Academic Adaptation of International Students in China: Evidence from the Grounded Theory and Structure Equation Model

Abstract

With the continued increase in international students in China, the problem of their academic adaptation has become increasingly prominent. Analysis of the factors affecting the academic adaptation of international students and corresponding management practices can suggest measures to improve their academic adaptability. Based on grounded theory, this paper first summarizes the four main factors affecting the academic adaptation of international students, then uses structural equation modeling to construct a model of academic adaptation of international students that is tested and verified by a questionnaire survey of 2540 international students in China (51% male, 49% female). The main conclusions of this paper are as follows: (1) learning communication, course learning, and self-regulation are the main factors affecting the academic adaptation of international students, of which course learning is the most important factor; (2) academic communication and course learning have significant positive effects on self-regulation, while academic communication, course learning, and self-regulation have significant positive effects on the academic adaptation of international students; and (3) there was no significant difference in academic adaptation between genders, though there were significant differences by age. Among them, the mean score for overseas students is the largest for those older than 41 years (M = 4.79; SD = 0.33), showing that these students are most adaptable to study. Accordingly, this study advances policy suggestions for strengthening international students’ academic adaptation on the part of both universities and the government to improve the academic adaptation ability of international students in China.