The impact of intercultural exchange on secondary school exchange students and their host families

• In Event: Examining student mobility from both sending and receiving sides: the perspectives of various stakeholders

Proposal

With rapid globalization, the last decade has seen a significant increase of international student mobility and the growing popularity of secondary school exchange programs in the U.S. and around the World. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of intercultural exchange on exchange students and volunteer host families. Drawing upon the culture learning theory, the study explores experiences of international secondary school exchange students placed in Hawaiʻi under the U.S. Department of State FLEX and YES programs that provide foreign students with a merit-based scholarship. These programs remain an important tool of the U.S. soft diplomacy as they expose foreign youth to American culture and values, yet they bring distant cultures into American homes. Students come from Eastern European, Eurasian, Asian and African countries that U.S. maintains good diplomatic ties with.

A multiple case study with interviews was applied among six exchange students and six host families. The findings show that intercultural exchange occurs as a two-way process. Both, students and host families, reap the benefits of the intercultural exchange by way of daily interaction and culture sharing that is being enhanced by a positive student-host relationship. These include increased cultural awareness, increased open-mindedness and awareness of global issues, reduced prejudice and increased support for each other’s country. For students, some of the immediate life-changing impacts include personal growth and development, improved English language skills and intercultural competence. Since this study took place in Hawai‘i, its cultural uniqueness that students experienced contributed to increased cultural awareness of not only American but also of Hawaiian, Asian and Polynesian cultures. In addition, this study has indicated the linkage between positive cross-cultural adjustment and positive relationship with a host family. Exchange students and host families grew fond of each other, realizing that this is only the beginning of a life-long friendship. For now, this study shows that citizen diplomacy, as promoted by the U.S. Department of State, indeed shows of vital importance for the U.S. efforts to expose international secondary school exchange students to American culture and values. And yet, it gives opportunity to American host families who welcome a foreign student in their home and treat them as a member of the family. As per participants in this study, rewards of the intercultural exchange outweigh its challenges. Furthermore, its value can be supported by the fact that host families that were interviewed trust the program and continue hosting for many years. The significance of this study is that it fills the gap in literature by shedding light not only on the experiences of secondary school students but also on the ones of the volunteer host families. Finally, the study suggests a need for more longitudinal studies to assess whether the impacts of intercultural exchange persist in the future.

Author

• Manca Sustarsic, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa