Developing U.S. teachers’ intercultural competence: Does professional development matter?

Intercultural competence is an important skill for K-12 educators to effectively teach a demographically changing population of young people. This paper builds on research that uses the Intercultural Development Inventory to assess change in intercultural competence among K-12 educators. This study aims to understand the extent of change in educators’ intercultural competence in an urban district that has implemented an intercultural initiative based on Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. Analysis of pre- and post-test data from the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) revealed a significant, and medium effect size, positive change in IDI overall development scores. The data also reveal that behavioral adaptation changed significantly and to a greater extent than cognitive adaptation. The study's findings suggest that intercultural competence can be developed through district and school-based professional development programs, in which the DMIS and the IDI serve as a process model to guide intercultural development. Given the variance in the change in teachers’ intercultural competence, school leaders and trainers should be careful to provide developmentally appropriate training that supports teachers’ learning.     

Measuring communication patterns and intercultural transformation of international students in cross-cultural adaptation

This study attempts to develop a brief scale for measuring cross-cultural adaptation of international students in China and to explore the main pathways to promoting their cross-cultural adaptation. Based on Kim’s structural model of cross-cultural adaptation, this study examined a series of reliability and validity analyses and constructed a structural equation model for exploring the main pathways of cross-cultural adaptation. The findings reveal that the revised scale is reliable and valid for measuring international students’ cross-cultural adaptation. Moreover, the findings also suggest that there exist four main pathways (host communication competence, host social communication, intercultural transformation basic, intercultural transformation advanced) that are essential for the development of international students' cross-cultural adaptation, and the interlocking bilateral relationships among these pathways are significant and positive. This study provides insightful theoretical foundation for investigating international students' cross-cultural adaptation in non-western contexts and the compelling empirical support on the structural model of cross-cultural adaptation.     

Multidimensional Individual Difference Acculturation (MIDA) model: Syrian refugees’ adaptation into Germany

European countries have been the key destination for many Syrians since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. In this new context, refugees have faced various challenges, including negative public attitudes and pressure of assimilation that might negatively influence psychophysical adaptation. This indicates the necessity of exploring the factors associated with the adaptation of refugees in their new society. Using a multidimensional individual difference acculturation (MIDA) model as a theoretical framework, the present study investigated the psychophysical adaptation of Syrian refugees (N = 265, M_age = 33.03 years) in Germany. The MIDA model is a theoretical model on immigrants’ adaptation that takes into account the role of psychosocial resources (e.g., psychological strength), co-national connectedness (e.g., ingroup support), hassles, and acculturation orientations in predicting adaptation of immigrants. Using structural equation modelling, specific hypotheses drawn from the MIDA model were tested. It was found that Syrian refugees with high psychological strength and cultural competence reported high levels of adjustment as indicated by low levels of distress. On the other hand, refugees with high levels of perceived hassles reported low levels of adjustment as indicated by high level of distress. The results highlight the importance of psychological strength, cultural competence, and hassles in refugees’ adaption. The study’s findings have the potential to inform host country policymakers regarding the positive integration of refugees into German society, and specific recommendations have been made.     

International volunteers’ perceptions of intercultural competence

Although international volunteer sending organizations vary greatly, nearly all claim that volunteering will increase intercultural competence. Various theories of intercultural learning suggest, however, that cultural contact will only improve a volunteer's intercultural competence under certain conditions. The study collects self-reported responses from 291 volunteers who served in one of two service models that differ on multiple characteristics. This study isolates four key characteristics and employs a moderated multiple regression to test how these variations affect volunteers’ perceptions of intercultural competence. Findings suggest that that service duration, cultural immersion, guided reflection, and contact reciprocity are all positively associated with intercultural competence. In addition, guided reflection appears to moderate the relationship between duration and intercultural competence. This study responds to the need for research on the effects of international volunteering across institutional models.     

Variables Impacting Intercultural Competence: A Systematic Literature Review

ABSTRACT

The importance of intercultural competence in today’s global economy is evident. Achieving intercultural competence, however, has no single formula. This study explored the variables impacting intercultural competence development. Through a systematic literature review, it identified 48 scholarly sources, 11 unique variables and two sub-variables impacting intercultural competence development. The impact of programme characteristics was found to be significant across the board, while the impact of demographic factors was harder to predict. The findings of this research inform scholars, educators and practitioners of the most effective ways to design intercultural experiences and help participants maximize their learning at home and abroad.     

Adept through adaptation: Third culture individuals’ interpersonal sensitivity

This study evaluated the interpersonal sensitivity of third culture individuals, defined as people who lived in a country other than that of their nationality during their developmental years, by comparing them to mono-cultured individuals. While the notion that third culture individuals develop enhanced perceptual skills as a result of intercultural adaptation is widely accepted in popular and professional literature, this assertion has not been empirically tested. Previous research on intercultural communication competence and adaptation has almost exclusively focused on intercultural exposure among adults. This study collected data from 142 individuals using web-based surveys. The instruments measured two aspects of participants’ interpersonal sensitivity: social and emotional sensitivity. Results showed that third culture individuals have significantly higher social sensitivity than mono-cultured individuals, while mono-cultured individuals reported higher emotional sensitivity. Additionally, no significant correlation was found between greater intercultural experience and increased interpersonal sensitivity.     

Intercultural knowledge development: Evidence from student interviews during short-term study abroad

The goal of this investigation was to examine intercultural knowledge development during a short-term study abroad program focused on language and cultural learning. Interviews with students were conducted at the beginning and end of the program, allowing for a qualitative approach to analysis, supported by quantitative measures. While previous investigations have relied on qualitative data, this is the first analysis of intercultural knowledge development based on a qualitative, pre- and post-program design. Intercultural knowledge development was identified considering the change and growth in student knowledge. Results indicated that students experienced a change in the salience of intercultural knowledge themes over the period abroad, focusing on City life and Schedule differences more at the beginning of the program than at the end. Such shift may be indicative of cultural adaptation during the program. Results also demonstrated intercultural knowledge growth over the period abroad, with the greatest growth being related to knowledge themes of Big C (e.g., culture and history), daily life, food and drink, and values and politics. These results led to a distinction between types of knowledge that traditionally have been included in definitions of intercultural knowledge, an analysis of context as it intersects with knowledge development, and a theoretical consideration of the relationship between intercultural knowledge and intercultural communicative competence. Furthermore, practical considerations for cultivating intercultural knowledge during short-term study abroad programs were discussed.     

Evolution,Civilization and History

ABSTRACT

This article will offer a fresh perspective on media attitudes towards working-class youth in late Victorian London by looking in detail at a case study of violent youth crime. It offers an analysis of gang crime in the late nineteenth-century capital and explores the use of class and stereotyping in the reporting of working-class youth. It considers the extent to which the problems of violent youth gangs were manipulated by the press to portray the capital as a ‘city out of control’. Finally, it will argue that these contemporary representations of youth helped create a fear that exaggerated the threat posed by gangs.     

The mediating effect of sociocultural adaptation and cultural intelligence on citizens and migrants: Impact on perceptions of country images

Reports indicate that international migration patterns will continue to grow between 50 and 60 million per decade. Consequently, people’s perceptions of a country’s image will evolve. Country image is an important phenomenon affecting organizations and people’s decisions to travel, invest, study, migrate, and many more. Hence, this study aims to examine the influence of global and local identity on citizens’ and migrants’ perceptions of their countries’ images. In addition, the paper investigates the mediating effect of lower sociocultural adaptation and cultural intelligence on a country’s image. Our sample is drawn from Indonesians and Australians who completed survey questionnaires in the two countries. The sample comprises citizens and migrants (n = 1188) from Australia and Indonesia. The results show local and global identity differences in how individuals perceive other countries. For Indonesians, local identity makes people perceive Australia more positively. In contrast, for Australians, global identity makes people perceive Indonesia more negatively. Furthermore, the results indicate the importance of cultural intelligence over sociocultural adaptation. This paper will make several theoretical and managerial contributions. First, the paper contributes to cultural and identity literature. Individuals’ perceptions of a country are influenced by their identity and values. Second, this study shows the importance of sociocultural adaptation and cultural intelligence. Mere identity (global or local) is insufficient to justify the relationship between identity and perception of a country.     

Developing Students’ Intercultural Competence through Authentic Video in Language Education

ABSTRACT

This article advocates developing students’ intercultural competence through authentic video in language education. It first explores the definition of intercultural competence in language education from relevant literature, and reviews the use of audio-visual media in developing intercultural competence; it then uses one Chinese TV drama as an example, discussing the development of second language (L2) Chinese learners’ intercultural competence through authentic video in Chinese language education; finally, it discusses some implications for developing students’ intercultural competence in language education.     

Sojourner expectations: Are they met and does it matter if they’re not?

This research examines the association between cross-cultural travelers’ well-being and the discrepancy between expected and experienced adaptation, in a longitudinal study of intercultural exchange students (N = 1762; M_age = 17 years; 70 % female). Specifically, two competing hypotheses were tested. Whereas the accuracy hypothesis suggests that unmet expectations lead to poorer outcomes, the directional hypothesis proposes that the outcome of unmet expectations will depend on whether expectations are overmet or undermet. Both sojourners’ adaptation expectations (pre-travel) and adaptation experiences (during the sojourn) were measured alongside general well-being. Controlling for baseline, well-being during the sojourn was regressed on the direction (undermet or overmet) and the magnitude (extent of discrepancy) of the adaptation expectation-experience discrepancies. These analyses were conducted across time (at entry or 5 months into the sojourn), different types of adaptation (psychological and sociocultural adaptation), and different measures of well-being (stress and satisfaction with life). Across analyses, results indicate that the direction of mismatch appears to matter little for small mismatches. However, for larger mismatches a positive effect emerged for sojourner well-being when the experience was better than expected, but a negative effect when the experience was worse than expected. Overall, the results support a directional hypothesis.     

International students involvement with preparations: Pre-departure coping strategies implemented by Mexican postgraduate students in the UK

Based on findings from a qualitative case study focused on Mexican postgraduate international students at a prestigious university in the south of England, this article explores the coping strategies implemented by the participants prior to departing to their study abroad experience. Findings revealed varying degrees of involvement with pre-arrival preparations where some participants employed a series of creative tactics to ease their adaptation upon arrival, and some others who did not envision any strategies to prepare. However, as afterthoughts, the latter group of students realised such omission had hindered their transition to the new culture. This led to the conceptualisation of the studying abroad experience as a dynamic process enhancing the perspective of the international student as an active agent of their process of adaptation Ward et al., 2001).     

The Role of Intercultural Competence and Local Wisdom in Building Intercultural and Inter-religious Tolerance

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the role of intercultural competence and local wisdom to build tolerance. Recent situation shows that the rights of religious and cultural minorities are on the decline. It focuses on the experience and practice of tolerance in kampong Buneng to prevent ethno-religious conflict. This study employs accommodation theory and qualitative approach to investigate a case study, which describes real phenomena. The findings show that convergence strategy is more dominant than divergence strategy and local wisdom found in Buneng is designed to maintain harmony between village members rather than voicing distinction amongst plural identities occupying the same public sphere.     

Intercultural competence in tourism and hospitality: Self-efficacy beliefs and the Dunning Kruger effect

This study aims to measure intercultural competence (awareness) of tourism and hospitality employees who tend to be in continuous interaction with intercultural customers. By comparing the results of a self-report awareness test/scale with the results of a knowledge-based test, the study shows that employees not only have extremely low intercultural competence, they also exaggerate their intercultural awareness/competence. Hence, in addition to the implications for intercultural competence/awareness of tourism and hospitality employees and for the businesses for which they work, the study has also implications regarding the measurement ability of self-report scales/tests.     

The Role of Intergroup Contact and Acculturation Strategies in Developing Chinese International Students’ Global Competence

The current study investigates how intergroup contact and acculturation strategies are related to Chinese international students’ global competence development. A group of Chinese international students in Belgium participated in an online survey. Chinese students have achieved the development of global competence in all the dimensions of knowledge, skills and attitudes since they started their study abroad. The results showed that integrated and assimilated students obtained greater global competence development in all three dimensions than the separated and marginalized ones. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses further revealed that both intergroup contact and socio-demographics can significantly predict global competence development.     

Assessing Multicultural Competence of Helping-Profession Students

In this article, I focus on assessing multicultural competence of helping-profession students. The Multicultural Competence Scale of Helping-Profession Students was used for data collection. The aim of the research was to find out the level of students' multicultural competence due to the current lack of this information in Central Europe. Generally, students assess their multicultural competence on the higher level. There is a significant relationship between the students' study degree and the level of their multicultural competence. Multicultural activity was shown as an important predictor of multicultural knowledge. Also, multicultural knowledge was identified as a significant predictor of multicultural communication skills.     

The model of pre-acculturative stress—A pre-migration study of potential migrants from Russia to Finland

This study tested a model of factors predicting pre-acculturative stress among potential migrants from Russia to Finland prior to their migration (N = 244). By applying the theory of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), the model of acculturative stress (e.g., Berry, 2006) and the expectations model (e.g., [Black, 1992] and [Black et al., 1992]) to the pre-acculturation stage, it was hypothesized that the potential migrants’ pre-acculturative stress is a result of expectations about future (post-migration) adaptation. These expectations are developed through direct and indirect pre-migration contacts with, as well as knowledge about, the society of immigration. Three types of expectations during the pre-acculturation stage were studied: expected difficulties in socio-cultural adaptation, expected duration of adaptation, and expected discrimination. In line with the hypotheses, experiences of pre-acculturative stress clearly originated from the expectations that potential migrants had regarding their upcoming post-migration adaptation. Also, socioeconomic status, gender, general well-being, self-efficacy, perceived social support, and length of the pre-acculturation stage played important roles in predicting expectations and/or stress among the potential migrants. The study highlights that pre-acculturation is a complex process that begins at the pre-migration stage. It contributes to our understanding of pre-acculturation in general, as well as the factors affecting the formation of pre-acculturative stress among voluntary ethnic migrants.     

Measuring instructed language learners’ IC development: Discrepancies between assessment models by Byram and Bennett

Researchers and foreign language (FL) educators alike have investigated changes in learners’ intercultural competence (IC) in response to pedagogical interventions aimed at preparing learners for cross-cultural encounters. Byram's (1997) multimodal IC model and Bennett's (1993) developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS) are predominant IC assessment models in the field of FL education. This paper reports empirical evidence that reveals discrepancies between these two models drawing from the findings of a larger study that employed both theoretical lenses to investigate culture learning in a computer-mediated environment. Specifically, the study investigated changes in the way 13 U.S. French language learners talked about French people and culture in online classroom discussions in response to virtual instruction about French cultural practices at two levels: (1) at the individual level—with Byram's IC model in three case studies and (2) at the group level—with Bennett's DMIS. A post hoc comparison of the findings revealed assessment discrepancies between the models—empirical evidence revealing contradictions both between and within the models. These discrepancies are reported and the merits of each model within the research design are discussed. The aim of this paper is to empower readers with an understanding of IC research instruments and assessment tools commonly used to measure IC development in FL education and to inform methodological decisions of future research.     

Sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence: A model test

Following findings from previous studies, the present study further explores the relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communicative behaviours, specifically by investigating the relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence and re-testing a model introduced in a previous study. It was hypothesised that: (1) when mediated by variables associated positively associated with intercultural communication competence, there is a positive relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence, and (2) even in the presence of variables that are positively associated with intercultural communication competence, there is a negative relationship between ethnocentrism and intercultural communication competence. Survey data were gathered from participants (N = 231) and structural equation modelling was performed. The results supported both hypotheses, as well as findings from previous studies. The implications are discussed.