The role of teachers’ intercultural competence and class diversity on students’ wellbeing and academic performance

• Autor(a) principal: Sousa, Margarida Grácio de
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/27341
• topic: Intercultural competence; Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture; Student wellbeing; Academic performance; Ethnic and cultural diversity; Competência intercultural; Quadro de Referência para uma Cultura da Democracia; Bem-estar estudantil; Desempenho escolar; Diversidade étnica e cultural

The number of students coming from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds has increased over the years. This increase is accompanied by some constraints and challenges in educational contexts. Lack of intercultural skills can influence teachers' behavior towards students, which can influence student well-being and also their academic performance. The present study aimed to characterize the intercultural competence of teachers who teach in Portuguese schools, to explore the relationship between teachers' intercultural competences and students' well-being and academic performance, as well as to test the moderating role of ethnic and cultural diversity of the class. Intercultural competences were addressed through the Framework of Reference for a Culture of Democracy, developed by the Council of Europe. Data collection was carried out through an online questionnaire, with a sample of 312 teachers teaching in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd cycle or secondary education in schools with greater probability of having a high number of ethnically and culturally diverse students in their population. The results revealed a high perceived proficiency in intercultural competences, and teachers considered that their students had good levels of emotional, social, and academic wellbeing, as well as satisfactory academic performance. Some teachers' intercultural competences were found to be related to students' well-being and academic performance. The degree of cultural and ethnic diversity in the class was found to be related to students' well-being and academic performance and revealed a moderating role between one of the intercultural competences and perceived academic performance.