INTERSECTING CULTURE, DIVERSITY AND MOTIVATION: EXPLORING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN UNIVERSITY INSTRUCTORS' INTERCULTURAL ORIENTATIONS, STUDENTS, EXPERIENCES IN THE CLASSROOM AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

There have been increase in calls for researchers in educational psychology to integrate methods as well as theories across motivation and multicultural education to examine the intersection of culture and diversity with motivational principles. While much work has been done in K – 12 classrooms examining the application of principles related to autonomy – supportive and culturally responsive teachers and classrooms, not much work has been done examining these constructs together in university classrooms. Global and paradigm shifts in higher education coupled with rising tensions of diversity and inclusion on college campuses have catalyzed the need for intentional approaches to cultivate inclusive classroom environments to facilitate students’ development of academic as well as global competencies. This thesis employed a convergent – parallel mixed methods design integrating frameworks from multicultural education with Self – Determination Theory (SDT) to explore the extent to which instructors’ degree of intercultural competence and diversity inclusivity in their courses was related to students’ perceptions of the classroom environment as culturally responsive and autonomy – supportive as well as academic motivation and intercultural knowledge and competence development. A conceptual model for integrating Multicultural Education frameworks and SDT is proposed with theoretical and methodological implications. Practical implications are discussed for researchers, educators and administrators in higher education highlighting the importance of considering both cultural and motivational factors of students and instructors to facilitate enriching teaching and learning experiences in preparation for living and working in a global multicultural society.