Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

To adequately address the unprecedented challenges that our global society faces, the next generation of scientists and engineers must learn to navigate and collaborate with an understanding of the complex ways in which technical and social aspects are intertwined. In recent years, programs centered around Engineering for Sustainable Development, community engagement, and humanitarian engineering have been developed to provide students with opportunities that build essential skill sets known as Global Sociotechnical Competency. This work investigated the impact on intercultural competence of students engaging with globally focused courses and projects offered at The Ohio State University that are part of the Humanitarian Engineering program. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies including the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), focus groups, surveys, and narrative analysis, were utilized to assess the student learning outcomes associated with these experiential learning opportunities. Findings from this work indicate that engineering students are able to simultaneously develop both technical and sociotechnical skill sets, which will more effectively prepare STEM graduates for their professional careers. This study detailed the impacts relating to intercultural competence for students enrolled in a Global Capstone course, a COIL Community Engaged Learning engineering course, and pathways of completion of the Humanitarian Engineering Minor. The Global Capstone series demonstrated meaningful impact on students interculture competence while achieving the desired technical learning outcomes of a traditional engineering capstone. The mean IDI Development Orientation (DO) gain was 12.89, (n=23, p <0.002). With students reaching as high as the Adaptation orientation. In terms of mindset shifts, the post – IDI survey indicated that 87% of the class achieved a non-ethnocentric perspective (intercultural mindset) as opposed to 57% at the beginning of t (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ann Christy (Advisor); Scott Shearer (Committee Member); Michael Hagenberger (Committee Member); Nicholas Kawa (Committee Member); Cindy Xinquan Jiang (Committee Member); Susie Whittington (Committee Member) Subjects: Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Germanic Languages and Literatures

This qualitative dissertation focuses on intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in a video-mediated environment, as ICC is considered to be one of the most vital skills language learners need to have in the 21st century to successfully communicate and interact with their interlocutors. More specifically, the aim of my dissertation research is to empirically examine how intercultural communicative competence is organized in and through the actual course of the interaction and how intercultural moments – moments during which cultural differences between people become exposed – evolve. Put differently, this dissertation examines how low intermediate German language speakers display their ICC in real-time interactions with L1 speakers of German, how they test their cultural assumptions and co-construct cultural knowledge. In addition to examining L2 learners' and L1 speakers' conversational practices and their demonstration of understanding and view of each other's cultural similarities and differences, this dissertation illustrates how L2 speakers perceive such moments in their reflections. For this study, modules based on previous research (Byram, 1997; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013) that provide occasions for intercultural moments were created. These intercultural modules consist of instructional stages including preparing students for a recorded video-mediated conversation with L1 speakers of German that involve inquiring about their firsthand experience with a variety of cultural products, practices, and perspectives and a follow-up self-reflection on their experience and shift in cultural knowledge and perspectives. By employing the methodological framework of conversation analysis (CA), which helps us scrutinize how participants demonstrate their understanding of coparticipants' language use and their cultural and sociocultural background in interactions, the type, position, the outcomes of questions L2 speakers pose, and their assumptions of cultural practic (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm (Advisor); Matthew Birkhold (Committee Member); Leslie Moore (Committee Member); Ludmila Isurin (Committee Member) Subjects: Conservation; Foreign Language; Language; Linguistics; Modern Language; Multicultural Education; Multilingual Education; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures

Becoming a competent speaker of a language requires learning how culture and language interact with one another. Language, broadly speaking, can be used to help project a desired identity. A competent L2 user can use language to bring about desired social effects, just as an L1 speaker can. For example, a competent L2 speaker of English should be able to use politeness to avoid disrupting commercial transactions; they should be able to recognize and use sarcasm to align with others; they should be able to vary their speech according to the level of formality of a given setting. Generally speaking, however, these aspects of linguistic competence are not taught in the language classroom. Instead, it is generally assumed that this knowledge will be acquired when a language user is immersed in the target-language context. Yet this is a problematic assumption for a number of reasons: first, prior studies have indicated that time spent in the target culture is not necessarily tied to higher sociolinguistic competence; and second, quite often, only a privileged minority have access to the target culture. This dissertation tests an educational intervention designed to teach Russian L2 learners about culturally-situated aspects of language in a way that is broadly accessible. Students of Russian were taken through an online program that taught them about the intersection of culture and language; this program also trained them in ethnographic methods. After this, the participants carried out small-scale ethnographic explorations of an online Russian-using speech community. At various points, quantitative and qualitative measurements of their intercultural competence and sociolinguistic competence were taken. Participation in this program was correlated with an increase in intercultural competence and sociolinguistic competence. Qualitative data showed that participants saw particularly strong development in certain aspects of their competence, while other areas lagge (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ludmila Isurin (Advisor); Leslie Moore (Committee Member); Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Language; Linguistics; Slavic Studies

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.), University of Dayton, 2018, School Psychology

Intercultural competence is an emerging topic of interest in service-based professions, including school psychology. The National Association of School Psychologists has long asserted the importance of interculturally competent practices in schools in the form of ethical and unbiased assessments and interventions, collaboration with families, and overall justice and advocacy for all students. Research indicates that participating in a study abroad experience during an undergraduate or graduate program of study is one option for future professionals in schools to gain intercultural competence. Previous research examined the impact of study abroad experiences on future teachers and school counselors, but little research exists on the impact of study abroad on school psychologists, who serve diverse student groups. This qualitative project examined the unique experiences and perceived intercultural competence growth of school psychology graduate students who participated in study abroad experiences, as well as how their experiences prepared them to serve diverse populations in schools. Implications regarding future research and practice are provided.

Committee: Susan Davies (Committee Chair); Elana Bernstein (Committee Member); Karen McBride (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Special Education

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this research is to develop understanding of elementary language arts teachers' practices of multicultural literature in relation to their intercultural competence. To investigate this specific topic of interest, a two-phase design was employed. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was used for the initial phase of the study to identify and purposefully select participants for an in-depth, follow-up qualitative study. In the first phase study, 31 elementary language arts teachers (ELATs) completed the IDI online which provided a profile that separated the ELATs into two groups; those who were high on the IDI scores (ethnorelative orientations) and those who were low on the IDI scores (ethnocentric orientations). The two-grouped IDI profile offered a sample of ELATs for the purposeful participant selection in second phase qualitative study. Three ELATs in ethnocentric orientations and three ELATs in ethnorelative orientations were invited for the second phase qualitative study. The qualitative inquiry was to investigate ELATs' practices of multicultural literature in relation to their intercultural competence. The qualitative findings connected with the IDI results provide readers a picture of similarities and/or differences between two groups of ELATs' use of multicultural literature in relation to their intercultural developmental stages. The findings reflected three themes (ELATs' prior knowledge; instructional strategies; dispositions) and seven subcategories (multicultural literature experience; cross-cultural experience; selecting materials and activities; questioning types and strategies; advancing students' intercultural understanding and reflection on teaching; open-mindedness; willingness to redesign and create integrated curriculum).

Committee: Kenneth Cushner Ed.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Willaim Bintz Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Gumiko Monobe Monobe (Committee Member) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Teaching

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this mixed method study was to understand how preservice teachers experienced becoming internationally minded at the Midwestern public university where they were enrolled in an early childhood education program in which Primary Years Programme (PYP) certification was embedded. Findings show that the PYP elements in the early childhood education courses provided the participants with a framework for understanding and defining international mindedness as shown in their use of the PYP learner profile attributes in explaining international mindedness and its importance in their teaching practice. The frequency and intensity of the PYP field and student teaching experiences varied among the participants, and no single combination had a greater influence than another on their interest in teaching in a PYP school or on their perceived growth in international mindedness. Two areas emerged as influential in their journey. First, predisposition played an important role as a starting point for the participants' journeys toward international mindedness. Second, intercultural relationships emerged as strongly influencing the level of intercultural competence of the participants and the value they placed on international mindedness in their practice. Those who developed close intercultural relationships before or during this study saw the extent of the benefits of teaching international mindedness to students beyond the confines of the classroom with the aim of nurturing global citizenship. Although this study provides insights into designing or improving a PYP certification program at a university when the aim is to create international mindedness, much remains to be learned.

Committee: Martha Lash Dr. (Committee Chair); Gumiko Monobe Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Maureen Blankemeyer Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Early Childhood Education; Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Educational Policy and Leadership

No standard measure for college and career readiness currently exists but a common goal for college readiness could potentially improve the rate of college completion. Towards the development of a common goal for college readiness, it should be noted that the workplace and colleges increasingly desire the skills of intercultural competence (ICC). Although it is not part of most notions of college readiness, behavioral research, employer demands, and many colleges have already identified intercultural competence as a skill that is in high demand; however, to date there is a lack of research that examines whether first-year college students perceive cultural competence as relevant to college and workplace readiness. The purpose of this mixed methods, explanatory, social justice, study was to investigate first-year college students' perceptions of intercultural competence as a factor for college readiness and to understand the influences they perceived as having contributed to their development of intercultural competence. This mixed methods study involved 67 first-year college students attending either a community college or a traditional 4-year university in a large, Midwestern U.S. city. For the first part of the study, I used the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) (Hammer, 2012) to assess and then compare college students' levels of intercultural competence. Subsequently, data from the surveys were used to recruit eight participants for semi-structured interviews to explore students' perceptions of intercultural competence as a factor relevant to college and workplace readiness. Through the interviews, I also sought to gain an understanding of the factors participants perceived as having influenced their development of ICC. I used open coding, memo writing, and constant comparative analysis methods to generate themes from the eight individual semi-structured interviews (Charmaz, 2014; Strauss & Corbin, 1994). Significant findings from the quantitati (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anika Anthony (Advisor); Noelle Arnold (Committee Member); Susan Jones (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2016, Leadership and Change

Today, the field of intercultural communication is becoming even more important. People are increasingly interacting more with others from around the globe, whether for work or recreation. Globalization is creating an increased interdependency between nations; it is critical that institutions of higher education develop leaders who are competent in cross-cultural awareness and practice, have a solid understanding of cultural differences and their effects on leadership performance, and are culturally sensitive to different perspectives (Northouse, 2010). Since many studies of intercultural competence development focus on study abroad experiences, this dissertation focuses on developing intercultural competence in college-aged students through civic engagement experiences. Through a mixed methods approach using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and action research in collaboration with Wagner College students and faculty, this study examined four learning communities as well as a group of mentors over the course of a semester to determine the salient aspects of an intervention. The findings indicate that with the right amount of challenge and support, sustained and meaningful interaction, reflection, content knowledge, and mentoring, interventions allow for more pronounced development of intercultural competence. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/etd

Committee: Alan Guskin PhD (Committee Chair); Jon Wergin PhD (Committee Member); Janet Bennett PhD (Committee Member); Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar PhD, EdD (Other) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Multicultural Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2015, Higher Education (Education)

This study examined the intercultural experiences and learning outcomes of U.S. undergraduates participating in four different short-term study abroad programs in three different African countries. Whereas the design for this study targeted nontraditional destinations in general, it proved difficult to get responses from students from the two institutions who had participated in programs in other nontraditional destinations. Utilizing a constructivist grounded theory methodology in the study design (Charmaz, 2006) qualitative interviews and participant journals /reflective papers were used as data sources. A total of 12 U.S. undergraduate students who had participated in short-term study abroad programs to South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania took part in this study. The study utilized the constant comparative method in the interpretation and analysis of data. From the data analysis, five dimensions of transformational learning in study abroad were identified: (a) positioning as learner, (b) situating the experience, (c) experiencing dissonance (d) resolving conflict and (e) making with other cultures. These dimensions provide insight into the learning processes within culturally disparate contexts that affect perspective change.

Committee: Peter Mather PhD (Committee Chair); Laura Harrrison PhD (Committee Member); Yegan Pillay PhD (Committee Member); Bruce Martin PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.), University of Dayton, 2015, School Psychology

The present study investigated the results of a short-term study abroad program for school psychology graduate students. The results of three years of one university's study abroad program were compared to results of the university's on-campus multicultural training course. Pre/post test intercultural development assessments were used to assess the growth in intercultural competence of the participating school psychology graduate students in both groups. Findings indicated that the difference in growth in intercultural competence between the two groups was not statistically significant. A supplemental tool was also used to collect qualitative data from some of the study abroad participants. A review of responses suggested that possible change was observed in areas related to knowing oneself as cultural and communications across cultural differences. Implications for school psychology training programs and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Committee: Susan Davies (Committee Chair); Amy Anderson (Committee Member); Elana Bernstein (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education; Counseling Psychology; Education; Educational Psychology; Multicultural Education; Pedagogy; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2013, Educational Leadership

This study was designed to identify factors that contribute to undergraduate students' global perspective development. Global perspective is defined as a viewpoint that the world is an interdependent complex system and interconnected multi-reality whereby certain values, attitudes, knowledge, experiences and skills are demonstrated through cognitive, intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions in an international, intercultural or global environment. This study utilized Larry Braskamp's Global Perspective Inventory (GPI) instrument and surveyed 1,637 students from regional campuses, school of business, and study abroad subgroups of a Midwest university. This dissertation included the much needed study of non-traditional students' global perspective development from regional campuses. GPI was informed by the holistic development theory in cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal dimensions by Kegan (1994), King and Baxter Magolda (2005). Accordingly, students' global perspectives were evaluated through the six subscales of Knowing, Knowledge, Identity, Affect, Social Responsibility, and Social Interaction. Hierarchical multiple regression models were utilized in this research after validity and reliability tests. The findings were that students' global perspectives were strongly related with their curriculum, co-curriculum, and sense of community factors, but were not related to most social location and academic factors, such as parents' education and GPA. One surprising finding was that students' global perspectives were not related to their study abroad participation for the all-university dataset as well as business and regional campus subgroups. When using GPI, five of its six subscales (Knowledge, Identity, Affect, Social Responsibility, and Social Interaction) are recommended together with the Global Citizenship subscale. Implications for higher education leaders include cultivating an environment that focuses on quality and aims for long-term eff (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kate Rousmaniere (Committee Chair); Sally Lloyd (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, EDU Policy and Leadership

Nurse educators must prepare students to care for a diverse population. Web-conferencing across diverse groups is one teaching method that may assist students to develop intercultural skills. Mixed-methods research was used to examine web-conferencing's influence on cultural competence and transcultural self-efficacy of American undergraduate nursing students. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and the National League for Nursing address importance of cultural competence in nursing, underscored by the disparity between nursing and US population: majority (83.2% nurses, 63% US population), minority (16.8% nurses, 37% US population). Current strategies to increase cultural competence of students include theory dissemination, study abroad, service learning, distance education, and simulation. Study abroad, the higher education platinum standard, is costly, and not feasible for all institutions/students. Merely 1.4 percent of US students study abroad. Thus, new experiential learning tools should be explored. Video and/or web-conferencing is used by disciplines world-wide to bridge distance and assist multicultural communication through live voice/video, and engage more students interculturally without the typical constraints of geography and resources, both human and financial. Technology is utilized for mutual scaffolding and social construction of knowledge. Content and culture are learned together with international peers. Freshman nursing students in a required general education course were recruited (n=33). Study participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group (n=18) or a control group (n=15). A student cohort from a University in Dublin, Ireland participated in the web-conferences but did not participate in this research. Students in the treatment/web-conferencing group participated in two web-conferences, covering topics presented in traditional lecture format with the control group. Thirteen students from web-conferencing group participa (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ada Demb EdD (Advisor); Antoinette Errante PhD (Committee Member); Margaret Clark-Graham PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Technology; Health Care; Health Education; Higher Education; Nursing; Pedagogy; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Educational Policy and Leadership

From 1971 to 2000, 2,500 medical students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health participated in a clinical internship program. Of these interns 231 worked in international settings and the rest participated in domestic internships. In 2002, a survey focusing on the participants' perceptions of their intercultural sensitivity development and other aspects of the experience was mailed to all alumni of the international internship program and a stratified sample of domestic interns, yielding a return rate of 81% of the international interns and 55% of the domestic interns. Survey data was quantitative and qualitative in nature and demonstrated that international interns were significantly more likely to say that they developed intercultural sensitivity as a result of the internships than domestic interns. International interns were also more likely to demonstrate intercultural competency in medical practice in terms of their career and volunteer choices as well as their intercultural skills in working with patients from different cultural backgrounds. The study findings that international interns were more likely to demonstrate intercultural competence in medical practice may indicate that medical students who participate in an internship abroad are better suited to work with a diverse patient population in the U.S. than their peers who have less intercultural experience. The focus on intercultural sensitivity and intercultural competence in medical practice sets the current study apart from the more broadly conceptualized literature about international internships in medical education. Bringing theoretical perspectives from within and outside of medical education to bear on the study further establishes its place in this literature, which does not draw as extensively upon theory. The literature about medical education for intercultural sensitivity and intercultural competence in medical practice does not consider intercultural internships. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leonard Baird (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2002, Intercultural Communication (Communication)

The goal of this dissertation was to determine how American and Russian managers with experience on multicultural teams perceive intercultural communication competence. Effective functioning in an international business environment depends on the ability of employees to adapt to the complexity of other cultures. The blend of cultural backgrounds and professional experiences has become a reality in the global business world. To work effectively with diverse people, managers need to know not only about the culture of the person with whom they are interacting, but also information about his/her personality, behavior patterns in conflict situations, demographics, and life experiences. Obtaining this information from a business partner requires a high level of intercultural communication competence. This critical skill improves the decision-making and problem-solving abilities of those who manage in the global marketplace. The researcher employed a survey method to solicit information about intercultural communication competence and multicultural team performance from 124 American and Russian managers. The Intercultural Communication Competence Questionnaire and the High Performance Team Questionnaire served as the primary research instruments. Qualitative interviews of 40 American and Russian managers enriched the data collected by using questionnaires. A number of statistical tests yielded generalizations about the influence of different demographic and individual characteristics on the level of intercultural communication competence, differences in the perception of American and Russian managers of intercultural communication competence, and a relationship between the level of intercultural communication competence of individual team members and the performance of multicultural teams. This study yielded a number of conclusions about the importance of intercultural communication competence in the performance of multicultural teams. While the Russian and the American re (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Paul Nelson (Advisor) Subjects: Speech Communication

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2008, Cross-Cultural, International Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which one's level of cultural competence impacts the teaching and learning process for both instructors and students at the university level. Specifically, this study examined whether there is a difference in the level of intercultural sensitivity between university instructors and ESL students, whether ESL instructors and non-ESL instructors vary in their levels of intercultural sensitivity, and the extent to which gender impacts cultural competence. Finally, an investigation was conducted to explore the relationships between the instructors' level of intercultural sensitivity and the challenges they face in instructing international students, in addition to the relationship between students' level of intercultural sensitivity and the challenges they face while pursuing a college degree in the United States. A mixed methodology, using Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Chen & Starosta) found that instructors in this university reported a higher level of intercultural sensitivity than college students at the same institution; a significant difference between ESL instructors and non-ESL instructors in the area of interaction engagement was revealed; and, that females scored higher than males. Finally, while instructors revealed that culture and language were the challenges most faced in teaching international students, those same students did not reveal them to be significant challenges.

Committee: Margaret Booth PhD (Committee Chair); Patricia Kubow PhD (Committee Member); Sheri Wells-Jensen PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Bilingual Education; Education; Higher Education; International Relations; Teacher Education

PHD, Kent State University, 2013, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

Intercultural competence through study abroad is widely recognized as a preferred teaching approach for the development of globally competent health care practitioners. Colleges and universities are looking for multiple ways to encourage students to study abroad because of the noteworthy effects that these experiential opportunities have on students. Sparse research has been conducted to determine if short-term study abroad trips of less than two weeks are achieving these same outcomes. The purpose of this basic interpretative qualitative study was to describe the nature and meanings of a short-term international cultural experience for nursing students, and whether or how their understanding of the role of the professional nurse was changed. A group of baccalaureate nursing students traveled to Tanzania and took part in professional and social opportunities over an 8-day period. All participants were required to complete a nursing course with global objectives prior to the trip and pre-immersion seminars. Data were collected from reflective journals during the study abroad experience, focus group discussions one month after returning home, and personal interviews 6 months later. The results indicated that the participants experienced culture shock, but they also gained in self-awareness, cultural empathy, leadership skills, a desire to learn more, and a new perspective of the role of the professional nurse. Langer's theory of Mindfulness, Bennett's Developmental Model of Sensitivity and Campinha-Bacote's Process of Cultural Competence provided the theoretical framework for this study.

Committee: Teresa Rishel (Committee Co-Chair); Kenneth Cushner (Committee Co-Chair); Tricia Niesz (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Health Education; Health Sciences; Multicultural Education; Nursing

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2013, Communication

With more and more international students coming to the United States to study, aside from gaining education, many of them also choose to work on campus to get a better experience of American life. Aside from working on campus as student assistants with assistantships, many international students work for dining services on campus to earn extra income. This paper explored the process of how working for dining services on an American university campus influences international student employees' intercultural communication competence. The Campinha-Bacote cultural competence model's five dimensions: cultural awareness, cultural desire, cultural knowledge, cultural skills, and cultural encounters were discussed through a qualitative investigation of eight international student employees who are working at a school cafeteria at a Midwest university. The analysis revealed that workplace cultural encounters became the one essential theme that represented the main influence for participants' development of intercultural communication competence. Additionally, four sub-themes emerged from the data: gaining cultural knowledge, becoming culturally aware, increasing cultural desire, and learning cultural skills. Meanwhile, the subcategories of self-awareness and stereotyping were found under the sub-theme of becoming culturally aware; self-motivation and motivation from “others” were found under the sub-theme of increasing cultural desire; and English speaking, listening and asking questions were found under the sub-theme of learning cultural skills.

Committee: Patricia Hill Dr. (Advisor); Kathleen Clark Dr. (Committee Member); Yang Lin Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; International Relations