Global culture, learning style, and outcome: an interdisciplinary empirical study of international university students

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"In this study, an interdisciplinary approach was taken, integrating global culture and learning style theories, to create a model that predicted academic grade of multicultural university students. Multiple research methods and robust techniques were applied (including a good preliminary SEM result) to produce a GLS regression solution that was statistically significant and a perfect fit (r 2 = 0.87; X2 = 0, df = 0, p < 0.0001; n = 715). Four factors dominated the model in predicting higher multicultural academic outcome: collectivist (ICI) and risk-taking (UAI) culture, along with visual input and active-processing learning style dimensions. Domestic culture (Australia Intercultural Education 529 and New Zealand) were included in the sample to serve as a control group (5% of total sample size). Qualitative reflections from the multicultural students further confirmed that lecture content and approaches needed to include visual materials, with hands-on tutorials. Providing group work was a win-win pedagogical approach since this appealed to the focus group, and it is a key theoretical principle underlying one of the most significant factors in the model for high performing students, that being a collectivist homeland culture." (p. 258)

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