. Nematullah Shomoossi; . Akbar Ahmadi Asor; . Mohsen Kooshan; . Mostafa Rad
Volume 9, Issue 4 , April 2019, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The cultural diversity of ethnic groups in Iranian academic contexts highlights theimportance of enhancing cultural awareness and minimizing cultural conflicts. Therefore, ...
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INTRODUCTION: The cultural diversity of ethnic groups in Iranian academic contexts highlights theimportance of enhancing cultural awareness and minimizing cultural conflicts. Therefore, the presentstudy aimed to investigate the intercultural intelligence of the university personnel in interacting withstudents.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was a correlational research conductedon 136 employees in Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The participants were selectedby randomized clustered sampling. The data on intercultural intelligence were collected using Earleyand Ang’s Questionnaire and were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics.RESULTS: Mean score of intercultural intelligence in the education‑research staff, secretarial staff,and student‑cultural staff was 41 ± 9, 35.6 ± 8.3, and 44.2 ± 7.7, respectively. ANOVA showeda significant difference in the overall scores of intercultural intelligence across the three groups(P = 0.001); the scores of subsections were also statistically different, the student‑cultural staff showinghigher intelligence scores than the other groups. Furthermore, the overall intercultural intelligencescores varied significantly across the participants’ educational levels so that the score of the staff withbachelor’s degree was 37.8 ± 8.7 and those with master’s degree was 45 ± 7.8 (P = 001), especiallyin their metacognitive and cognitive subsection scores.CONCLUSION: The scores of intercultural intelligence were moderate to low in the staff of differentworking sections of the university. Moreover, the level of education shows impacts on interculturalencounters in this academic setting. The results highlight the need to develop programs in order toraise intercultural understanding in staff.
