The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of direct cross-cultural interactions on knowledge, awareness, and communication effectiveness among American and Egyptian SPTs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of direct cross-cultural interactions on knowledge, awareness, and communication effectiveness among American and Egyptian SPTs.
Seven DPT American students and 20-23 (session dependent) Egyptian SPTs participated. Students participated in 4 educational sessions using a web-based cloud conferencing application. Each 15-minute educational video included information about physical therapy practice in each country. Students joined assigned break-out groups for a 20-minute guided discussion and unstructured dialogue. Students completed a survey at the beginning and the end of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sessions to measure same- and cross-cultural knowledge and awareness for each topic. Students also completed the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES) before and after the series to measure changes in intercultural effectiveness.
Nonparametric sign tests were used to account for American and Egyptian student group differences in same- and cross-cultural knowledge, awareness, and intercultural communication effectiveness. Five of six IES domains (behavioral flexibility, interaction relaxation, message skills, identity maintenance, and interaction management) showed improvement at the end of the educational series. All SPTs showed less cross-culture knowledge and awareness, compared to same-culture. Students showed improvement in reported cross- and same-culture awareness for all sessions. Post-education knowledge improved for cross-culture with two of three educational sessions.
A series of interactive educational sessions brought American and Egyptian SPTs together to learn and discuss. The educational series successfully improved cross-cultural awareness of topics such as entry-level education, licensing and advanced practice, and health systems in another country. Students improved their intercultural communication effectiveness over the 2.5-week timeframe.
The practical significance of these findings reinforces the value of cultivating interactions and encounters to develop cross-cultural communication comfort levels among SPTs. Web-based cloud conferencing sessions could be a feasible approach to provide opportunities for SPTs to engage in cross-cultural interactions.
Innovations in Education
