Cult_Euro_1-Test for Intercultural Competences
Validation and Measurement of the Assessment of general and West European culture-specific intercultural competence
Validation Project
The development and validation of the Cult Euro 1 Test took place as part of the project ''Cult Euro 1 Test for Intercultural Competence: Validation and Measurement of General and West European Culture-Specific Intercultural Competence'' as part of the funding measures ''Validations and technological and societal innovation potential of scientific research VIP+'' of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The ongoing progressive global interdependencies of the economy and the societal trend for multiculturalism represent the background of the project through which the intercultural competence advanced as a key qualification. Intercultural competence should contribute to the solution of social competence, facilitate communication in cultural overlapping situations and act as a supporting force during coping with societal integration processes. Intercultural competence is defined as the ability to be able to behave appropriately and effectively in intercultural situations. Thereby it is differentiated between the competencies which are helpful for a particular culture, culture-related and cross-cultural competences. International cooperations, expatriate assignments or work migration as well as escape make it necessary for the economy, science and society to record intercultural competence in a valid and reliable way and to be able to further develop. The current state of science and practice do not offer sufficient opportunities for this.
In her research Prof. Dr. Petia Genkova traces all main research applications of intercultural competence. Current research results show that there are basic properties, attitudes and motivations which support intercultural learning and facilitate the interaction in intercultural overlapping situations. The previous findings certainly clarify also the issue of the selective measurement of intercultural competence. Up until the development of the Cult Euro 1 Test a valid measurement of intercultural competence which differentiates the two concepts of social and intercultural competence in the respective cultures clearly from one another was missing. Furthermore, many of the existing concepts follow only one or two of the applications of intercultural competence. This means that there are basic problems with regards to construct validity. Methodically most of the procedures are not appropriate to be used as part of, for instance, personnel selection processes. In addition to the lacking theoretical foundation and the methodological problems existing procedures in empirical studies could not explain the respective samples sufficiently well with their respective models (Genkova, 2019).
Goals and issues
The aim of the project is the validation of an innovative and holistic model including suitable measuring instruments for the assessment of intercultural competence, which can be applied in context-specific cultural overlapping situations as well as in culturally universal scenarios.
In addition, the concrete goal of this project includes five subgoals:
Subgoal 1: Review of a measurement approach for measuring intercultural competence.
Subgoal 2: Review the construct validity of the competence structure model of intercultural competence.
Subgoal 3: Check transferability to different target groups, check external validity.
Subgoal 4: Derive implications for intercultural competence development for specific target groups.
Subgoal 5: Compilation of a test battery for target group-specific diagnostics and promotion of cross-cultural and culture-specific intercultural competences.
In this project, the following questions are also addressed:
- Is the to be recorded competence structure model of intercultural competences valid with its differentiation regarding culture-specific and cross-cultural sub-competences (construct validity)?
- Can the expression of intercultural competence predict successful behavior in intercultural situations (prognostic validity)?
- Can this be transferred to practical requirements (external validity)?
- What specific abilities and skills distinguishes Intercultural Competence from other competences such as communicative competence, team competence, social competence (discriminant validity)?
Work program
Based on a comprehensive literature research, a large-scale qualitative study was conducted to generate inductively a basis for the operationalization of General and Culture-Specific Competence. Based on these results were created self-evaluation and self-judgment items which were based on two surveys (prestudy N=227; main study N= 6294) checked for their psychometric properties, calibrated and divided in an A and B version. For a better visualization this procedure was subdivided in single work packages. The focus of the study lies in the checking of cross-cultural and culture-specific facets of intercultural competence. As part of Work Package 1 on the basis of expert interviews and the critical incidence technique were acquired questionnaire items for those facets.
Work package 2 includes the development and implementation of suitable measuring instruments - both as an online survey instrument and as a paper-pencil survey instrument. In addition, adapted solutions for students, employed and unemployed persons will be developed.
The aim of work package 3 is to test validity criteria of the competence structure model for different target groups by checking, among others, construct validity, convergent validity to the Cultural Intelligence Scale and culture-specific competences for Germany.
Work package 4 is dedicated to the verification of the external validity of the model. In addition, the diagnostics and support tools will be made available free of charge via the website for all target groups.
Work packages 5 and 6 accompany the project from the beginning. The aim of these is the documentation and exploitation, presentation of results, monograph as well as project controlling and evaluation.
Expected use for the future
International economic interactions and migration make a valid definition, recording and development of intercultural competence simply indispensable. A valid diagnosis of intercultural competence can, for example, determine the state of previous experience and intercultural competence of your own employees, or monitor progress within the framework of systematic training and personnel development measures. For the assessment of potential employees from abroad it is also useful to record intercultural competence in general and for the German cultural area, since the integration of the newcomers will determine to a large extent how successfully or not the employees interact in the new environment.
Therefore, the field of application of the diagnostic procedure is the free economy, but also organizational and personnel development in authorities and educational institutions.
The model of intercultural competences and the diagnostic tools developed for it should be available for personnel selection and development measures as well as for education and studies. The aim is to enable companies to use the tools independently.
The idifferentiation into cross-cultural and culture-specific competencies will be ensured when implementing the model as a diagnostic tool in such a way that it becomes clear to users which competencies are of primary interest depending on the target group. In the area of culture-specific dimensions it will also be possible to measure and evaluate specific competence for the German cultural area. Culturally specific competences of other cultural areas will be defined by further validation steps in the respective cultures following this project. The model will enable companies to record intercultural competences in a new way that has not been possible before. Furthermore, the comprehensive validation offers security in the decision for use in the company, as the validity of the results is ensured.
The competence model can be used by various educational institutions and migrant associations for the purpose of promoting intercultural competences and raising awareness of diversity. The aim is to contribute to far-reaching social changes throughout society. The promotion of intercultural competences serves to improve integration and understanding. The model as well as the tools allow for intensive support in the integration of migrants, as this not only helps to reduce discrimination and stigmatisation, but also promotes equality based on a fair cultural process in personnel selection and development. In the long term, as in the economic sector, the focus is on enabling educational institutions to implement these measures independently.
Due to the increasing cultural diversity of the German population, the concept of intercultural competence is becoming increasingly relevant for occupational fields such as teachers and employees of state and local authorities, since some of these people have immigrated themselves, but also generally come into contact with many different cultures in the course of their teaching or administrative work.
The results are documented as interim and final reports and presented and discussed at national and international congresses. Reflected journal articles will be published in German and Anglo-Saxon languages using the validated measurement instrument. A monograph at the end of the project will be published as an edited volume summarizing the findings.
The publication and presentation of the results will stimulate the continuation of research into cross-cultural and culture-specific intercultural competences in an intensive exchange with experts. Due to the assured validity of the model and the associated diagnostic tools, it is highly probable that other researchers in the field of intercultural competences will use them.
Through validation at the pilot group of students, the model will consider structural and procedural factors of university education, in addition to individual diagnostics. Since the study will be conducted at different locations, inter-university comparisons (benchmarks) will contribute to quality assurance and quality evaluation. These concepts can be used in the respective graduate schools and centers for key qualifications and integrated into educational concepts. This forms the basis for the long-term training of students as competence ambassadors and multipliers of intercultural competences, thus indirectly creating economic and social value.
The Team
Professor Dr. Petia Genkova is a Professor of Business Psychology (W2) at the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, where she teaches seminars and lectures on topics such as diversity, with a particular focus on gender, as well as business psychology.
In addition to her teaching activities, since 1994 Professor Dr. Genkova has participated in or led several research projects. Her main areas of focus include in-depth research on intercultural competence and communication, as well as diversity.
More information about Professor Dr. Genkova's publications and research projects.
Professor Dr. Petia Genkova has been supported by innovation mentors Dr. Juliana Roth, Dr. Siegfried Preisner, and Dr. Martina Stangel-Meseke.
The Knowledge and Technology Transfer (WTT) was also involved in the project as an important contact point for transfer and consultation on legal frameworks. As a joint institution of the University and the University of Applied Sciences of Osnabrück, it pools expertise in the practical application of research results.
Furthermore, the project was supported by the academic staff Dr. Christoph Daniel Schäfer, Mr. Henrik Schreiber, and the research assistant Ms. Meike Lehmann.
Employees
Henrik Schreiber
E-Mail: henrik.schreiber@hs-osnabrueck.de
Office: CN 0309 G
Dr. Christoph Daniel Schäfer
E-Mail: c.schaefer@hs-osnabrueck.de
Meike Lehmann
E-Mail: m.lehmann@hs-osnabrueck.de