The Effects of Cultural Intelligence, Self Efficacy and Cross Cultural Communication on Cross Cultural Adaptation of International Students in Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of cultural intelligence, self efficacy and cross cultural communication on cross cultural adaptation of international students in Taiwan. The participants were 384 students comprising 188 (49%) males and 196 (51%) females. A majority of 164 (42.7%) were in the age range 21-25 years. American students were more than any other nationality at 22.7%. On average international students stayed in Taiwan for 21 months. Data were collected through a questionnaire in which participants were asked to respond to 50 questions on aspects involving, cultural intelligence, self efficacy, cross cultural adaptation and cross cultural communication. The questionnaire also requested the students to provide demographic data relating to their ages, gender, length of time in Taiwan, program of study and their nationality. In answering the questions this study sought to resolve, seven hypotheses were proposed. The hypotheses were directly related to the questions in the 50 item questionnaire. The findings indicated that no statistically significant gender differences could be established with regards to cultural intelligence, self efficacy, cross cultural adaptation, and cross cultural communication. A variety of conclusions were also reached about the variables on different tests. Based on the findings it is argued that universities in Taiwan need not be concerned about gender differences in addressing the issues investigated in this study. Also, that cultural intelligence is positively related with self efficacy, cross cultural adaptation and cross cultural communication suggesting that perhaps this is an area to focus on in dealing with international students. The study also provides recommendations that are specifically targeted at host universities, prospective international students and scholarship agencies. Finally, suggestions for future research are advanced. The suggestions focus on the research being carried out among other groups of students within Taiwan. It is also suggested that repetitive studies could be conducted on the same hypotheses to validate the study as well as to be able to generalize the findings.