This book presents a mixed-methods study that explores the development of intercultural competence among local Chinese students in Chinese universities, using Deardorff’s process model of intercultural competence as a theoretical framework.

In the global higher education context, “internationalization at home” is significant in (re)shaping educational practices, especially under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese higher education is also actively engaged in domestic internationalization. Specifically, this book explores the factors that influence Chinese students’ development of intercultural competence and their understanding of it in the context of internationalization at local Chinese universities. The findings suggest that many universities in China are trying to improve domestic students’ intercultural competence through various strategies, such as foreign language learning, extracurricular intercultural communication activities, and international cooperation programs. Notably, the effects are diverse. Based on these findings, this book also discusses the potential theoretical, practical, and policy implications.

This book will be an excellent resource for students and scholars in comparative and international education, student development, cultural studies, Chinese studies, and those interested in Chinese higher education.

Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Xiaoqing Wang is a Lecturer at the School of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. He is a co-founder and the first rotating chairman of the “Diversity, Local & Innovation” Education Academic Salon at Peking University, 2017–2018. His research interests include international higher education, student development, educational policy, and qualitative research methods. Dr. Wang is the author of The Impact Mechanism of the Chinese College Student Learning Assessment Project (Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press) and he also co-edited The History of Academic Dress (Peking University Press).

Kun Dai is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Educational Administration and Policy, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Dr. Dai’s research interests include international and comparative education, transnational higher education, education policy, and intercultural learning and adjustment. Dr. Dai’s work has appeared in several leading international peer-reviewed journals, such as Studies in Higher Education, Higher Education Research & Development, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, and Compare. Furthermore, Dr. Dai is an Associate Editor of the Journal of International Students, an editorial board member of Compare, and a referee for more than 40 international journals.