From Attitudes to Collaboration: The impact of Intergroup Attitudes on Local and Chinese International Students Collaboration. 7589778. Zheng.

Abstract

This research investigates how Dutch local students perceive Chinese international students and how these attitudes can influence their experiences of academic group work. Data were also collected in the UK, Germany, and Japan to make a cross-country comparison. It uses Integrated Threat Theory to conduct quantitative statistical analysis. Intergroup anxiety, intercultural communication emotions, and stereotypes are measured as predictors to explain their impact on the quantity and quality of students’ intercultural academic group work. It found that both the general attitudes toward Chinese students and the quality of group work were moderately positive among all participants, and more positive attitudes were associated with higher perceived quality of group work among Dutch students. Moreover, the cross-country comparison suggests that language barriers, previous intercultural experiences, and public opinions may explain the differences in attitudes to some extent. The study highlights that intercultural integration should not rely solely on students, but that educational institutions should also take responsibility to encourage and support local and international students to interact with each other and develop their intercultural competences.