THE EXPERIENCE OF CULTURE SHOCK AND ITS EFFECTS ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AT AFRICA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, KAREN NAIROBI

Abstract

The study aimed at investigating the experience of culture shock and its effects on international students’ academic performance at Africa International University. Investigation was made to find out whether international students’ experiences of culture shock affected their academic performance. The study also sought to determine the major causes and effects of culture shock for international students. In relation to that, an inquiry was also launched to see whether international students’ experiences of culture shock affected their student-teacher relationships out of the classrooms. Moreover, the study probed whether demographic variables such as gender, age, and country of origin affected international students’ experiences of culture shock. The findings of this study are significant to school administrators and policy makers at Africa International University and other Universities that have opened their doors to international students. A closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect data. The instruments were administered by the researcher to 100 participants in the study. The study employed the random sampling method to select respondents. Pearson’s Correlation Test was used to test the relationships between the variables in the hypotheses. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22.0) was the software used to analyze the data. The statistical significance value (P ≤ 0.05) was used to reject or accept the null hypotheses. Findings of this study revealed that the major causes of culture shock for international students are: language barrier, Host students’ attitudes toward international students, AIU’s educational system, food, Kenyan immigration policies, and too much course work. Over 50% of respondents identified the above constructs to be causes of culture shock for them. The major effects of culture shock identified by respondents are: homesickness, social withdrawal, inability to cope with the language of instruction, difficulty in adapting to the teaching methods at AIU, and challenges in adjusting to rigorous library research. Again, over 50% identified these constructs as effects of culture shock they experienced. International students who experienced high to very high degrees of culture shock had poor academic performance. This is evident as 93.5% of respondents who reported their experiences of culture shock as high had a GPA range of 2.0 -2.5. In addition, 89% of respondents with very high degree of culture shock had a GPA range of 2.0-2.5. Females experienced higher degree of culture shock than their male counterparts as the percentage of females was 73% compared to 4.4% of males. Younger international students under age 30 were more likely to experience very high degrees of culture shock than their older counterparts of the age 30 and above. International students from the USA, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Nigeria experienced higher degrees of culture shock than international students from other countries. Over 50% of respondents from these countries rated their experiences of culture shock as very high. Finally, the experience of culture shock affected international students’ and teachers’ relationships as 93.3% of respondents who reported experiencing culture shock reported that they never interacted with teachers out of the classrooms..