Abstract:

Agriculture faculty have recognized that leadership courses and programs are an important component in university agricultural curricula across the United States, and one way to develop better leadership skills is through intercultural competence. The purpose of these two studies was to develop intercultural competence among agriculture and human sciences undergraduate students. The goal of Study 1 was to increase students’ ethnic identity over the course of one semester in the classroom by utilizing ancestry DNA analysis. The goal of Study 2 was to increase intercultural competence (using the Intercultural Development Inventory) among undergraduate agriculture and human sciences students with high-impact classroom curriculum. Data came from undergraduate students in an agriculture college at a large southern university in the United States. Over the course of the semester, students showed significant improvements in self-reports of ethnic identity and belonging. However, there was no significant increase in intercultural competence. Study 1 illustrated how Ancestry DNA analysis can significantly impact students’ ethnic identity development. Study 2 may provide high impact classroom activities that can be used to develop students’ intercultural competence in order to provide better leadership tools working in a global workforce.