Intercultural Competence Development Among University Students From a Self-Regulated Learning Perspective

Intercultural competence is defined as a lifelong learning task that can be developed in any intergroup situation. A self-regulated learning model is applied to better understand the intercultural learning process that is initiated during the forethought phase, monitored during the performance phase, and evaluated during the self-reflection phase. In each phase, particular psychological constructs are important to initiate, monitor, and evaluate the learning process. The empirical goals of the present study were (1) to develop a self-report questionnaire capturing the three learning phases, (2) to test the theoretical structure of the proposed intercultural learning process, and (3) to examine two theoretically meaningful learning cycles. Data were collected from 188 women and 48 men aged 18–47 years (M = 26.41, SD = 6.19). Structural equation models (SEMs) demonstrated that intercultural learning goals, intercultural self-efficacy, and intercultural intrinsic interest form the latent factor forethought phase. In line with composite models of intercultural competence, the intercultural learning goals had a three-factor structure (knowledge domain, attitude domain, communication domain). Self-monitoring, self-recording, and self-experimentation form the latent factor performance phase. Mediation analyses provided initial evidence of the existence of two distinct learning cycles: (1) The forethought phase precedes the performance phase which precedes both self-evaluation and success attribution on intercultural competence (constructs of the self-reflection phase). (2) The performance phase precedes optimizing future learning (construct of the self-reflection phase) which precedes the forethought phase indicating the emergence of a future learning action. The theoretical and practical value of the newly developed self-assessment of intercultural competence is discussed.