A study of the relationship between academic mentoring and the development of intercultural competence in a multicultural higher educational context

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between mentoring and intercultural competence of the faculty and students of Harvest Bible University in regarding these two factors' influence on classroom culture and student academic achievement. The goal of this study is to find effective mentoring relationships to develop intercultural competence for educators and students who are engaged in multicultural contexts. Especially, higher educational institutions have been experiencing complex multiculturalization. For this reason, educators inevitably face multicultural factors in their educational contexts and the issues of teaching and acquiring intercultural competence are becoming major concerns in schools.;This research was conducted at Harvest Bible University in the city of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. There were 150 students and 18 faculty members during research in the 2006-2007 School year. The samples were 61 graduate students and 11 faculty members who were chosen by appropriate criteria. The school has typical characteristics of intercultural factors. The student body and faculty are composed of various ethnicities and cultures. Moreover, the school offers classes in three languages: English, Korean, and Spanish.;A qualitative research method was appropriate because the goal of the study and the context of the research site were unique. This research employed three data-collection methods: surveys, participant observations and interviews. For survey, the researcher used two instruments. The Intercultural Competency Scale was used to gauge intercultural competence of respondents. The Mentoring Relationship Survey was used to discern mentoring relationship type and the nature of mentoring between faculty members and students. Those surveys were mailed to 61 graduate students and 11 faculty members and gained 55 respondents (77%). Observation was conducted at six classes and other activities. Interview was done with 10 students and seven faculties.;The analysis of the data shows a positive correlation between mentoring and intercultural competence. Those two factors have also correlations to classroom culture and student GPA. From the results of this research, it is recommended that schools should consider mentoring and intercultural competence together. By finding effective mentoring relationships, students and faculty members can increase intercultural competence.