TY - BOOK

T1 - The Comparative Intercultural Sensitivity of American Faculty Teaching Abroad and Domestically

T2 - A Mixed-Methods Investigation Employing Participant-Generated Visuals

AU - Mclaughlan, Toni

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - This thesis aimed to identify and compare the intercultural sensitivity, or IS, oftertiary American instructors teaching mono-national, non-American studentpopulations abroad in the UAE and that of American tertiary instructors in multinational, non-American student populations domestically in the US. The study investigated the use of reflexive photography and photo-elicitation interviews methods as both data collection approaches and possible cultivators of IS, as well as any variation in findings between the two participant groups. The study employed a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and semi-structured photo-elicitation interviews following a four-week reflexive photography project. Qualitative data were analyzed through the lens of a developmental framework and inductively through thematic analysis to capture fuller images of participants’ environments. Both groups of participants self-report fairly high IS, with the US-based group’s sensitivity averaging higher than the UAE-based group. Both groups, on average, showed slightly increased IS quantitatively following the reflexive photography project and photo-elicitation interviews, with the UAE-based group experiencing a slightly greater increase. This research involves a small number of participants; findings should be considered for indicative purposes only. Participants’ IS, when observed through the theoretical lens, indicate more progressive sensitivity among US-basedparticipants. Thematic analysis of interview data reflects distinct teachingcontexts faced by each participant group, with five and six themes emergingfrom the UAE- and US-based groups, respectively. This research is the first tothe best of the author’s knowledge to investigate the IS of tertiary Americanfaculty teaching internationally diverse student populations domestically and isalso the first to compare differences in IS between this group and American

AB - This thesis aimed to identify and compare the intercultural sensitivity, or IS, oftertiary American instructors teaching mono-national, non-American studentpopulations abroad in the UAE and that of American tertiary instructors in multinational, non-American student populations domestically in the US. The study investigated the use of reflexive photography and photo-elicitation interviews methods as both data collection approaches and possible cultivators of IS, as well as any variation in findings between the two participant groups. The study employed a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and semi-structured photo-elicitation interviews following a four-week reflexive photography project. Qualitative data were analyzed through the lens of a developmental framework and inductively through thematic analysis to capture fuller images of participants’ environments. Both groups of participants self-report fairly high IS, with the US-based group’s sensitivity averaging higher than the UAE-based group. Both groups, on average, showed slightly increased IS quantitatively following the reflexive photography project and photo-elicitation interviews, with the UAE-based group experiencing a slightly greater increase. This research involves a small number of participants; findings should be considered for indicative purposes only. Participants’ IS, when observed through the theoretical lens, indicate more progressive sensitivity among US-basedparticipants. Thematic analysis of interview data reflects distinct teachingcontexts faced by each participant group, with five and six themes emergingfrom the UAE- and US-based groups, respectively. This research is the first tothe best of the author’s knowledge to investigate the IS of tertiary Americanfaculty teaching internationally diverse student populations domestically and isalso the first to compare differences in IS between this group and American

U2 - 10.17635/lancaster/thesis/2226

DO - 10.17635/lancaster/thesis/2226

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

PB - Lancaster University

ER -