Abstract

This study examined the relationship between intercultural sensitivity and willingness to listen among elementary student journalists in public elementary schools in Sto. Tomas District, Division of Davao del Norte. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was applied to survey 134 student journalists during the 2025-2026 academic year. Intercultural sensitivity was measured through interaction engagement, respect for cultural differences, interaction confidence, interaction enjoyment, and interaction attentiveness. Willingness to listen was measured through speaker, listener, task, and topic dimensions. Data were analyzed through mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. Results showed that intercultural sensitivity was very high overall (M = 4.34, SD = 0.55), with interaction engagement as the highest-rated domain. Willingness to listen was also very high overall (M = 4.34, SD = 0.59), with listener as the highest-rated domain. Pearson correlation showed a high positive relationship between intercultural sensitivity and willingness to listen (r = 0.82, R2 = 0.67, p = 0.000). Regression analysis showed that all five intercultural sensitivity domains significantly predicted willingness to listen, with interaction confidence as the strongest predictor. The findings indicate that intercultural sensitivity is a central communicative resource for student journalists and that journalism instruction should integrate culturally responsive dialogue, source engagement, and structured reflection to strengthen attentive and ethical communication.