Graduation Year

2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Granting Department

Adult, Career, and Higher Education

Major Professor

William H. Young III, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Victor Hernandez-Gantes, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Derek Mulenga, Ed.D.

Committee Member

John Ferron, Ph.D.

Keywords

Global mindedness, global competence, international education, internationalization, higher education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate motivational factors and worldview dimensions associated with perceptions of global education initiatives by college professors in the United States. The concept of "perceptions of global education initiatives" is used in this study to refer to attitudes toward institutional support for global education, internationalizing curriculum, campus and community activities to increase global awareness, and international experiences and cooperation. The term college professor in this study is used to designate full-time assistant professors, associate professors, and full professors teaching at a regionally accredited private or public four - year college or university in the United States.

The sample included 418 U.S. college professors at U.S. accredited colleges and universities. Data were collected using four measures: (a) the Faculty Motivational Factors toward Global Education Survey (FMF/GES), (b) the Global Mindedness Scale (Hett, 1993), (c) the Global Education Initiatives (Genelin, 2005), and (d) a Demographic Questionnaire (DQ).

The findings of this research suggest that more than two-third of participants have at least experienced another culture in addition to that of the United States. This multicultural frame of reference is favorable to a global mindedness oriented worldview. Also, the study identified U.S. faculty dominant intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors that can influence their participation in internationalizing the curriculum, their dominant worldview dimensions, and their perceptions of global education initiatives. Analysis of variance revealed there are significant differences in intrinsic motivation of assistant professors, associate professors, and full professors. There were no significant differences in extrinsic motivation, worldview dimensions, and perceptions of global education initiatives (except for internationalizing curriculum), among assistant professors, associate professors, and full professors. Multiple regressions were run and suggested that motivational factors and worldview dimensions are significant predictors of the perceptions of global education initiatives by U.S. college professors.

This study can help policy makers and college and university administrators adopt policies, which can create an environment that fosters global education engagement required to promote cross-cultural understanding, produce global competent graduates on the global market, and meet the challenges of a globally interdependent world.

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