INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS' ADJUSTMENT TO US UNIVERSITIES: A CULTURAL APPROACH.

摘要

The purpose of the research paper is to introduce a conceptual framework that examines the unnoticed impact of international student's culture on their academic and social adjustment during their student life in the USA. Two hundred international students will be asked to participate in a longitudinal quantitative research. An addition of seven focus-group interviews will help verify and validate the research outcomes. Structural Equation modeling will be used to analyze the data and test the hypothesized model between the cultural dimension and intelligence and international student's academic and social adjustment.The outcome is expected to support the theoretical arguments regarding the importance of culture versus individual personality in the adjustment process. Practically, universities can then use the outcome as a tool to help identify international students' degree of socialization based on their culture of origin and personality. By applying the knowledge provided through the study, universities will be able use this knowledge to build controlled and effective adjustment programs for students, maintain and attract high retention of international students and increase its competitiveness nationally and internationally.