(Re)conceptualizing ’global competence’ from the students’ perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Globalization has led to a growing consensus on the significance of developing globally competent college graduates. However, the voice of students as key stakeholders has been largely neglected in the non-Anglophone contexts. The study examines students’ perceptions of global competence as they live and experience international education by using exploratory factor analysis with survey data collected in a Sino-foreign institution in China. The study identifies a factorial structure with five latent components. It confirms existing scholarship with elements including global consciousness, cross-cultural communication and willingness to “reach out”, pointing to the essential importance of knowledge, skill, and attitude. Moreover, it highlights two new scales as academic communication through English, and intercultural confidence & understanding, throwing new light on our understanding of global competence. It calls for a critical reconceptualization of global competence against the caveat of “Globalization” for “Englishization”, and provides implications for higher education internationalization and students’ capacity development in developing countries.