Abstract
This institutional case study delves into global citizenship education (GCE) and its impact on fostering altruistic values and behaviors among college students within Soka University of America (SUA), a private liberal arts college in Southern California. This all-residential institution, serving a diverse student body with 50% international representation, is dedicated to cultivating global citizens committed to living a contributive life. Notably, SUA’s distinctive curriculum includes a mandatory study abroad component. Employing a quantitative approach, the study comprehensively explored students’ global citizenship qualities and altruistic tendencies. The survey, designed to gauge the influence of curricular and co-curricular programs on altruism development, involved students’ self-assessment. Correlational analysis established a significant link between global citizenship qualities and altruistic behavior. However, intriguingly, the duration of students’ collegiate tenure did not emerge as a predictor of altruistic behavior—a phenomenon likely attributed partly to the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Intriguing insights surfaced from a multiple regression analysis, underscoring the pivotal role of human interaction on campus in shaping altruistic values and behaviors. Particularly noteworthy is the positive association between altruism development and interactions with students of diverse backgrounds. This implies that, despite the challenges introduced by the pandemic, meaningful social exchanges with peers from varied cultural backgrounds contribute significantly to the cultivation of altruistic attitudes among college students.
Author Information
Kazumi Yamamoto, Soka University of America, United States
Tomoko Takahashi, Soka University of America, United States
Paper Information
Conference: ACEID2024
Stream: International Education
This paper is part of the ACEID2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Yamamoto K., & Takahashi T. (2024) Altruism as a Manifestation of Global Citizenship: Global Citizenship Education in the Age of COVID-19 ISSN: 2189-101X – The Asian Conference on Education & International Development 2024 Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 149-164) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2024.13
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2024.13
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