This dissertation examined the effect of year-long study abroad program on the development of intercultural sensitivity among the Mainland Chinese high school students. The sample consisted of 50 study abroad participants and 50 students on home campus. The instrument Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was employed to assess the intercultural sensitivity level of Mainland Chinese students before and after study abroad experience. The paired samples t-test results reveal that study abroad students did not make statistically significant gains in the overall intercultural sensitivity through participation in the year-long study abroad program. Although there were statistically significant differences in the posttest ethnorelative scales between study abroad students and students on the home campus, the study abroad students did not make significantly greater progress in their overall intercultural sensitivity between the pretest and posttest than the comparison group. The regression results indicated that the independent variable of total amount of previous intercultural experience significantly contributed to the development of intercultural sensitivity.On average, study abroad students participants were in the stage of Minimization as measured by IDI prior to study abroad and remained at the same stage by the conclusion of the study abroad experience. The findings imply that the study abroad program needs to provide support to increase students’ skills and sensitivity so that they can deal effectively with cultural differences.

This study considers the usefulness of the Intercultural Development Inventory in measuring the intercultural sensitivity of a sample of teachers at an established international school in Thailand. In this study, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was used to measure participants’ levels of intercultural sensitivity (ICS), based on Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS). To crosscheck the IDI findings and to provide additional insights, qualitative research using interviews of a sample of teacher participants was undertaken. Comparisons were also made with previous studies using the IDI to measure teacher levels of ICS. The aims of the study were to provide additional data about ICS among teachers at an established international school and to look for correlates relating to demographic factors. Specifically, the study aimed to assess the usefulness of the IDI to international schools looking to enhance ICS among students and teachers. The study concludes that the IDI is applicable to an international school context in measuring the intercultural sensitivity of teachers. The results showed that teachers in international schools involved in this study have higher levels of ICS than their counterparts in national schools who took part in previous studies. With respect to the participants in this study, 67.9% were operating in Bennett’s Minimization stage in the DMIS. Levels of ICS were positively correlated with years living in another culture, professional development related to ICS and knowledge of a foreign language. The findings provide insights into and opportunities for further study. Other studies may find similarities with respect to professional development for teachers with respect to ICS, teacher recruitment, gender differences, and levels of ICS among faculties at both national and international schools.

Abstract Through a two-phase process an instrument was created to measure the cognitive domain as proposed by King and Baxter Magolda in their Developmental Model of Intercultural Maturity (2005). The first phase involved expert panels who identified the competencies which exist in the cognitive domain, identified situations which might exist between individuals from different cultures, validated scenarios created from the identified situations, and created responses which corresponded to the three developmental levels (Initial, Intermediate, and Mature) defined in the Developmental Theory of Intercultural Maturity. Within the second phase, the created instrument was administered to 371 individuals representing eight geocultural world divisions (Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, North America, South/Latin America, South Pacific/Polynesia, and Sub-Saharan Africa). The initial instrument contained 8-12 interactive demographic questions and 20 scenario-based questions which were created to measure the four identified competencies (Ability to Shift Cognitive Perspectives, Flexibility in Thinking, Willingness to Seek Knowledge about Other Cultures, and Willingness to Consider Others' Viewpoints as Valid). Through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the instrument was analyzed and a final 12-item instrument was identified which corresponded to three competencies: Ambiguity, Acclimation, and Acceptance. Overall, the final instrument functioned with minimal gender bias. Some differences in world regions were noted. The Caribbean was the only region who had consistently different scores from the other regions. While some significant differences were noted in scores of those who had lived abroad and those who had not, time spent outside one's home region was not correlated to scores on the instrument. Low reliability scores, factor pattern coefficients, and communality estimates indicated that opportunities to improve the instrument exist. Additional opportunities for further research include the creation of additional instruments to measure all three domains (Cognitive, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal) and thus measure Intercultural Maturity in full. Recommended uses for the instrument are in the creation of intercultural curriculum to prompt discussion or to create metacognitive opportunities within intercultural training and classrooms.

In order to improve international student enrolment, universities have to tackle challenges of ensuring satisfying experience of enrolled international students that is perceived to greatly impact future recruitment. Accordingly, this research aims to provide valuable insights into Chinese international students’ cultural identity conflict that hinders their obtainment of a positive overseas experience. An online survey assessing a range of predictors of cultural identity conflict involving personality traits, ethnic and host cultural identity strength, intergroup factors and strategies of negotiating ethnic and host cultures, and how identity conflict and various identity negotiation strategies influence intercultural competence, was distributed to the entire pool of Chinese students enrolled in a New Zealand university and an Australian university. A total of 255 students completed the survey. Multiple regression analysis revealed that conscientiousness, secure attachment, commitment to ethnic identity, low perceived discrimination, easy access to academic activities with host students significantly protected Chinese students from experiencing cultural identity conflict, whereas preoccupied and fearful attachment, assimilation strategy increased the risk of identity conflict. Additionally, Alternation between cultural demands as one of variations of integration strategy was surprisingly found to exacerbate identity conflict and led to lower levels of intercultural sensitivity, while the other variation, blending strategy significantly resulted in greater intercultural sensitivity. Managerial implications for educational institutions were discussed based on these results. To advance this field of study, limitations of the current research and future research avenues were also presented.

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No / 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. / This work was supported in part by funding from the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network (now defunct)

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This study examined the orientations to cultural difference of sojourner educators in the Foundation Program at Qatar University to determine if orientations were correlated with select demographic and experiential variables, including gender, age, time overseas, education level, formative region, ethnic minority status, job position, length of time in Qatar, intercultural marriage, default language, formal teacher training, and overseas development organization experience. This study used a sequential mixed-method design. Perceived and Developmental Orientations were measured using the Intercultural Development Inventory© (V.3), which produced a measure of each respondent’s orientation to cultural difference. Focus group interviews were conducted to engage participants in explaining and interpreting the findings. Five focus groups of three to six participants each were conducted. Most of the teachers were found to operate from within the transitional orientation of Minimization, although individual scores ranged from Denial to Adaptation. On average, the educators were found to overestimate their orientations by 31 points. A positive correlation between orientation and formative region was found, with participants from North America showing the highest orientation. Statistically significant differences emerged for orientations when comparing Middle East and North African (MENA) and North American formative regions. Formative region was found to account for 4.8% of the variance in orientation and is a significant fit of the data. Focus groups participants speculated that (a) core differences regarding multiculturalism in MENA and North American cultures help explain the results, (b) aspects of the workplace culture and both the broader MENA and local Qatari culture encourage a sense of exclusion, and (c) external events further complicate cross-cultural relations. The study findings add to the literature by providing baseline orientation data on sojourner educators in post-secondary education in the GCC region, and by confirming some of the findings of similar studies. The study provides practitioners with suggestions for staffing and professional development. Future research should focus on the measurement of orientations in broader samples of educators, changes in orientation over time in Qatar and other cultural contexts, differences in orientation among short-term vs. long-term expatriates, the impact of employment systems and societal structures on orientations in sojourner educators, the impact of educator orientation to cultural difference on student achievement, and the design of effective cross-cultural professional development for educators.