Community+engagement+through+ISL

Download a PDF of this page ** Community engagement through international service-learning: How a foreign student can become a functioning social actor in the host society ** Lavinia Bracci, Founder/Director, International Center for Intercultural Exchange at Siena - Siena Italian Studies [lavinia.bracci@sienaitalianstudies.com]

Eliza Nash, Intercultural Development Coordinator, International Center for Intercultural Exchange at Siena [eliza@sienaitalianstudies.com]

Nevin Brown, Senior Fellow, International Center for Intercultural Exchange at Siena [nevincbrown@hotmail.com]


 * Keywords**: Italy, international service-learning, reflective intercultural competence, cultural immersion


 * Conference track**: Global community engagement and comparative studies


 * Format**: Poster presentation

The International Center for Intercultural Exchange (Center) in Siena, Italy will present the results of a comparative study carried out on students in its cultural immersion programs (service-learning/community engagement program and academic program) to demonstrate the development of reflective intercultural competence, assessed through the use of the Biagi-Bracci RICA (Reflective Intercultural Competence Assessment) Model (2012). RICA identifies six levels of reflective intercultural competence development, the highest of which is defined as Social Acting.
 * Summary**

The Center has created a set of education and cultural immersion programs for college and university students from non-Italian backgrounds. Center faculty and staff have designed the Full Immersion: Culture, Content and Service (FICCS) approach (Bracci & Filippone, 2010), which, paired with reflective education, is designed to give students a much deeper engagement with and understanding of the many dimensions of Italian culture and language.

The percentage of students that achieved the Social Acting level was significantly higher among service-learning students, supporting the contention that direct engagement with the host society through experience in third-sector organizations provides an irreplaceable tool for cultural immersion.

We will present a brief historical background of third-sector organizations in Siena as well as the origins of the Center. We will then illustrate how the practice of international service-learning and community engagement in the host society’s third-sector leads to the significant results in our ongoing study and how it is possible that a foreign student is able to become a functioning social actor in the host society.

Biagi, F., & Bracci, L. (2012). Reflective Intercultural Competence (RIC) and its assessment: The RICA Model. In E. Nash, N. Brown, & L. Bracci (Eds.), //Intercultural horizons: Best practices in intercultural competence development//, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Press.
 * References**

Bracci, L., & Filippone, A. (2010). //L’educazione riflessiva interculturale: L’approccio FICCS allo studio della lingua e della cultura italiane//. Roma, Italy: Carocci.

Dewey, J. (1933). //How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process//. Boston: D.C. Heath and Co. (Original work published in 1910).

Kendal, J., & Associates. (1990). //Combining service and learning: A resource book for community and public service (Vol. 1)//. Raleigh, NC: National Society for Internships and Experiential Education.

Tonkin, H. (2004). //Service-learning across cultures: Promise and achievement//. New York, NY: International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership.


 * To access materials from this session please click on the file link(s) below:**



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