A Global Perspective and FIU Undergraduates: The Interpersonal Domain

Graduates of higher education institutions should attain a global perspective. However, there is limited research on the demographics and global perspective among college students. This paper analyzes Global Perspective Inventory subscales and associations between Florida International University students’ gender, class level, and ethnicity. Findings include significant differences between groups. One goal of American education in today’s globalized world is for students to gain a global perspective. Many prominent organizations believe that attaining a global perspective is an important outcome of higher education (e.g. American Council on Education, 2012; American Association of Colleges & Universities, n.d.; Hovland, 2006; Olson, Green, & Hill, 2006). A global perspective is education that cultivates cultural relativism, acceptance of multiple cultures, and acknowledging the world as an interconnected place in which human choices influence the state of the world (Hanvey, 1976/2004). Education should develop these concepts and attitudes in students to prepare them to participate in a global society and work with people from different cultural backgrounds. American employers are seeking “global graduates” who are able to work effectively with diverse teams (Rimmington, Gruba, Gordon, Gibson, & Gibson, 2004, p. 1) and effectively communicate with those from other cultures is important for employability (Busch, 2009). Additionally, education that fosters a global perspective is beneficial for students’ cognitive capabilities. Experiences where students directly interact with individuals different from themselves, as opposed to just being exposed to a diverse student population, have been shown to improve students’ critical thinking capabilities (Bowman, 2010; Pascarella et al., 2014) and creativity (Leung, Maddux, Galinsky, & Chiu, 2008). Motivated by their concern with global learning, Florida International University (FIU) made it the focus of their quality enhancement plan, Global Learning for Global Citizenship. Global learning is “the process of diverse people collaboratively analyzing and addressing complex problems that transcend borders” (Landorf & Doscher, 2015, para. 2). Beginning in 2010, this initiative requires FIU students to take two approved global learning courses as part of their graduation requirements (FIU, 2010). FIU is one of few universities to have an initiative that integrates global learning as part of students’ curriculum. FIU also has a majority minority demographic makeup consisting of 83% minority students (FIU, 2010). Since 2010, FIU’s Office of Global Learning has collected data using the Global Perspective Inventory (Braskamp, Braskamp, & Engberg, 2014) to assess the global perspective of students and improve student learning (FIU, 2010). Understanding the significance of variables on attaining a global perspective is important due to the emphasis placed on it as an outcome of university education. The Global Perspective Inventory (GPI) measures the global perspective of individuals through three domains. The cognitive domain measures what students know and what they believe to be true and important. It is made up of the subscales cognitive knowledge and cognitive knowing (Braskamp et al., 2014). The intrapersonal domain assesses student awareness of self and personal values and