Connecting Cultures in a Hispanic American COIL Project Through Expectations and Perceptions

Internationalization at home through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) has become established as a strategic way to expand intercultural experiences without the need for physical travel. However, little research has been done on the initial diagnosis of students before starting these projects, especially in Hispanic American contexts. This study addresses this gap by characterizing perceived preparedness, intercultural development expectations and the initial assessment of the evaluation device in a COIL project between a Spanish university and a Chilean university. Methodologically, a descriptive comparative quantitative approach with a pre-intervention design, oriented toward describing the students’ perspective, was adopted. The data were collected using a questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistical techniques and Welch’s t-tests, including effect size. The results show significant differences between universities in the expectations of intercultural skills development (p < 0.01) and a high internal consistency of the scale (α = 0.92). Prior to its implementation, students express positive expectations towards the COIL experience. These findings highlight possible previous institutional gaps in intercultural preparedness and underscore the original contribution of the study as an initial diagnosis to guide the pedagogical design and equitable implementation of COIL projects in higher education institutions.