An Evaluative Case Study of Japanese Undergraduate Students’ Changes in Intercultural Competence as Learning Outcomes in Malaysia and Thailand

Japan’s policy on outbound student mobility reflects the national commitment to preparing the next generation of Japanese professionals in terms of intercultural understanding. However, very little evidence is available for evaluating a relationship between Japanese students’ gains in intercultural understanding and their study abroad participation. Addressing the current shortcomings in several areas, including evidence, methodologies, diversity of destination, and theoretical application, this thesis designed a mixed-methods case study to evaluate Japanese students’ gains in their intercultural competence as a measurement of learning outcomes from their study abroad in Malaysia and Thailand. The main framework was based on the cultural learning theory in the Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive (ABC) model through the Sociocultural Adaption Scale (SCAS). The cultural learning theory gave a behavioral emphasis to my study, and the existing theories of intercultural competence in the literature were integrated into it. This study’s sample came from two cohorts of the School of Global Studies and Collaboration (GSC), Aoyama Gakuin University (AGU). My results affirmed that research on study abroad learning outcomes in Japan needs to improve in terms of the availability and quality of evidence. The quantitative results illustrated that traditional variables such as language proficiency, destination countries, and gender are poor indicators for evaluating changes in the intercultural competence of Japanese students. One promising result was the role of GPA in the 2015 cohort; this cohort showed a negative relationship between GPA and ICC changes. The qualitative findings were significant as they extended the existing intercultural competence theories by integrating concepts of cultural self-awareness and young adult development. The findings also formulated thematic relationships that identified students’ perceived concerns and excitement in the pre-departure phase and perceived positive and negative learning outcomes in the post-return phase. The results of the data integration illustrated a correlation between the ICC scores and the comments in the 2016 cohort. Furthermore, the data integration uncovered a limitation of a self-administered instrument like SCAS. Although this study has acknowledged several limitations, it was possible to make recommendations to Japanese stakeholders to overcome the current shortcomings of both research and program administration relating to study abroad. 現在の日本の留学政策は、「異文化能力を持った次世代の日本人職業人を育成する」というコミットメントの表れである。しかし、日本の学生の異文化理解と留学への参加の関係性に関する評価エビデンスは、非常に限られている。エビデンス・研究手法・渡航先・理論の改善の必要性のため、本研究は、混合手法研究をデザインし、異文化能力という概念を留学効果測定の評価方法として採用した。この研究の理論の枠組みは、ABCモデルにおける「文化学習理論」を採用した。測定方法は、文化学習理論に反映された、SCASというアンケートを採用した。本研究のサンプルは、青山学院大学の地球社会共生学部から協力を得た。本研究における結果は、現状を改善するエビデンスを提供した。まず、量的結果は、今後も引き続き研究を継続する必要性を明示した。唯一可能性としてあげられたのは、2015年度の学生グループの学力と異文化力の変化には、負の関係性があるということである。更にユニークな結果は、質的分析である。質的結果は、学生の渡航前と渡航後の多様な現状を説明し、これまでの異文化教育における概念を異文化能力理論へ統合することができた。また、データ統合結果からは、SCASのようなアンケート利用における方法的限界を示唆する内容となった。本研究は、手法的にも課題を残すこととなったkが、日本国内のステークホルダーに対して、研究と実践におけるエビデンスをもとにした提案をすることに成功した。

Keywords: Assessment and Evaluation
Comparative Higher Education
Higher Education Policy
Intercultural Education
Internationalization of Higher Education
Japanese Universities
Advisor: Hayhoe, Ruth