Exploring Cultural Awareness Through Peer Dialogue: Study of Liberal Arts Students in Private University
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Abstract
As ASEAN advances toward a more digitally connected and globally integrated future, higher education institutions play a critical role in preparing graduates with intercultural competence and collaborative communication skills. This study investigates how structured peer dialogue within a Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) environment promotes cultural awareness among Liberal Arts students at a private university in Thailand. Guided by Byram’s Intercultural Competence Model, Sociocultural Theory, and the Internationalization at Home framework, the study employed a Participatory Action Research (PAR) design over an eight-week period involving 33 undergraduate students. Quantitative data were collected using an Intercultural Competence questionnaire measuring five dimensions: attitudes, knowledge, interpreting and relating, discovery and interaction, and critical cultural awareness. Qualitative data were obtained through reflective journals, semi-structured interviews, dialogue transcripts, and classroom observations. Descriptive statistics revealed high overall intercultural competence (M = 4.07), with attitudes demonstrating the highest mean (M = 4.41). Regression analysis identified interpreting and relating and discovery and interaction as the strongest predictors of overall intercultural competence. Thematic analysis further revealed five major themes: increased confidence, improved intercultural communication, enhanced cultural awareness, greater openness to diversity, and a stronger sense of global community. The findings demonstrate that structured peer dialogue provides an inclusive and sustainable approach to developing intercultural competence within domestic higher education. The study contributes to internationalization practices by highlighting peer-assisted learning as a scalable strategy for preparing culturally responsive graduates capable of collaborating effectively in an increasingly interconnected ASEAN region.
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References
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