Pixel International Conferences

Introduction: Collaborative online international learning (COIL) has been established nearly two decades ago as a means to expand intercultural exchange programs among students (1). Since 2018, Chiba University School of Nursing has established a COIL collaboration with the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing. This study examines the impact of a COIL program on the attitudes and beliefs of Japanese and American undergraduate students regarding academic communication on the international stage. Methodology: We designed a five-part, anonymized survey questionnaire containing 128 six-point Likert-scale questions pertaining to undergraduate students’ demographic information, self-perceived individual characteristics, motivation towards using English as a lingua franca for academic purposes, communication style in English or Japanese, and, finally, knowledge, attitudes and practices in academic communication. The paper-based questionnaire was administered at the end of the COIL program to Japanese students, during a guidance session aimed at presenting the goals of the survey and obtaining consent from participants. American students who participated in the program were offered to participate in semi-structured interviews to evaluate how the exchange program had changed their knowledge and perceptions of nursing practice. Findings: After completing the COIL exchange, Japanese nursing students perceived differences in way they behaved compared to American counterparts: Japanese students believed that American students viewed them as more set in their ways and more self-reliant as they perceive themselves. They also believed that they appeared more open-minded and adaptable to other ways to American students than to other Japanese peers. Finally, Japanese students felt that they appeared less self-reliant or respectful of others’ opinions when interacting with American students than Japanese students. The pre-post component of the questionnaire revealed that the course changed attitudes and beliefs in Japanese nursing students in four psychometric scales considered for this study: self-certitude, self-awareness, socioemotional convergence, and sociocultural openness. The change was statistically significant for 85% of the pre-post questionnaire items. Conclusion: Facilitating online exchanges through COIL activities leads to significant changes in Japanese students’ attitudes and beliefs and can contribute to increasing general openness and cultural awareness with relation to nursing practice and research.