Embedding Intercultural Competencies in Community Development Education: Reflections on a Virtual Exchange

This chapter presents a case study that will explore the inclusion of intercultural learning outcomes and activities in community development education through a Collaborative Online International Learning-Virtual Exchange (COIL-VE). While Community Development students may hold positive views on engaging with diversity, students can also experience challenges when engaging with diversity and can minimize cultural difference and reinforce cultural stereotypes. The COIL-VE project was designed to demonstrate how the inclusion of intercultural learning outcomes and the techniques used to reach these outcomes, could provide students with the skillset to successfully work with diverse communities. This case study illustrates how including intercultural learning outcomes supported emerging Community Development practitioners to develop the skills, knowledge, and values, to work in culturally diverse settings while recognizing that issues within Community Development practice transcends geographical and cultural boundaries, and acknowledging that achieving intercultural competence is ongoing and requires critical self-reflection, learning, unlearning, and relearning.