Developing Cultural Intelligence: An Undergraduate Course Assessment Framework

To develop students’ cultural intelligence (CQ), some business schools offer at least two options: an on-campus global business course (GBC) or an international study tour (IST). However, not much is known about the pedagogies’ relative effectiveness. To bridge the gap, this study uses extant literature and a secondary analysis of student feedback to develop a course assessment framework. We believe both study tours and on-campus classes improve students’ overall cultural intelligence. Nevertheless, given student self-selection and the differences in course content and delivery, it is likely that students’ learning outcomes are not identical. The framework proposes that IST participants gain a deeper level of cognitive and metacognitive intelligence, while GBC students gain wider breadth. Also, given the direct exposure and the opportunities to practice and receive feedback in realistic settings, we propose that study tour participants will improve their motivational and behavioral intelligences to a greater extent than traditional classroom-based students