The relationship between teachers’ cultural intelligence and multicultural education attitude: The mediating role of intercultural sensitivity

Abstract

In this research, the relationship between teachers’ cultural intelligence and multicultural education attitude was investigated with the mediating role of intercultural sensitivity. The main research aim was to contribute to the cultural intelligence and multicultural education literature. The research was conducted with a cross-sectional correlational method, and the data was gathered from 600 teachers working in the six of the provinces with the highest Syrian refugee population in Turkey. Convenient sampling and criterion sampling methods were employed in the sample design. In accordance with the aim of the research and criterion sampling method, the teachers with at least one Syrian student in their classes participated in the research. In the analysis of structural relationships among the variables, structural equation modeling was employed. Bootstrap method was used to estimate the effect size and confidence intervals and significance level. The research findings revealed that cultural intelligence had direct and indirect effects on teachers’ multicultural education attitude through intercultural sensitivity. The results showed that intercultural sensitivity had a significant role in the relationship between cultural intelligence and multicultural education attitude. This result underlines the importance of interpreting intercultural sensitivity as a promising factor in developing positive attitudes for multicultural education.