A study of the adjustment of some Indonesian students studying in Australia

Abstract

Todays world is witnessing the rapid breakdown of cultural barriers. More and more people move from one culture to another, either temporarily or permanently. The study of what happens to them and to the people they meet, forms the area of cross cultural contact. Of special interest are those persons who stay in a foreign culture and study there, but who return home later. This thesis is concerned with one such group of students, Indonesians, who studied in Sydney, Australia. An attempt is made to trace the problems they met in adjusting to this culture. Specifically the thesis aims to locate the factors of adjustment, to determine if a general factor exists, and to note the effect of other related aspects, like age and length of time spent in Australia. A secondary aim is to determine the effects these problems of adjustment have on examination performance. The main tool of investigation was a questionnaire, developed specially for the study. This instrument asked a wide range of questions concerning language, food, climate, accommodation, social relationships, study habits, homesickness, and the understanding of Australian customs. Other information was also gathered, including age, and length of time spent in Australia. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 58 students, taken individually or in small groups. The scores on each question were intercorrelated and factor analysed. The resulting factor solution indicated that there were at least six distinct areas of adjustment. These were: Factor 1) Extent of social relations with Australians Factor 2) Cultural adjustment, including academic adjustment Factor 3) Language facility Factor 4) Satisfaction with living arrangements Factor 5) Climatization Factor 7) Ease of social communication It was also expected that there would he a general factor of adjustment. In fact no such factor appeared. Indeed the large specific and group variance indicated that these students approached each problem separately. There was no generalized attitude. It was also found that those students who were older, and who had remained longer in Sydney, showed a higher adjustment score. Not all factors were of equal importance in the student's eyes. It was found by comparing factor scores, that the students were most concerned with social relations with Australians, and social communications, and least with cultural adjustment and living arrangements. They found Australian customs easy to understand and accept, but Australian people hard to meet. Finally, the problems of adjustment as expressed by the students, did not correlate with their examination performance.