Do students value intercultural group work? The effects of perceived value in diversity on intercultural interactions

Figures & data

Table 1. Independent t-test on local and international participants’ general value in diversity (GVD), task-specific value in diversity (TVD), and intercultural interactions.

	GVD			TVD			Intercultural interactions
	M (SD)	t (df)	p	M (SD)	t(df)	p	M (SD)	t(df)	p
Local student (n = 80)	4.06 (.58)	−1.01 (231)	0.31	2.85 (.72)	−4.78 (230)	0.00	4.21 (.41)	−1.58 (231)	0.12
International student (n = 153)	4.15 (.65)			3.36 (.82)			4.30 (.45)

Note:1(low) to 5(high)

Table 2. Descriptive statistics of main variables and the correlations.

Variable	Mean	SD	1	2	3	4
1 Age	21.41	2.91	-		-
2 Group size	3.83	1.23	0.16*	-
3 GVD	4.12	0.63	−0.09	−0.07	-
4 TVD	3.11	0.82	−0.12	0.13	0.50**	-
5 Intercultural interactions	4.27	0.44	0.08	0.01	0.43**	0.20**

Note: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01. Results are based on 1000 bootstrap samples.

Table 3. Regression analysis of GVD, TVD, and intercultural interactions.

	Model 1 B(SE)	Model 2 B(SE)	Model3 B(SE)
Dependent variable: Intercultural interactions
Enrolment status	0.01 (.11)	0.05 (.06)	0.09 (.06)
TVD		0.10* (.04)	−0.03 (.04)
GVD			0.31** (.05)
R^2 (Adjusted R^2)	0.01(.01)	0.04 (.03)	0.19 (.18)
Sig. F change	0.10	0.01	0.00

Notes: *p < 0.01; **p < 0.001. Results are based on 1000 bootstrap samples.

Figure 1. The full mediation influence of general value in diversity (GVD) between task-specific value in diversity (TVD) and intercultural interactions is shown as solid lines. The direct effect of TVD on intercultural interactions without adding GVD is shown as a dotted line. When including the mediator, the beta weight for task relevance is indicated in brackets (n = 232; **p < 0.01).

Table

Perceived value in diversity	Loadings
	TVD Cron. α (0.83)	GVD Cron. α (0.79)
1. It was helpful that we had a multinational group to get the task done.	0.56	0.49
2. The task gave group members a chance to share their national perspectives.	0.75	0.11
3. Different national perspectives, rather than personal abilities, were the most valuable resource to cope with this task.	0.79	0.01
4. Incorporating international perspectives improved my understanding of the task.	0.80	0.23
5. Considering group task completion, it would have been disadvantageous to work with group members from only one nation.	0.60	0.21
6. Considering group task completion, it was beneficial to collaborate with different nationalities.	0.62	0.46
7. I have benefited from interacting with the group members.	0.12	0.77
8. Group members’ perspectives led me to learn something new.	0.24	0.72
9. The teamwork experience is helpful to develop my collaboration skills to work in an international context.	0.08	0.71
10. Interacting with the other group members enriched my knowledge and understanding.	0.22	0.80
Eigenvalue	4.37	1.46
Sum of squared % of variance	30.10	28.26

Table

Intercultural interactions Cron. α (0.82)	Loadings
	Intercultural interactions integration Cron. α (0.79)	Intercultural interactions sharing Cron. α (0.69)
I shared my prior experiences related to this task with the other group members.	0.40	0.46
I expressed my understanding of the task to the group.	0.43	0.51
I shared my ideas about how the task can be done with the other group members.	0.21	0.71
I exchanged my expectations about how the task could be done with other group members.	−0.03	0.92
I did my best to express my ideas clearly for the other group members.	0.54	0.33
I was open to learning something new from each other in the group.	0.64	0.01
I tried to understand the perspectives of other group members.	0.67	0.12
I asked for clarification when a group member shared an idea I do not understand.	0.52	0.14
I tried to find some connections between different perspectives from group members.	0.68	0.17
I tried to use the opinions of others in the search for a task solution.	0.63	0.18
Views of other group members contribute to the development of my own ideas.	0.62	0.12
Eigenvalue	1.32	3.76
Sum of squared % of variance	27.70	18.54

Notes: Cron. α based on standardised items