Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students
Globalization and the call for global citizenship education have enabled virtual exchange to prepare healthcare students as emerging healthcare professionals for working in an increasingly interconnected and diverse world. Integrating virtual exchange opportunities into undergraduate curricula in h...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Open Praxis |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://account.openpraxis.org/index.php/up-j-op/article/view/607 |
| _version_ | 1797221148197388288 |
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| author | Yolande Heymans Courtney Strosnider Jessica Pool Marieta Jansen van Vuuren |
| author_facet | Yolande Heymans Courtney Strosnider Jessica Pool Marieta Jansen van Vuuren |
| author_sort | Yolande Heymans |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Globalization and the call for global citizenship education have enabled virtual exchange to prepare healthcare students as emerging healthcare professionals for working in an increasingly interconnected and diverse world. Integrating virtual exchange opportunities into undergraduate curricula in higher education equips students with the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to be responsive to global healthcare challenges. This study reports on the perceptions of undergraduate healthcare students from geographically distant locations on how (if any) participating in an international virtual exchange project fostered their intercultural competence. Anchored in social constructivism and adopting a qualitative methodology, data was collected using an online, open-ended reflective questionnaire. Findings from the thematic analysis highlight that integrating virtual exchange into curriculum design can foster intercultural competence, preparing healthcare students as emerging professionals for the world of work that necessitates an appreciation for diverse ways of knowing, being, and doing to ensure optimal healthcare.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:00:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-69135df926094aec90c9cb065f44dafb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1369-9997 2304-070X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:00:49Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Praxis |
| spelling | doaj.art-69135df926094aec90c9cb065f44dafb2024-04-05T12:51:42ZengInternational Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)Open Praxis1369-99972304-070X2024-04-0116210.55982/openpraxis.16.2.607Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health StudentsYolande Heymans0Courtney Strosnider1Jessica Pool2Marieta Jansen van Vuuren3Centre for Health Professions Education, North-West University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Potchefstroom, 2531Department of Kinesiology and Health, Georgia State University, College of Education and Human Development, Atlanta, Georgia, 30301Centre for Health Professions Education, North-West University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Potchefstroom, 2531Centre for Teaching and Learning, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, 1900 Globalization and the call for global citizenship education have enabled virtual exchange to prepare healthcare students as emerging healthcare professionals for working in an increasingly interconnected and diverse world. Integrating virtual exchange opportunities into undergraduate curricula in higher education equips students with the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to be responsive to global healthcare challenges. This study reports on the perceptions of undergraduate healthcare students from geographically distant locations on how (if any) participating in an international virtual exchange project fostered their intercultural competence. Anchored in social constructivism and adopting a qualitative methodology, data was collected using an online, open-ended reflective questionnaire. Findings from the thematic analysis highlight that integrating virtual exchange into curriculum design can foster intercultural competence, preparing healthcare students as emerging professionals for the world of work that necessitates an appreciation for diverse ways of knowing, being, and doing to ensure optimal healthcare. https://account.openpraxis.org/index.php/up-j-op/article/view/607Higher educationvirtual exchangeintercultural competencehealthcare studentsemerging healthcare professionals |
| spellingShingle | Yolande Heymans Courtney Strosnider Jessica Pool Marieta Jansen van Vuuren Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students Open Praxis Higher education virtual exchange intercultural competence healthcare students emerging healthcare professionals |
| title | Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students |
| title_full | Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students |
| title_fullStr | Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students |
| title_short | Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students |
| title_sort | fostering intercultural competence through virtual exchange perspectives of undergraduate health students |
| topic | Higher education virtual exchange intercultural competence healthcare students emerging healthcare professionals |
| url | https://account.openpraxis.org/index.php/up-j-op/article/view/607 |
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