Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence - Center for ...

Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence
Indeed, volunteers reported that they learned important life skills: open-mindedness, appreciation
for others, a deeper level of self knowledge, new perspectives, language skills, confidence,
communication, observation skills, a non-judgmental attitude, patience, understanding, reasoning,
self-development, and independence. In the end, all respondents indicated some degree of
progress in each area.
A Hierarchy of Attributes?
It seems possible that attributes might be arranged hierarchically in terms of descending or
ascending importance; that is, some factors may contribute more than others to IC success. It also
seems possible that some attributes may overlap and could be consolidated. The survey form, of
course, did not list attributes in any particular order of importance nor has the intercultural
literature provided any hint of a hierarchy of attributes. On the other hand, it might be interesting
to quantify the number of times attributes were cited by respondents – both alumni and volunteers
– in open-ended sections of the survey form and in interviews.
Before attempting to organize attributes in terms of frequency of citation, a cluster analysis would
be required. Clearly some terms are synonymous or might overlap in their spheres of meaning.
An initial cluster, for example, might be: “openminded, positive attitude, acceptance” or
“language, communication,” in which cases items could be grouped together. Following this line
of thought, here are the results in order of frequency (original attributes from the list are cited in
bold; additional qualities cited by respondents are not):
- openminded, positive attitude, acceptance, tolerance (26)
• people, places, sights, and sounds
• willing to absorb the culture
• willingness to learn
• willingness to try new things (2)
• willingness to interact with people
• be prepared not to demand one’s own standards
• not questioning why (acceptance)
• accept differences
• don’t expect too much of yourself too soon (a gradual process)
• don’t take one’s own culture as a yardstick for another
• other cultures not inferior
• take a step back
• can’t change things
• don’t be a missionary
• become like a native to a certain degree
• don’t carry own cultural beliefs abroad
• getting out of one’s own comfort zone
• have no expectations (remain open)
- motivation (5)
• motivation is the key
• work hard
• not always fun or a holiday
• lots of work and effort
• take the initiative
Center for Social Development
Washington University in St. Louis
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