Embodying intercultural capacities : an examination of the pedagogic functions of in-country education

Abstract

This thesis examines the ways in which in-country education might contribute to the development of intercultural capacities. While previous research has noted a relationship between the two, there has been a lack of empirical research exploring precisely how such development might occur. Through examining the experiences of Australian university students taking part in semester-long programs in Indonesia, this thesis sets out a notion of interculturalisation which foregrounds the temporal and embodied pedagogic processes involved in the development of intercultural capacities. Existing research in this area has largely relied on quantitative data to measure intercultural gains, failing to capture the diverse and nuanced experiences of students during their time in-country. Seeking to address this, the methodological approach employed in this research affords rich, qualitative data deriving from: interviews with students at several points in time (pre-departure, during, and post-return); observations during their time in-country; interviews with in-country staff; and focus groups with student buddies. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu, this thesis argues that students' abilities to acquire intercultural capacities depend partly on the dispositions embedded in their existing habitus, and the embodied practices through which they engage with the conditions of living in a different cultural context. Their experiences are examined as pedagogical processes through which, over time, students learn to make themselves 'at home' in Indonesia, developing to a greater or lesser extent the ability to be reflexive about their understandings of culture. Multiple dimensions of the in-country experience are considered as part of a pedagogic ensemble of human and non-human actors, acting upon students through means that are both formal and informal. The temporal dimensions of the experience are taken into account in multiple ways, including the past experiences and future aspirations of students, as well as their engagement with differing temporal perspectives and rhythms in-country. An examination of how students make themselves more at home in-country, through attention to everyday practices, yields valuable insights into the processes of adaptation and their relation to the development of intercultural capacities. The analysis presented in this thesis demonstrates that the development of intercultural capacities occurs in ways which are cumulative, complex, and embodied. Furthermore, such processes of interculturalisation are not necessarily linear or coherent but are better understood as navigations of particular tensions in the context of in-country education.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English