Relationship of gender and academic achievement to Finnish students’ intercultural sensitivity

Abstract

This study examined the intercultural sensitivity of Finnish 12–16‐year‐old secondary school students (N=549) with a 23‐item Intercultural Sensitivity Scale Questionnaire (ICSSQ). The ICSSQ is based on Bennett’s (1993) Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), which is a conceptual tool to situate certain reactions towards cultural difference. The DMIS consists of six stages, of which three are ethnocentric and three ethnorelative. The ICSSQ is based on the operationalization of the first five stages: (1) Denial, (2) Defense, (3) Minimization, (4) Acceptance, and (5) Adaptation. Two research questions were examined: Are there any differences in the intercultural sensitivity between (1) girls and boys, and (2) students with academically average ability and students with above‐average ability? The results showed that the girls assessed their intercultural sensitivity higher than did the boys. Furthermore, the academically gifted students estimated their intercultural sensitivity higher than the students with average ability.

Keywords:

• intercultural sensitivity
• character education
• value education
• academic achievement