into understandings and cross-cultural challenges into competencies. With the knowledge and perspectives gained via C4’s curriculum, volunteers will develop life-long skills that can be applied to their personal, academic and professional lives.

Disciplines

Community-Based Learning | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | International and Area Studies | International and Comparative Education | Service Learning

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