Intercultural Competence among Missionary Lecturers at the Redeemed College of Missions, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria: An Assessment.

Abstract:

Intercultural competence is a very vital quality for a meaningful missionary engagement. The purpose of this study is to assess the level of intercultural competence of missionary lecturers at the Redeemed College of Missions, Ede, Nigeria (RCM) so that practical ways of developing their intercultural competence could be determined. The research employs a mixed-methods approach. Fantini’s Intercultural Competence Assessment Scale, with modifications, was adapted to assess the intercultural competence of the lecturers. An interview guide was also used as instrument. The population of the study included the 38 full time lecturers at the permanent site and the 278 adjunct lecturers scattered all over Nigeria. Out of the entire population of the study (316 persons), copies of the questionnaire were privately sent via Google Form to 250 participants and 204 of them responded. In addition, ten (10) senior lecturers were purposively selected for interview. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The study reveals that the lecturers exhibited moderate to high levels of intercultural competence, with overall mean score of 3.4, and a standard deviation of 0.8 on a 4-point Likert scale. Yet, it was discovered that there is still room for improvement as far as the lecturers’ intercultural competence is concerned. It is, therefore, recommended in this study that the college should be taking the staff through periodic assessment of intercultural competence so that needed areas of adjustment could be identified and necessary adjustments made. Also, lecturers should personally invest more on culture and language learning so that they could be more effective, not only in the training context, but also in their interpersonal relationships.