The Role of Supervisor Support, Self-efficacy, and Language Competence in Academic Adaptation of International Graduate Students in Central China

Cherry Kyaw San,Hui Guo

doi:10.5539/hes.v12n2p1

Abstract

This study examined the influence of supervisor support, self-efficacy, and language competence on the academic adaptation of international graduate students. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of 410 international graduate students at five universities in central China. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted and results showed that supervisor support, self-efficacy, English competence were the significant predictors for the academic adaptation of the international students. Contrary to prediction, the host language (Chinese) did not predict their academic adaptation and possible reasons were discussed. These findings contribute to the growing knowledge in the field of international education, supporting main previous studies. The observed predicting roles of the identified factors imply intriguing considerations for higher education institutions in China to provide interventions for international students with the aim of facilitating smooth adaptation to the new academic context.

Highlights

One of the main goals of leading higher education institutions across the world is “to prepare culturally competent individuals with the ability to work effectively with people from different backgrounds” (Zhao et al, 2005)
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the independent variables and academic adaptation of graduate students in Central China and to determine which factors predict their academic adaptation among supervisor support, self-efficacy, language http://hes.ccsenet.org
Grounded in the proposition of Berry‟s (1997) Cross-culture Adaptation Framework and Schlossberg‟s Transition Model (1995), and based on the prior empirical findings, the present study aims at testing the hypotheses as follows: Hypothesis 1 (H1): There is a positive relationship between the independent variables and academic adaptation of international graduate students

Summary

Introduction

One of the main goals of leading higher education institutions across the world is “to prepare culturally competent individuals with the ability to work effectively with people from different backgrounds” (Zhao et al, 2005). The increasing presence of international students on campuses of higher education institutions can bring considerable advantages such as cultural diversity, pluralism and adequate opportunities for learning in the multicultural environment (Willer, 1992) but this continuous growth of international student body is demanding systemic observation for their needs and how to help them successfully adapt to the new academic environment. China has become the second-largest country in the world for hosting international students, after the USA (European Association for International Education, 2020). Despite the increasing enrollment of the international students, researches undertaken in the academic aspects of international students at Chinese universities is „lagging far behind‟ (Wen et al, 2018) and more studies on their academic experience are in need (Khuram et al, 2021)

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Conclusion