CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROBLEMS IN ACADEMIC LIFE EXPERIENCED BY INDONESIAN POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS IN LONDON

Despite the increasing number of Indonesian postgraduate students studying overseas, including in the United Kingdom, not many studies have been done on their intercultural communication experiences and academic engagement. This research aims to investigate Indonesian postgraduate students’ intercultural communication experiences and academic engagement in the United Kingdom. In this study, we address the following research question: What are the hindering factors and the facilitating factors of Indonesian postgraduate students’ academic engagement within their courses of study? A qualitative research method is used in this study, based on semi-structured interviews with 13 participants. The results of the study indicate that the students are more engaged in some areas, such applying deep learning strategies by connecting ideas, and less engaged in others, such as interacting with academic staff. Several interrelated factors were indicated as contributing to facilitating or hindering academic engagement which include sociocultural, institutional, and individual factors. The hindering factors consists of the transition to a new academic environment, intense academic workload, ‘expert’ or ‘boring tutors, linguistic barriers, and having feelings of uneasiness. Conversely, the facilitating factors consist of institutional support service, course design, caring and casual tutors, learning from prior experiences, having the initiative to ask, and realizing to make the most of the opportunity.

Despite growing interest in immersive block models in higher education, very little is known about the experiences of international students in these non-traditional forms of learning. To enable an initial view of how international students perceive and perform in an immersive block model, we used an exploratory mixed methods approach to examine the academic success, satisfaction, and experiences of international students in a 6-week immersive block model at a regional public Australian university. Inferential statistical tests were used to explore the success rates and unit and teaching satisfaction of onshore and offshore international students in the immersive block model and in the traditional trimester model. Overall, the immersive block model made a significant positive difference to the academic success of international students, both onshore and offshore. However, a decline in satisfaction was observed among science and engineering students, contrasting with an increase in satisfaction among business and arts students. Data collected through semi-guided interviews with 10 students from this latter group indicate several key benefits and challenges associated with immersive block learning. Students reported heightened focus and motivation, supportive teaching, and a healthy study-work-life balance. Challenges included not knowing what to expect, forming social connections with classmates, and the fast turnover between assessments. These findings indicate that it is important for institutions to prepare international students well for the pace and time management demands of studying in an immersive block model and to encourage the formation of social connections. Assessment timing, volume, and scaffolding should also be key considerations in immersive block model curriculum design.

Despite growing interest in immersive block models in higher education, very little is known about the experiences of international students in these non-traditional forms of learning. To enable an initial view of how international students perceive and perform in an immersive block model, we used an exploratory mixed methods approach to examine the academic success, satisfaction, and experiences of international students in a 6-week immersive block model at a regional public Australian university. Inferential statistical tests were used to explore the success rates and unit and teaching satisfaction of onshore and offshore international students in the immersive block model and in the traditional trimester model. Overall, the immersive block model made a significant positive difference to the academic success of international students, both onshore and offshore. However, a decline in satisfaction was observed among science and engineering students, contrasting with an increase in satisfaction among business and arts students. Data collected through semi-guided interviews with 10 students from this latter group indicate several key benefits and challenges associated with immersive block learning. Students reported heightened focus and motivation, supportive teaching, and a healthy study-work-life balance. Challenges included not knowing what to expect, forming social connections with classmates, and the fast turnover between assessments. These findings indicate that it is important for institutions to prepare international students well for the pace and time management demands of studying in an immersive block model and to encourage the formation of social connections. Assessment timing, volume, and scaffolding should also be key considerations in immersive block model curriculum design.

The rapid increase in international students, many of whom study in a second language (L2), has driven extensive research that examines the contribution of L2 proficiency to students' academic success. However, focusing solely on L2 proficiency as captured by language test scores provides a limited perspective, ignoring the many factors that contribute to academic achievement. This systematic literature review aims to broaden our understanding of this topic by exploring additional factors that contribute to the academic success of international students. Analysing 54 peer‐reviewed studies from 1990 to 2023, the review highlights that while outcome measures of success remain largely focused on grade point average (GPA), researchers are increasingly investigating predictors other than language proficiency, such as (1) background characteristics (e.g. gender), (2) individual differences (e.g. personality), (3) previous educational experiences (e.g. high school grades), (4) current educational experiences (e.g. familiarity with the learning environment), and (5) current social experiences (e.g. sense of belonging), which display varying effect sizes on international student success. Findings from this study have implications for academic stakeholders, suggesting a more holistic approach to understanding and supporting the academic success of international students. Context and implicationsRationale for this study: This systematic review addresses a critical gap in understanding international student success. While existing research has focused heavily on language proficiency and GPA, this study offers a more holistic view of success factors, recognising that the international student population faces complex challenges beyond language barriers, and that student success is measured not only via GPA.Why the new findings matter: The findings challenge the narrow focus on GPA and language proficiency as prevalent metrics of international student success by revealing a broader range of factors that shape international student success. In addition, the study explores the quality of scholarship in the domain.Implications for practitioners, policy makers, and researchers: For researchers, this study highlights the need for more transparent research designs and reporting practices when investigating predictors of international student success. It is also recommended that research should expand into understudied areas in this domain, particularly looking at international education in non‐English speaking destinations and at the graduate level. For faculty, findings emphasise the importance of implementing culturally responsive teaching practices and creating inclusive learning environments. Finally, for university admissions, the study indicates that relying solely on language proficiency scores provides an incomplete picture of potential success, suggesting a more holistic admissions approach.

The purpose of the study was to compare and contrast international students attending West Virginia University by country of origin to examine their academic success and academic adjustment at West Virginia University. Data were collected by a mail survey, contacting 622 international students from India, Japan, Korea, People's Republic of China, Republic of China (Taiwan), and Spain (countries with the largest number of enrollment at West Virginia University during academic year 1992-93). From 552 actual contacts, 290 responses were collected (52.5% response rate). Treatment of data included descriptive and inferential statistics. Cronbach coefficient alphas and Pearson correlation matrix were computed to examine strengths of relationships between multiple items. Chi-square statistics, independent t-tests, analysis of variance, and regression analysis were applied to examine differences among the six countries relative to (a) academic adjustment difficulties, (b) academic success, and (c) academic satisfaction at West Virginia University. Fourteen null hypotheses were tested to examine variables of academic adjustment difficulties and academic success of international students. Significant differences were found among the six countries regarding: age, academic status, length of prior English language studies, attendance of orientation, TOEFL scores, self-rated English language competency, GPA score, self-rated academic progress, failing of courses at the University, academic adjustment difficulties, satisfaction with instructional services, and satisfaction with academic experiences. The following significant effects were found: (1) great differences between the educational system of the subjects' home country relative to the U.S. indicated great academic adjustment difficulties for international students; (2) students with better English language skills experienced less academic adjustment difficulties; (3) those who participated in the orientation had less academic adjustment difficulties; (4) students with less academic adjustment difficulties and high English language skills were more successful academically; (5) satisfaction with academic experiences was significantly related to academic adjustment difficulties and academic success. Academic status, TOEFL high scores, and academic satisfaction were the best three predictors of the academic success of international students at West Virginia University (r{dollar}\\sp2{dollar} = 0.434).

This study examined the effect the provision and utilization of different support areas had on the perceived academic success of international students at a large community college in Canada. The study considered the effect of the provision of support areas on one hand, and the utilization of these support areas on the other hand on the perceived academic success of international students. A quantitative study was conducted to measure the effect of the provision and utilization of support areas on international students' perceived academic success. A target sample size of 399 international students who were pursuing different academic programs at a large community college in Canada was recruited to participate in a hard copy, one-on-one survey in the winter semester of 2019. The Canadian government's strategy at both the federal and provincial/territorial levels of increasing international students' presence in Canada as a way of addressing the aging workforce and population challenge in Canada would be more successful with increased investments in these support areas.

Canada is among the top four most popular destinations for international students. Using narrative inquiry, this chapter explores lived experiences of two international students. The study is guided by three broad questions: 1) What are the main positive experiences of international students in Canada? 2) What are some of the challenges faced by international students during their studies in Canada? and 3) What should be done to enhance academic success of international students? Data were collected using semi-structured interviews as conversations. Data analysis reveals three main themes: mismatch between the students' academic expectations and reality, challenges relating to language, and self-efficacy and resilience. Recommendations are presented. These include working with international students to help identify factors that are likely to enhance the success of international students as identified by the students so that universities can create campus environments that allow for success.

One of the most important elements of academic success is determined by the conditions of the students’ psychological well-being. Previous studies suggested that psychological well-being contributed to individual adjustment, which is the key to academic success. The present study aims to identify psychological well-being among postgraduate Indonesian students studying in the United Kingdom (UK). This is a descriptive explorative study with 75 Indonesian students studying across the UK by utilising questionnaires. The result confirms that psychological well-being among the Indonesian postgraduate students studying in the UK categorised in a high level (69.3%). The study indicated the dimensions of psychological well-being from the respondents were in high autonomy (54.7%) but low environmental mastery (53.3%), high personality development (58.7%), high positive relationship with others (56.0%), high purpose of life (56.0%) and low self-acceptance (52.0%). The Indonesian postgraduate students studying in the UK had a high level of psychological wellbeing especially in terms of their personality development. The study suggests to increase environmental mastery and self-acceptance by strengthening the Indonesian student organisation activities with peer- support and building relationship with both Indonesian and international students in the UK and worldwide. This will increase their insight as international students and learn to cope and minimise stressful life events during their study period. Keywords: Psychological Well-being, Indonesian, Students, Education

The present article gives an overview of several studies on the predictive validity of the C-test. In the first part of the article, we discuss the construct validity of this test format. Only if the underlying construct of this test is understood, can a justification for high predictive validity be made. In the second part, we discuss several previous studies where the C-test format is used to predict the study and training success of international students. The third part discusses the findings of two as yet unpublished studies on the predictive validity of the C-test. We wish to contribute to the ongoing discussion of the validity of the C-test and argue that it is not only a language test, but also a test of processing speed which is related to working memory. For international students, processing speed in English as a foreign language is related to vocabulary knowledge, which includes statistical knowledge about the probability of words occurring in a given context as well as the probability of words following or preceding each other. The C-test taps precisely into these aspects of language proficiency which explains its high predictive validity for the study success of international students.

The purpose of this literature review is to describe the educational experiences of international students enrolled in English-medium postsecondary institutions. Because the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia currently host the largest international student populations globally, enrollment statistics for each country are presented. A systematic review of 70 peer-reviewed publications was conducted to identify key findings related to the experiences of international students in English-medium postsecondary education. Data were collected and analyzed to ensure the reliability and validity of the results. Findings indicate that academic English proficiency significantly influences the experiences of international students. Moreover, a key challenge for these students often lies in navigating and adapting to the unfamiliar pedagogical approaches employed within host institutions. Finally, the well-being and academic success of international students are significantly influenced by sociocultural factors, surrounding acceptance, integration, and experiences of discrimination. The paper concludes with a summary of the results and a discussion of possible avenues for future research. Keywords: international students, postsecondary education, higher education, experiences, barriers

This article explores the various dimensions of academic stress factors, coping, and social-cultural adaptation on psychological well-being of 150 Indonesian postgraduate students. The study implemented a correlational research design whereby a conceptual model was produced, which correlated both the dependent and independent variables. Data analysis was performed using SPSS and SmartPLS (Partial Least Squares). The scientific novelty includes the conceptualization of academic stress, coping, social-cultural adaptation, and psychological well-being among Indonesian postgraduate students; thus, results may differ from previous findings, while contributing an in-depth knowledge in this area. The preliminary analysis results indicate that the Cronbach Alpha (CA) and Composite Reliability (CR) of the four first-order reflective dimensions, namely academic stress, coping, social-cultural adaptation and psychological well-being, met the quality standard of reliability (CR) and convergent validity (AVE). Therefore, all constructs are reliable and valid. Consequently, it can be concluded that academic stress, coping, and social-cultural adaptation have a significant influence on the psychological well-being of Indonesian postgraduate-students.

Communicative competence is a key factor in the professional success of university graduates, especially for international students. The article analyzes the results of an experimental study conducted during the training of international students at the preparatory school of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University. The aim of the research is to provide a theoretical justification and experimental verification of the impact of international students performing visual experiments during practical work on the effectiveness of developing their communicative competence as a key factor in the success of foreign citizens' education. The study assessed the development levels of key criteria of communicative competence using specific indicators measured through the following methods. The primary research method was a pedagogical experiment employing questionnaires and expert assessment to diagnose the level of communicative competence formation among international students. The results showed that after conducting visual experiments in the experimental group of international students, positive changes were observed compared to the control group: increased levels of motivation, terminology mastery, experimental skills, socio-psychological adaptation, and emotional comfort, along with reduced anxiety. A statistically significant correlation was found between the level of communicative competence development and academic performance as an indicator of international students' learning success ( r = 0,72, p < 0,05). Scientific novelty lies in proposing a set of practice-oriented techniques based on visual experiments, aimed at developing communicative competence while considering linguistic and psychological-pedagogical aspects of learning. Practical significance of the work is reflected in the potential to enhance educational and methodological complexes through the implementation of visual experiments.

This study focuses on the multicultural communication strategies employed by Indonesian postgraduate students during their study abroad experience at a university in Melbourne, Australia. Multicultural communication, as the main focus of this research, refers to communication between participants from different lingua-cultural backgrounds or nations, where their different conceptualizations and perspectives may lead to potential miscommunication. To achieve the research objective successfully, a qualitative method, specifically a semi-structured interview, was adopted to collect the data. 4 Indonesian postgraduate students who studied abroad in Melbourne, Australia were interviewed and asked about their cross-cultural misunderstanding experience during their sojourn period in Australia. They were also asked how they negotiated meaning and overcame language barriers when they communicated with local Australians or other international students. The collected data were analyzed and discussed in reference to strategies for multicultural communication theoretical framework. The findings of this study demonstrate that the respondents implemented a range of strategies to achieve successful intercultural communication, and the observation of others was deemed as one of the most effective methods. The outcomes of this research could provide a useful reference for students who plan to study abroad, especially in Melbourne, Australia, on the various strategies they can use to have effective communication across cultures.

The number of international students coming to the U.S. for post-secondary education has been steadily increasing. Prior research has found that international students encounter many barriers to academic success, but this topic has not been previously studied for the discipline of dental hygiene. The aims of this study were to investigate the barriers and challenges to academic success faced by international students in U.S. dental hygiene programs and to explore the students' thoughts on the value they bring to those programs. The overlapping qualitative methods of semi-structured focus groups and one-on-one interviews with 12 students in three U.S. dental hygiene programs were used for this phenomenological study. In the results, six themes emerged: language proficiency, communication challenges with faculty and patients, ability to adapt to a new educational system, adjusting to cultural differences, feelings of belonging, and the value of diversity. The most significant barrier for the participants was comprehension of the English language. Didactically, these students reported that they needed additional time to study and to process examination questions. This study found that these international students studying dental hygiene in the U.S. had academic challenges similar to international students studying in other disciplines. Dental hygiene educators may need to evaluate their didactic and test-taking strategies to ensure the academic success of international students.

Sharing this article, the act of writing and then having it read, legitimises the point of it – that is, we (and we speak on behalf of each other here) managed to negotiate western academic expectations and norms from a just-as-legitimate-but-not-always-heard female Buginese perspective written in Standard Australian English (not my first choice-of-language and I speak on behalf of myself). At times we transgressed roles, guiding and following each other through different academic, cultural, social, and linguistic domains until we stumbled upon ways of legitimating our entanglement of experiences, when we heard the similar, faint, drum beat across boundaries and journeys.This article is one storying of the results of this four year relationship between a Buginese PhD candidate and an Indigenous Australian supervisor – both in the writing of the article and the processes that we are writing about. This is our process of knowing and validating knowledge through sharing, collaboration and cultural exchange. Neither the successful PhD thesis nor this article draw from authoethnography but they are outcomes of a lived, research standpoint that fiercely fought to centre a Muslim-Buginese perspective as much as possible, due to the nature of a postgraduate program. In the effort to find a way to not privilege Western ways of knowing to the detriment of my standpoint and position, we had to find a way to at times privilege my way of knowing the world alongside a Western one. There had to be a beat that transgressed cultural and linguistic differences and that allowed for a legitimised dialogic, intersubjective dance.The PhD research focused on potential dialogue between Australian culture and Buginese culture in terms of feminism and its resulting cultural hybridity where some Australian feminist thoughts are applicable to Buginese culture but some are not. Therefore, the PhD study centred a Buginese standpoint while moving back and forth amongst Australian feminist discourses and the dominant expectations of a western academic process. The PhD research was part of a greater Indonesian tertiary movement to include, study, challenge and extend feminist literary programs and how this could be respectfully and culturally appropriately achieved. This article is written by both of us but the core knowledge comes from a Buginese standpoint, that is, the principal supervisor learned from the PhD candidate and then applied her understanding of Indigenous standpoint theory, Tuhiwahi Smith’s decolonising methodologies and Spivakian self-reflexivity to aid the candidate’s development of her dancing methodology. For this reason, the rest of this article is written from the first-person perspective of Dr Abbas.The PhD study was a literary analysis on five stories from Helen Garner’s Postcards from Surfers (1985). My work translated these five stories from English into Indonesian and discussed some challenges that occurred in the process of translation. By using Edward Said’s work on contrapuntal reading and Robert Warrior’s metaphor of the subaltern dancing, I, the embodied learner and the cultural translator, moved back and forth between Buginese culture and Australian culture to consider how Australian women and men are represented and how mainstream Australian society engages with, or challenges, discourses of patriarchy and power. This movement back and forth was theorised as ‘dancing’. Ultimately, another dance was performed at the end of the thesis waltz between the work which centred my Buginese standpoint and academia as a Western tertiary institution.I have been dancing with Australian feminism for over four years. My use of the word ‘dancing’ signified my challenge to articulate and engage with Australian culture, literature, and feminism by viewing it from a Buginese perspective as opposed to a ‘Non-Western’ perspective. As a Buginese woman and scholar, I centred my specific cultural standpoints instead of accepting them generally and therefore dismissed the altering label of ‘Non-Western’. Juxtaposing Australian feminism with Buginese culture was not easy. However, as my research progressed I saw interesting cultural differences between Australian and Buginese cultures that could result in a hybridized way of engaging feminist issues. At times, my cultural standpoint took the lead in directing the research or the point, at other times a Western beat was more prominent, for example, using the English language to voice my work.The Buginese, also known as the Bugis, along with the Makassar, the Mandar, and the Toraja, are one of the four main ethnic groups of the province of South Sulawesi in Indonesia. The population of the Buginese in South Sulawesi spreads into major states (Bone, Wajo, Soppeng, and Sidenreng) and some minor states (Pare-Pare, Suppa, and Sinjai). Like other ethnic groups living in other islands of Indonesia such as the Javanese, the Sundanese, the Minang, the Batak, the Balinese, and the Ambonese, the Buginese have their own culture and traditions. The Buginese, especially those who live in the villages, are still bounded strictly by ade’ (custom) or pangadereng (customary law). This concept of ade’ provides living guidelines for Buginese and consists of five components including ade’, bicara, rapang, wari’, and sara’. Pelras clarifies that pangadereng is ‘adat-hood’, a corpus of interlinked ruling principles which, besides ade’ (custom), includes also bicara (jurisprudence), rapang (models of good behaviour which ensure the proper functioning of society), wari’ (rules of descent and hierarchy) and sara’ (Islamic law and institution, derived from the Arabic shari’a) (190). So, pangadereng is an overall norm which includes advice on how Buginese should behave towards fellow human beings and social institutions on a reciprocal basis. In addition, the Buginese together with Makassarese, mind what is called siri’ (honour and shame), that is the sense of honour and shame. In the life of the Buginese-Makassar people, the most basic element is siri’. For them, no other value merits to be more detected and preserved. Siri’ is their life, their self-respect and their dignity. This is why, in order to uphold and to defend it when it has been stained or they consider it has been stained by somebody, the Bugis-Makassar people are ready to sacrifice everything, including their most precious life, for the sake of its restoration. So goes the saying.... ‘When one’s honour is at stake, without any afterthought one fights’ (Pelras 206).Buginese is one of Indonesia’s ethnic groups where men and women are intended to perform equal roles in society, especially those who live in the Buginese states of South Sulawesi where they are still bound strictly by ade’ (custom) or pangadereng (customary law). These two basic concepts are guidelines for daily life, both in the family and the work place. Buginese also praise what is called siri’, a sense of honour and shame. It is because of this sense of honour and shame that we have a saying, siri’ emmi ri onroang ri lino (people live only for siri’) which means one lives only for honour and prestige. Siri’ had to remain a guiding principle in my theoretical and methodological approach to my PhD research. It is also a guiding principle in the resulting pedagogical praxis that this work has established for my course in Australian culture and literature at Hasanuddin University. I was not prepared to compromise my own ethical and cultural identity and position yet will admit, at times, I felt pressured to do so if I was going to be seen to be performing legitimate scholarly work. Novera argues that:Little research has focused specifically on the adjustment of Indonesian students in Australia. Hasanah (1997) and Philips (1994) note that Indonesian students encounter difficulties in fulfilling certain Western academic requirements, particularly in relation to critical thinking. These studies do not explore the broad range of academic and social problems. Yet this is a fruitful area for research, not just because of the importance of Indonesian students to Australia, and the importance of the Australia-Indonesia relationship to both neighbouring nations, but also because adjustment problems are magnified by cultural differences. There are clear differences between Indonesian and Australian cultures, so that a study of Indonesian students in Australia might also be of broader academic interest […]Studies of international student adjustment discuss a range of problems, including the pressures created by new role and behavioural expectations, language difficulties, financial problems, social difficulties, homesickness, difficulties in dealing with university and other authorities, academic difficulties, and lack of assertiveness inside and outside the classroom. (467)While both my supervisor and I would agree that I faced all of these obstacles during my PhD candidature, this article is focusing solely on the battle to present my methodology, a dialogic encounter between Buginese feminism and mainstream Australian culture using Helen Garner’s short stories, to a Western process and have it be “legitimised”. Endang writes that short stories are becoming more popular in the industrial era in Indonesia and they have become vehicles for writers to articulate the realities of social life such as poverty, marginalization, and unfairness (141-144). In addition, Noor states that the short story has become a new literary form particularly effective for assisting writers in their goal to help the marginalized because its shortness can function as a weapon to directly “scoop up” the targeted issues and “knock them out at a blow” (Endang 144-145). Indeed, Helen Garner uses short stories in a way similar to that described by Endang: as a defiant act towards the government and current circumstances (145). My study of Helen Garner’s short stories explored the way her stories engage with and res