Students’ perceptions of meaningful intercultural encounters and long-term learning from a school story exchange

Abstract

Rarely classroom-based intercultural exchange projects examine the meaningfulness of students’ encountering experiences in the long term. This article describes a follow-up interview study, which happened 3 or 4 years after these international school students (aged 13–15) had participated in an intercultural Storycrafting exchange in fifth grade. The theoretical background draws from Dewey's experiential learning, studies of children's perspectives and theories of interculturality. Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually or in small groups, according to the students’ preferences. The interview method was designed to value the students’ perspectives and to stimulate remembering. The students described their meaningful intercultural encounters as communal, connected to cultural repertoires, affective and reciprocal. The students perceived that the story exchange had in the long term enabled personal growth, communal growth and learning to encounter others. The study offers insights for developing theory around children's intercultural learning, as current models are typically based on adult learners.