Characterizing Intercultural Competence among Cybersecurity Majors

Intercultural competence has taken on renewed importance due to the increasingly diverse nature of work environments. The prevalence of virtual and remote teams in recent years has also contributed to the growing need for an interculturally trained workforce. There is a demand for graduates to be able to effectively work with those from cultures and backgrounds different from their own. Several higher education institutions in the United States have responded to this by first assessing their students using various assessments to determine their intercultural competence. Universities have further incorporated concepts of intercultural competence into their regular curriculum of study with the goal of equipping students with the skills to be successful in intercultural environments. This study is situated in a STEM classroom at the Polytechnic Institute of a large midwestern university. This study also attempts to address the dearth of literature pertaining to intercultural development in STEM fields with a specific focus on the cybersecurity discipline. This study is guided by the research question, how can intercultural competence be characterized for students enrolled in a first-year introductory cybersecurity course? The students enrolled in this course were provided trainings using portable intercultural learning modules (PIMs) focused on productive conflict management as well as the cultural influences on the intent and impact of communication practices. A rubric adapted from the behavioral rubric of Intercultural Skills Development was used to score 50 student reflections following the aforementioned intercultural training. The data was analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to understand the overall intercultural gains for all students. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering was used to analyze the data. The clustering algorithm helped to divide the students into two clusters, with one displaying high intercultural competence and the other exhibiting low intercultural competence. In addition, patterns of intercultural competence were disclosed in the form of sample quotes from the student reflections. Overall, the results are encouraging as they add to the body of literature at the intersection of cybersecurity education and intercultural competence.

I. Introduction

Intercultural competence is the ability to effectively study, communicate and work together with people from diverse backgrounds [1], [2]. Intercultural competence is one of the most valuable skills that students must develop since they interact with people from different cultures and countries. Stu- dents get multiple opportunities to interact with people from diverse backgrounds, such as during their college education and after their graduation when they work in a global job market. In addition, more specifically, students from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are expected to collaborate and work with others who are culturally different from their own [3]. There is also a growing understanding of the importance of intercultural skills as much as technical skills in STEM fields [4]. As we live in a highly globalized world, raising interculturally competent students in higher education institutions is one of the biggest challenges educators face in the 21 st century [5].