Addressing Intercultural Experience and Academic Mobility in Higher Education

Abstract

The present study initially discussed the various aspects of interculturality in higher education and the value of intercultural experience for developing intercultural competence. Then, it investigated the relationship between intercultural experience and students’ progress in their studies from prep year to senior years. The findings indicate that students do not gain intercultural experiences as a natural outcome of progress in higher education. Afterward, the relationship between intercultural experience and motivation for academic mobility was researched. According to the results, having foreign friends and attending intercultural events could be taken as predictors of lenience towards student exchange programs. Finally, the motivating and deterring factors of academic mobility for the participants were determined, and suggestions for future research were made. Participants were 207 students from different study years at a university in Turkey. A mixed questionnaire was employed to obtain data related to students’ intercultural experiences and their perceptions concerning the benefits and barriers of academic mobility.

Keywords:

• Intercultural experience
• intercultural competence
• academic mobility
• motivation
• foreign language proficiency

Notes

1. Prep year students are registered at a university but have not yet started their majors because they first need to pass an English exam.

2. Although these percentages seem to be high, the frequency of contact with foreign friends was found to be rather low.