Foreign Student's Cultural Adaptation and Academic Achievement at IIUI, Pakistan

Abstract

In the present world of globalization most of the individuals have experienced the problem of cultural adaptation as a member of a society. Globalization is a trend which has benefits for all so all aspects of life are being affected by it. The purpose of this study was to review, and analyze the situation in a specific but relatively dynamic and multicultural environment. The theory behind was Bourdieu‘s theory of cultural capital in which he claims that to adjust in any culture and to make the non-native atmosphere favorable for one‘s own self is a big quality and he named it as capital. Bourdieu‘s claims that the educational testimonial held by those in dominant positions legitimate social inequalities. Keeping in view these arguments the study examined the foreign students, adaptation with the local culture and their academic achievement. The foreign students have to adapt the culture of this university (IIUI) which is a blend of Muslim culture and a mix Pakistani culture. So the cultural adaption of foreign students in this university is quite interesting and to some extent it may affect the academic achievement of the student. The objectives of the study were to: explore the pace of cultural adaptation of foreign students at IIUI Pakistan, examine the assimilation and alienation of foreign students at the university, study the role of gender and social class background in the educational achievement of foreign students, know the role of institutional and peer culture in the cultural adaptation and academic achievement of foreign students. It was a Mix method study with embedded design, in which major Qualitative part was embedded with minor quantitative part of research. All 240 females and 286 male foreign students registered in BS program (F15-F16) from International Islamic University of Islamabad (IIUI) constituted the population for the study. According to population the sample wasiv divided into two strata i.e. Male students and Female students then 10% population from each stratum was taken as sample (Bryman, 2004). For data collection Self-developed interview guide was used. The data were collected through personal visits of the researcher to the respondents and structured interview were conducted with prior permission of the concerned department and the students. Thematic qualitative analysis was conducted on collected data for qualitative research and ANOVA was used to carry out the quantitative data. On the basis of qualitative data three groups of students were formed that were: highly adapted, moderately adapted and less adapted. Mean scores of students‘ academic scores (CGPAs) were calculated and it was found that mean scores of less adapted students were low as compare to moderately and highly adapted students. For exploring the effect of Cultural adaptation on students‘ academic achievement, ANOVA was used and on the basis of findings it was proclaimed that cultural adaption has great effect on students‘ academic achievement. On the basis of findings it was concluded that, cultural adaptation and academic achievements of foreign students are interrelated and the university is usually the first place where resources can be provided. It was recommended that, the university needs to focus on the challenges faced by international students and provide more adequate support for them. Arrangements may be made by universities administrators to involve the parents of foreign students in teaching learning process via creating online portals as it may prove very beneficial in maximizing their academic achievement. Keywords: Globalization, Cultural Adaption, Foreign students, Academic achievement, Mixed Method.