The Role of Cultural Adaptation Toward Academic Performance During Study Abroad: Indonesian University Students in United States of America

Abstract

This study reported the role of students’ cultural adaptation toward students’ academic performance during study abroad, especially in the case of Indonesian international students studying in the US. Although many studies have examined students’ cultural adaptation during study abroad, however in the case of Indonesia only few have focused on how this adaptation impacts academic performances. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the role of cultural adaptation of Indonesian international students toward academic performance when they undertake a short period of study in the US universities. Employing a qualitative approach, the research design of this study is descriptive qualitative and data collected through semi-structured interviews with two participants. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis and NVivo 12 software was used as data management to assist the process of thematizing the data. The findings show the role of cultural adaptation could improve the students’ SRL, provide social support, expand global mindset, well-managing preparation, widening networking, and also developing positive mindset. This research also proves that it can positively improve the academic performance and personal growth of Indonesian international students during studying abroad.