| Summary: | This study was conducted to examine how theatre-based workshops could be
used effectively for intercultural training in Finnish higher education. The
article introduces the current standing of Finnish higher education and how
immigration and globalisation have affected the sector. The global trend of
internationalisation of higher education is discussed as well as the effects of the
process in Finland. The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture published
guidelines for universities and research institutes regarding their targets for
‘internationalisation at home’. This research focuses on the experiences of
students with regards to internationalisation at home and intercultural
development at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Theatre-based workshops have long been used for community building
around the world and they also could be utilised for intercultural training.
Finland does not have a long tradition in either theatre-based workshops nor
intercultural competence training, therefore this article presents a novel
research in its context. This research utilised Augusto Boal’s forum-theatre for
intercultural training. Four theatre-based workshops were conducted, and
students were interviewed about their experiences. Their interviews were
analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that the
workshops positively affected students’ thinking and their ability to utilise their
theoretical knowledge to solve culturally sensitive scenarios. The findings are
discussed in conjunction with previous research and further research topics
suggested for future studies in the field.
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