Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany
University education is increasingly becoming international. Therefore, it is important that universities prepare their new students for the challenges of an intercultural academic environment. The aim of the current study was to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of an intercultural peer-to-...
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2015-09-01
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015606193 |
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doaj-a0d9fc7693974154909a3115324b3ad62020-11-25T01:20:36ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402015-09-01510.1177/215824401560619310.1177_2158244015606193Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in GermanyKarina K. Kedzior0Wiebke Röhrs1Ulrich Kühnen2Özen Odag3Frank Haber4Klaus Boehnke5Jacobs University Bremen, GermanyJacobs University Bremen, GermanyJacobs University Bremen, GermanyJacobs University Bremen, GermanyJacobs University Bremen, GermanyJacobs University Bremen, GermanyUniversity education is increasingly becoming international. Therefore, it is important that universities prepare their new students for the challenges of an intercultural academic environment. The aim of the current study was to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of an intercultural peer-to-peer training offered to all new incoming students at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany. The training aims to facilitate the social and academic integration of students at this international university. A total of 117 first-year undergraduate students completed a pen-and-paper questionnaire with 47 items one semester (6 months) after attending the intercultural training. The results suggest that participants liked the structure of the training and the use of senior students as peer trainers. It appears that the training improved the awareness of the effects of culture (own and other) on the social life of students. However, the training was less adequate at preparing the participants for the student-centered academic culture at this university. In light of its cost-effectiveness, the intercultural training could be easily adopted for use at other universities as part of the campus-wide orientation activities. However, regardless of their culture, all new university students require more assistance to academically adapt to and succeed in multicultural classrooms.https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015606193 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Karina K. Kedzior Wiebke Röhrs Ulrich Kühnen Özen Odag Frank Haber Klaus Boehnke |
spellingShingle |
Karina K. Kedzior Wiebke Röhrs Ulrich Kühnen Özen Odag Frank Haber Klaus Boehnke Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany SAGE Open |
author_facet |
Karina K. Kedzior Wiebke Röhrs Ulrich Kühnen Özen Odag Frank Haber Klaus Boehnke |
author_sort |
Karina K. Kedzior |
title |
Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany |
title_short |
Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany |
title_full |
Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany |
title_fullStr |
Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluation of an Intercultural Peer Training for Incoming Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany |
title_sort |
evaluation of an intercultural peer training for incoming undergraduate students at an international university in germany |
publisher |
SAGE Publishing |
series |
SAGE Open |
issn |
2158-2440 |
publishDate |
2015-09-01 |
description |
University education is increasingly becoming international. Therefore, it is important that universities prepare their new students for the challenges of an intercultural academic environment. The aim of the current study was to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of an intercultural peer-to-peer training offered to all new incoming students at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany. The training aims to facilitate the social and academic integration of students at this international university. A total of 117 first-year undergraduate students completed a pen-and-paper questionnaire with 47 items one semester (6 months) after attending the intercultural training. The results suggest that participants liked the structure of the training and the use of senior students as peer trainers. It appears that the training improved the awareness of the effects of culture (own and other) on the social life of students. However, the training was less adequate at preparing the participants for the student-centered academic culture at this university. In light of its cost-effectiveness, the intercultural training could be easily adopted for use at other universities as part of the campus-wide orientation activities. However, regardless of their culture, all new university students require more assistance to academically adapt to and succeed in multicultural classrooms. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015606193 |
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