Culture shocked: The intercultural experiences and insights of Returned Peace Corps Volunteer educators

Abstract

Under the auspices of globalization, U.S. educational institutions are becoming increasingly culturally diverse, raising questions about meaning, ethical relationships, and curriculum. Further, American educators at all levels are experiencing various forms of anxiety and identity crises akin to culture shock in response to this increasing cultural diversity. One type of educator whose insights may be helpful in navigating culture shock experiences is the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) educator. RPCV educators generally teach internationally for two years where they navigate various experiences with culture shock. Additionally, they return to the U.S. to find that their experiences abroad have shifted their worldview, often leading to feelings of reverse culture shock. Sharing their stories of culture shock, reverse culture shock, identity shifts, and pedagogy, four Returned Peace Corps Volunteer educators talk about what it means to live and teach in intercultural contexts both abroad and at home. Using a poststructural hermeneutic framework, participants' stories are analyzed in two separate "readings". While the first reading is more interpretive in nature and attempts to convey the participants' original intentions, the second reading serves a more deconstructive purpose as alternative meanings are considered for each story. The findings of this research suggest that culture shock experiences can have a beneficial influence on both pedagogy and intercultural understanding. However, they also imply that the meaning of such experiences is unstable and shifting, thus rendering any final or ultimate meaning impossible.