Through her PhD project, Leonor aims to help the university reach its goals with regard to international education, as well as contribute to scientific understanding of intercultural competence and global citizenship among studies.
Previous research has shown that studying in an international environment can enhance students’ intercultural communication competences (ICC), develop their global citizenship, and ultimately increase their ability to successfully live and work in a culturally diverse society. However, it remains unclear which conditions are conducive to the development of ICC and global citizenship, and which processes may inhibit it. Many things can come into play, such as students’ cultural background, international experiences, motivations, and coursework. Through her PhD project, Leonor aims to help the university reach its goals with regard to international education, as well as contribute to scientific understanding of intercultural competence and global citizenship among university studies.
Leonor Gaitán-Aguilar obtained a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala in 2016. She later obtained an Erasmus Mundus joint master’s degree in Social and Cultural Psychology (Global-MINDS) from ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute and the University of Oslo in 2019. Her thesis focused on the influence of social media on the social identification and cross-cultural adaptation of international students. She has studies in Social Pedagogy and has worked as a researcher of human rights monitoring in the Northern Region of Central America.
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This research is done as part of the four-year research program on educational quality and study success. The CLI is funding a portion of these research projects. See more.