Abstract
To prepare students for an increasingly globalized world, intercultural group work (IGW) holds promise as a pedagogical tool, because it may help them develop intercultural competence and second-language proficiency. These skills also are needed to complete the discipline-specific aspects of group work successfully. This study investigates the extent to which cultural intelligence (CQ), English language proficiency, and personality contribute to students’ cognitive engagement in IGW. A questionnaire was completed by 846 students from six universities in the Netherlands and Canada. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that CQ and the personality trait of openness are the strongest predictors of cognitive engagement. English language proficiency is a relatively weak predictor. The development of CQ thus should be actively promoted to enhance students’ cognitive engagement in IGW.
Highlights
Higher education institutions facilitate an intercultural, international learning and research environment that offers many opportunities to enhance student learningJournal of Studies in International Education 0(0)and develop key competencies for a highly connected and globalized world (Denson & Zhang, 2010; Leask, 2016)
The relatively high root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) for English language proficiency can be attributed to a small df and falsely indicates poor model fit (Kenny et al, 2015)
The analyses revealed that CQ and the personality trait of openness to experiences are the strongest predictors of cognitive engagement
Summary
Higher education institutions facilitate an intercultural, international learning and research environment that offers many opportunities to enhance student learningJournal of Studies in International Education 0(0)and develop key competencies for a highly connected and globalized world (Denson & Zhang, 2010; Leask, 2016). Students often lack these skills; for example, they experience miscommunication as a result of differing communication styles, frustration resulting from differing expectations about the meaning of ‘collaboration’ (Trahar & Hyland, 2011), segregation due to English language abilities (Liang & Schartner, 2020), difficulty with understanding English that is spoken with certain accents, and fear of offending cultural others (Peacock & Harrison, 2009). These challenges can cause students to avoid actively engaging in group work
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
