ABSTRACT

Cultural intelligence (CQ) is critical to students’ academic and career success. Drawing on experiential learning theory, the current study investigates the extent to which students’ prior international experience and short-term study abroad destinations foster the development of their CQ. We examined the learning of 121 undergraduate students participating in two-week global business immersion programmes in four different locations (Russia, the UAE, the United States and Vietnam). Survey data collected pre- and post-immersion show these short-term study abroad programmes serve as a cultural eye-opener for students with low international experience and contribute to fostering a significant level of CQ development in culturally close countries. Our study uncovers a cultural distance paradox, suggesting that programme destinations with similar cultures to the students’ home cultures facilitate a higher increase in the development of students’ cultural intelligence. The study provides important implications for higher education institutions in the design and development of short-term study abroad programmes as an affordable, fast-growing and effective format for student mobility.

摘要

文化智力 (CQ) 对学生的学业和职业成功至关重要。本研究借鉴体验式学习理论，调查学生之前的国际经验和短期留学目的地在多大程度上促进了他们的 CQ 发展。我们检查了 121 名本科生在四个不同地点（俄罗斯、阿联酋、美国和越南）参加为期两周的全球商业沉浸式课程的学习情况。浸入式前后收集的调查数据显示，这些短期出国留学项目为国际经验不足的学生提供了文化视野，并有助于在文化相近的国家促进显着水平的 CQ 发展。我们的研究揭示了一个文化距离悖论，表明与学生的家乡文化具有相似文化的项目目的地有助于学生文化智力的更高增长。该研究为高等教育机构设计和开发短期留学项目提供了重要意义，作为一种负担得起的、快速增长的和有效的学生流动形式。