The Effect Of Studying Abroad On Development Of Intercultural Maturity Among Exchange Students

The intercultural competence is one of the important capabilities for college students to face the diverse and complex society.In recent years,an increasing number of Chinese students study abroad through exchange programs.However,there is little attention on the development of Chinese exchange student intercultural competences,especially lack of empirical research.The purpose of this study is to explore the personal development of exchange students in studying abroad,and understand how they view culture difference,know themselves and interact with diverse people.This study also identifies the effective experiences associated with student intercultural learning.This study employed the model of intercultural maturity as the theoretical framework,which is one of the integrated student development theories.It encompasses three dimensions development: epistemological,intrapersonal and interpersonal in global society.This study used a mixed-method research design.Global Perspective Inventory(GPI)was used to assess the development of intercultural maturity of exchange students(n=135)and students who have not had studying abroad experiences(n=220)from two research universities in Shanghai and Beijing,and then invited some exchange students taking in-depth interviews to supplement the quantitative study.By quantitative data analysis,the validity of the instrument was tested,and the items were verified to adapting to Chinese higher education contexts.The results affirmed the interconnections of the three dimensions of intercultural maturity,and indicated that the development of student intercultural maturity in different dimensions is viewed as inextricably intertwined and inseparable.We found that the development of intercultural maturity among exchange students is unbalanced.The scores of exchange students in epistemological and interpersonal significantly are higher than those students who have not had study abroad experiences,but there is no significant difference in intrapersonal dimension.The results found that there are some experiences associated with intercultural maturity.For example,travelling with foreign(or the region of Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan)students,participating in volunteer abroad activities,experience culture visiting activities,and taking course where professors illustrate issues from diverse cultural perspectives.This study summarized four pathways toward the development of student intercultural maturity,providing implications for promoting student intercultural maturity,and improving the quality of student learning in studying abroad programs.Professors should create an diverse curricular environment,and build a student-centered interaction with students in Chinese universities.Studying abroad affairs stuff should train students before they study abroad to encourage them deeply engaged in studying abroad experiences,and guide them to get prepared to deal with the challenges in studying abroad.