Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2010
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to examine the impact that university student groups' practices have on their members' intercultural behavioral comfort and interactions and their cultural learning. We surveyed 360 undergraduate members of a national voluntary service organization at 50 U.S. four-year colleges. Findings indicate that an organization's ability to nurture a sense of feeling welcome and identification with organizational purpose predict skills and confidence in dealing with diverse intra-group members' a competency we call behavioral comfort. An additional practice using proactive efforts to promote social interaction predicts behavioral comfort when mediated by a sense of belonging. While high behavioral comfort within a group or organization promotes generalized cultural learning, it does not, surprisingly, result in more or higher quality intercultural interactions or additional cultural competence beyond the group. These findings have important implications for institutions of higher learning and voluntary organizations.
Keywords
institutional practices, behavioral comfort, intercultural interactions, interaction structuring, diversity, behavioral comfort; institutional practices, cultural learning, enriching intercultural interactions, belonging; purpose, welcoming, interaction structuring, cultural competence.
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Bernstein, Ruth Sessler, "The Practices of a Non-Diversity-Focused Organization and Their Impact on Its Members' Intercultural Behavioral Comfort, Learning, and Competence" (2010). Student Scholarship. 474.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/474