The Relationship Between Self-Directedness and Global Competence Among University Students: The Mediating Effects of Self-Leadership

Abstract

This study examined the effect of self-directedness on global competence among university students and verified the mediating role of self-leadership within this relationship. An online survey was conducted with students enrolled at a four-year university, S University, located in the Seoul metropolitan area, and a total of 247 valid responses were used for the final analysis. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 and PROCESS Macro 4.3 through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and mediation analysis. The main findings are as follows. First, the total effect of self-directedness on global competence was statistically significant (Effect=.089, p<.05, 95% CI=.006–.173), indicating that students with higher levels of self-directedness tended to have higher levels of global competence. Second, the analysis of the mediating pathway of self-leadership showed that self-directedness had a significant positive effect on self-leadership (Effect=.244, p<.001, 95% CI=.160–.329), and self-leadership also had a significant positive effect on global competence (Effect=.440, p<.001, 95% CI=.327–.552). In addition, the indirect effect of self-directedness on global competence through self-leadership was statistically significant (Effect=.107, Boot S.E.=.027, BootLLCI=.060, BootULCI=.167). Based on these results, this study highlights the importance of developing and implementing educational strategies and programs that foster both self-directedness and self-leadership to enhance overall global competence among university students.