Comparison of pre-intervention IDI results from STEM and non-STEM undergraduate students

Abstract

The emphasis on intercultural competence is more prevalent in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) majors as the world shifts towards a more globalized economy. When entering higher education, students have differing levels of cultural interaction due to varying peer interaction, family experiences, international travel, and social media experiences. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) has been used to develop an understanding of how students view others and the level of skills they have to interact and adapt to other cultures. Using published data focused on pre-intervention assessment, researchers compared it to data obtained from STEM students preparing for an international experience and studies that already exist to learn more about both student populations and to gain an appreciation of their cultural competencies. As institutions look to prepare their students for jobs in a global workplace, an understanding of where STEM students place according to the IDI in comparison to their non-STEM peers may aid educators wishing to focus on developing these skills in their students. The results of the comparison between Purdue STEM students and other non-STEM students showed STEM students fell into more ethnocentric levels of intercultural competence. This may be explained by the traditionally male-dominated nature of STEM majors, as males have been shown to fall in more ethnocentric orientations.

Videoconferencing and the development of intercultural competence: Insights from students' self‐reflections

“…In contrast with Byram (1997Byram ( , 2000, who conceptualizes ICC as pertaining to communication across diverse linguistic and cultural worlds, the DMIS draws on concepts from cognitive psychology and constructivism to explain how individuals experience cultural difference and how their evolving perspective directs and constrains their interpretations of cultural events. This model, that has been extensively used for intercultural training in higher-education programs without specific focus on FL study (e.g., Jackson, 2017;Lucietto & Russell, 2020;Pedersen, 2017), provides a six-stage path to becoming interculturally competent, representing a valuable tool for FL instructors and researchers interested in ICC development.…”

Graduate student diversity, equity and inclusion professional development

“…The IDI instrumentalizes the DMIS theory and is a valid and reliable intercultural development assessment (Wiley, 2016; Wiley, 2017). Paige et al (2003) argue that the IDI assesses intercultural competency and Lucietto and Russell (2020) assert that it is not subject to social desirability bias.…”

“…The IDI was chosen as a program evaluation tool because it is a theory-based and developmental tool (Bennett, 1986(Bennett, , 1993Bennett and Bennett, 2004) used by many educational organizations to achieve US domestic diversity and inclusion goals (Bennett and Bennett, 2004;Hammer et al, 2003;Harvey, 2017;Paige et al, 2003;Lucietto and Russell, 2020). Harvey (2017) argues that the IDI is a useful tool to use in a developmental curriculum like the program evaluated here.…”

Bridging borders: assessing the impact of semester-long study abroad programs on intercultural competence development in undergraduate engineering students

“…Studies have revealed that working within a diverse work environment can be challenging for fresh graduates (Bahrami et al, 2023;Du & Kolmos, 2009;Rock et al, 2016). It has also been observed that engineering students do not always get the opportunity to interact with a diverse student population (Blouin, 2022), and also the coursework is primarily technical (Lucietto & Russell, 2020). The technical nature of the coursework helps students to develop hard skills, but provides less opportunities to develop professional skills (Bahrami et al, 2023;Jaiswal et al, 2021aJaiswal et al, , 2023aMagana et al, 2022).…”