Research into intercultural effectiveness in a multicultural educational milieu in Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Main Authors: Senad Bećirović, Amna Brdarević Čeljo, Irena Zavrl
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
• Series: Ekonomska Istraživanja
• Subjects: intercultural effectiveness; intercultural competence; study field; gpa; nationality; gender; university status; grade level
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2019.1629329

Enhancing intercultural effectiveness through the development of intercultural skills and competencies substantially contributes to establishing a more peaceful and tolerant society, which explains a considerable research interest it excites. The present study aims at investigating how study field, grade-point average (GPA), nationality, gender, university status, and grade level impact intercultural effectiveness of Bosnian university-level students. The research sample consisted of 184 students studying at the Departments of English Language and Literature and Psychology at three different universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A 2 × 4 ANCOVA indicated that intercultural effectiveness varied significantly by study field and GPA, with small effect size in both cases. The interaction effect of study field x GPA was also significant, with an almost moderate effect size. Similarly, a two-way MANOVA revealed that nationality and gender had a significant effect on the combined dependent variables of intercultural effectiveness and their interaction effect was also significant, with a small effect size. On the other hand, a two-way MANOVA revealed an insignificant impact of grade level and university status on the combined dependent variables of intercultural effectiveness. The interaction effect of grade level x university status was also insignificant, with a small effect size. The present study shows that intercultural effectiveness can be further developed and increased in the university milieu and is thus expected to contribute to recognising the importance of its enhancement through curricula and teaching content in particular.