International volunteers’ perceptions of intercultural competence

Lough, Benjamin J.

doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2010.06.002

Cited by 44 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Despite the volume of volunteers, there are limited studies on the perceptions and opinions of these volunteers who work in the developing world (Lough, ; Sherraden, Lough, & McBride, ). Particularly limited are studies on volunteerism that occur outside of the medical discipline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative assessment of disease surveillance activities in a resource‐limited environment: Perceptions and opinions of volunteer staff working in Northern Uganda

Mudasiru

Graham

Carlson

2019

Zoonoses and Public Health

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Annually, groups of health professionals from high‐income countries are drawn to work in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) through timed engagements intended to improve the well‐being of people in most disadvantaged communities. The existing evidence on understanding volunteer experience in LMICs often focuses on activities within the medical discipline; whereas little research has been conducted on the experiences of volunteers in other disciplines. This paper focuses on understanding veterinary and public health professional's experiences conducting disease surveillance work in Northern Uganda. Forty US‐based health care professionals were recruited to complete multiple‐choice and open‐ended questions to understand prior and current experiences working in resource‐limited settings. Responses were coded using NVivo 10®, qualitative analysis package. Of the 44 volunteers, 50% completed the questionnaire. Responses were largely positive towards surveillance activities; they reported personal and professional gains, new cultural experiences and mutual learning environment with local colleagues. Nevertheless, respondents highlighted challenges during various stages of program implementation—some difficulty with program logistics, inadequacy of preparation materials, in addition to concerns inherent to working in a resource‐limited environment. This assessment suggests that international volunteer work could positively influence programmatic outcomes, personal experiences, furthering health organizational goals, often achieved in a limited time‐frame. To maximize volunteer impact, these assessments are critical and suggest that volunteer and institutional capacities should be seriously considered when planning placement as it can influence programmatic decision‐making, gauge training needs and volunteer readiness.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative assessment of disease surveillance activities in a resource‐limited environment: Perceptions and opinions of volunteer staff working in Northern Uganda

Mudasiru

Graham

Carlson

2019

Zoonoses and Public Health

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“…Intercultural competence in the literature has been used interchangeably with such modifiers as multicultural or cross cultural competence, cultural learning, global competence, cross cultural knowledge, intercultural understanding, cross-cultural adjustment, cross-cultural adaptation, cross-cultural effectiveness, cultural competence, and cross cultural awareness (Lough, 2010). Amongst the terms, "intercultural competence," or "intercultural communication competence" are most frequently used in the discourse due to their reflective relationship with communication competence concepts (Deardorff, 2004;Fantini, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconceptualizing Intercultural Competence: A Phenomenological Investigation of Students’ Intercultural Experiences

Dalib

Harun

Yusoff

2014

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences

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This paper investigates the notion of intercultural competence from the perspective of students in a Malaysian university. Indepth interviews involving fifteen culturally diverse students were conducted. Students reflected their lived experiences with cultural others and shared their perceptions of competent communication. Using phenomenological analysis of the interview data, two core themes that encompass intercultural competence emerged: acquiring cultural understanding and respecting cultural differences. These core themes indicate that intercultural competence is viewed as a relational process that must include both communication partners to mutually achieve appropriate and effective behaviors. The findings contribute into rethinking the Western perspective by bringing forth a relational perspective into the corpus of intercultural competence.

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“…Cognitive function, functions of self-cognition, socialization, self-affirmation are the personal functions. In our opinion, in spite of the mentioned functions of volunteering it is necessary to emphasize the social and pedagogical function focused on the pedagogical support and social adoption of the younger generation and also the social and cultural function (Chibisova, 2010) which allows to create an enabling environment of the region as a whole (Lough, 2011). Today the youth of Russia is more than a quarter of the population.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Volunteering as a Tool of Formation of Social and Cultural Space of the University

Obidina¹,

Smyshlyaeva²,

Kozlov³

2015

MJSS

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International volunteers’ perceptions of intercultural competence

Cited by 44 publications

References 54 publications

A qualitative assessment of disease surveillance activities in a resource‐limited environment: Perceptions and opinions of volunteer staff working in Northern Uganda

A qualitative assessment of disease surveillance activities in a resource‐limited environment: Perceptions and opinions of volunteer staff working in Northern Uganda

Reconceptualizing Intercultural Competence: A Phenomenological Investigation of Students’ Intercultural Experiences

Volunteering as a Tool of Formation of Social and Cultural Space of the University

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