AFS INTERCULTURAL PROGRAMS INDIA

AFS India Attitude Assessment Study

A Study to Assess the Change in Attitude of Indian Students Who have Studied Abroad Through AFS India
Compiled for AFS India by Nupur Agrawal 6/15/2012

An Attitude Assessment of AFS India Returnees

Introduction:
Does a study abroad experience change the way that AFS India alumni view the world as compared to their peers who have not had such a study abroad experience? Do the AFS India participants actually become global citizens as a part of their study abroad experience? Do they become better equipped to understand different cultures? At AFS we try to Connect lives and Share Cultures, in an attempt to foster international understanding among people. This study was conducted to know if we have been successful in lending this international understanding to our participants.

Methodology:
In 2012, after completing 7 years of its opening in India, AFS India launched a study to assess the host of attitude changes that occurred in their alumni as a result of a year-long study abroad experience. AFS India had seen and heard its alumni being active and sharing the intercultural understanding acquired through the experience and wanted to tap this change in a systematic manner. Thus, more 500 alumni were contacted over phone and emails, to fill out a web-based survey to assess this change. Two sets of the survey were made. First Survey assessed the attitude of participants before their departure to their host country and a Second survey assessed the attitude of participants after their completion of the program and their subsequent arrival in India. This report reflects the results of the Second Survey. Of the alumni we approached, we received 75 responses. Below are the demographic statistics for this group: Male = 39 Female = 36 Mean Age = 19.34 years Participants wanting to go abroad for future/ further studies = 41 Participants who had been abroad before the AFS experience = 9

We assessed our participants on seven scales which tested them on various aspects of Asian values, self-construal, stress, coping styles and overall change attitudinal change.

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An Attitude Assessment of AFS India Returnees

What we learned?
Scale 1: An Asian Values Scale Scale 2: Effects of Study Abraod on Attitude Change Scale 3: Acculturative Stress Scale Scale 4: Collectivist Coping Styles Measure Scale 5: Dimensions of Individualism and Collectivism Scale 6: Cultural Intelligence Scale 7: Measurement of Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals

The 7 scales we used and got results for are: Scale 1: A Psychometric Revision of the Asian Values Scale Using the Rasch Model. This scales is a measure of values that a typical Asian is hypothesized to possess. A lower score on this scale means a person has a more Asian leaning in values. Our participants scored slightly higher, a 2.53/ 4.00, which is in line with what we thought given that our participants are now exposed to a wider variety of values from other cultures. Scale 2: The Effects of Study Abroad during college on attitudes toward other cultures. This scale is a measure of change in attitude of a person towards international understanding as a result of studying abroad during junior year of high school. Our participants matched this assumption. A higher score on this scale is indicative of higher levels of attitude change. Our participants scored a 4.22/ 5.00 which is in line with our attempt to equip our participants to be able to understand different cultures and be appreciative of them. Scale 3: Development of an Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students: Preliminary Findings. This scale is a measure of stress due to an individual coming in contact with another culture. Our participants do face initial difficulties of being and staying in a new culture and it is natural for them to be stressed out because of it. A lower score on this scale is

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An Attitude Assessment of AFS India Returnees

indicative of lower levels of stress. Our participants scored 2.04/ 5.00, which is in line with what we thought that over a period of time after coming back, our participants will have lowers levels of acculturative stress since they have been exposed to a host of cultures through study abroad. Scale 4: Development and Initial Validation of the Collectivist Coping Styles Measure with African, Asian, and Latin American International Students. This scale is a measure of coping styles usually found in people from collectivist cultures. Since our participants belong to India, which is predominantly a collectivist country, we used this scale to assess if our participants have been able to prepare themselves to cope better in stressful situations as a result of them having gone through acculturative stress. A higher score on this scale is indicative of higher levels of coping. Our participants scored 3.29/ 5.00, which is in line with what we thought about our participants being better able to cope with stress. Scale 5: Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions of Individualism and Collectivism: A Theoretical and measurement Refinement. This scale is a measure of cultural preference of an individual. A participant does not have an entirely individualist or a collectivist cultural preference, but rather a combination of both. A higher score is indicative of a more individualist cultural preference. Our participants scored 3.03/ 5.00, which is indicative that our participants have almost an equal preference for individualist and collectivist cultures. Scale 6: Cultural Intelligence: Its Measurement and Effects on Cultural Judgment and decision Making, Cultural Adaptation and task Performance. This scale is a measure of an individuals capability to function and manage effectively in culturally diverse settings. A higher score on this scale is indicative of higher levels of cultural intelligence. Our participants scored 3.95/ 5.00, which is in line with what we thought that our participants will be better able to understand the practical realities of globalization intercultural settings. Scale 7: The Measurement of Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals. This scale is a measure of two images of self reflecting the emphasis on connectedness and relations often found in non-Western cultures (interdependent) and the separateness and uniqueness of the individual (independent) stressed in the West. It is argued that these two images of self can and do coexist in individuals and that they can be measured. A higher score on this scale is indicative of a more independent view of self. Our participants scored 3.10/ 5.00, which is in line with what we thought that our participants will be a hybrid of the two self views.

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An Attitude Assessment of AFS India Returnees

AFS India Alumni have the following acquired traits: Explore abroad options for further studies Asian and Non-Asian values Better understanding of different cultures Lower stress levels Better coping styles Equal preference for Individualist and Collectivist cultures Higher levels of cultural intelligence Hybrid of independent and interdependent self views

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An Attitude Assessment of AFS India Returnees

This study has been devised and conducted by Nupur Agrawal. Nupur is a student at Trinity University, San Antonio, USA. She belongs to Class of 2014 and studies Psychology and Religion. She joined AFS India as a Summer 2012 Research Intern to devise a study which would assess attitude change among AFS India participants who went for a year-long studyabroad trip. Nupur hails from the small town of Rajkot, Gujarat and finished her schooling from S. N. Kansagra School. She then went to US to study at a liberal arts university for she wanted to learn a combination of sciences and arts. She acknowledges the support given by AFS India to help her form this survey, data collection and data analysis. She is thankful to the office and the staff who were very cordial and she thoroughly enjoyed her work with us. She plans to go to graduate school for Psychology after Trinity and hopes to become a Professor one day. For questions regarding how the study was devised and further queries please write to Nupur at: nagrawal@trinity.edu

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