U.S. Homestay Host Interview Guide

U.S. Homestay Host Interview Guide

Interview Date, Place and Time:

Fellow’s name:

Interviewer(s):

_______________________________

Gender (may not be asked)

F 1

M 2

other (specify) 3

Introduction and Consent

Good morning/Afternoon/Evening. My name is XXXXX and I work for GDIT, an independent research organization conducting a study on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. Today, we will talk about your experience hosting a participant with the Professional Fellows Program (PFP) through [X] organization. The U.S. Department of State is conducting this evaluation to better understand program outcomes and to help improve the program so that it benefits both the foreign fellows and the communities that host them.

The interview will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary, and your answers and opinions will be kept strictly confidential. Your opinion is very important, and we hope you take the time to answer all our questions. We will never use your name in any written reports or give out any of your personal identification to anyone. If you don’t mind, we would like to record this conversation for research purposes only because we want to concentrate on the conversation. Do we have your consent?

Background and Program Experience

1. How did you hear about the opportunity to host a Fellow and what motivated you to be a host family?

2. How many PFP Fellows have you hosted? [Probe: have you hosted other types of exchange visitors?]

3. Did you have previous experience with exchange programs before hosting the PFP Fellows? [Probe: which programs?]

4. Were you a full-time host for the PFP Fellow or just for weekends?

5. Were you associated with the PFP Fellow’s host organization? If yes, in what capacity?

6. Can you describe your relationship with the Fellow during the time they stayed with you? [Probe: frequency, intensity and quality of interaction, types of activities undertaken together]

7. Did the Fellow have the opportunity to meet other people in the community besides your family? [Probe: did they attend religious services with you, participate in community event like festivals, parades, go to sporting events, museums, etc.]

Sharing and Mutual Understanding

8. Did the PFP Fellow share information about their home country, cultural, political and social history? [Probe: specific examples]

9. How did you and your family benefit from hosting a PFP Fellow? What did you personally gain? [Probe: what did that you did not know before? Did it affect your worldview? Did your educational or career plans change]

10. What do you think the PFP Fellow gained from staying with you and from interacting with the community? [Probe: language skills, knowledge of U.S. culture, social life, politics, religion, diversity]

11. How did the community gain or benefit from having a PFP Fellow living there? [Probe: expanded worldviews, interest in international affairs, educational exchange, etc.]

Networking and Sharing Ideas

12. Are you still in contact with the PFP Fellow?

13. If yes, what is the nature of your continued contact? [Probe: personal or professional]

14. Have you ever visited the PFP Fellow in [country]? Have they or their families visited you since the exchange?

Challenges and Lessons Learned

15. Did you face any challenges hosting a PFP Fellow?

16. Do you have any recommendations on how to make the program better for future PFP Fellows?

Conclusion

Thank you so much for your candid feedback. Is there anything else that you’d like to share, or do you have any questions for us?

OMB Control Number: 1405-XXXX Burden Estimate:  30 minutes Expiration Date: XX-XX-XXXX

PRA Statement Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including time required for searching existing data sources, gathering the necessary documentation, providing the information and/or documents required, and reviewing the final collection.  You do not have to supply this information unless this collection displays a currently valid OMB control number.  If you have comments on the accuracy of this burden estimate and/or recommendations for reducing it, please send them to: ecaevaluation@state.gov.