Assessing students’ intercultural competence: Construction and psychometric evaluation of a brief measure

Intercultural competence has been placed increasing attention in globalized educational systems. The study presents a series of qualitative and quantitative investigations to construct and validate scores on a brief self-report measure assessing intercultural competence of university students. Following a comprehensive literature search and qualitative expert reviews in the scale construction process, 50 potential items were classified based on the attitudinal, cognitive, and behavioral intercultural competence framework. In the psychometric evaluation process, a unidimensional structure was obtained to represent the 50 items. Item response theory analysis was performed to yield a brief measure of five content-specific items measuring intercultural competence, capturing cross-cultural self-efficacy, cultural knowledge application, perspective taking/suspending judgment, and behavioral regulation in intercultural situations. Not just contributing to measurement advancement, but the newly developed and validated instrument holds promise for guiding the design of intercultural competence educational programs and assessing students’ intercultural competence performances/gains.     

Evaluating the international dimension in an undergraduate curriculum by assessing students’ intercultural sensitivity

This formative, outcome-oriented, theory-based evaluation research study assessed the effectiveness of requiring an international (‘I’) course by measuring students’ intercultural sensitivity (IS) at the start and end of a semester. Findings revealed that students’ IS scores did not change regardless of the type of class in which the student was enrolled and were not significantly different based on gender, age, ethnicity, undergraduate classification, or number of ‘I’ courses taken. There were significant differences in IS based on religion, traveling outside the US, participating in a study abroad course, and the number of cultural events in which the student had participated. Regression analysis confirmed that religious affiliation and number of times traveled outside the US were significant predictors of IS. This study is an example of the use of theory-based evaluation in an educational system and provides important insights into what experiences affect college students’ IS.     

Motivations and influences in Chinese international doctoral students’ decision for STEM study abroad

Despite China’s recent remarkable performance in high-quality research, the number of students going abroad to pursue doctoral degrees in STEM fields has been rising rapidly. This study investigates the motivations of Chinese international doctoral students (CIDS) in STEM fields for undertaking a PhD abroad, and the external factors influencing this major life decision. Based on in-depth interviews with 35 CIDS from seven universities in four Australian states, the findings show that for the current generation, enriching life experiences and self-cultivation emerged as most prominent personal motivations. The choice to study abroad, though ultimately a personal decision, was influenced by a range of factors and particularly long-term cooperation between host and home institutions. Both academic and personal reputation of supervisors played important roles in the selection of host institutions. This study may be of value to supervisors and higher education policy-makers, at institutional and government levels in all countries, whether “home” or “host”, invested in sustainable international doctoral education.     

Finnish secondary school students’ interreligious sensitivity

The aim of this study was to assess the self-evaluations of Finnish secondary school students’ (N?=?549) interreligious sensitivity. The data were collected from 12–16-year-old young people with a 15-item Interreligious Sensitivity Scale Questionnaire (IRRSSQ). The IRRSSQ is based on Abu-Nimer’s Developmental Model of Interreligious Sensitivity, which is based on the Developmental Model of Interreligious Sensitivity by Bennett. The IRRSS measures the orientations towards religious differences in five categories: Denial, Defence, Minimisation, Acceptance and Adaptation, of which the first three are religiocentric orientations and the last two religiorelative. Three research questions were examined: Are there any differences in the interreligious sensitivity between (1) girls and boys, (2) students who study religious education and (religion-free) ethics education in school, and (3) students who differ in academic achievement, measured with the grade point average (GPA)? The results showed that the girls assessed their interreligious sensitivity higher than did the boys. Further, no statistically significant differences were found between the students attending religious education in school and the students attending ethics education. However, the low GPA scores were related to a religiocentric framework and the high GPA scores to a religiorelative framework.     

Internationalisation and the development of students’ intercultural competence

Universities’ internationalisation rhetoric suggests that students studying on internationally diverse campuses will automatically engage positively with one another and develop intercultural competence. This study examined the extent to which a cohort of first year UK and non-UK students studying on an internationally diverse campus developed intercultural competence. The Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®) and a locally designed survey were used to assess students’ intercultural competence and to explore their intercultural experiences over seven months. Students began almost exclusively in lower (ethnocentric) stages of intercultural development and most showed little progress despite reporting relatively high levels of intercultural contact, friends from other cultures and positive experiences. Findings suggest that even positive intercultural experiences do not necessarily lead to the development of intercultural competence and that university policy and practice may need to be enhanced if producing graduates with higher levels of intercultural competence is to become a realised outcome of internationalisation.     

Individual attitudes and social influences on college students’ intent to participate in study abroad programs

Participation in study abroad programs (SAPs) is widely viewed as offering important professional and personal benefits for college students. This study applies the Theory of Reasoned Action [Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.] as a theoretical framework to better understand how undergraduate students’ individual attitudes and subjective norms from three social groups (family, friends and professors) impact their intent to participate in SAPs. Surveys were conducted at three public and private universities in the USA and Taiwan. The results suggest that both individual attitudes and subjective norms are influential factors for college students, and the effects are dependent on the type of SAPs. The current research offers several additions to the SAPs literature. Also, the results offer new insights for higher education and other institutional managers for increasing student participation in SAPs.     

College students’ perceptions of studying abroad and their readiness

This study aims to determine what college students believe is essential on studying abroad and investigates which programs they prefer for outbound study. The trend of globalization and expansion of higher education have resulted in changes for studying abroad programs in numerous Asian countries. In particular, the overprovided undergraduate and graduate education system in Taiwan raises questions on how college students perceive such outbound study. This paper collected survey data from 219 college students at 2 universities in Taiwan to analyze their opinions and levels of readiness on studying abroad programs. This study applied fuzzy methods to transform the data and interpret the results, and the findings showed that gender and college major influence student perceptions on the importance of studying abroad, as well as their readiness to study abroad. Typically, women exhibit more preparedness for studying abroad than their male counterparts. Following the expansion of higher education in Taiwan, more students are considering studying abroad programs for short-term stay in foreign countries. According to the patterns of perception, this study built fuzzy models to explain the consistency of importance and levels of readiness on studying abroad. The results reveal that fuzzy statistics can be used for proper interpretation of the factors influencing students to study abroad and their readiness.     

Why study abroad? Sorting of Chinese students across British universities

This research contributes to the booming literature on the mobility of international students in higher education. We analyse university-level factors that affect the sorting of Chinese international students across British universities. We produced a unique data-set merging university-level data from the 2014 UK Higher Education Statistics Agency and the Higher Expectations Survey, supplemented by qualitative evidence from six focus groups for illustrative purposes. Our results, using nationally representative evidence for the first time, confirmed that university prestige is the most important driver for the sorting of Chinese students across British universities, together with further effects of the broader social and cultural offerings that the universities provide. Interestingly, the cost of study and marketing strategies deployed by universities do not seem to drive the Chinese students’ university choices. Our findings underline the importance of diffuse institutional factors such as university rankings and their taken-for-granted status by students themselves.     

The effect of nature documentaries on students’ environmental sensitivity: a case study

Despite the potential educational value of nature documentaries, the contribution of such films to environmental education is largely unknown. In the present study, we attempt to delineate the role of nature documentaries to the environmental sensitivity of students when the films are simply introduced to the class. More specifically, the present study experimentally checks whether students who have been exposed to a nature documentary on insects develop a greater level of environmental sensitivity towards those animals compared to students who have not. Moreover, we explore whether nature documentaries of a distinct type (i.e., verbal vs. non‐verbal) have a different effect on the students’ sensitivity. The results suggest that traditional nature documentaries have a positive effect on students’ sensitivity, while the non‐verbal, less conventional documentary is more effective in the development of environmental knowledge and feelings about insects. However, the non‐conventional approach is equally effective in the change in attitudes and beliefs as the verbal, ‘traditional’ one. Finally, the study discloses that students in general report more positive emotional reactions to insects than perceived knowledge and understanding. Although nature documentaries seem to improve all components of environmental sensitivity, they do not subvert the predominance of emotion over knowledge about insects.     

Increasing early childhood preservice teachers’ intercultural sensitivity through the ABCs

While the early childhood student population has become increasingly diverse in the U.S., its teaching force remains primarily European American. The diverse student population demands that early childhood educators possess intercultural sensitivity in order to teach their culturally diverse learners effectively. This study examined the implementation of the ABCs of Cultural Understanding (the ABCs), a multicomponent instructional activity to promote intercultural sensitivity, in a preservice early childhood education course. Twenty-two early childhood preservice teachers participated in the study. The findings suggest the ABCs helped the participants develop intercultural sensitivity and strengthened their awareness and appreciation of other cultures. Despite the positive impact, the findings show most participants were in the early stages of intercultural sensitivity development. It is recommended that consistent exposure to and experiences with assignments like the ABCs are necessary to further promote intercultural sensitivity among preservice teachers.     

Assessing high-school students’ ability to direct their learning

Theory on student learning provides that students are able to direct their learning when they have metacognitive knowledge about their own learning processes. In this article, a preliminary attempt to assess untrained high-school students’ metacognitive knowledge of learning processes as an ability through multiple-choice questions is reported. In three studies, item selection was established for ninth graders at the end of their school year. Also, in the final study the results showed that the ninth-grade students’ self-reported use of learning and studying strategies, study techniques, school learning and tiresome academic subjects related significantly to their metacognitive knowledge regarding learning processes. In the discussion, the practical consequences for school assessment are explicated and future research questions are raised.     

A phenomenological study of community college students’ experiences with mentor teachers*

The aims of our current study were to (1) explore how community college science and mathematics majors made meaning of their experiences with mentor teachers as part of an early field experience and (2) understand the ways students’ experiences with mentors influenced their interest in teaching. Using interviews and written reflection activities, a qualitative phenomenological approach was used to understand and describe the meaning of the lived mentoring experiences of 17 community college science and mathematics majors. Five themes were identified to describe community college students’ experiences with mentor teachers in elementary, middle and high schools in a high-needs school district: (a) role modeling, (b) mutual respect and honesty, (c) responsiveness and guidance, (d) approachability and relatedness, and (e) broadening and shifting perspectives. Findings point to the potential of early relationships with mentor teachers as a means to shape community college students’ interest in teaching science or mathematics.     

Teacher sensitivity in interaction with individual students: the role of teachers’ daily negative emotions

ABSTRACT

Research stresses the importance of teacher sensitivity for the development of special needs students, including students with attachment problems. However, little is known about the antecedents of teacher sensitivity. This study investigated associations between teachers’ daily negative emotions and teacher sensitivity towards individual students. Data were collected from 71 teacher-student dyads in special education primary schools and included students with mild to severe attachment problems (6 to 10 years old). Teachers reported their daily negative activating (e.g. anger) and deactivating (e.g. sadness) emotions in relation to individual students during a three-week period. Teacher sensitivity was observed in interaction with the target student in a cognitively challenging and an emotionally challenging task. Teachers’ higher but decreasing negative activating emotions were associated with higher levels of observed teacher sensitivity in the cognitively challenging task. In addition, heightened levels of negative deactivating emotions were associated with lower levels of observed teacher sensitivity but only in the emotionally challenging task.     

The effects of an intercultural communication workshop on participants’ intercultural communication competence: An exploratory study

It was the purpose of the present study to measure the effects of an intercultural communication workshop (ICW) on American participants’ intercultural communication competence. This study utilized the behavior observation methodology developed by Ruben (1976) with the contrast‐American simulation technique developed by Stewart (1966) to investigate intercultural communication competence development. Using a nonequivalent control group design, a structured communication event employing the contrast‐American technique was developed in which each subject discussed the topic of leadership communication with a contrast‐American at two intervals (pretest and posttest) and these interactions were videotaped. Two judges then viewed the videotaped interactions and rated the subjects’ intercultural communication competence using behavioral observation measures. The results suggest that (I) behavioral observation methodology can be reliably employed to assess intercultural communication competence and (2) the ICW did not significantly improve the American participants’ intercultural communication competence. These findings are discussed in terms of intercultural education/training and suggestions for future research on the ICW are presented.     

Is problem-based learning associated with students’ motivation? A quantitative and qualitative study

In this study, a mixed-method design was employed to investigate the association between a student-centred, problem-based learning (PBL) method and law students’ motivation. Self-determination theory (SDT) states that autonomous motivation, which is associated with higher academic performance, can be reached when there is fulfillment of three psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. PBL aims to trigger autonomous motivation. In Study 1, 85 PBL law students (37% male; Mean age = 21.99 years) and 69 law students of a lecture-based, non-PBL program (39% male; Mean age = 22.72 years) filled out the Self-Regulation Questionnaire and an adapted version of the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale in order to measure autonomous and controlled motivation and perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness. In order to compare both groups, two MANOVAs were conducted and results showed differences neither in autonomous and controlled motivation, nor in feelings of autonomy and competence. However, PBL students experienced more relatedness. Additionally, in Study 2, focus-group discussions that were conducted indicated that PBL contains both autonomy-supportive and controlling elements, which might explain why no differences were found in perceptions of autonomy and autonomous and controlled motivation between PBL and non-PBL students. Furthermore, students reported that tutorial groups in PBL contributed to feelings of relatedness.     

What predicts international higher education students’ satisfaction with their study in Ireland?

The internationalisation of higher education – a facet of broader processes of globalisation – has resulted in increased study-related travel, and the development of policies to attract international students. Nevertheless, in the context of a strong drive to recruit international students, little is known about how they are faring during their study abroad. This article addresses the gap in research, analysing the experiences of international students studying in Irish higher education institutions, drawing on nationally representative data from the Eurostudent IV study. The findings show that students’ satisfaction with study while abroad is shaped by a number of different factors including, first and foremost, their satisfaction with their education institution and subjective rating of their health.     

How formal and informal intercultural contacts in universities influence students’ cultural intelligence?

Asia Pacific Education Review - Along with rapid globalization, the ability to adapt and excel in an unfamiliar or diverse cultural setting becomes increasingly important. To meet the challenges,...     

‘Me and maths’: towards a definition of attitude grounded on students’ narratives

The attitude construct is widely used by teachers and researchers in mathematics education. Often, however, teachers’ diagnosis of ‘negative attitude’ is a causal attribution of students’ failure, perceived as global and uncontrollable, rather than an accurate interpretation of students’ behaviour, capable of steering future action. In order to make this diagnosis useful for dealing with students’ difficulties in mathematics, it is necessary to clarify the construct attitude from a theoretical viewpoint, while keeping in touch with the practice that motivates its use. With this aim, we investigated how students tell their own relationship with mathematics, proposing the essay “Me and maths” to more than 1,600 students (1st to 13th grade). A multidimensional characterisation of a student’s attitude towards mathematics emerges from this study. This characterisation and the study of the evolution of attitude have many important consequences for teachers’ practice and education. For example, the study shows how the relationship with mathematics is rarely told as stable, even by older students: this result suggests that it is never too late to change students’ attitude towards mathematics.