| Abstract | Intercultural initiatives have become a major focal point in higher education in recent years. Many initiatives have ambitious learning outcomes, but few metrics for evaluating success. This is due to the hidden ethical/moral curriculum embedded within them. In this study, intercultural initiatives are examined through a hybrid Critical / Constructive-Developmental framework. The Critical Theory lens connects these initiatives to a macro-ethical framework, while a Constructive-Developmental lens is used to support an experiential and critical praxis. The research was done using a time-series, non-equivalent quasi-experiment design involving 3 groups of undergraduate students, 41 students in total. This study used a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative data were gathered through classroom discussion observations and individual interviews. The first group of students served as a control, while the second group of students participated in an internally developed university intercultural program. The final group participated in an experiential intercultural intervention as an experimental group. This experiential approach utilized components of autobiographical currere as well as neo-Kohlbergian moral dilemma scenarios. Participant moral perspectives were assessed using a quantitative measure, the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2), as a pretest/progress/posttest at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester. Randomly assigned participants from within each group were invited to participate in a Constructive-Developmental interview protocol titled the Subject-Object Interview (SOI). The SOI served as a qualitative measure to triangulate participant moral meaning-making and ethical framework. Research findings suggest an effect as a result of both interventions in opposite directions on a moral development scale. This is due to embeddedness in a Socializing Mindset the prioritizes group agreement and consensus over personal values and morals. Implications for intercultural initiatives are significant, as education-based, informational intercultural initiatives neglect meaningful levers for ethical development. |
