INTERDISCIPLINARY INTEGRATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN BUSINESS EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY ON ENHANCING CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE BAHAMAS

Abstract

The study investigated the factors affecting the integration of foreign languages in business programmes of higher education in the Bahamas. A quantitative survey design was used, involving faculty members who participated in curriculum development and strategic planning, and using structured Likert scale items to assess strategic orientation of the institutions, practices of curriculum integration, attitudes and competence of the faculty, resource support and administrative support, and the effectiveness of the interdisciplinary integration. Descriptive statistics, reliability correlation, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS software were employed to determine the significant associations and predictors. As depicted in the results obtained, the independent variables were revealed to be significant predictors of interdisciplinary integration practices in business programs in relation to curriculum integration practices (β = 0.268, p = 0.005) and attitudes and competence of faculty members (β = 0.388, p = 0.004), but not institutional strategy (β = –0.218, p = 0.075) and resource management (β = 0.203, p = 0.070). The study showed that the attitudes and competencies of faculty members had mediating effects on the impact of curriculum integration practices on integration effectiveness, while resource and administrative management played partial roles as mediators. This study emphasized the role of faculty involvement and design of curriculum in developing evidence-based recommendations for policies, curriculum development, and strategies related to graduate employability and competitiveness in a multilingual business environment.