The purpose of this research was to analyze the construction of interest in international understanding amongst fifth and sixth grade elementary pupils. In addition, how the factors of children’s experience in intercultural contact influence the construction were investigated. School, grade and gender difference were considered as variables. The results of research on 443 pupils showed that the children’s interest in international understanding was structured by 1) ‘global issues’, 2) ‘foreign language’, 3) ‘international exchange’ and 4) ‘cross-cultural experience’. These four factors composed a higher-order factor which was named ‘international understanding’. As a result of path analysis, the number of foreign friends was influenced for all factors. Analysis aimed to elucidate the structure of factors in children’s experience of intercultural contact. Path analysis demonstrated that all four factors were influenced by the number of foreign friends pupils had. Analysis of variance showed that school which had ‘international understanding’ on the curriculum from first grade had significantly higher scores in ‘global issue’, ‘foreign language’ and ‘cross-cultural experience’. Concerning gender difference, girls scored higher than boys in all factors.
