Teaching Cultural Competence: A Comparison of Outcomes Between In-Class and Study Abroad Programs

This study examined whether students develop cultural competence in classrooms and study abroad programs by comparing three groups of students: students in a Cross-Cultural Human Development Class (CCHD), Study Abroad programs (SA), and the control group. Participants were 106 undergraduate students from a predominantly White institution in the United States. CCHD students took a semester-long course in culture and human development, and SA students attended a short-term study abroad program. Students took pre- and post-surveys to examine their cultural competence skills. The results demonstrated that the cultural competence skills of the SA students were significantly improved after the program. CCHD students also demonstrated similarly increased cultural competence after completing the semester long course emphasizing cultural diversity, while the control group did not show an increase in cultural competence. Implications for teaching courses in cross-cultural psychology are discussed