Developing Intercultural Competence in Indonesian Students Through a Study Abroad Program: A Case Study of Intercultural Sensitivity at Coventry University, UK

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-990-2_24How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Intercultural Sensitivity; Study Abroad; Indonesian Students; Pre-Departure Orientation; Programme Type

Abstract

Globalization has positioned intercultural competence as a key outcome of higher education, particularly for students participating in study abroad programs. This study investigates the intercultural sensitivity of Indonesian undergraduates at Coventry University, United Kingdom, within the 2024 IISMA cohort. Using a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 37 students through the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) developed by Chen and Starosta [3], complemented by variables on pre-departure orientation, programme type, and English proficiency. Reliability and validity tests confirmed the ISS as a consistent and valid instrument (Cronbach’s α = 0.896). Descriptive analysis indicated that students demonstrated a high level of intercultural sensitivity (M = 4.31, SD = 0.38). Mann–Whitney U test results revealed a significant difference between students who attended pre-departure orientation and those who did not (U = 0.000, p < 0.001, r = 0.85). Conversely, the Kruskal–Wallis H test showed no significant differences in intercultural sensitivity across programme types (p = 0.149), and English proficiency could not be tested due to sample homogeneity. The findings highlight the pivotal role of structured orientation programs in fostering intercultural readiness, while academic program type is less influential. These results suggest that pre-departure training should be prioritized to maximize intercultural learning outcomes in student mobility schemes.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Lidia Putri
AU  - Rahmat Hidayat
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/13
TI  - Developing Intercultural Competence in Indonesian Students Through a Study Abroad Program: A Case Study of Intercultural Sensitivity at Coventry University, UK
BT  - Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Applied Economics and Social Science (ICAESS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 365
EP  - 387
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-990-2_24
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-990-2_24
ID  - Putri2026
ER  -