Critical Factors in Cultural Immersion: A Synthesis of Relevant Literature

Culinary cultural immersion: A qualitative analysis of resident knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral changes following a brief Somali cultural immersion experience

Background

Teaching cultural humility is required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and can improve patient satisfaction and health care outcomes. Because one-third of the 150,000 Somali immigrants and refugees in the United States live in Minnesota, we aimed to determine whether a brief cultural immersion experience, where small groups of residents share a meal with Somali interpreters at a Somali restaurant, would affect resident knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors when caring for Somali patients in a Minnesota emergency department.

Methods

From October 2017 to September 2018, emergency medicine residents were invited to dinners held outside of regular clinical/academic hours. Dinners took place at a Somali restaurant and were facilitated by a Somali interpreter and a faculty physician. While they were designed as learner-driven sessions, facilitators were encouraged to discuss specific themes. In addition to an evaluation survey, participants underwent semistructured interviews after the experiences, and a qualitative analysis of derived themes is reported.

Results

Six dinners were hosted for a total of 20 residents, with 17 (85%) completing the evaluation survey and interview. Residents strongly agreed that this experience was worth their time and would recommend the program. Residents reported an increase in their knowledge of Somali culture, health care paradigms, and diet. Behavioral changes were described, including how residents greet patients, tailor clinical visits to patient expectations, and use interpreters as cultural brokers. Attitudinal changes were reported to a lesser degree but included an increased acceptance of cultural differences and an increased sense of connectedness to this population. Finally, residents reported that the benefits of this program were due to the authenticity of the experience, the informal small-group setting, and their sense of being in the minority during the dinners.

Conclusions

A brief immersion experience at a Somali restaurant was sufficient to result in increased knowledge, attitudinal, and behavioral changes when caring for Somali patients.

The Impact of Short-Term Cross-Cultural Experience on the Intercultural Competence of Participating Students: A Case Study of Australian High School Students

Over recent years, globalisation occasioned a dramatic rise in cross-cultural interactions until this was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ability to competently engage in a multicultural world is often considered the “literacy of the future”. Global interconnectedness has brought studies into intercultural competence to centre stage. This has increased the demand for cross-cultural education experiences that facilitate such learning. However, there is a dearth of empirical research into the issues and effects surrounding short-term cross-cultural educational experiences for adolescents. This mixed-methods study extends previous research by looking specifically into what impact short-term cross-cultural experiences may have on the formation of intercultural competence (IC) and emotional intelligence (EI) of Australian high school students. This study used two instruments for measuring IC and EI in a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design (n = 14), the General Ethnocentrism (GENE) Scale and Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ). Moreover, it conducted in-depth post-experience qualitative interviews (n = 7) that broadly followed a phenomenological paradigm of inquiry. The findings suggest that fully embodied cross-cultural immersive experiences can effectively support the formation of IC and EI in high school students and may thereby play a contributing role in redressing ignorance, xenophobia, prejudice, and discrimination. A greater understanding of the linkages between immersive cross-cultural experiences and intercultural competence offers prospects for policymakers, educators, pastoral carers, and other relevant stakeholders who might employ such experiential learning to foster more interculturally and interracially harmonious human relations.

Learning objectives of cultural immersion programs: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Cultural immersion as a learning activity provides students with the opportunity to experience diversity and develop cultural safety. Both, 'Study Abroad Programs' and 'Internationalisation at Home' (IaH) aim to provide a cultural immersion experience for students. However, explicit learning objectives are essential for quality pedagogy and for students to develop cultural safety from their learning experience.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the learning objectives of study abroad and Internationalisation at Home (IaH) programs in higher education health profession programs.

DESIGN

A scoping review was undertaken according to recommendations by the Joanna Briggs Institute (Peters et al., 2020) and PRISMA guidelines.

DATA SOURCES

The electronic databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsychINFO and PubMed and were searched in November 2019 and updated September 2020. The search was limited to qualitative studies, text and opinion pieces, English language, published between 2015 and 2019.

REVIEW METHODS

Inclusion criteria using the participants, concept, and context (PCC framework) was utilised and search terms such as study abroad and Internationalisation at Home were combined with learning objectives to identify articles. The articles were screened for eligibility by title, abstract, and full text review by two independent reviewers. A data extraction tool was utilised to extract and synthesise data into categories that represent the core learning objectives of cultural immersion programs reviewed.

RESULTS

Fourteen of the 66 initially identified studies were included in this scoping review. Qualitative synthesis yielded five broad categories of learning objectives used in cultural immersion programs: cultural competence, internationalisation, pedagogy, collegiality, and personal growth.

CONCLUSION

A minimum set of essential learning outcomes was derived from this review that will be of interest to developers and implementers of cultural immersion programs.

Practical and Ethical Solutions for Remote Applied Learning Experiences in Global Health

Global health trainees rely on immersive experiences to apply their classroom knowledge in real-world settings. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic travel has come to a halt and short-term experiences are no longer available in their current form. As with didactic material, global health programs have an opportunity to innovate the delivery of applied learning, providing trainees with robust, mentored experiences that promote the acquisition of core global health competencies. We provide a series of practical solutions for remote applied learning including case-based learning, pathfinder pedagogy, virtual reality simulations, and twinning. We further describe the role of these approaches in addressing common criticisms of short-term experiences and their potential for creating new win-win dynamics between institutions and trainees.

Bilingual school psychology graduate students’ perceptions of a cultural immersion experience

This exploratory study investigated the experiences of seven bilingual school psychology graduate students’ participation in a two-week cultural immersion experience at the Texas–Mexico border. Findings revealed five significant themes related to their experience: (1) pushed out of comfort zone, (2) bonding with peers, (3) language, culture, and identity, (4) awareness of unique challenges, and (5) changes needed in the immersion program. Implications for school psychology programs and future research directions are discussed.