Publications

Publication details [#62889]

Mak, Anita S., Alison Sit and James T. Neill. 2017. Does cross-cultural training in tertiary education enhance cross-cultural adjustment? A systematic review. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 57 : 1–18.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Place, Publisher
Elsevier

Annotation

The growing cultural diversity within tertiary education and workplace settings demands students and graduates to be knowledgeable and effective in cross-cultural adaptation and managing potential acculturative stress. One of the ways to enhance their cross-cultural adaptation is via cross-cultural training (CCT). Given the mainly business-oriented nature of former reviews, this article systematically explored whether CCT was effective when applied to tertiary students. The assay of different types of CCT and its results was guided by Ward, Bochner, and Furnham’s (2001) ABC (Affective, Behavioural, and Cognitive) model that extensively elucidated the affective, behavioural, and cognitive facets of cross-cultural adaptation. The article revised 35 CCT studies published post-1990 with control group design or pre-post training evaluation. CCT in tertiary education has become progressively multi-method and experiential. CCT programs with behavioural components had the most consequent evidence of effectiveness. Programs with both behavioural and cognitive components were more effective than cognitive- and didactic-alone programs. CCT proved to be especially effective in increasing tertiary students’ academic and career performance.