Effect of Support from Lecturers and Host Country Nationals on Cross-Cultural Adjustment among International Students: Evidence from a Malaysian University

Abstract

Pursuing higher education abroad is a golden opportunity for any student’s personal development; however, international students’ cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) can be onerous in a foreign country. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the roles of perceived lecturer support and host country national (HCN) support in international students’ CCA in three dimensions, i.e. general, academic, and interaction. Adopting the purposive sampling technique, survey data was collected from a sample of 124 first-year international students in a Malaysian university. The results of the partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis showed that both perceived lecturer support and HCN support are influential in international students’ general, academic, and interaction adjustment. These findings suggest that higher education institutions should amplify the role of lecturers and HCNs to help international students adjust to the various cultural aspects in Malaysia. This study contributes to the literature by applying the anxiety and uncertainty management theory to validate the influence of support on CCA in the international student context.

Academic and Social Challenges Encountered by Iranian Students in Finland: A Phenomenographic Study

“…Further misunderstanding between the two cultures increases uncertainty and decrease satisfactory intercultural interaction (Rajan et al, 2021). While a previous study indicated the effect of lecturer to reduce uncertainty and increase intercultural adjustment in international students (Chan et al, 2021), the teaching and relationship of Finnish teachers with students is not satisfactory for Iranian students. In addition, access to information on Finnish university websites does not seem to meet the needs of international students, however none of them causes students concern because of the possibility of asking others (Hosseini et al, 2020).…”

Education and New Developments 2022 – Volume 2

“…Further misunderstanding between the two cultures increases uncertainty and decrease satisfactory intercultural interaction (Rajan et al, 2021). While a previous study indicated the effect of lecturer to reduce uncertainty and increase intercultural adjustment in international students (Chan et al, 2021), the teaching and relationship of Finnish teachers with students is not satisfactory for Iranian students. In addition, access to information on Finnish university websites does not seem to meet the needs of international students, however none of them causes students concern because of the possibility of asking others .…”

Navigating Challenges: An Exploration of Professional Life Skills Application Among Undergraduates in the International Community Service Programmes

“…There are numerous challenges and difficulties that Malaysian undergraduates face while realizing their universities' implementation of international community service programmes during their university life. The previous study discovered the challenges and difficulties that undergraduates face include inadequate proper training, insufficient institutional support, and financial constraints (Othman & Ahmad, 2017;Bista & Foster, 2018;Cheong et al, 2018). Besides, Malaysian undergraduates are facing additional challenges such as adapting to the local culture (Lim et al, 2019) and language barriers (Muhammad et al, 2017).…”