{"title":"More is not Always Better: The Curvilinear Relationship Between Intercultural Learning and Adolescents’ Global Competence","authors":"Qinhui Huang, Alan C. K. Cheung","doi":"10.1007/s11482-023-10268-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Being globally competent is significant for students to effectively navigate the complexities of the interconnected world and live a high quality of life. Yet little is known about how intercultural learning activities impact adolescents’ global competence. In this vein, this study aims to examine the impact of intercultural learning on adolescents’ global competence as well as the potential moderating effect of school discriminatory climate. Using a sample of 211,554 students representing 7,012 schools across 26 economies, this study reveals a noteworthy inverted U-shaped effect of intercultural learning. Specifically, as students’ participation in intercultural learning activities increases, their global competence initially grows and subsequently declines after reaching a critical turning point. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the curvilinear effect of intercultural learning is significantly moderated by the prevailing climate of discrimination within schools. The curvilinear pattern is more pronounced when discrimination levels are low (-1SD) and becomes comparatively flatter under conditions of high school discrimination climate(+ 1SD). Further policy and practical implications are discussed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51483,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Research in Quality of Life","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-023-10268-8","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Being globally competent is significant for students to effectively navigate the complexities of the interconnected world and live a high quality of life. Yet little is known about how intercultural learning activities impact adolescents’ global competence. In this vein, this study aims to examine the impact of intercultural learning on adolescents’ global competence as well as the potential moderating effect of school discriminatory climate. Using a sample of 211,554 students representing 7,012 schools across 26 economies, this study reveals a noteworthy inverted U-shaped effect of intercultural learning. Specifically, as students’ participation in intercultural learning activities increases, their global competence initially grows and subsequently declines after reaching a critical turning point. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the curvilinear effect of intercultural learning is significantly moderated by the prevailing climate of discrimination within schools. The curvilinear pattern is more pronounced when discrimination levels are low (-1SD) and becomes comparatively flatter under conditions of high school discrimination climate(+ 1SD). Further policy and practical implications are discussed.
期刊介绍:
The aim of this journal is to publish conceptual, methodological and empirical papers dealing with quality-of-life studies in the applied areas of the natural and social sciences. As the official journal of the ISQOLS, it is designed to attract papers that have direct implications for, or impact on practical applications of research on the quality-of-life. We welcome papers crafted from interdisciplinary, inter-professional and international perspectives. This research should guide decision making in a variety of professions, industries, nonprofit, and government sectors, including healthcare, travel and tourism, marketing, corporate management, community planning, social work, public administration, and human resource management. The goal is to help decision makers apply performance measures and outcome assessment techniques based on concepts such as well-being, human satisfaction, human development, happiness, wellness and quality-of-life. The Editorial Review Board is divided into specific sections indicating the broad scope of practice covered by the journal. The section editors are distinguished scholars from many countries across the globe.