Impact of Two Courses on Intercultural Competence of Undergraduate Students

Increasing migrations across the world mean leaders at all levels need to become more competent in working across cultures. During the past 30 years, program designers, researchers, and others have investigated intercultural competence (ICC), often described as the capability to accurately understand and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. Tertiary education programs (TEP) are accepting these challenges by offering experiences (such as coursework, study away, study abroad, cultural events, etc.) that are intended to produce culturally competent graduates. The teaching and learning experiences described in this study at a midwestern American university may inform others. This study examined archived data from two courses designed to enhance undergraduates’ ICC. Researchers expected that students who completed a course, called Critical Race Theory in Education (CRT), would show statistically larger gains during a second course, called Human Relations in a Multicultural Society (HRMS). At the beginning and conclusion of HRMS, students completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Researchers used the two-sample t-test to compare the pre-HRMS scores of students who had completed CRT and students who had not completed CRT. Analysis showed students who took CRT before HRMS had statistically significantly higher beginning scores than students who had not completed CRT before they enrolled in HRMS (p = .042). Although students who completed CRT started HRMS with the higher IDI mean score, those individuals did not make statistically significant gains in their ICC during the HRMS course (p = .130). However, the students who had not completed CRT before HRMS did make statistically significant gains in their ICC during the HRMS course (p \u3c .001). These results, with additional research, could be used to redesign the courses or to design other curricula approaches

Impact of Service Learning on the Intercultural Competence of Pre-service Teachers

Service-Learning expands domains of practice across the community and supports the development of culturally responsive practice among pre-service teachers. This study examined Intercultural Competence (ICC) among a group of university undergraduate students in the College of Education who participated in a course (Human Relations in a Multicultural Society) that required completion of 18 hours of service learning. For purposes of this project, ICC was defined as the capacity to gracefully adapt one’s behavior in order to interact well with people from a different culture. Service learning was broadly defined as learning through active participation in thoughtfully organized community service projects that are integrated into the academic curriculum. This study focused on the research question: How does the intercultural competency of pre-service teachers change after participating in service learning in the teacher preparation program? The methodology included a mixed-methods approach. Investigators analyzed archived quantitative data from 2016 - 2019. A survey, Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) (Hammer, 2003), was used before and after service learning. Results indicate that service learning experiences during teacher preparation have a positive impact on the ICC of undergraduate students. Investigators expect the project results will support future policies, curricula, and coursework on diversity and inclusion, multiculturalism, and intercultural competence for teacher education programs

Fostering Intercultural Competence Among Undergraduate Students: Course Design for Growth

Tertiary education can provide students with experience with and understanding about other cultures, toward the goal of intercultural competence (ICC). This investigation examined the impact of two undergraduate courses on students’ ability to understand and adapt their behavior to cultural differences. The two courses were: (1) Introduction to Critical Race Theory (CRT) and (2) Human Relations in a Multicultural Society (HRMS). Researchers reviewed archived data of students’ scores on the Intercultural Development Inventory during the Fall 2021 semester. The hypotheses included: (1) students who completed the CRT course (called CRT group) will begin the HRMS course at a higher developmental stage of ICC compared to students who did not complete the CRT course (called non-CRT group) and (2) students who completed the CRT course will make larger gains in their ICC during the HRMS course compared to the non-CRT group. Data analysis found statistically a significant difference between groups at the beginning of the HRMS course (Hypothesis 1). In other words, the CRT course may have had a statistically significant impact on students. Analysis also found that there was no statistically significant difference between groups by the conclusion of the HRMS course (Hypothesis 2). The initial difference between groups seems to have dissipated; the non-CRT group caught up with the CRT group. The investigators report course instructional strategies that may have led to this development. Universities may use this information to consider the effectiveness of course design for growth in ICC among undergraduate students