Impact of Non-Formal Education in Youth Organizations on Young People’s Employability

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Milena Miladinovic

“Do the competences and skills obtained through non-formal education activities in youth organizations contribute to the employability of young people?”

This was the main topic of the study the European Youth Forum conducted in cooperation with the University of Bath and GHK Consulting. More than 1300 young people from over 245 youth organizations based in more than 40 European countries took part in a survey, while qualitative workshops and interviews were conducted with employers and relevant stakeholders in order to obtain data for creating the study. European Federation for Intercultural Learning (EFIL), the umbrella organization for AFS in Europe, also took part in this survey and invited its members to give their contributions. The topic of the study was of particular interest for AFS, seeing that this organization provides non-formal learning opportunities both for its program participants and volunteers, who are often from the age group covered by the study.

The study found that there is indeed a strong positive correlation between involvement in youth organizations & non-formal education and the employment possibilities for young people.

The study concluded that five of the six skills most frequently demanded by employers are developed in youth organizations. These soft skills are often seen as key elements of successful job performance and they include:

communication skills,
organizational or planning skills,
decision-making skills,
confidence or autonomy, and
team work.

The study also reported that the more involved people are in youth organizations and the higher level of formal education they have, the higher skill levels they will develop. Participation in non-formal education outside their home country brought young people even higher levels of development of some competences, especially in relation to intercultural communication, foreign languages and leadership skills. Many young people are aware that such opportunities lead to personal growth, even though this can be further enhanced by the existence of an assessment or strategic plan for skill development within the organization.

Employers also have a positive attitude towards young people’s experience in youth organizations. They perceive the youth sector as offering a pool of specialist skills and say that involvement in such organizations is a good indicator of a person’s motivation level and potential to fit in with the new company. A background in non-formal education activities is especially important for young people with less work experience, particularly with regard to the number and type of previous involvements in the field.

A few things that are important to note are that a special emphasis is put on the way and timeliness of presenting the skills and competences acquired during the participation in youth work, which is an area where there is still room for improvement. Also, youth organizations need to brand themselves better to employers, who are insufficiently aware of what is happening in the youth sector, which makes some employers mistrust the information presented about the involvement in youth organizations by job seekers.

An added value of youth work is the opportunity for young people to create social capital, networks and connections, which can aid in obtaining information about employment possibilities, and broaden the range of possible occupations and geographical locations where young people would consider working.

The study strongly recommends investing in non-formal education. It particularly stresses that the quality of non-formal education and the accessibility of it to more young people, on top of increased mobility, are core factors influencing the employability of young people. The findings of this study are significant for AFSers around the world, as they comply with the organization’s educational goals, which aim at developing personal and interpersonal skills as well as intercultural knowledge and global issues awareness. Through their exchange experience, sojourners and volunteers alike have the opportunity to develop higher levels of intercultural competences and leadership skills, which prove to be beneficial for their future careers. You can read the full study or its executive summary for more information.

Free Intercultural Webinars!

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Anna.Collier

Over the next two weeks, the Intercultural Communication Institute (ICI), together with intercultural content experts, will be offering four free webinars on intercultural topics relevant to today’s global world.

For more detailed information on the webinars, please click on the individual links listed below. If you have any questions, you can contact ICI via e-mail at: outreach@intercultural.org

1) Promoting Global Sustainability Across Cultures (Tuesday, May 28th at 9am PST)

Perceptions about social and environmental sustainability are as culturally bound as any other norms and basic assumptions of reality. This webinar will introduce basic knowledge of various viewpoints around sustainability and look at flexible strategies for working cross-culturally in a socially just and environmentally sustainable way.

Presenters: Peter Fordos and Cecilia Utne
For more information and to Sign-up http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E955D68688483A

2) Are your People Global Ready? (Thursday, May 30th at 9am PST:

Assessment is an essential step in good instructional design. Whether you are seeking to discover an unmet need or find evidence that your intervention made a difference – assessment is important. Assessment of intercultural and global competence is foundational to program design where trainers and educator are charged with preparing leaders to adapt to the constantly shifting cultural challenges of the domestic and global marketplace. This type of assessment is also complex. This webinar will provide an overview of the why’s and how’s of intercultural and global assessment.

Presenter: Dr. Chris Cartwright
For more information and to Sign-up http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E956DF82864B3C

3) The Art of Facilitation for a Global World (Monday, June 3rd at 9am PST)

Intercultural educators and trainers have a great deal of important content to share with their training participants and students. Knowing the “What” is a must if you want to provide a high quality learning to others. What about knowing the “How”?

This webinar will introduce three of the many intercultural learning opportunities offered by the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in July of 2013: Facilitating Intercultural Compentence: Experiential Methods and Tools, Training Methods for Exploring Identity and a Facilitator Certification for Cultural Detective.

Presenter: Tatyana Fertelmeyster
For more information and to Sign-up http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E956DF80804838

4) Turning Resistance into Engagement (Friday, June 7th @ 11am PST)

Whether our programs are directed at domestic or global diversity, we often face participants who express resistance to various intercultural topics. This resistance may relate to either the subject matter or to the methods we are using. In either case, the threat or risk may limit learning in the class as well as present complicated facilitation challenges.

This webinar will examine how to: Identify typical causes of learner resistance; Balance the risk levels of the content with teaching strategies to diminish resistance; Manage “difficult dialogues”; Create practical real-life responses to challenging questions and attitudes

Presenter: Dr. Janet Bennett
For more information and to Sign-up http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E955D68688473B
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Janet Bennett, Executive Director of the Intercultural Communication Institute, is a long-time friend of AFS. For professional development opportunities and to learn more about the topics featured in the above webinars, check out ICI’s Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication (SIIC). AFS has been sending volunteers and staff to SIIC for over 10 years and will have a significant presence again in 2013.

Atlantic & Aspen Institute – New York Ideas Event: How AFS Can Get with the “Blended Learning” Program

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Eva Vitkova

Today, we are reposting a blog article from the Global Education blog of AFS USA, one of the AFS Intercultural Programs’ member organizations, with permission of the author Sarah Ingraham.

What a spectacular day at the Atlantic/Aspen – New York Ideas event on May 7^th, a gathering of innovative thinkers and groundbreaking discoverers who monitor trends, create possibilities, and navigate our increasingly globalized 21^st century world with excitement and good intention. From the founders of Google to Zipcar to women on Wall Street to a socially conscious eyewear designer with 100% carbon neutral products, the room was buzzing with brilliant minds. And online education, fused with traditional, brick and mortar education – now known as “blended learning” was definitely a hot topic.

As AFS approaches its 100th year anniversary, it is good time to reflect on the valuable advancements our world has made in e-learning, new technologies, and their application in a disparate world – and how AFS will become part of the innovative mix. David Levin, co-founder of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) spoke about serving under-resourced communities with online, open-enrollment, college preparatory schools, and noted the successful interplay between guided and independent practice and strong student retention rates.

Anant Agarwal, President of edX, talked of online courses reaching remote locations. He was asked, “Does e-learning equalize or widen the social divide?” and responded with a scenario of a student in rural Mangalore, India, where university professors are few and far between so are merely required to hold a Bachelor’s degree to teach at this level. Would this student be better off taking an online science technology course at Berkeley from a PhD expert on the topic? Good point.

David Levin asserted that in the long run access to technology and e-learning tools will only serve to democratize education and narrow the gap. However, the importance of great principals and quality teachers alongside e-learning tools is of paramount importance for the best possible results. How can AFS-USA help to promote e-learning in its intercultural programs for students and teachers? An important question to consider.

For more information on blending learning, please see the following helpful resources on the topic:

The Basics of Blended Learning

The Definition of Blended Learning

Evaluating What Works in Blended Learning

AFS USA Resources for Educators

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Eva Vitkova

Global competency, 21st century skills, intercultural communication competence – these are all buzz words present in most curricular discussions and educators’ conversations nowadays. Understanding the importance of the role of educational institutions in nurturing these highly demanded skills is without a doubt the key starting point in shifting the focus of our educational systems. But how do we apply this new approach in practice? How do we work with global competence development in the classroom?

AFS USA, one of AFS Intercultural Programs’ member organizations which runs all of AFS’s exchange programs to and from the US, has recently launched a brand new section on their website that aims to provide inspiration and answers to some of the questions above. Their Educators website offers a variety of resources and tools that are not only relevant for US based Educators, but that can also be used by other teachers around the world.

Browse the Teachers Toolbox that includes suggested lesson plans and curricular resources or learn about the AFS Educational Goals. The portal also presents the various offerings AFS USA has for schools: group educational programs, scholarship opportunities for individual students or AFS school clubs are some of the examples.

Do you want to receive Education and Intercultural Learning news from AFS USA? Subscribe to the Global Classroom Newsletter that will bring new inspiration directly to your inbox every three months!

UNESCO publishes “Intercultural Competences: Conceptual and Operational Framework”

Posted on April 10, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

In March, UNESCO established a significant milestone in the area of Intercultural Competences by publishing the document “Intercultural Competences: Conceptual and Operational Framework“. This document serves as a reference framework that will help interculturalists and other professionals working in related fields to use as a common reference when discussing the components and dimensions of Intercultural Competence and its intersections with Cultural Diversity, Human Rights and Intercultural Dialogue.

This document represents a milestone in the field because it conceptually brings together and synthesizes a multitude of terms and concepts related to Intercultural Competence and offers definitions to all of them. As a framework, it places and defines the area of work of Intercultural Competence in a globalized world in which everyone is impacted by intercultural exchanges and influences at some level and therefore acknowledges the need for everyone to be interculturally skilled. It describes some of which might be the next challenges for policymakers, civil and human rights activists, social justice and inclusion specialists, politicians, economics and health professionals, educators, etc., and offers definitions for 26 concepts that should be common vocabulary across fields that draw on Intercultural Competence.

More importantly, this framework also offers these definitions and concepts in a programmatic and operational plan and specific action steps to immediately target institutions and populations that can benefit by accessing Intercultural Competences:

Clarifying Cultural Competences,
Teaching Cultural Competences,
Promoting Cultural Competences,
Enacting Cultural Competences,
Supporting Cultural Competences.

"The operational plan builds upon all these concepts, and so is depicted in the visual conceptualization as branches on the trunk of the tree. No match is intended between a specific branch and the theoretical concepts appearing closest to it – all concepts should be understood as having at least potential relevance at all operational steps."

This UNESCO document “Intercultural Competences: Conceptual and Operational Framework” is called to be a necessary reference in our intercultural work and in improving numerous areas of cultural diversity and rights studies, professional sectors, as well as education and development.

If you want to learn more about this document came to be, you can also read it in this entry on the blog of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue by its director Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz.

New communication technologies – benefit or barrier to intercultural experiences?

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Eva Vitkova

When I embarked on my AFS exchange experience in 2001, I didn’t have a cell-phone, my e-mail account was only 2 years old and neither Skype nor Facebook existed at that time. During my year long stay in Norway, I called my family back home once a month through a land line and kept the communications short to avoid unnecessarily high phone bills.

Nowadays, everything has changed and the above description of communication with my family might resemble a chapter from a history book for the generation that grew up during the recent boom of modern technology that allows us to communicate freely across the globe. The role of modern media and communication tools in the study abroad experience is a fascinating subject and it has been recently addressed in the article “How Facebook Can Ruin Study Abroad”.

Robert Huesca, professor of communication at Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas USA, uses the comparison of his two long-term experiences abroad (in 1980 and 2012) to point out both the positives and negatives that new communication technologies bring to the study abroad experience.

Digital media and technology can be used for capturing stories of the people who live abroad and they provide space for sharing their experiences and learnings with family, friends and other audiences back home. They can also serve to build bridges between the sojourner and the local culture. The negative impact comes when the time spent connecting with “the familiar on-line” exceeds the time spent “living the real life” in the host country. Huesca also argues that excessive use of digital technology protects students from experiencing culture shock and the feelings of stress, loneliness and homesickness. Lack of these experiences can reduce the transformational impact of living abroad and ruin the opportunity for the personal development that motivates many of us to move to another country in the first place.

The above mentioned examples give just a little insight into how complex this issue is and how modern technology can play role both in inefficient and efficient coping strategies. This new reality is something we can’t really change or even just ignore. As the author of the article concludes, we can learn how to cope with the new situation and we should explore new approaches to the challenges that new technology represents. One of his concrete suggestions – adding technology management to curricula preparing students for their intercultural experience – is a very relevant and useful tip for all educational institutions and organizations providing study/live abroad experiences.

The Value of Intercultural Skills in the Workplace

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Anna.Collier

Intercultural Skills is becoming a buzzword in educational and work environments, but why do employers value such skills? And which specific skills are employers actually looking for? British Council, together with Ipsos and Booz Allen Hamilton (a market research and consulting company, respectively), recently conducted a study on the Value of Intercultural Skills in the Workplace which addressed these particular questions.

The study found that “employers are under strong pressure to find employees who are not only technically proficient, but also culturally astute and able to thrive in a global work environment.”

The intercultural skills that where shown to be most important were:

The ability to understand different cultural contexts and viewpoints
Demonstrating respect for others
Knowledge of a foreign language

And these skills were so highly valued because employees with them:

Brought in new clients
Worked well within diverse teams
Supported a good brand and reputation for their organization

The study also suggested that policy makers and education providers could contribute to the development of these intercultural skills by prioritizing:

Teaching communication skills
Offering foreign language classes
Opportunities for students to gain international experience

These results from British Council’s study provide further justification for the importance of developing intercultural skills and sensitivity to differences – especially for the younger generations who have not yet entered the job market.

AFS is proud to have a long history of providing opportunities for its audiences to develop intercultural skills – as an exchange student, host family, volunteer, or staff! Read about the AFS Educational Goals and the Intercultural Link Learning Program as examples of how AFS activity contributes to this global theme.

Living in Interfaith

Posted on February 25, 2013 by arturo.romeropereda@afs.org

From wikipedia.org

Today we wanted to share a blog entry by Rev. Eleanor Harrison Bregman from the Huffington Post in which she talks about living with cultural differences within the family, at home – and with something as important as religion. Although she is a Christian Protestant Minister, Bregman is raising her children in an interfaith relationship as Jewish children and they attend a Jewish school. In her entry, she describes how she tries to participate in her children’s prayers and practices, in order to be a part of this aspect of their culture.

Looking for opinion texts on interfaith relationships or bicultural/bireligious households, one can very soon find many different authors with different opinions. This is such a thought-provoking topic that it is important to learn what interfaith parenthood, interfaith relationships and living with two religions means for different people and in different geographic contexts. Here are some links to articles that encourage you to reflect on this topic:

Ten Reasons to Teach Interfaith Children Both Religions: blog entry by Susan Katz Miller on her blog “On Being Both”.
How to Successfully Raise Interfaith Children: an interview with Psychologist Dr. Tara Boadu in which she reflects on how to raise children in a household where there are race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, socioeconomic status and religious differences.
Interfaith Children’s Movement: an online platform where you can find information about programs, activities and advocacy on interfaith children’s programs.
Bi-religious: a blog entry by an Israeli expatriate in the United States on the cultural adjustment of her daughter to religious holidays.

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section!

Intercultural Competence in European Youth Work

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Eva Vitkova

If we search for the definition of Intercultural Competence, we find a whole variety of answers – the term is defined differently by experts on Intercultural Communication, consultants working with Global Teams or by Intercultural Education theorists. The definition also varies across countries and regions of the World. Given this reality, we might be asking: Is there a need to redefine what seems to be well defined already? Probably not if our societies were static organisms that are not impacted by migration, to name just one global trend observable in many parts of the World, including Europe.

Changes that have occurred in society in the last decades and, in particular, trends that will shape Europe in the next ten years were the driving forces of a long-term project started by SALTO Cultural Diversity. The goal of the project was to redefine and review the concept and practice of Intercultural Competence Development in youth work at European level, in order to be able to provide more adequate support to youth workers and youth leaders in the future.

The belief that the traditionally used tools and approaches based on the understanding of culture as a static concept are not always achieving the educational objectives of youth trainings led SALTO to develop a new definition of Intercultural Competence:

Intercultural Competence (ICC) developed and demonstrated within the framework of European youth work…are qualities needed for a young person to live in contemporary and pluralistic Europe. It enables her/him to take an active role in confronting social injustice and discrimination and promote and protect human rights. ICC requires an understanding of culture as a dynamic multifaceted process. In addition, it requires an increased sense of solidarity in which individual fear of the other and insecurity are dealt with through critical thinking, empathy and tolerance of ambiguity.

This working definition (as defined by the SALTO Intercultural Competence working group in 2009/2010) was at center of the Research, which aimed to investigate it’s validity as well as link it to current practice.

It is by no doubt valuable for organizations who work with ICC development, such as AFS Intercultural Programs, to be familiar with how other actors see and define it. It is remarkable that the above presented definition can be easily linked to AFS Educational Goals. It’s context (Non-formal Education and Youth work) makes the definition also extremely relevant for any other organization working with Youth.

To learn about the practical outcomes of the research as well as about the reference literature behind it, access the full Research Report in English.

International school partnerships do make a difference!

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Eva Vitkova

Class exchanges, individual student mobility, international projects connecting schools across borders – these are all examples of activities that schools pursue in order to become more “global”, “international”, or in the European context more “European”. What is the educational impact of such activities? What do students learn during these projects and how does it affect their school and its environment?

A recent study conducted for the European Commission has shown that international school partnerships realized within the Comenius Programme have a significant impact on students and teachers, as well as on the schools as such.

Comenius, the younger brother of the well-known Erasmus program, is part of the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme and it focuses on all levels of school education, from pre-school and primary to secondary schools. It supports bilateral or multilateral projects that bring teachers and students from different countries together. According to the study, participation in these international partnerships improves strongly key skills of students, cultural awareness and expression being the one that was reported to improve most significantly (see chart below).

Impact on students: improvement of key skills

The study also points out that the impact of Comenius school partnerships on participating students is strongest at secondary level and that student mobility, when it is made available, significantly increases project impact.

The results of this study confirm some of the major beliefs that are the backbone of the AFS educational approach: that schools, and secondary schools especially, are the places where intercultural dialogue can be fostered and that real personal encounters are key for development of intercultural competences. The AFS network is investing in building sustainable partnerships with schools more intensely than ever in order to be able to create more opportunities to connect students, teachers and school communities not only in Europe, but all over the world.

To learn more about the results of the study, access the executive summary (in English) or the full study report (in French).