Date of Graduation
1993
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
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).
Recommended Citation
Konyu-Fogel, Georgine, "The academic adjustment of international students by country of origin at a land grant university in the United States." (1993). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 9219.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/9219