A Factor Analysis of Cross-Cultural Competence of Teachers Under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration

Abstract

The purposes of this study were (1) to analyze the factors of cross-cultural competence of teachers under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and (2) the levels of cross-cultural competence of teachers under study. The sample of 324 teachers from schools under the BMA was compiled by using multi-stage random sampling. The research instrument used in the study was a cross-cultural competence test of the teachers with a reliability at 0.95. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and second-order confirmatory factor analysis. The study found that the factors of cross-cultural competence of the teachers under the BMA comprised of three components: cultural awareness, knowledge, and understanding of culture and personal skills. The results of second-order confirmatory factor analysis of measurement model of cross-cultural competence of the teachers under BMA had goodness-of-fit with the empirical data ( (14, N=324) = 21.92; p = 0.08; GFI = 0.98; AGFI = 0.96; RMR = 0.01; RMSEA = 0.04). Once the factors of cross-cultural competence of the teachers under the BMA were considered, cultural awareness had the highest factor loading of all components, followed by cultural knowledge and understanding culture, and personal skills. Overall, the level of cross-cultural competence of teachers under BMA was at a high level (average = 4.09, standard deviation = 0.37).