Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students

Yolande Heymans; Courtney Strosnider; Jessica Pool; Marieta Jansen van Vuuren

doi:10.55982/openpraxis.16.2.607

Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Virtual Exchange: Perspectives of Undergraduate Health Students

Open Praxis

Volume 16 (2024): Issue 2

By: Yolande Heymans , Courtney Strosnider , Jessica Pool and Marieta Jansen van Vuuren

Open Access

|Apr 2024

Abstract

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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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55982/openpraxis.16.2.607 | Journal eISSN: 2304-070X

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Language: English

Page range: 119 - 129

Submitted on: Oct 29, 2023

Accepted on: Dec 28, 2023

Published on: Apr 3, 2024

Published by: International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

Higher education,

virtual exchange,

intercultural competence,

healthcare students,

emerging healthcare professionals

© 2024 Yolande Heymans, Courtney Strosnider, Jessica Pool, Marieta Jansen van Vuuren, published by International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 16 (2024): Issue 2