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Study Abroad as a Cultural Competence Development Tool: Case Study Honduras

  • Syntia Santos Dietz
  • Stanley B. Baker
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
First Online:

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to acquire an in-depth understanding of a study abroad experience from a sample of eight participants using a case study approach. The theoretical framework was based on the Multidimensional Model of Cultural Competence (Sue and Sue 2003) and Relational Counseling Theory (RCT; Comstock et al. 2008). Program documentation, journal entries, and a follow-up survey were analyzed. Findings indicated that the study abroad program enhanced the cultural competence development of the participants. The importance of exposure and growth-fostering relationships, influences that the study abroad experiences may have on social justice and advocacy, and potential use of RCT in international counseling were highlighted.

Keywords

Study abroad Cultural competence Qualitative case study International counseling Multiculturalism Honduras 
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Notes

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared that they have no conflict of interest.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Interdisciplinary ProfessionsEast Carolina UniversityGreenvilleUSA
  2. 2.Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human DevelopmentNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleighUSA

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