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Transforming Worldviews:
An Inquiry into the Transformative Impacts
of Intercultural Immersion Trips
David Cicerchi
FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY
Do Not Copy or Cite

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Executive Summary
Background & Organizational Context
International Partners in Mission (IPM) is an interfaith organization that "works across borders
of faith, culture, and economic circumstance with children, women, and youth to create
partnerships that build justice, peace, and hope" (“Mission, Vision and Core Principles,” 2015).
IPM partners with over 60 organizations in over 25 countries around the world, and leads
American youth and adults on trips to visit project partners through the Immersion Experience
Program.
Problem Statement
The problems of extreme poverty, global power imbalances, biodiversity loss, environmental
deterioration, and terrorism appears to be irresolvable at our current preponderance of
ethnocentric awareness throughout the globe. One might say that these problems can only be
resolved by a transformation to higher, world centric levels of awareness that can actually work
across borders of faith, ethnicity and nationality. Many organizations are sending individuals
overseas to interact with other cultures, which has the potential to transform these individuals
toward world centric levels of awareness. However, in order to maximize the potential for
transformation, organizations need to provide adequate design and facilitation of these trips.
The literature indicates that trips with high impact on participants include pre- and post-trip
processes (Crabtree, 2008; Rexeisen & Al-Khatib, 2009; Richardson, Imig, & Flora, 2013), a
variety of interactions with the host culture (Barden & Cashwell, 2014), and critical reflection on
one's own experience (Holmes & O’Neill, 2012). Looking through the lens of Torbert's action
inquiry, one can hypothesize that as participants engage in triple-loop feedback by becoming
aware of their intentions, worldviews, feelings, and behaviors, they maximize the
transformative potential of these immersion trips (Torbert, 2004).
Guiding Questions
The question I sought to research with IPM is "How can the practice of Torbert's action inquiry
both in the design and the facilitation of the Immersion Experience Program maximize the
transformative potential of these trips for their participants?" I focused explicitly on the 1st
person domain of action inquiry: How does IPM foster the practice of examining the Four
Terrains of Experience (i.e. outside events, own sensed performance, action-logics, intentional
attention) by their program participants, and how could it continue to deepen this 1st person
inquiry (Torbert, 2004)? I also ask myself how I can foster action inquiry in my own life to
support this project's outcomes.

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Method of Inquiry
In addition to reading IEP trip handbooks and feedback surveys from past participants, I
surveyed 11 domestic and international staff and stakeholders to gather perspectives on the
high impact components of intercultural encounters. The results of these surveys were
compiled for focus group discussions with relevant IPM stakeholders. In between focus group
discussions, I held one-on-one phone calls with IPM's Coordinator to answer any questions,
debrief the discussion, and prepare for subsequent discussions. Additionally, I structured this
project itself using the principles of action inquiry over the course of the three months of this
project. I supported it with the intentional practice of action inquiry in my own life as well.
Major Conclusions and Recommendations
In an analysis of the list of recommendations resulting from the focus group discussions, I
determined that they fall into single-, double-, and triple-loop opportunities for feedback for
the participants of these trips. The recommendations incorporating single-loop feedback were
to encourage pre-trip communication between participants and host-country Project Partners,
allow discomfort during the trip, plan fewer and more extended community visits, participate in
interactive activities with locals, encourage a specific action item upon return to the home
country, and present a handbook to co-facilitators.
A major recommendation created for double-loop feedback was the possible
incorporation of a self-assessment using the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
(DMIS). The focus group also suggested a pre-trip reflection activity, the use of preparation
materials that include readings and reflective discussions that address privilege, and daily
reflections during the trip.
For triple-loop feedback, a recommendation to incorporate interfaith tools and open-
ended questioning encourages participants to attune to their highest perspective possible.
Furthermore, facilitators are encouraged to hold multiple polarities such as being a mentor as
well as a co-participant. Instead of prescribing a set of concrete instructions for facilitators to
follow, this recommendation supports the facilitator's own capacity to identify with a larger
perspective. It is also important to note that my use of action inquiry in my own life in first,
second, and third person supported the entire process.
Implications resulting from this project include the application of the above list of
recommendations to the design of an Immersion Experience Program trip, develop a facilitator
and participant handbook to guide the reflection process, and a continual adjustment of the
design using an assessment tool. Overall, it is recommended that IPM formalize its
transformative design and incorporate an action inquiry process within the organization in the
form of staff self-assessments and discussions. And finally, IPM can benefit from an intentional
leveraging of the diversity within its own organizational structure by formalizing and diffusing
its transformative approaches throughout the organization.

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Barden, S. M., & Cashwell, C. S. (2014). International Immersion in Counselor Education: A
Consensual Qualitative Research Investigation. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and
Development, 42(1), 42–60. http://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.2014.00043.x
Crabtree, R. D. (2008). Theoretical Foundations for International Service-Learning.
Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 15(1), 18–36.
Holmes, P., & O’Neill, G. (2012). Developing and evaluating intercultural competence:
Ethnographies of intercultural encounters. International Journal of Intercultural Relations,
36(5), 707–718. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2012.04.010
Mission, Vision and Core Principles. (2015). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from
https://www.ipmconnect.org/
Torbert, W. R. (2004). Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership. San
Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary......................................................................................................................... 1
Background & Organizational Context...................................................................................... 2
Problem Statement ..................................................................................................................... 2
Guiding Questions....................................................................................................................... 2
Method of Inquiry ....................................................................................................................... 3
Major Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................ 3
Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ 5
Introduction ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Background Information on IPM, Organizational Context........... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Project Purpose and my personal interest in the project............ Error! Bookmark not defined.
The Problem: Rising to the Challenges of a Globalized World.... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Research Questions/Guiding Questions ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Literature Review............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Principles of Constructive-Developmentalism............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Torbert's Action Inquiry ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Intercultural Encounters .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Impact of Intercultural Encounters on Individual Participants. Error! Bookmark not defined.
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. ........... Error! Bookmark not defined.
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Maturity. ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Limitations of Intercultural Encounters.................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Components that Maximize Transformative Impact of Intercultural Encounters ..............Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Integral Theory Applied to Constructive-Developmental Models and Intercultural Encounters
...................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Triple-Loop feedback and transformation ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Integral Life Practice................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Life-long transformation of the self. ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Integral International Development......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Intervention Method and Design..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Desired outcome.......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Levels of system to target ............................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Methods of intervention and Timeline........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Results (analysis/interpretation/conclusion) .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Action Inquiry in IEP Design and Facilitation ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Single-loop feedback in IEP. ..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Double-loop feedback in IEP. ................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Triple-loop feedback in IEP....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Action Inquiry in the design and facilitation of this Research Project........Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Second person action inquiry in this project............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Third person action inquiry in this project. .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
First person action inquiry in this project. ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Summary and Conclusion............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Implications, Next Steps, Recommendations.................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Implications for Practice............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Strategize for leveraging diversity............................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Use developmental models...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Harness and replicate collective wisdom................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Foster diffusion of leadership................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Test and adapt the transformative design. .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Next Steps .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Recommendations for Future Research ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Personal Learning............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Working with complexity ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Using Action Inquiry in Organizational Development Consulting Error! Bookmark not defined.
Channeling a Process.................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Set intentions based on analysis. ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Plan frequently and loosely...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Be in dynamic relationship. ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Simplify and translate sophisticated ideas............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Practice action inquiry.............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Cultivate relaxed and centered presence................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Remove unnecessary stresses in my life. ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
References ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendices....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Practices for Transformation of Participants................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.