A Mixed Methods Study of the Impact of an Undergraduate Course on the Intercultural Competency of Undergraduate Students

Thursday, January 5, 2023
2:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Zoom

Presenters: Elizabeth Sandell, Ph.D., and Ryuto Hashimoto, Elementary Education and Literacy

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to learn about the intercultural competency (ICC) of undergraduate students, during Fall 2021. ICC is defined as “ability to shift cultural perspective and adapt behavior appropriately to cultural differences and commonalities (Hammer & Bennett, 2010).” For ten years, the investigator has used the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) for pre- and post-instruction assessment in Human Relations in a Multicultural Society (HR). Data analysis showed consistent trends in ICC, regardless of the students’ academic majors, age group, gender, citizenship, or temperament. In Fall, 2021, the HR instructor noticed that some pre-instruction IDI scores were unusually high. The higher scores were among students who had already completed another course, Critical Race Theory in Education (CRT). Researchers hypothesized that (1) individuals who completed CRT would actually begin the HR course at a higher level of ICC compared to students in the past semesters, and (2) individuals who completed CRT would make larger gains in their ICC during the HR course than other students. Archived data suggested that individuals who completed CRT did begin the HR course at a higher level of ICC. However, CRT students made no statistically significant change in their ICC score as a result of the HR course. Students without CRT did make statistically significant change in their ICC score. In fact, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups by the conclusion of the HR course. For the qualitative study, ten subjects were randomly selected from among those who completed the course. The Intercultural Knowledge and Competence VALUE Rubric (Rhodes, 2010) was used to define these themes: knowledge about cultures, curiosity about other cultures, and empathy toward other persons. Raters included ten students participating in an undergraduate research team in the College of Education. This study has not yet concluded. Qualitative results will provide more explanation and understanding of instructional design as researchers further analyze the data.