Migration, Mobility, and Intercultural Learning in Study Abroad Programs: the Case of Germany and Ghana Educational Exchange Program

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.