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International Journal of Intercultural Relations 31 (2007) 655–668 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijintrel
Preparing internationally minded business graduates: The role of international mobility programs Claude Marcottea, , Jocelyn Desrochesb, Isabelle Poupartb a
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Montreal, Que., Canada H3G 1M8 b School of Management, University of Quebec in Montreal, Case postale 8888, succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, Que., Canada H3C 3P8 Accepted 17 May 2007
Abstract The first objective of this paper was to examine the institutional and individual determinants of business students’ participation in international mobility programs (IMPs). Retrospective reports were collected from business graduates of the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada. Respondents reported having received very little information about IMPs from the different institutional sources. Logistic regression analysis revealed that when these institutional factors were present, the likelihood of student participation in IMPs increased significantly. The respondents’ interests in intercultural contact and foreign languages were significant predictors of participation, whereas academic, self-development, and career-related motives were not, contrary to previous findings. The second objective was to measure the perceived effects of participation in IMPs. Three types of effects were reported: self-development, cultural awareness and career advancement. Participation in IMPs had a broader impact on the graduates’ lives and careers than previously reported. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: International mobility; Business graduates; Determinants; Impact
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 514 848 2424x2944; fax: +1 514 848 4292.
E-mail addresses: cmarcotte@jmsb.concordia.ca (C. Marcotte), desroches.jocelyn@uqam.ca (J. Desroches), poupart.isabelle@courrier.uqam.ca (I. Poupart). 0147-1767/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2007.05.002
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1. Introduction In a rapidly globalizing world, career perspectives of business graduates seem to be more and more dependent upon their cross-cultural adaptability and their capacity to work in various international contexts (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2002). A cosmopolitan and global world view is rated as a top skill needed by future corporate leaders according to Canadian business executives (Association to Universities and Colleges of Canada [AUCC], 2002, p. 1). Although this shift toward global careers has also been noticed in other fields of specialization, it has become particularly felt by business professionals and educators (Wankel & DeFillipi, 2004). Canadian universities, like most institutions of higher education in the industrialized world, have responded to the global career phenomenon by designing policies aimed at increasing student understanding and awareness of the ideas, cultures, customs and institutions of other nations. International mobility programs (IMPs), which include student exchanges, study abroad agreements and internships in foreign countries, constitute one important channel through which universities attempt to internationalize their curricula. Business schools invoke professional as well pedagogical reasons as to why their students should become more internationally mobile: the experience of living and studying in a different cultural, political and economic context exposes them to ‘‘best practices’’ in other countries and better prepares them for their future career. Preparing internationally minded graduates has thus become an important objective for business schools. It is also a key condition that a business school must meet when applying for accreditation with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, 2006). On the basis of the prescriptive statements above, one might expect student participation in IMPs to be high. This is not the case in North American business schools and universities in general. The lag in student involvement in IMPs in North American business schools has been identified as one of the reasons why these schools are found to be unable to prepare an adequate supply of graduates, capable of handling entry-level or mid-level international business responsibilities (Webb, Mayer, Pioche, & Allen, 1999). The participation rate across all Canadian and American universities is slightly lower than 1% (AUCC, 2002; Institute of International Education, 2006). By comparison, 8% of European students participate in the activities of ERASMUS, a supranational student mobility program (AUCC, 2002, p. 1). Institutional factors within universities have been invoked to explain the level of participation in IMPs. The ERASMUS evaluation reports (European Commission, 2000), pointed to the influence of university stakeholders in the communications and decisionmaking processes leading up to actual participation. Professors and administrative staff in European universities seem to play an important role in this process. Another potential factor that may be at work is the level of student interest for the international dimension of their field. Is that level sufficient to lead to the involvement of a critical mass of students in mobility activities? Finally, do IMPs have a concrete impact on graduates’ future lives and careers? In this study, we attempted to identify the determining factors of student participation in IMPs and we also measured the impact of participation on graduates’ lives and careers. A survey of 349 recent business graduates from the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), Canada, was conducted in 2004.
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The paper will proceed as follows. First, we will briefly review the literature on institutional aspects of international education, drawing on the institutionalist perspective. Then we will discuss the development of cross-cultural interest in university students. In the third section, we will review the studies on the effects of participation in IMPs. The methodology will be explained in the fourth section. Thereafter, the results will be presented. Finally, we will discuss the results and present some concluding remarks. 2. Literature review 2.1. The institutional issues in international education The implementation of ERASMUS in Europe has been described as a major catalyst for student and faculty interest in international mobility (European Commission, 2005). Evaluation reports published by the European Commission point to a high degree of awareness of the goals of the program and a reasonably good flow of information from faculty members to students with regard to the existence and goals of IMPs (European Commission, 2000; Teichler & Maiworm, 1997). The opposite has been observed in the United States by Albers-Miller, Prenshaw, and Straughan (1999), and Chieffo (2000), who found that many students were misinformed or under-informed about IMPs. Unfortunately, no comparable data on institutional factors in Canadian universities have yet been provided. In the absence of a supranational cooperation program, each North American university must design, implement and market its own internationalization initiatives. The institutional context that prevails within each university may then partially determine the extent to which students are attracted to IMPs. The institutional context can be analyzed using the concepts derived from the institutionalist perspective in international education. A central element of the institutionalist approach is that organizations sharing the same environment will also share the same values and managerial practices. Thus the focus of this approach is on organizational homogeneity rather than on variation (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). The adoption of similar values and practices is explained by organizations’ concern over legitimacy and credibility. Viewed from that angle, universities are seen as organizations that emphasize universalized instruction (McEneaney & Meyer, 2000). In fact, such a global definition of their role has been present for a long time in universities across the world. The phenomenon of globalization only adds an additional incentive for university administrators to reinforce this universal and global conception of education, over and above any local issues, needs or problems. This deeply ingrained universalistic culture in universities should be conducive to a high level of student awareness of the international and cross-cultural dimensions of their various disciplines, providing that three components or pillars of institutionalization are present: the cognitive, normative and regulative pillars (Scott, 1995, pp. 34–35). The cognitive pillar refers to the symbolic systems and shared meanings, which may be expressed in official policy statements. These symbolic representations may or may not be translated into institutional norms and regulatory actions. Slaughter (1991) demonstrated that the official rhetoric of universities, as it is reflected in their mission statements and other means of communication, can be inconsistent with the actual policy implementation and resource allocation by these institutions. Such inconsistency on the part of decision makers had also been central to Argyris and Schon’s (1974) differentiation, at a more
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micro level, between the espoused theory of action and the theory in use. In order to be conducive to coherent and enduring action, espoused beliefs must be supported by strong normative and regulative mechanisms. In the context of universities, these may take the form of budget allocations and concrete rules as to graduation requirements. Without a minimal level of congruence between thought and action, organizations will fail to develop and internalize deep corporate values. For example, universities may superficially adopt the discourse of internationalization in their mission statements, but fail to implement and enforce policies to that end. Qualitative data collected in Canada by Bond, Qian, and Huang (2003) revealed a gap between official policy statements and the means or resources available to faculty members, who reported being unable to integrate the cross-cultural dimension into their teaching activities. If this is the case, then their students may not receive sufficient information regarding the growing importance of crosscultural experiences for their future careers. On the other hand, it was argued by Knight (2000) that the diffusion of information regarding internationalization programs can be facilitated by the creation, within each university, of a central office that coordinates all international activities, and also by the presence of experienced personnel to stimulate and implement international programs. 2.2. Individual determinants: the development of cross-cultural interests Teichler and Maiworm (1997) identified some of the personal motives of European students who participated in the ERASMUS program. These motives were more experiential than academic or professional: the respondents reported that the opportunity to know other cultures was more important than materialistic benefits such as career advancement. Comparable data are lacking in North America. Indirect evidence points to a low level of student interest for the international aspects of their field of study (Albers-Miller et al., 1999), and to the prevalence of ethnocentric attitudes (Cant, 2004). When students have lower levels of ethnocentrism early in their college career, they are more likely to participate in study abroad programs (Goldstein & Kim, 2006). Wang and Bu (2004) found that Canadian business students’ interest for the international or global component of their field seems contingent on the professional and monetary advantages associated with foreign assignments. Their respondents would consider pursuing a global career if offered sufficient advantages, but they would choose to work in the home country if offered equivalent positions. These exploratory results suggest that a significant percentage of the student population at the university level might still be in a developmental stage referred to as the duality phase (Perry, 1970; DeLoach et al., 2003). This phase is characterized by a ‘‘sweeping and unconsidered differentiation between in-group and out-group’’ (Perry, 1970, p. 59). The students’ inward cognitive orientation may limit their capacity to be sensitive to, and take interest in other cultures’ worldviews. Their interests are likely to be of a more immediate nature, whether in terms of academic or personal accomplishments. Only after having his views confronted with other cultural approaches will the student demonstrate a global mindset, characterized by a higher level of interest in cultural diversity and a gradual recognition of the relativistic nature of knowledge. It must be pointed out that there has been little empirical work done on the development of cross-cultural interest in college students.
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2.3. The effects of participation in IMPs Most North American studies on the impact of participation in IMPs have looked at the short-term cross-cultural benefits of these programs (Douglass and Jones-Rikkers, 2001; Anderson, Lawton, Rexeisen, & Hubbard, 2006; Black & Duhon, 2006). In these surveys, the students’ cultural awareness was assessed before and after participation. Generally, the cultural benefits were significant. Assessing the personal, cultural and professional effects of participation, and doing so on a medium or long-term basis would inform practitioners on the concrete and global value of IMPs. The SOCRATES 2000 Evaluation Study (European Commission, 2000) assessed these effects three years after graduation. The graduates’ reports pointed to personal and cultural benefits of participation, without any significant impact on career. Data on medium and long-term effects of IMPs in North America is lacking. 2.4. Summary of research questions The literature on the role of IMPs in the lives of business students is scarce, especially in North America. The lack of substantial research in this area is surprising, considering that mobility and cross-cultural adaptability seem to rank high among the skills needed by future business graduates. Our exploratory study addresses two research questions arising from the above review of the literature. These questions are as follows: (1) What are the institutional and individual determinants of business students’ participation in IMPs? At the institutional level, what is the influence of university stakeholders in the communications and decision-making processes leading up to actual participation in IMPs? At the individual level, what are the types of interest that predict student participation in these programs? (2) What are the effects of participation in IMPs?
3. Method 3.1. Sample The present study is part of an ongoing research program bearing on 10 years of international mobility patterns of UQAM students (from 1993–1994 to 2003–2004). UQAM is a Canadian institution created in 1969 whose total enrollment is 41,000 students, and enrollment in the Business School is 13,000. It is a francophone university, and it shares with the other Canadian universities the same centralized management of IMPs. The primary responsibility of these programs is assumed by two staff members working in central offices within the university, while a third member is assigned specifically to the Business School. The respondents are 349 Business School graduates who studied at UQAM during that decade and who accepted to participate in our electronic survey on a voluntary basis. The rate of participation was 21%. The respondents had been mostly full-time students (N ¼ 215, 61.6%). The majority of them were enrolled at the undergraduate level (78.8%). The percentage of female respondents was slightly higher than that of males
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(54.7% vs. 45.3%). The age range was consistent with the predominantly undergraduate composition of the sample: 47.7% of the students were under 25 years of age. Out of the 349 respondents, 95 had participated in one of the university’s IMPs. The majority of these participants (71.9%) had gone abroad post-1999, and 73% had graduated in the three years preceding the survey. The duration of the stay abroad varied between four weeks and one semester. The most ‘‘popular’’ countries of destination were the European ones (48%), whereas only 11% of the participants went to the USA. Forty-six percent of the participating students reported having sufficient personal financial resources to cover the costs of their program abroad, while the others had to finance their stay through alternate sources such as loans and grants. Family and marital obligations were not a constraint for the majority of them. 3.2. Procedure Following the review of the literature, we developed a questionnaire and pre-tested it on 25 graduates in the summer of 2004. The items included in the questionnaire were designed to measure the constructs of institutional and individual determinants as they were suggested in the literature, and the potential effects of participation on the graduates’ lives and careers. From past research, we could not find instruments that retrospectively measured these determinants, and that addressed the different types of impact. The final questionnaire, which included 60 questions, was sent electronically in the fall of 2004 by the University Alumni Office to the business graduates of the decade of 1993–1994 to 2003–2004. Electronic mail was selected over regular post mail for reasons of cost reduction and rapidity of data collection. The full questionnaire could be completed in 20 min, on average. There were two mailings spread over a three- week period. 3.3. Measures The questionnaire consisted of three complementary types of information. The first type consisted of biographical information. The second one was retrospective self-report data on the institutional and individual determinants of participation in IMPs. The respondents had to answer questions pertaining to their interests and perceptions when they were students at the university. The third type of information pertained to the impact of the participation on the current life experiences and careers of the respondents. In order to decrease the likelihood of faulty or inaccurate recall that may contaminate retrospective reports, we incorporated the methods that have been proposed in the literature in order to improve the validity of these kinds of measures (for a review, see Miller, Cardinal, & Glick, 1997, p. 201). First, we ensured the confidentiality of our survey. Second, we asked our respondents to recall situations from a not too distant past, since most of them were recent graduates. It must be observed that the definition of what is recent or distant past is not clear, and it has been shown by Wagenaar (1986) that correct retention rates of autobiographical information were relatively high even after five years. Finally, we asked about concrete situations and interests rather than sensitive affective states. Again, it has been demonstrated that retrospective reports can be reliable and valid even when informants are asked to answer questions that are sensitive in nature and likely
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to involve affective reactions, such as HIV risk behavior (McElrath, Chitwood, Griffin, & Comerford, 1994) and pregnancy intention measured after the birth of a child (Joyce, Kaestner, & Korenman, 2002). 3.3.1. Independent variables Regarding the institutional variables, six of the questionnaire items required that respondents indicate to what extent they had been informed about IMPs by their professors, program directors or IMP advisors. Responses were on a Likert-type format, ranging from 1 (¼not at all) to 7 (¼extremely). We measured the individual variables using the respondents’ self-reports on their interests during their school years at UQAM. An example of an item is: ‘‘When you were a student at UQAM, to what extent were you interested in knowing another culture?’’ Twelve items were thus presented to the respondents, in terms of intercultural and international interests (‘‘discovering another country, knowing another culture, knowing another religion, learning or improving a foreign language, experiencing life abroad, being away from my milieu, belonging to an international scientific community’’); academic and professional interests (‘‘planning my career, rising to an academic challenge’’) and self-development (‘‘reflecting on my life; becoming more self-confident; meeting new people’’). Responses to these individual items were scored on a Likert scale from 1 (not at all interested) to 7 (extremely interested). 3.3.2. Control variables The financial situation of students has been identified as an important factor in their decision to study abroad (AUCC, 2002). Participation in IMPs may seem too costly for a significant percentage of students who would otherwise be interested in going abroad. We controlled for this factor by asking the respondents if their financial situation was an important element in their decision to study abroad. We also controlled for gender and family or conjugal responsibilities during their studies. 3.3.3. Dependent variable The dependent variable was dichotomous: respondents indicated if they participated or not in IMPs. 3.3.4. Consequent variable The consequent variable was the perceived effects of participation in IMPs. Seventeen items were presented to the respondents. An example of an item is: ‘‘What has been the impact of your participation in the IMP on your communication skills’’. Responses were scored on a seven-point Likert scale from 1 (no impact) to 7 (very important impact). 3.4. Statistical analysis of data The first step in analyzing the data consisted of obtaining the univariate statistics on the independent variables and conducting a factor analysis on all institutional variables, and also on individual items, in order to identify the underlying components or factors which explain most of the variance on these items. The method of extraction was principal components. Two factors were identified for the institutional items and two for the individual items. The factor loadings were rotated in order to make them easier to interpret. We performed a varimax rotation on the original factor matrix. The purpose of
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rotation is to achieve simple structure, that is, maximal factor loading of each variable on one of the extracted factors and minimal loading on all other factors. While this procedure does not alter the mathematical properties of the factor structure, it makes for clearer discrimination between factors. Without rotation, most variables have relatively high loadings on one factor, and small loadings on all others, which makes interpretation difficult. Table 1 provides the means, standard deviations and results of the factor analysis of institutional items. The means of institutional items are all lower than those of individual items. Respondents reported having received very little information about IMPs from the different institutional sources—their professors, program directors or the international mobility advisors. Two factors clearly emerged. Factor 1 comprises academic sources of information: professors, directors of academic programs and coordinators of academic programs. The internal consistency for these three items was good (Cronbach’s alpha¼0.84). Factor 2 regroups the administrative sources: the international mobility advisors and information sessions on IMPs. On these items also, the internal consistency is satisfactory, the Cronbach’s alpha being 0.75. These two factors accounted for 73% of the total variance. Table 2 presents the means, standard deviations and the results of factor analysis of the individual items. These items were skewed toward the higher end of the scales. Two factors were also extracted from the personal items. Factor 1 summarizes student interest in the external world, including the international aspects: discovering another country; knowing another culture; experiencing life abroad; learning, practicing or improving a foreign language; being away from one’s milieu. Factor 2 comprises items pertaining to self-analysis and self-improvement, whether at the psychological level or at that of academic and career orientation: reflecting on my life; becoming more self-confident; rising to an academic challenge; planning my career. The internal consistencies of both sets of items were good (the Cronbach’s alpha was 0.76 for factor 1 and 0.83 for factor 2). Factor 1 and 2 explained 60.4% of the variance. Three items did not load strongly on either of the two factors and were eliminated: belonging to an international scientific community; meeting new people; knowing other religions. The second step in analyzing the data was to perform a binary logistic regression analysis using the factor scores. These factor scores were calculated to provide two uncorrelated factors summarizing the variance on the institutional items, and two other
Table 1 Means, standard deviations and rotated factor pattern: institutional variables
Faculty Directors of academic program Coordinators of academic program International mobility advisors Information sessions on IMPs % Variance
Means (S.D.)
Factor 1: academic
Factor 2: administrative
2.56 2.32 2.22 1.70 2.51
0.847 0.897 0.906 0.280 0.159 41.1
0.146 0.254 0.229 0.712 0.863 31.9
(1.79) (1.77) (1.74) (1.31) (1.79)
Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis; rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalization; rotation converged in three iterations.
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Table 2 Means, standard deviations and rotated factor pattern: individual variables Means (S.D.)
Discovering another country Knowing another culture Experiencing life abroad Learning, practicing/improving a foreign language Being away from my milieu Planning my career Reflecting on my life Becoming more self-confident Rising to an academic challenge % Variance
Factor 1: outward orientation
6.02 5.85 5.94 5.88
(1.45) (1.48) (1.61) (1.53)
0.894 0.866 0.854 0.680
4.07 5.21 4.14 4.87 5.54
(1.93) (1.60) (1.93) (1.84) (1.55)
0.564 0.206
0.177 34.0
Factor 2: inward orientation
0.150 0.177 0.393 0.698 0.827 0.818 0.645 26.4
Extraction method: principal component analysis; rotation method: varimax with Kaiser normalization; rotation converged in three iterations.
uncorrelated factors for the individual items. Binary logistic regression analysis was chosen because the dependent variable—participation or non-participation in IMPs—is dichotomous. This technique is aimed at predicting a binary categorical variable, where the relative impact of each predictor variable is measured. It predicts the probability of an event occurring (i.e. participation or non-participation in IMPs). The analysis estimates odd ratios for each of the independent and control variables in the model(s) that the researcher specifies. The last step consisted of performing a factor analysis on the impact items, to determine if these items could be explained by common underlying dimensions. 4. Results Two models were tested and compared in the logistic regression analysis (Table 3). In model 1 (initial estimation) we entered all covariates, using block entry of variables. In the second model, we proceeded with stepwise regression based on the maximum likelihood ratio statistic, in order to produce a more parsimonious model. As recommended by Menard (1995, pp. 54–55), stepwise regression is used in the exploratory phase of research, when theory is not yet sufficiently developed to warrant any formal research hypothesis, as is the case in this study. Backward elimination was preferred to forward inclusion because it may uncover relationships missed by the latter procedure (Menard, 1995, p. 55). Our independent variables were continuous, while our control variables were categorical. For the latter, the indicator coding scheme was utilized. The chi-square tests of both models were significant and indicated that a significant relationship existed between the predictors and the dependent variable. The Hosmer and Lemeshow chi-square, another goodness-of-fit statistic measuring how closely the observed and the predicted probabilities match, was non-significant. This is another indication of a good model fit. To understand the meaning of coefficient estimates, we must recall that a positive regression coefficient implies that an increase in that covariate is associated with a higher
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Table 3 Results of logistic regression analysis Variable
Model 1: initial estimation Coefficient estimates
Model 2: backward elimination
Standard error
Sign.
Coefficient estimates
Standard error
Sign.
Independent variables Academic 0.658 Administrative 0.332 Inward 0.210 Outward 0.481
0.146 0.137 0.144 0.196
0.000 0.015 0.145 0.014
0.622 0.319
0.135 0.133
0.000 0.016
0.654
0.279
0.019
Control variables Gender Financial situation Personal situation
0.305 0.287 0.429
0.414 0.059 0.229
0.654
0.279
0.019
0.249 0.543 0.516
2 log-likelihood ¼ 309.043 Model chi-square ¼ 53.786 (Sig. ¼ 0.000) Hosmer and Lemeshow chi-square test ¼ 11.429 (Sign. ¼ 0.179)
2 log-likelihood ¼ 313.267 Model chi-square ¼ 49.562 (Sign. ¼ 0.000) Hosmer and Lemeshow chi-square test ¼ 10.684 (Sign. ¼ 0.220)
Table 4 Means, standard deviations and rotated factor pattern: impact of participation in IMPs Means (S.D.)
Self-confidence Autonomy Taking initiatives Communication skills Flexibility and tolerance Intercultural sensitivity Obtaining a job Obtaining international appointment Achieving professional goals Career advancement % Variance
5.14 5.01 4.97 5.01 4.92 5.43 3.86 3.39
Factor 1: personal growth
Factor 2: cultural awareness
(1.70) (1.82) (1.75) (1.51) (1.77) (1.58) (2.18) (2.24)
0.795 0.910 0.878 0.583 0.394 0.325 0.221 0.118
0.240 0.157 0.222 0.201 0.622 0.753 0.234 7.493E 02
4.15 (1.64) 4.46 (1.94)
0.179 0.467 36.8
0.208 5.026E 02 32.7
Factor 3: career development
0.133 9.505E 02 0.138 0.320 0.171 0.280 0.727 0.843 0.734 0.590 10.3
Extraction method: principal component analysis; rotation method: varimax with Kaiser normalization; rotation converged in seven iterations.
likelihood of participation in IMPs. Positive and significant coefficient estimates in both models were found for the following independent variables: academic, administrative and outward. Logistic regression analysis revealed that when these institutional factors are present, the likelihood of student participation in IMPs increases significantly. Inward was non significant, and interestingly the sign was negative. As regards the control variables, only the coefficient for the students’ financial situation approached significance.
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Table 4 presents the means, standard deviations and the results of factor analysis on the perceived effects of participation in IMPs. Graduates reported that by participating, they improved their self-confidence, autonomy, sense of initiative and communication skills (factor 1), as well as their cultural openness and sensitivity (factor 2). These two factors accounted for 69.5% of the variance. A third factor, relating to career, also emerged. The graduates in our study reported that their participation in IMPs was moderately useful in obtaining a job and an international appointment, and that it led to career advancement and professional accomplishment. This third factor accounted for 10.3% of the total variance. Seven items did not load strongly on any of the three factors and were eliminated: academic skills, knowledge about your own country, understanding of international events, development of international contacts, deepening of personal culture, increase in creativity, interest in foreign languages. 5. Discussion and concluding remarks The first objective of this paper was to identify and compare the institutional and individual factors that may explain the participation of business students in IMPs. These factors were measured using student perceptions of these two groups of factors. The respondents reported having received very little information about IMPs from the different institutional sources— their professors, program directors or the international mobility advisors. This confirms the observations made by Chieffo (2000) in the case of the University of Delaware. Even though the importance of the international dimension of education is recognized by the administration of UQAM, there seems to be a gap between the policy statement and actual implementation and action. Such a gap was observed by Bond, Qian, and Huang (2003) in a sample of Canadian faculty members who, because of time and resource constraints, could not integrate the international dimension into their teaching. In our study, the other institutional sources of information and motivation, such as program directors/coordinators and international mobility advisors, also seemed unable to inform students adequately about IMPs. This contrasts with the situation in Europe where students report being generally well informed (European Commission, 2000; Teichler & Maiworm, 1997). Even though centralization of international activities of universities has been proposed in the literature as one important managerial component of IMPs (Knight, 2000), we must realize that this approach was unsuccessful in the case of UQAM, where the management of IMPs was primarily the responsibility of two professionals assigned to central offices within the university. This centralized managerial approach seems to be prevalent in most Canadian universities, which may partially explain the communication barriers that seem to exist between the central administrative offices, the professors and the students. Understaffing was also an important managerial constraint that may explain the perceived lack of information about IMPs. Factor analysis revealed the presence of clear factors. We identified two institutional factors: one relating to academic actors and a second one comprising administrative staff. Both factors were useful predictors of student participation in IMPs. In other words, when the academic actors or the administrative personnel were perceived as adequate sources of information about IMPs, the likelihood of student participation increased significantly. This finding highlights the importance for universities of providing sufficient human resources at the level of international programs. Faculty members should also be sensitized to such programs and to their importance in the curriculum.
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Student interests in intercultural and international issues as well as self-centered preoccupations were ranked as high. Through factor analysis, it was possible to identify and differentiate these two types of interests. Factor 1 summarized student interest in the external world, including intercultural and international issues. Factor 2 comprised items pertaining to self-analysis and self-improvement. This second factor was not associated with student participation in IMPs, as shown in the logistic regression analysis. The sign of the coefficient was even negative, although not significant. It seems that student self-analysis and questioning—reflecting on one’s life, increasing self-confidence, planning one’s career and rising to an academic challenge—which belong to the duality phase of early adulthood according to Perry (1970), is not a good predictor of international mobility. When students are focusing on such inner interests, they might not yet be sufficiently receptive to international experiences. On the other hand, with the advent of a pluralistic view of the world, students’ interests are projected outwards and include the knowledge of other cultures and countries, and the likelihood of participation is much higher. In comparison with the evaluation studies carried out so far with European respondents, our results point to a broader impact of IMPs on the graduates’ lives and careers. These results could be used by mobility advisors as incentives for student participation, especially for students who are more concerned with their future career than the intercultural dimensions of their field of study. Caution is merited in generalizing these results, given that our study was done in one university and that little comparative data are yet available in North America. Also, two methodological issues may have affected the results of this study. The first one is the retrospective nature of the survey. Respondents were asked to report on their perception of institutional influences and personal interests as these existed a few years earlier, when they were still students. Although the number of years elapsed between the date of the survey and the average graduation year is low, there is a possibility that the respondents’ self-reports are colored by their present feelings and do not entirely reflect the views they really held when they were students. A methodological trade-off had to be found in order to inquire about past influences as well as the present career impact of IMPs. We are designing a longitudinal study in order to measure, in real time, the students’ perceptions before and after their participation in IMPs. The second methodological issue is social desirability. To what extent did the respondents answer the way they thought was most desirable? Although the respondents’ views of institutional influences did not indicate the presence of social desirability, their high scores on international interests might be explained by this social phenomenon. Although this potential contamination factor is very difficult to eradicate in social research, we are trying to find some solutions through the development of psychometric instruments. Despite these limitations, our research makes several contributions. First, it highlights the important role of the academic and administrative personnel of the university in sensitizing students to the importance of international mobility. Our study also demonstrated that students perceived the level of involvement of these institutional actors as being generally low. This result suggests that a change is needed at the university level if the participation rate of North American students is to reach that of European students. Universities may consider further sensitizing both faculty members and staff to the global career phenomenon, and they might also evaluate whether
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