Intercultural learning of hosting families

Abstract

During the spring of 2011, 26 Italian host families related to two big organizations (Intercultura/AFS Italy and Fondazione Don Gnocchi) were interviewed through semi-structured recorded interviews. The main goal of the research was to understand whether families that had hosted a foreign student/person in their home would indicate the presence of intercultural learning in their discourse. Despite the fact that all of these hosting experiences were successful ones in traditional terms, the main finding of the research is that hosting somebody from one month to one year remains a “sentimental” experience in the memory of these families. That is, families describe the hosting experience in terms of positive and negative emotions and not in terms of the acquisition of knowledge or the development of skills. Results of content analysis of the families’ narratives (parents and children) from both groups of families revealed a mostly ethnocentric experience (Denial, Defense, and/or Minimization). While the Don Gnocchi families did make reference to specific cultural differences that had been presented during their orientation, the AFS families did not refer to cultural differences in any realm of the homestay, including in those rare cases when conflict was reported. Based on these data, there was no evidence of intercultural learning (as defined here) in either group of host families. Further discussion among researchers and practitioners about the need of intentional educational efforts for families is suggested.