Predicting intercultural competence in educational settings: the validity, reliability and utility of two instruments

Abstract

Determining individual potential for performance within multicultural environments is important in the increasingly globalised workplace. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SEQ) aim to measure such professional effectiveness. In a study using student and faculty samples in an international educational context, the reliability and validity of both inventories were examined, as was the ability of the MPQ to discriminate between those with and without international work-based aspirations. The MPQ demonstrated some limited potential for identifying multicultural effectiveness. However, data gathered did not support previous claims for the predictive value of the MPQ or for the ability of either instrument to discriminate between disparate samples. The implications for the use of these and other instruments are discussed.