How do students develop intercultural competence during international mobility?

Abstract

Developing students’ intercultural competence is a key objective of international mobility programs in higher education. While it is widely accepted that studying abroad enhances students' competencies, little is known about the specific conditions and contexts that promote the development of intercultural competence during these experiences. This study draws on survey data from 499 students across five cohorts from a French higher education institution between 2017 and 2021. The analysis includes three distinct measures of intercultural competence and learning, along with a wide range of variables related to the mobility context, processes, personality traits and students’ previous international experiences. The data were analyzed using an exploratory partial least squares structural equations model (PLS-SEM). The findings suggest that personality traits such as empathy, attributional complexity, and metacognition, positively influence the development of intercultural competence during international mobility. Additionally, encountering difficulties or conflicts positively impacts intercultural competence when students successfully manage to cope with them and overcome negative emotions. Furthermore, perceived learning from the international experience plays a central and mediating role in explaining both intercultural knowledge and ethnorelativism.