mr j. banda

mr j. banda


A Qualitative Analysis of Adult Learners’ Immersion
Experiences to South Africa:
Implications for Multicultural Training
Michele Ribeiro

Introduction
Travel broadens the mind and expands the self. Imagine a
pilgrimage to the source of the holiest river in India, the Ganges.
The trek involves three days to reach the enormous melting glacier
that forms the vast river. Indian and foreign pilgrims that reach the
source of the Ganges take the icy plunge into the river to purify
themselves, as is indoctrinated by religious belief. This plunge
somehow changes them. Similarly, Killian and Hardy (1998) coined
the term cultural plunge as dips into a new cultural experience. In
their article, the plunge is used as a metaphor describing the
experiential component of professional training as a therapist. The
experience provides individuals the opportunity to possess minority
status and experience the anxiety or discomfort often associated with
being an “outsider.” What about the cultural experience causes change
for each individual?
Gmelch (1997) and Miranda (1999) found undergraduate
students returning from their study-abroad trips feeling more
adaptable, less materialistic, independent in their thinking, sensitive
to other cultures, and knowledgeable. The abundant literature on
undergraduate study-abroad experience and experiential learning in
multicultural education shows a positive effect for enhanced cultural
understanding through study abroad experiences (Laubscher, 1994;
122
Stitsworth, 1989; Talburt & Stewart, 1999). Limited research exists,
however, in recognizing the unique needs of adult learners, who may
not have experienced study abroad or who were not exposed to
multicultural courses, but are still required to exhibit the necessary
skills to work with culturally diverse populations. Teachers and mental
health workers in particular need the necessary training to understand
different cultures, because these professions require...

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