Does acculturation predict interpersonal adjustment? It depends on who you talk to

Much acculturation research has investigated links with depression or with general psychological adjustment. Social adjustment, although critical to the acculturation process, has been relatively neglected. The association between acculturation and interpersonal problems was assessed in two samples of Chinese-Canadian university students using the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) and the circumplex version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-C). Sample 1 participants (N = 185) completed the standard IIP-C, yielding a single effect: Mainstream acculturation predicted fewer problems with nonassertiveness. Sample 2 (N = 187) completed a short-form of the IIP-C twice – once referring specifically to problems they experienced in interacting with Chinese-Canadians and once referring specifically to problems interacting with Euro-Canadians. In this case, heritage acculturation predicted a pattern of interpersonal problems with Chinese-Canadian others and mainstream acculturation predicted a similar pattern with Euro-Canadian others. These results support the use of interpersonal adjustment measures in acculturation research, and suggest that such instruments should be modified so that questions refer directly to salient cultural groups in the respondent's social world.     

Social adjustment and dynamics of segregation in higher education – Scrutinising the role of open-mindedness and empathy

Earlier research has suggested that ethnic minority students have a significantly lower chance of attaining academic success compared to their peers without an ethnic minority background. Numerous research has also illustrated the importance of social capital for being academically successful. In two studies we examine the particular role of interethnic interactions in the social and academic adjustment of students in higher education. We use a Flemish university as a case study. Study 1 (N = 1549) uses mediation analysis, and Study 2 (N = 2479) replicates the first study using SEM (structural equation modelling). We first found that social adjustment is necessary for adjusting academically, and that it has a small, but positive effect on study success. While adjusting socially by interacting with students from other ethnic groups is of little benefit to native Flemish students, the opposite is true for students with a migration background. Furthermore, the more open-minded native students are, the less socially adjusted they tend to be, and they seem to benefit from a more close-minded stance than from open-mindedness in terms of adjusting to the social (and academic) context of a university.     

Does fear of terrorism influence psychological adjustment of academic sojourners in Pakistan? Role of state negative affect and emotional support

This study adopted the psychological and emotional perspective of terrorism and the way it influences the psychological adjustment of international students in Pakistan. We investigated the effect of fear of terrorism, state negative affect, and emotional support on students’ psychological distress. Low psychological distress represented higher levels of psychological adjustment. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 121 internationals students of 18 different countries enrolled in a public university of Lahore city with a mean age of 21.7 years. A two-stage analysis was conducted by variance-based structural equation modeling technique in SMART PLS 3.2 software. Adequate convergent and discriminant validity of the latent constructs were ensured, and no evidence was found for common method bias. The results of structural model revealed that fear of terrorism is a positive and significant predictor of student’s psychological distress, which is fully mediated by state negative affect. Emotional support was negatively related to psychological distress and moderated the relationship between state negative affect and psychological distress. Conditional process modeling using process macro revealed that emotional support also moderated the indirect effect of fear of terrorism on distress mediated by negative affect. A significant contribution of this research is to investigate fear of terrorism as a stressor in international student’s acculturation research. Negative emotional state plays an intermediary role in relating fear with psychological wellbeing of international students while emotional support can be a potent coping resource. Several implications, limitation and future research recommendations are also discussed.     

Does Shame Still Prevail in China and Guilt Prevail in the U.S.A?

This study examined whether Chinese and Americans varied in guilt and shame. A 2 (relational closeness: friends vs. acquaintance) × 3 (targets of harm: self only vs. self and the other vs. the other only) × 2 (country: China vs. U.S.) between-subject factorial study was conducted. Results showed regardless of cultures, the extent of damage caused by transgression significantly predicted guilt and shame, whereas relational closeness between a transgressor and a witness did not have an impact. U.S. participants exhibited stronger guilt and shame compared to Chinese on scaled items; Chinese participants had more open-ended shame expressions than U.S. participants.     

Intercultural competence developmental processes of university and college students as three types of transition – A systematic review

This systematic review endeavors to answer the overarching question of how students’ intercultural competence (IC) develops as three types of transition: transition-as-induction (T1), transition-as-development (T2), and transition-as-becoming (T3). Prior studies put much emphasis on external influences and/or outcomes of IC development while neglecting its transition path. We argue that it is the developmental process of IC that manifests the dynamism and fluidity of student transition and can inform universities and colleges of tailored and effective strategies to nurture that. Based on 86 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2021, we analyze the process of students’ IC development based on the reasoning approach, research design, influential factor, and outcome. There are processes of IC dimension (ID) development (periodic induction), intercultural adaptation (IA) (linear development), and intercultural relationship (IR) development (ongoing becoming). They differ in terms of intrapersonal, person-environmental, or interpersonal perspective as well as more fixed or fluid depiction of students’ IC development. This review mainly addresses the research gap in existent IC literature through the trichotomy of transition and provides suggestions for future practices and policies regarding students’ IC development.     

Does the subaltern speak? Migrant voices in digital Europe

ABSTRACT

This article examines a number of digital initiatives where refugees and migrants speak with/to Europe in the context of the “migration crisis.” The analysis of four institutional and grassroots initiatives illustrates digital Europe’s symbolic articulations of borders that divide people and territories. As argued, the mediated visibility and voice of refugees and migrants matter precisely as the order of appearance (in Arendt’s terms) in digital Europe represents a fundamental dimension of the continent’s communicative order: revealing who speaks and who is silenced, which actors are heard and which are sidelined in the context of Europe’s “migration crisis.” The incorporation of refugee and migrant voices in digital Europe shows that voice does not guarantee recognition; rather, its incorporation reveals the complex politics of digital representation: on occasions challenging hegemonic power structures but most often digitally reaffirming bordering power and its symbolical articulations.     

Emotional support on re-entry into the home country: Does it matter for repatriates’ adjustment who the providers are?

This study examines the influence of repatriates’ emotional support providers (home country friends/relatives, host country friends/relatives, and friends/relatives with expatriate experience) on both their psychological and sociocultural adjustment on re-entry into their home country. The study builds on social identity theory and examines the mediating role of the salience of repatriates’ international role identity. Predictions are tested using a quantitative survey data of 121 repatriates. The results show a positive indirect effect of the amount of support repatriates receive from home country friends/relatives on both dimensions of adjustment through a decreased salience of their international role identity. Furthermore, analyses show a negative indirect effect of maintaining supportive connections with host country friends/relatives on both psychological and sociocultural adjustment through an increased salience of repatriates’ international role identity. The results also show a direct effect of having or not having host country friends/relatives as emotional support providers in such a way that repatriates who do not have supportive host country friends/relatives are better psychologically adjusted upon re-entry. This study raises new questions about generally accepted advice for the adjustment strategies of expatriates, such as building connections with host country nationals.     

Does service learning affect the development of intercultural sensitivity? A study comparing students’ progress in two different methodologies

Numerous studies have highlighted Intercultural Sensitivity (IS) as a key competence in an increasingly multicultural society. This study examined the extent to which a cohort of first year undergraduate students enrolled on the same Didactics course, and in two different training modalities – Service Learning (SL) and non-Service Learning (non-SL) – developed IS. It was based on a quasi-experimental design of repeated pre-test and post-test measures, comparing the two groups. The sample consisted of 233 Spanish students at higher education institutions, and data was collected using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). The SL group displayed significantly higher levels of IS in all factors except in the denial/defence and minimization stages. Results indicated the effectiveness of SL regarding specific subscales within the IDI instrument. The findings add new depth to our understanding regarding which teaching methodologies contribute to the development of IS and to the training of active citizens in Spanish university students. The discussion focuses on the need for intercultural service experiences to promote IS. The results have broad implications for policymakers and educators who are interested in enhancing transformative educational experiences and effective teaching methodologies for developing students’ IS in higher education.     

Which intercultural competences for teachers,educators, and social workers? A literature review

Europe seems to be going through a historical period characterized by the fear of otherness, conceived as an attack on the positive values of liberal society. This fear manifests itself, according to several researchers, through neo-assimilationist tendencies in public policies in many European nations: an example of this trend can be considered the reintroduction of the language and knowledge requirements of the country for new immigrants as a prerequisite for obtaining permanent residence and citizenship.At the same time, in both academic and public debates, the tendency is spreading to affirm that it is necessary to overcome the multicultural approach in favour of a new paradigm capable of dealing with the complexities typical of the superdiversity that characterizes European nations: the interculturalism. This trend is in contrast to the thinking of several researchers who believe that the theoretical principles and the practical aims, which are at the basis of multiculturalism and interculturalism are complementary to each other. Multiculturalism tends to focus more on the level of public discourse and political debate while interculturalism is aimed more at more meso and micro-level. It is believed that teachers, social workers and educators play a fundamental role in making the members of the majority of a State more open to comparison and exchange with subjects coming from other historical and geographical contexts. The purpose of this review is to identify the intercultural competencies that these professionals should have to counter the fear and closure towards diversity, which is constantly increasing in European societies.     

Racial Diversity in the Schools: A Necessary Evil?

White teachers see racial diversity in the schools as a “necessary evil.” Common beliefs are that a) Black students are saved by nurturing White teachers and well-behaved White children, and b) White students learn from “disadvantaged“ Black children the dual lesson of empathy and gratitude.     

Frequency and attendance at popular music concerts in the USA: Does facility age matter?

Popular music is a valuable community amenity in the USA. State and local governments often encourage concert development by subsidizing construction and operation of concert venues. The facilities most likely to receive public support also host professional sports franchises. Public policy arguments supporting subsidization often maintain that concert frequency declines as facilities age, thus necessitating their replacement. Anecdotal evidence is inconsistent on the matter. Using a two-year pooled cross-section of 1234 concerts in 80 professional sports facilities from July 2012 to June 2014, the present study tests if facility age predicts changes in concert frequency and attendance. The results lend support to subsidy proponents' arguments, but the magnitude of the age effects is unlikely to warrant significant subsidy levels.     

How does education have an impact on ethnocentrism? A structural equation analysis of cognitive,occupational status and network mechanisms

Previous studies have distinguished cognitive, occupational status and network mechanisms in the relation between education and ethnocentrism. Hypotheses on these mediating mechanisms are derived from socialization theory, realistic group threat and contact theory. In the current study we use structural equation modeling to investigate the explanatory power of these three mechanisms simultaneously. The analysis is based on a representative population survey from the Netherlands (NELLS 2009, n = 1910). The results show that more than half of the initial association between education and ethnocentrism can be attributed to cognitive ability and occupational status mechanisms. The remaining part of the overall association, however, still has to be modeled as a direct relationship between education and ethnocentrism. This direct association can be attributed either to social desirability or to a direct liberalizing effect of education on social and political attitudes. Our analysis tentatively suggests that the rise of average education levels in Western societies might lead to less ethnocentric attitudes via the cognitive sophistication mechanism.     

Same or different? The “cultural entrepreneurship” and “arts entrepreneurship” constructs in European and US higher education

“Arts entrepreneurship” is beginning to emerge from its infancy as a field of study in US higher education institutions. “Cultural Entrepreneurship”, especially as conceived of in European contexts, developed earlier and on a somewhat different but parallel track. As Kuhlke, Schramme, and Kooyman [(2015). Introduction. Creating cultural capital: Cultural entrepreneurship in theory, pedagogy and practice. Delft: Eburon] note, “In Europe, courses began to emerge in the late 1980s and early 1990s?…?primarily providing an established business school education with an industry-specific focus on the new and emerging creative economy.” Conversely, the development of “arts entrepreneurship” courses and programmes in the US have been driven as much or more from interest within arts disciplines or even from within the career services units of arts conservatories as a means toward supporting artist self-sufficiency and career self-management. This paper looks at the conceptual development of “arts entrepreneurship” in the US as differentiated from “cultural entrepreneurship” in Europe and elsewhere. Its intention is to uncover where the two strands of education (and research) are the same, and where they are different. In addition to a review of existing literature on European cultural entrepreneurship, US data is drawn from a new survey and inventory of US arts entrepreneurship programmes developed for the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru).     

Signs of transcendence? A changing landscape of multiraciality in the 21st century

The relation between multiracial identity selection and psychological outcomes related to the self and well-being was explored among minority/White biracials spanning four different mixed-race groups (n = 201): Black/Whites, East Asian/Whites, Latino/Whites, and South Asian/Whites. The mixed-race groups showed considerable variability in their selection of multiracial identity categories and different patterns of identity selection, as well as a higher overall representation of transcendent identity (i.e., identity that challenges traditional notions of race) than reported in previously published studies. Our findings demonstrated that biracial identity selection, especially when differentiating between identities that are socially validated or not socially validated by others, was related to a person's level of multiracial identity integration, identification with Whites, perceived discrimination from Whites and non-Whites, and psychological well-being. Identity selection groups did not significantly differ from each other in levels of self-concept clarity or identification with their non-White racial group. Theoretical implications for extending a multidimensional model to other mixed-race groups and redefining race as a social and cultural construction are discussed.     

Do EFL Teachers ‘Critically’ Engage in Cultural Awareness? A Mixed-Method Investigation

ABSTRACT

This study explored 150 EFL teachers’ perceptions of critical cultural awareness (CCA) considering their teaching context, academic degree, and professional development programs. The participants all completed the CCA questionnaire, fifteen of whom also sat a semi-structured qualitative interview. Our findings showed, a) EFL teachers’ perceptions of CCA located at a medium level, b) the PhD participants showed significantly higher engagement in CCA than their BA and MA counterparts, c) private language institute teachers reported higher levels of CCA than their state-run school counterparts and d) local professional development programs did not emphasize culture teaching in general and CCA in particular.     

A new route towards more harmonious intergroup relationships in England? Majority members’ proximal-acculturation

Although the ways that immigrants relate to UK culture has been a hot topic since the EU-referendum, little attention has been given to how majority group members such as Host Country Nationals (HCNs) relate to immigrants’ culture. Thus, we explored English HCNs’ globalisation-based proximal-acculturation – the extent to which they prefer to adopt aspects of immigrants’ cultures and/or maintain their national culture. Using two-step cluster analysis, a pilot study (N = 63) revealed a separated, integrated, and undifferentiated cluster, with separated HCNs perceiving cultural diversity more as a threat and less as an enrichment. Using latent profile analysis in a second study (N = 220) also revealed a three strategy-solution, identifying assimilated, integrated and separated profiles. Again we examined how these strategies differed across perceptions of cultural threat and enrichment as well as other psychosocial characteristics: identifying with fellow English citizens, recognizing cultural differences whilst not being culturally embedded (constructive marginalization), and various forms of intergroup contact. Separated HCNs identified more with fellow English citizens, endorsed less constructive marginalization, perceived less cultural enrichment yet more cultural threat than HCNs following some of the other strategies. These results stress that the onus of cultural adoption lies with both groups – minorities and majority members – with English HCNs showing distinct proximal-acculturation strategies. Lastly, when exploring a variable-centred approach, proximal-acculturation orientations (cultural maintenance/adoption) mediated the relationship between cultural threat, cultural enrichment, and intergroup contact on positive feelings towards immigrants. Thus, the ways that HCNs acculturate may provide a new route towards harmonious intergroup relations.     

Can EFL Speakers Communicate in English-mediated Classes?: A Case of a Liberal Arts Class for Engineering Students in Korea

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to explore what factors prevent English as a foreign language (EFL) students from participating in English-medium instruction classes; and (2) to examine how dialogic teaching techniques enhance students’ participation in classroom interaction. Utilizing the notions of “communicative competence” and “truncated repertoire,” we first investigated the barriers to communication in classrooms. We next examined how EFL speakers are able to communicate in English-medium instruction (EMI) classes. The findings suggest that when the instruction was designed to reduce cultural barriers and to facilitate authentic discussion, EFL students were able to participate in classroom interaction, and they perceived discussion as a way to learn an unfamiliar subject taught in English.