In an increasingly globalized world, fostering students’ cultural awareness and sensitivity is a vital educational goal. American college students encounter cultural diversity both domestically and internationally, yet they often lack structured opportunities to develop meaningful cross-cultural understanding. The Global Fashion Learning Project (GFLP) was designed to address this gap through a collaborative learning activity focused on exploring the cultural dimensions of fashion. In this project, U.S. fashion students partnered with international peers to conduct structured interviews, engage in cultural exchange, and produce a final report comparing fashion norms and practices across cultures.

Past research has identified various strategies to enhance students’ cross-cultural knowledge and sensitivity, improve the experiences and adjustment of international students, and foster relationships between international and host students. This body of work offers promising pathways for teaching about the global fashion industry and building the cultural competence of future fashion professionals. However, much of the existing research has lacked rigorous design and methodology. Studies often rely on qualitative approaches and infrequently incorporate pretest-posttest designs, limiting the generalizability and measurability of outcomes.

The present study aimed to assess the impact of the GFLP on cultural perceptions and behaviors among both American students (N = 45) and their international partners (N = 30). Using a pretest/posttest design, we measured participants’ cultural awareness, attitudes, and behaviors with a validated framework adapted from Chen & Starosta (2000). The survey included 10 perception items (e.g., “I would like to learn more about other cultures”) and 10 behavior items (e.g., “I am interested in learning a new language”). Additional demographic and intercultural experience data were also collected.

We hypothesized that (H1) participation in the GFLP would positively influence students’ cultural attitudes and behaviors; (H2) students starting with less favorable attitudes and behaviors would show greater improvement; (H3) international partners would report more positive cultural perceptions than students overall; and (H4) partners would exhibit stronger pre-post change than students.

Analyses included descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-tests, and 2-way ANOVAs. Results partially supported our hypotheses. While the overall student sample began the project with generally favorable cultural attitudes, a subgroup of students who scored below the mean at pretest (n = 21) demonstrated significant positive changes on several key measures.

These findings highlight the potential of cross-cultural learning activities like the GFLP to enhance intercultural understanding and better prepare students for global professional environments, such as the fashion industry. However, the complexity of outcomes underscores the importance of tailoring such programs to account for individual differences, including prior cultural exposure and baseline attitudes. Future research should build on these findings with larger samples and more rigorous experimental designs to further evaluate the effectiveness of cross-cultural educational interventions.

Keywords: Education, cultural sensitivity, fashion project, global collaboration.