Two Countries, One Goal: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Development of Study Abroad Sojourners' Cultural Identification in Japan and Korea

The number of students expanding their academic programs to include learning experiences abroad had been, prior to the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus, steadily increasing over the past two decades. This mixed-method study investigates the cultural identification of short-term study abroad participants and its influence on their acculturation process. Quantitative data from a widely-used acculturation scale were collected from participants before and after the program. In addition, qualitative data from participants' journals were examined, elucidating the role the study abroad experience played in their cultural identification. This investigation revealed statistically significant effects of cultural experiences on cultural identification, specifically decreases in cultural identification scores. This study supports the concept of cultural identification as a continuum rather than as a dichotomy. Implications suggest that a deeper understanding of students' cultural identifications can be helpful in developing study abroad programs that promote the goals of student awareness, cultural sensitivity, and global competence.

Weaving CLES-FS and Talanoa to Capture Fijian Student's Science Learnings: Exploring Possibilities

This study seeks to explain how a modified Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) was implemented together with talanoa to explore Fijian students' perceptions of a constructivist learning environment in the science classroom in New Zealand secondary schools. The modified CLES, called CLES-FS, was developed explicitly for Fijian students in the New Zealand secondary schooling context. The adapted CLES-FS instrument included five components of constructivist learning: relationship and identity, familiar context, talanoa, critical voice and shared control. The inclusion of talanoa within the CLES-survey tool has not been done before to collect data from iTaukei (Indigenous) and Fijian-Indian students. The implication of using talanoa alongside CLES-FS has provided the unfolding of possibilities when weaving together qualitative as well as quantitative data. As an emerging Pacific researcher, the exploration exercise is essential learning that helps make sense of what it means to engage in research, particularly within the post-COVID context.