Abstract:

This study compares the degrees of intercultural awareness and competence of 192 elementary school, 166 junior high school, and 326 university students based on analysis of retrospective entries of intercultural encounters made into the European self-reflective tool, Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters (AIE). By comparing the tendencies and characteristics of how each group perceive “otherness” or “foreignness” in their respective intercultural encounters, some developmental patterns of intercultural competence were detected. Thus, the type and method of intercultural education appropriate for each level has been considered, which will lead to the creation of maturity-based instructional models. Semantic analysis by 2 kinds of software have identified diverse ways perceptions of “otherness” were expressed and functioned in intercultural encounters that the 3 groups experienced. The entries of university students exhibited quite dichotomous (we vs. others) and stereotypical perceptions and attitudes. On the other hand, younger subjects’ responses were more idiosyncratic, though often more simplistic; more natural, intuitive reactions and interpretations of the intercultural events appeared compared to university student entries. Also, as students become older, the influence of media seems to have become stronger. Since it is apparent that the proclivity for stereotyping gradually emerges and tends to strengthen during younger ages, effective intervention or scaffolding in the elementary and junior high school level will be beneficial to raise intercultural awareness and facilitate the avoidance of simplistic overgeneralizations. The proclivity for stereotyping seems to be also related to parochial mindset of the Japanese public, including parents of these students and people in the community with whom they often interact in a still quite homogenous and insular country.

Keywords:

Intercultural competence, Intercultural awareness, Self-reflective tool, AIE.