Abstract
This paper examines the influence of cultures on international educational exchange from the context of students from Hochschule Dusseldorf University of Applied Sciences (HSD) in Germany and University for Development Studies (UDS) in Ghana using a qualitative approach of the social construction paradigm. The study highlights differences in conception and interpretation of gender roles and power relations between students from Germany and Ghana which had hindered cultural contacts and learning. Again, the study revealed that mere cross-cultural interactions between exchange students and domestic students do not necessarily promote intercultural learning. In light of this, the paper concludes that for international educational contact to achieve effective and efficient intercultural learning with students from different cultural backgrounds, universities and institutions of higher learning preparing to engage in international educational exchange programs should be adequately prepared on cross-cultural training focusing on both the cultures of the sending and receiving universities and societies before and during the educational exchange program. Finally, the paper recommends that international education exchange programs should be encouraged by universities and institutions of higher learning because the skills and knowledge students gained during and after an international exchange program could make them easily adaptive and sensitive to different cultures.
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Notes
Study abroad: it is the act of pursuing an educational opportunity in a different country other than one’s own country.
Economic migrants: the movement of people from one society or region to another for economic purposes.
Asylum seeker: a person who seeks safety from persecution or serious harm in a country other than his or her own and awaits a decision on the application for refugee status under relevant international and national instruments.
International student migration: the movement of students across national borders for educational purposes.
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In order to achieve confidentiality, anonymity, honest, and respect for participants in the study, the purpose for the study was explained to all the participants in the study. Again, as stated earlier, the participants were not forced to take part in the study. As a result, participation in the study was on voluntary basis. When the approval was granted, eleven (11) participants were purposively selected for the study.
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Abdulai, M. Migration, Mobility, and Intercultural Learning in Study Abroad Programs: the Case of Germany and Ghana Educational Exchange Program. Hu Arenas 2, 245–260 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-018-0045-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-018-0045-3