PERSONAL ATTITUDE AND SOCIO-CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF

SELECTED FIRST YEAR FOREIGN STUDENTS OF

CEBU DOCTORS’ UNIVERSITY A.Y. 2014-2015:
PROPOSED GUIDELINES TO PROMOTE
SOCIETAL INTEGRATION

______________________________________________________

A Thesis Paper Presented

To the
Department of Nursing
Cebu Doctors’ University

______________________________________________________

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of
Bachelor of Science in Nursing

______________________________________________________
By:
Caroleen Anne R. Agno Ernestine Denise M. Borja
Paul Jim R. Agno Kimberly G. Bularin
Frances Jonahly Q. Allic Ladyberg T. Canuday
Hannah Jane D. Arcenal Mary Rose A. Paquibot
Nathan Jude B. Batucan Godfrey G. Pisiao

Ms. Susan S. Mantos

Research Mentor

September 2014
ii
iii
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the

following who never ceased in helping us until this paper is structured.

To Ms. Susan S. Mantos, our research adviser for her patient guidance,

enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this research work.

To Dr. Ofelia F. Sisno, Dean of Cebu Doctors’ University College of

Nursing, for inculcating us with values to help us grow professionally.

To Dr. Alex Magalona, our research coordinator, for his advices and

assistance in keeping our progress on schedule.

To our panelists, Dr. Ofelia Sisno, Dr. Alex Magalona and Mr. Ryan

Max Duenas, for sharing their precious time, encouragements, insightful

comments and questions during the oral defense.

To Miss Cathy Bangos and Sir Ryan Max T. Duenas, for the shared

statistical expertise that indeed, contributed positively in the analysis and

interpretation of data.

To Dr. Enrico Gruet, for allowing us to carry out our study among the

foreign students of Cebu Doctors’ University. We are confident that the result of

our study is informative and beneficial to the school.

To Mr. Antonio Jung (Jung Hyo), Director of Cebu Doctors’

University Second Language (CDU-ESL), for accommodating and allowing us

to conduct the pretesting with the students in the institution.

 v

To Ms. Juvelyn D. Nebria, Academy Directress of CDU-ESL Center,

for assisting us and providing us the necessary support in conducting our

pretesting.

To our Respondents, the foreign students of Cebu Doctors’ University

Academic Year 2014-2015, who patiently and with full cooperation answered the

questionnaires and for their willingness to participate. This study would not be

possible without you.

To our beloved Family and Friends, for their unwavering moral,

emotional and financial support, concern and being our inspiration in finishing

this research study.

Lastly, we would like to thank the Almighty God, for the enlightenment

and the wisdom bestowed upon us, for giving us the strength and hope that we

would be able to accomplish the research study despite all the trials that we have

encountered.

The Researchers
 vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE NO.
TITLE
APPROVAL SHEET ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
LIST OF TABLES x
LIST OF FIGURES xi
ABSTRACT xii
CHAPTER

1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

INTRODUCTION

Rationale 1

Theoretical Background 5

Review of Related Literature 8

Supporting Studies 13

Conceptual Framework 16

THE PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem 18

Significance of the Study 20

Scope and Limitation 21

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design 22

Research Environment 22

Research Respondents 22

Research Instruments 23
 vii

Research Procedures 25

Gathering Data 25

Statistical Treatment of Data 27

DEFINITION OF TERMS 28

2 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF

DATA

The respondents’ profile according to:

age 31

gender 32

nationality 34

course taken 36

ordinal position in the family 37

frequency of visits in the Philippines prior

to college level 38

relatives present in the Philippines 39

Level of Personal Attitude 40

Item Analysis for Personal Attitude Scale II 44

Respondents’ profile based on subscales

Daily life 48

University life 50

Contact with people 52

Overall Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation 54

Item Analysis for Socio-Cultural Adaptation Scale 56

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-

 viii

Cultural Adaptation 60

Relationship between the two variables

when grouped according to age, gender,

nationality, course taken, ordinal position in

the family, frequency of visits in the Philippines

prior to college level and relatives present in

the Philippines 61

3 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of Findings 77

Conclusions 79

Recommendations 80

Proposed Guidelines to Promote Societal Integration 81

REFERENCES 84

APPENDICES

A-1 Transmittal Letter to the Dean of College of Nursing 94

A-2 Transmittal Letter to the President of Cebu Doctors’

University English Second Language Center 95

A-3 Transmittal Letter to the Vice President of Academic

Affairs 96

A-4 Transmittal Letter to the Author of the Personal

 ix

Attitude Scale 97

A-5 Transmittal Letter to the Author of the

Socio-Cultural Adaptation Scale 98

B INFORMED CONSENT FORM

B-1 Face Data Sheet 99

B-2 Informed Consent of the Respondents 101

C ETHICAL REVIEW FORM 102

D RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

D-1 Modified Socio-Cultural Adaptation Scale 103

D-2 Modified Personal Attitude Scale 106

E TIMETABLE OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES 108

F RESEARCH BUDGET 109

G RESEARCH DOCUMENTATION 110

H CROHNBACH’S RELIABILITY SCORE PERSONAL

ATTITUDE SCALE II 112

I CROHNBACH’S RELIABILITY SCORE FOR

SOCIO-CULTURAL ADAPTATION SCALE 113

CURRICULUM VITAE 114

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table Title Page

1 Respondents’ Profile According to Nationality 34

2 Respondents’ Profile According to Course Taken 36

3 Respondents’ Level of Personal Attitude 40

4 Item Analysis for Personal Attitude Scale II 44

5 Respondents Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation based on Daily Life 48

6 Respondents Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation based on University Life 50

7 Respondents Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation based on Contact with 52

People

8 Respondents Overall Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation 54

9 Item Analysis for Socio-cultural Adaptation Scale 56

10 Relationship between Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation 61

11 Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when 64

Grouped According to Age

12 Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when 66

Grouped According to Gender

13 Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when 68

Grouped According to Nationality

14 Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when 69

Grouped According to Course Taken

 xi

15 Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when 70

Grouped According to Ordinal Position in the Family

16 Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when 72

Grouped According to Frequency of Visits in the Philippines Prior to College

Level

17 Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when 74

Grouped According to Relatives Present in the Philippines

Figure

1 Schematic Diagram of the Study 16

2 Profile of the Respondents According to Age 31

3 Profile of the Respondents According to Gender 32

4 Profile of the Respondents According to Ordinal Position in the Family 37

5 Profile of the Respondents According to Frequency of visits in the 38

Philippines prior to College level

6 Profile of the Respondents According to Relatives Present in the Philippines 39

7 Scatter Plot: Relationship between Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural 60

Adaptation
 xii

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to identify personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation

of selected first year foreign students Academic Year 2014-2015 of Cebu
Doctors’ University. In addition, it ascertained the relationship between these two
variables. This study formulated proposed guidelines to promote societal
integration. A descriptive correlational method of research with the use of
Purposive Sampling was utilized to arrive at the specific details of level of
personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation among 127 first year foreign
students Academic Year 2014-2015 of Cebu Doctors’ University.

Based on the findings of the study, majority of the respondents were

adolescents (ages 18-20), male, first born child, enrolled in biology, Indian
students, and first time visit in the Philippines prior to college level with no
relatives in the Philippines. The foreign students’ level of personal attitude and
socio-cultural adaptation were considerably high with a mean score of 1.6 and
3.8 respectively. The respondents’ socio-cultural adaptation demonstrated a
moderate level in daily life with a mean score of 3.6, high levels in university life
and contact with people with mean scores of 3.9 and 3.8. The results implied that
there was a significant relationship between the two variables. Thus, the null
hypothesis was rejected. Further, the results of the study showed that personal
attitude and socio-cultural adaptation has a significant relationship among the
moderator variables when grouped according to age, gender, nationality, course
taken, ordinal position in the family, frequency of visits in the Philippines prior to
college level and relatives present in the Philippines.

The results of the study showed a high level of positive attitude and socio-
cultural adaptation amongst first year foreign students enrolled in Cebu Doctors’
University. The study also revealed a significant relationship between personal
attitude and socio-cultural adaptation. It was concluded that there are some
aspects in daily life that can be enhanced to improve and promote a foreign
student’s integration with the society. These results suggest that the foreign
students need to be oriented to the university as well as the social norms,
etiquette and traditions among Filipinos.
 CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

INTRODUCTION
Rationale
Human beings carry on their existence in a concrete socio-historical

context bounded by space and time. They grow and evolve in accordance within

a fastidious milieu. It constantly challenges the capacity of an individual to shape

themselves not only by opportunities for growth, but also by constraining factors

that leads to a delay. The values and priorities they possess serve as a great

influence to their culture and belief.

Chances for intercultural contacts are increasing, especially for sojourners

pursuing educational opportunities in cultural settings other than their own. The

group varies in composition, and their acculturation experience is usually

intentional for a definite purpose. The main factor motivating migration is the

desire for better social status and quality of life.

Cebu Doctors’ University offers medical related courses that renders

quality education. The university caters to a variety of nationalities, which

includes Africans, Americans, Europeans, Indians, Koreans, and Palauans. This

gives the foreign students an opportunity to pursue their tertiary level of

education. The university has been chosen to represent the said study in

evaluating the significant diversity implications that a certain individual

experiences.
 2

College is a time in which individuals are immersed to new ideas and

environment. Their way of thinking is influenced since they are old enough to

make social decisions. This significant transition creates a sense of dispute

leading to uncertainty, discontinuity, and novelty that aid cognitive growth;

exposure to diversity at this time is critical. Some possible barriers to the efficacy

of diversity-related courses and experiences may take place. The student's point

of view may be negatively affected by these multicultural experiences,

particularly with limited and impersonal interactions. Possessing negative

informal diversity interactions could reinforce group heterogeneity. Changing the

attitude about diversity may not be sufficient with just one encounter or

experience. However, it is beneficial when diversity training is productively done

over time. The interpersonal or social skill is one aspect of socio-cultural

adaptation that has a great deal of consideration in the new society.

The voluntary nature of the sojourners cultural contact with new societies

impose a huge expectation to their complimentary acculturation experience and

successful adaptation outcomes. Their attitude towards the host country is

shaped by the beliefs and assumptions that they hold internally. Positive attitude

is the willingness to modify their behavior that plays a great part in attaining

socio-cultural adaptation. Attitude towards groups and people perceived as

different can be measured in many ways. Each person possesses a distinct

personality which differ from one another. Each person also upholds their own

values and beliefs which affects their behavior towards the environment. They

also vary in their ability to decipher and become familiar when presented with an
 3

unfavorable situation but probably the most powerful way of understanding

whether someone is tolerant to difference is to assess whether a person is willing

to embrace the existence of persons or groups perceived as different in his or her

everyday life.

The Foreign Students' Office (personal communication, June 23, 2014)

arising problems among the foreign students such as leaving the host country

without prior notice to the school. This in turn leads to an increasing number of

drop outs before the academic year ends. With this, a foreign student verbalized

that she finds it hard to establish genuine relationships with her peers because of

culture differences and beliefs, and thus made her decide to go back home.

Students are more expected to drop out in the first year than any other time, and

the peak is at around the six weeks point. If students believe that assimilation is

difficult in the local settiting and that they are out of their depth, they are more

likely to be discouraged thus leading these students to leave the institution.

The researchers have observed a prominent social distance and seclusion

among different nationalities in the campus. These cultural barriers create misery

and isolation for several foreign students. For instance, a foreign student having

lunch in the canteen prefers to eat alone rather than sitting with people who are

culturally different from him. Moreover, these foreign students group themselves

according to their races for they tend to attach to those individuals whom they

share common core values and beliefs.

 4

In relation to nursing profession, widely distributed opportunities in

rendering care to culturally different people has been a great trend to

globalization in todays time. This research study gives an account to Medeleine

Leininger (n.d., as cited in Tomey and Alligood, 2002). According to the Theory of

Culture Care Diversilty and Universality that deals with the manner of interaction

and direct patient care towards a diverse cultural atmosphere. Being in the

medical field does not only require health care providers to manage their work

but also take into consideration managing relationships in order to render a safe

quality care. As future members of the health care team, it is expected to have

collaboration with colleages who have different cultural backgrounds.

The researchers want to make a point that unity is possible despite the

uniqueness of each individual; it may be culture, belief, and or attitude.

Furthermore, these foreign students would be able to embrace these differences

and will recognize a society that they can call a family.

This study focus more on how personal attitude affects the individual’s

socio-cultural adaptation which is concerned with the person’s sense as to how

well he can assimilate to the environment regardless of what specific cultural

origin the respondents have. The researchers expect to gain sufficient knowledge

in incorporating appropriate measures to promote societal integration among

foreign students.
 5

Theoretical Background

Icek Ajzen and Martin Fishbein (1980, as cited in D’Agostino, Webb, &

Ross, n.d.), stated that the theory of Reasoned Action “is based on the premise

that a person’s attitude is determined by the integrated information of what an

individual possess towards the entity. Thus, the theory assumes that people

rationally process the information available to them and use the information to

make behavioural decisions” (p. 93). They defined that “people’s attitude toward

an entity is derived from the primary beliefs he maintains about the entity.

Primary beliefs are the subset of the total set of beliefs the person holds about

the entity that predict his or her attitudinal position” (p. 94). “Any attempt to

persuade people to change their attitude and behaviours must be directed at

changing their primary beliefs” (p. 95).

From the theory’s perspective, one important aspect of attitude is whether

it is positive or negative. If a person strongly believes that the behavior

(interaction with other people) will lead to a desirable outcome (adaptation), then

the person holds a positive attitude.

Karen Horney (n.d., as cited in Kaplan & Sadock, 1998), a person’s individual

attributes is characterized in relation to how the person interacts with the

environment. Holistic psychology observes the unitary whole of the individual and

how that individual is effected by the corresponding environment

A person is seen as a whole when body, emotions, thoughts and perceptions

function interrelatedly as one. A person is molded by his interaction with the

 6

environment which may direct a positive or negative response. This interaction

may be affected by factors which include beliefs, attitude, family, peers and

culture that may cause a certain response. When a person reacts to a certain

situation within the environment, it is usually brought about by the interrelated

parts that is seen as a whole. An individual that is able to adapt to the stressors

within his environment is influenced by his positive perceptions and attitude.

Attribution Theory is when people attribute their own behavior to situational

causes, and yet, are likely to attribute others’ behavior to stable internal

dispositions (personality traits); the particular cause that a person attributes to a

given event influences subsequent feelings and behavior. In psychiatry,

attribution theory may help explain why some people attribute a change in

behavior to an external event (situation) or to a change in internal state

(disposition or ability).

According to Heider (1958, as cited in University of Twente, n.d.), a

person can make two attributions. Internal attribution which is the way person

acts, feels, and believes about the external environment and external attribution

is the way a person reacts to a given situation. He argued that success will be

positively related to internal attributions such that individuals who perform well

will be more likely to attribute their performance to internal factors (attitude,

disposition) than external factors (environment).

For example, a foreigner easily gets along with the people in a host

country due to his internal attribution of having a positive attitude and willingess
 7

to mingle with those people. On the other hand, an external attribution would be

because the people in that place were very welcoming.

Sister Callista Roy’s Adaptation Theory (n.d., as cited in Tomey & Alligood,

2002) focuses on the interaction of these concepts: the human being,

environment, adaptation and nursing. She suggested that the person constitutes

of interrelated systems namely biological, psychological and social. This

individual is continually engaged on a constantly changing environment with

numerous sorts of stimuli and strives to maintain his balance with it.

Helson’s Adaptation Theory (n.d., as cited in Tomey & Alligood, 2002)

characterizes these stimuli into three: focal, residual and contextual. Focal stimuli

are those situations that directly confront the person’s well being. In the case of

the foreign students, being far away from home and immersing oneself into a

college university of a diverse country with an unfamiliar society and environment

may result to anxiety, depression and social isolation that greatly confront their

ability to cope. Contextual stimuli are those other factors that may influence the

Focal stimuli. These include the foreign student’s age, gender, nationality, course

taken, ordinal position in the family, relatives present and frequency of visits in

the host country prior to college. Residual stimuli consist of the person’s beliefs

and attitude towards the situation.

In relation to the foreign students, having a positive attitude wherein the

individual is willing to modify ones behaviour and confirm ones belief to the new

society influence and lead to a successful socio-cultural adaptation. Ultimately a

 8

persons response may be positive or negative. Roy describes adaptation as a

process wherein the individual is able to consciously make himself aware and

choose to create a human and environmental integration. Adaptive responses

are those that help the individual achieve goals and master life. Ineffective

responses are those acthions that threaten goals.

Review of Related Literature

Foreign Students

According to the Bureau of Immigration (2011, as cited in Aning, 2011),

there are an estimated of 26,000 foreigers studying in the Philippines with

majority of them being Koreans. The increasing number of foreign students is a

proof of growing educational system in the Philippines.

The transition between highschool and college brings tremendous change

to an individual. One must learn to cook, live with others, handle finances and

attend classes. With new responsibilities, the student may feel pressured both

physically and emotionally. Some students may complain of anxiety, depression,

anger, and isolation. The accumulating number of international students place

increased pressure on colleges and universities to ensure the success of their

foreign students to adjust to the local culture. Lack of adjustment may cause

dropouts of foreign students. Inabiltiy to complete education abroad may lower

international students’ self-confidence and self-esteem. An article entitled

Cultural Diversity by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO, 2014) stated that immersion in cultural diversity

 9

for a student may expand ones choices, nurture a variety of skills, promote

human values, and broaden world views.

According to the Foreign Students’ Office of Cebu Doctors’ University,

there are 322 foreign students enrolled in the said institution for the second

semester of Academic Year 2013-2014 including the dual citizens regardless of

the level and course taken while there are 268 foreign students alone exclusive

of the dual citizens.

Attitude

According to Bohner and Wanke (2002), the construct of attitude is an

important mediating link between how a person perceives the environment and

how he responds to it. Attitude may be a great marker on how people react to

social stimuli including how they feel, think and act relative to them.

Consequently, a big part of social psychology deals with attitude in one form or

another, for example, attitude towards other people, specific group, towards

oneself or principles. The value of attitude becomes apparent at various levels of

analysis which are all issue of social psychological and research.

At the individual level, attitude influences perception, judgment, other attitudes

and behavior of a person. Accordingly, attitude contributes heavily to a human

beings’ psychological makeup and his manner of responding to a certain stressor

or crisis. At the interpersonal level, information about attitude is usually requested

and communicated. If a person is aware of others’ attitude, the world becomes a

more predictable place. A person’s own thought and behavior may be molded by
 10

this knowledge and try to manage others behavior by changing ones attitude. At

the societal level, attitude towards a group is focused more on intergroup

cooperation or conflict (p. 14).

Gurin, Dey, Hurtado and Gurin (2002, as cited in Denson, Dalton & Zhang,

2009), students emersed in an environment with a diverse culture may encounter

unaccustomed situations and different opinions. These situations forces the

student to accommodate and assimilate the new information. This processing of

new information enables the individual to learn and grow cognitively. As a result,

when there are more chances a person involves himself in different experiences,

there is greater capacity for learning.

Positive Attitude

A person’s attitude stems from within. It can be categorized into positive

attitude and negative attitude. The former involves not only how a person

perceives the world, but also how he interprets and intervenes on situations,

circumstances and actions of others in his environment. In other words, if a

person’s outlook is to be meaningful, it must take into account how other people

respond to it. A positive attitude without interaction is meaningless. A person who

embraces willingness for change is viewed to be flexible and more dependable.

Once this attitude is practiced in the real setting, the person unconsciously

respects other’s differences which lessens anxiety (Fritz, 2008).

Negative Attitude

Negative attitude originates from thoughts of negative outlook that may

become a routine and part of a person’s character. The actions are product of
 11

attitude which in turn creates a response from the environment. The major

reason people have negative attitudes is because of negative beliefs. If a person

struggles to see the relationship between his beliefs and attitudes, one may have

difficulty in moving forward. As a result, they are not able to achieve desired

goals in life (Sharma, 2008).

Socio-cultural Adaptation

To be effective in another culture, one must be willing to change their

behaviours, be interested in other culture, be aware and accept cultural diversity

as an indication of respect towards different cultures (Bhawuk & Brislin, 1992).

Zhai and Scheer (2004) suggested that studies have clearly shown that

those individuals who were exposed and immersed to diverse culture have a

good global perspective and a positive attitude. Pike (2002, as cited in Zhai &

Scheer, 2004) concluded that these students who had the chance to interact with

groups of different culture were more open to diversity.

Research has found out that international students expect and desire a

certain level of understanding in their social interaction with host national

students and such interaction is generally associated with the international

students personal directives, goals and desires. According to Ward and Kennedy

(1991, as cited in Simonovich, 2008), Socio-cultural adaptation is influenced by

factors related to social skills acquisition of the new culture such as length of stay

in the host country, knowledge about the culture, amount of social interaction
 12

made with the host nationals, language fluency, and the choice acculturation

strategies.

Much of diversity we see in cultures reflects adaptation to varied

environments and situations. People resoursefuly mold their environment; they

are not just determined by it. Recognizing this, John Bennett (1969, as cited in

Kottak, 1994) has defined cultural adaptation as “the problem solving, creative or

coping elements in human behavior” as people use resources accordingly and

solve the immediate problems facing them. This is the first dimension of adaptive

behavior: It involves “goal-satisfaction: if coping is successful, the people realize

their objectives” (p. 19). Besides gratification of personal goals, a second and

equally important dimensions of cultural adaptation is perservation of resources.

When the person learns to adapt to his environment, not only his insight will

change but also his emotions & behaviours.

Misra and Castillio (2004, as cited in Wilson, 2011) said that to be

successful, international students must adapt socially and culturally to certain

situations of the host country. The key to minimizing stress is the level of the

student’s adjustment. It is vital to understand how schools and universities can

aid foreign students to adapt better, both socially and culturally.

Studies show that students who participate in extracurricular activities

bring a great impact on their attitude towards other races. Milem (1992, as cited

in Inkelas, 2006) suggested that people who socialize with other ethnic group

had more cultural awareness and acceptance thus promoting racial

understanding.
 13

Supporting Studies

Fredrickson (1998, as cited in Hamilton-West, 2011) proposed the

broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions assumed that positive emotions

expands people’s attention levels and capacity to think. Proven by their

experiment, induced positive emotions broaden the scope of people’s visual

attention, desired actions, and increase their openness to new situations

especially recognizing individuals of another race.

Another study done about International Student entitled International

Students Perspectives on Cross-Cultural Adaptation by Malcolm Lewthwaite

(1997) aimed to discover and describe how international students experience

and adapt to their new academic, social, cultural and linguistic environment. Most

respondents reported high levels of frustration, stress and even depression.

Other respondents reported on obstacles to integration as being loneliness,

mismatch of culture, and frustration with lack of deep sense of integration. The

greatest block to adaptation was lack of intercultural communicative competence.

Through effective coping and communication with others and the environment

one has the abilty to successfully adapt to the host culture.

In a study measuring intercultural sensitivity in different cultural context

entitled “Intercultural Communication Competence” by Guo-Ming Chen (2014)

dealt within the importance of communication as a key factor in integrating

successfully into a society. As globalization and internalization has increased the

importance of being competent in communicating with people of different cultural

 14

backgrounds. It is not the individuals ability to cope within the society but the

individuals attitude on linguistics that will benefit for successful assimilation.

In recent studies done at the University of Irvine located in California

entitled “Culture Shock” (2011), it has shown that there are distinct phases of

culture shock and culture adjustment. These stages include the preliminary

stage, initial stage, irritability, gradual adjustment, adaptation and biculturalism

and finally re entry phase. First the Preliminary stage is the phase which the

individual prepares for the journey to the new host country. This includes

farewells and saying goodbye. In the initial euphoria phase, the individual arrives

in the new environment for the first time.

The individual is excited about the unknown. During the irritability phase,

the individual begins to settle into the environment. This may irritate and frustrate

the individual since they are not accustomed to their environment. People in the

phase finds differences and compares them between the host country and back

home. Sometimes the smallest challenges may be troubling.

One typical reaction against culture shock is to associate yourself with

other people who also come from the same place you are from. If you choose to

avoid mingling with people of the host country you cheat yourself of the valuable

experience and lenghten the time of adaptation. After the individual experiences

irritability next will be the gradual adjustment phase. In this stage the individual

becomes familiar with the environment yet isn’t even aware of it.
 15

Some people may be accustommed to the language and the social norms.

The feeling of being foreign is diminished. People become part of the new

culture. Lastly, the re-entry phase occurs when the individual returns back home.

This may be the hardest phase for people. Once your back to the original

environment you will realize the change you have gone through as a person;

values you have learned in your host country will be long instilled in you. Each

phase relies most on the individual’s context of the environment and his personal

attitude in coping with the new experience.

Many people in the world face obstacles in migrating to another country,

state, or town. It happens to most people and mainly college students. It is

important that we learn from previous done studies on cultural adaptation and

also expand our current knowledge in order to successfully tackle the hardship in

experiencing a new chapter in our lives.

 16

Conceptual Framework

Socio- Proposed
Cultural Guidelines
Personal Adaptation to Promote
Attitude Societal
Integration
Input Thruput Output

Moderator variables:

1. Age
2. Gender
3. Nationality
4. Course taken
5. Ordinal position in the
family
6. Frequency of visits in
the Philippines prior to
college level
7. Relatives Present in
the Philippines

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Study

The diagram shown above depicts an overview of the research study. The

input was the Personal Attitude among first year Foreign Students of Cebu

Doctors’ University Academic Year 2014-2015. The thruput was the respondents’

Socio-Cultural Adaptation. Moderator variables included age, gender, nationality,

course taken, ordinal position in the family, frequency of visits in the Philippines

prior to college level and relatives present in the Philippines. The output was the

proposed guidelines that will promote societal integration among first year foreign

students of Cebu Doctors’ University. The schema explained that there is a

 17

correlation between personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation which may be

affected by the moderator variables.

 18

THE PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the person’s

attitude and socio-cultural adaptation of selected first year foreign students of

Cebu Doctor’s University Academic Year 2014-2015.

Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 age

1.2 gender

1.3 nationality

1.4 course level

1.5 ordinal position in the family

1.6 frequency of visits in the Philippines prior to college level

1.7 relatives present in the Philippines

2. What is the level of the respondents’ personal attitude?

3. What is the profile of the respondents socio-cultrual adaptation scale

based on:

3.1 daily life

3.2 university life

3.3 contact with people

4. What is the overall profile of the respondents’ socio-cultural adaptation?

 19

5. Is there a significant relationship between the personal attitude and socio-

cultural adaptation?

6. Is there a significant relationship between the two variables when grouped

according to age, gender, nationality, course taken, ordinal position in the

family, frequency of visits in the Philippines prior to college level and

relatives present in the Philippines.

7. Based on the findings, what guidelines will be formulated to promote

societal integration among first year foreign students?

 20

Significance of the Study

This study will benefit the following:

Foreign Students enrolled in Cebu Doctors’ University were the principal

respondents of the study, therefore the results of the study help promoted their

level of adaptation and adjustment into the new environment and culture.

Cebu Doctors’ University Personnel gave them information about the foreign

students where they were able to help meet their needs and promote socio-

cultural adaptation and success in their studies.

Guidance Counselor was able to incorporate a wide range of strategy in

attending to the needs of the Foreign Students.

Teachers had a comprehensive idea in understanding on how to improve the

quality education of the foreign students. In relation with this, they had a better

way of guiding them in adjusting well to the new environment.

The School Administration allowed to uphold university standards by improving

services offered to foreign students and will continue to be recognized as a

premier multi-cultural institution.

Future Researchers served as basis and reference to enhance the proposed

interventions given and to expand the scheme utilized in this research paper.
 21

Scope

The study aimed to determine the Personal Attitude and Socio-Cultural

Adaptation among selected first year foreign students of Cebu Doctors’

University A.Y 2014-2015.

Limitations

This study was limited on the following aspects: (1) The respondents’

honesty and sincerity in answering the questionnaires. To counteract these

circumstances, the researchers were made available during the gathering of data

inorder to answer or clarify any concerns. (2) This study is limited only to first

year foreign students in Cebu Doctors’ University who were willing to devote their

time and effort in answering the questionnaire and involving themselves during

the course of the study. To counteract these circumstances, refusal to partake in

the research study will be highly respected. This study valued willingness of the

participant to be part of the research study.

 22

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study used a descriptive correlational design.

Research Environment

The research study was conducted at Cebu Doctors’ University located at

Lot 1, Dr. P.V Larrazabal Jr. Avenue, Mandaue City, Cebu. This university is a

private multi-cultural institution that was established in 1973 at Capitol Cebu

City, as Cebu Doctors’ College. Along with its Phlippine Accrediting Association

of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) accreditation, Cebu Doctors’

University offers a variety of college courses specializing in the medical field.

The colleges are as follows: Nursing, Rehabilitative Sciences, Allied Medical

Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Pharmacy, and Dentistry.

Research Respondents

The research participants were proposed selected First Year Foreign

Students enrolled in Cebu Doctors’ University Academic Year 2014-2015. The

study included 93 respondents from the College of Arts and Sciences, nine (9)

fron the College of Allied Medical Sciences, eight (8) from the College of

Rehabilitative Sciences, four (4) from the College of Nursing, two (2) from the

College of Dentistry and one (1) from the College of Pharmacy.

The research subjects were chosen through a purposive sampling

technique which considered the following criteria:

 23

Inclusion Criteria:

Those first year foreign students enrolled in Cebu Doctors’ University

Academic Year 2014-2015 regardless of the course taken, stayed in the

Philippines for the purpose of studying in the said school, able to comprehend,

read, write and construct simple English.

Research Instrument

The first tool was Modified Personal Attitude Scale II adapted from Kellar,

Treadwell, & Kumar (2006). It is a 36-item questionnaire which measured the

capacity for spontaneity of behaviour in various situations. It uses a Likert scale

between (2) Agree to (1) Disagree. Items no. 1, 4, 11, 14, 21, 24, 29, 30, 31 and

35 are reversely scored.

The levels of personal attitude are as follows:

positive attitude is a characteristic of approaching a situation with an

open and willing mind that contributes to behavioural modification.

negative attitude is the tendency to respond to an idea or situation in an

unwilling manner; refusing to adopt new beliefs different from one’s own.

Scoring were as follows:

Range of Score Mean Score Interpretation

54-72 1.0 - 1.5 Positive Attitude

36-53 1.6 - 2.0 Negative Attitude

 24

The second part focused on the foreign student’s level of Socio-cultural

Adaptation by Spencer-Oatey, H. & Xiong, Z. (2006). It was a modified 36-item

questionnaire that uses a Likert scale from (5) No Difficulty to (1) Extreme

Difficulty. It measured the extent to which the students were experiencing

sociocultural adjustment problems in the three domains: items 1 to 7 focused on

Daily Life, items 8 to 22 tackled on University Life, and items 23 to 36 dealt

with Contact with People, where specific issues were perceived as how difficult

it is for them to cope with the situations given, by encircling the appropriate

number on the side of the situation.

The levels of socio-cultural adaptation are as follows:

high level socio-cultural adaptation happens when the respondents are

able to effectively manage their environment and respond positively to

unfavorable circumstances.

moderate level socio-cultural adaptation is when the respondent is able

to deal with the stressors brought about by the environment yet, there is still an

amount of difficulty. The respondents hesitate to explore the local setting due to

cultural differences.

low level socio-cultural adaptation happens when the respondent

displays a great difficulty in adjusting or keeping up with the changes in the new

environment in terms of events that happen on a day to day basis such as

climate, food, transportation, classroom activities and how they interact with

people and social norms.

Overall scoring were as follows:

 25

Range of Score Mean Score Interpretation

132-180 3.7 – 5.0 High Level Socio-cultural

Adaptation
84-131 2.3 – 3.6 Moderate Level Socio-cultural
Adaptation
36-83 1.0 – 2.2 Low Level Socio-cultural
Adaptation

Research Procedures

Gathering of Data

I. Preliminary Preparation

The researchers came up with an approved research proposal

about Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation. They wrote a

transmittal letter addressed to the Dean of the College of Nursing to

conduct the said research study. The researchers asked permission from

the respective authors to modify the two original tools namely: Personal

Attitude Scale II and Socio-cultural Adaptation Scale. Afterwhich, they had

it approved by the psychometrician, research coordinator and mentor.

Another transmittal letter was written to the head of Cebu Doctors’

University English Second Language Center to carry out a pilot testing in

their institution to verify the validity and reliability of the modified tools.

After the bioethics committee approval, the researchers inquired at

the Foreign Students Office for the total population of first year foreign

students enrolled in academic year 2013-2014. They then submitted a

 26

transmittal letter to the Vice President of Academic Affairs requesting for

the foreign students’ master list.

II. Actual Data Gathering

The researchers conducted their data gathering on March 24, 2014

to March 27, 2014 and selected the respondents through purposive

sampling technique. Prior to data gathering, the researchers were divided

into two groups composed of five students each. The researchers were

guided by the respondents’ examination schedule and personally

approached and gathered them in their respective classrooms.

The researchers started by introducing themselves and stated the

purpose of the study and its significance. They had the respondents read

and sign the informed consent and administered the two questionnaires

containing items that assessed their personal attitude and level of socio-

cultural adaptation. The researchers made themselves available for any

queries and thanked the respondents personally for their active

participation. The completed questionnaires was then collected and was

organized for data analysis. However, the number of respondents did not

reach the desired sample size which was forty. The researchers were then

advised by the panelists to add respondents in accordance with the

inclusion criteria. They collated the additional data on September 4, 2014

to September 7, 2014.
 27

Following the same process prior to data gathering; the researchers

submitted a transmittal letter requesting for the foreign students’ masterlist

enrolled in academic year 2014-2015. The researchers asked for the

respondents’ different class schedules and administered the

questionnaires accordingly during their vacant periods. Lastly, the data

was organized for statistical analysis.

Treatment of Data

The following statistical technique was used.

Pearson r Correlation Coefficient was used to measure the significant

relationship between the Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation and its

moderator variables using this formula.

Where:

n= number of pair of scores

∑𝑥𝑦= sum of the products of pair of scores

∑𝑥= sum of x scores

∑𝑦= sum of y scores

∑𝑥2 = sum of squared x scores

∑𝑦2 = sum of squared y scores

 28

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Foreign students it refers to those students studying in the Philippines who

hold citizenship from another country.

Socio-Cultural adaptation it is a process of adjusting ones attributes and

primary beliefs in order to successfully assimilate to new social settings.

Daily Life it composes all aspects of the surrounding environment

that may affect an individual on day to day basis. Such aspects include climate,

housing, food, transportation and store locations. All of which have an impact on

daily situations.

University Life it includes the components of the university system,

academic standards, its students, and all attributing factors one may experience

while on campus.

Contact with People it refers to the ability of an individual to

communicate to his or her classmates, friends, teachers, faculty, family, or other

people one may encounter in the environment.

Personal attitude it is a predisposition or a tendency to have a positive or

negative reaction towards an idea, person, or situation.

Positive Attitude it is a characteristic of approaching a situation with

an open and willing mind that contributes to behavioural modification.

 29

Negative Attitude it is the tendency to respond to an idea or

situation in an unwilling manner; refusing to adopt new beliefs different from ones

own.

Proposed guidelines to promote societal integration These are guiding principles

that promote societal integration by improving social skills, personal values, and

also provides additional information on the culture of Cebu.

 CHAPTER 2

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The findings of the study are presented, analyzed and interpreted in this

chapter in seven sections, namely:

1. Profile of the Respondents' in terms of age, gender, nationality,

course taken, ordinal position in the family, frequency of visits in the

Philippines prior to college level and relatives present in the

Philippines

2. Level of Personal Attitude of the Respondents

3. Profile of the respondents Socio-cultural Adaptation Scale based on

daily life, university life and contact with people

4. Overall Profile of the respondents Socio-cultural Adaptation

5. Significant Relationship between Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural

Adaptation

6. Significant Relationship between the two variables when grouped

according to age, gender, nationality, course taken, ordinal position in

the family, frequency of visits in the Philippines prior to college level

and relatives present in the Philippines

 31

Profile of the Respondents

This section presented the respondents' in terms of age, gender,

nationality, course level, ordinal position in the family, number of times visited the

Philippines and support system available in the Philippines.

Figure 2 showed the profile of the respondents according to age.

Percentage Distribution of the Respondents

According to Age
n=127

21 and above
16 %

18-20 years
old
84%

Figure 2.0

As shown in Figure 2, of the 127 respondents, 107 or 84 % belonged to

ages 18-20 years old and only 20 or 16 % belonged to ages 21 and above.

During an interview, a respondent verbalized that she graduated senior year at

age 18. Hence, she came to the Philippines at age 19 to pursue tertiary

education. There were more respondents in ages 18 to 20 since most of the

 32

students attended and completed their twelve years of education after

kindergarten. In relation to this, the last year, otherwise known as senior year is

the final stepping stone before entering college. This may resulted in producing

high school graduates ages ranging from 16 to 19 or in some cases 20 years old

(Schiller, 2010).

The researchers have observed that only a few of the respondents are

ages 21 and above. Most immigrants ages 21 above pursued education abroad

for several reasons. These included job related motives (to get a better job and to

earn more money), self improvement reasons and others were on post

secondary education (Adamuti‐Trache & Hawkey, 2009). A good number of

these respondents decided to work and prepare them financially before entering

college.

Figure 3 showed the profile of the respondents according to gender.

Percentage Distribution of the Respondents

According to Gender

n=127

Female
46 % Male
54 %

Figure 3.0
 33

Figure 3 showed that 68 or 54% of the 127 respondents are Male and 59

or 46 % are Female. Growing bodies of research on the gender differences in the

way students choose their college experience affects men and women differently

suggests that gender play a significant role consider multiple factors in the

decision to study abroad (Salisbury, Paulsen & Pascarella, n.d.).

According to Salisbury et al,. (n.d.), there had been a rapid increase in

students’ openness to diversity leading to higher probabilities of studying

oversees for both females and males. This results in many factors to consider.

Immersing oneself in diverse rich environments may trigger lasting experiences

in both men and women leading to further growth and enhancement.

(Bouse & Hossler 1991; Sax 2008, as cited in Graft, 2011) suggested that

males have higher autonomy compared to daughters of the family. On the other

hand, the reason given for males to take up education abroad is not socio-

economic status but to attain societal independence abroad among men than

that of women.

However, Mukherjee (2010) stated that there was a dominance of female

Indians who came from liberal families that allowed these students to pursue a

higher education abroad. Redden (n.d., as cited in Salisbury et al., n.d.)

supposed that men and women have different views on college education and

may view males as more mature and responsibility necessary to successfully

prepare for a study abroad experience.

 34

Table 1.0
Frequency Distribution of the Respondents

According to Nationality

n=127

NATIONALITY NO. OF STUDENTS PERCENTAGE (%)

Indian 90 71
Korean 15 12
American 6 5
Palauan 6 5
Egyptian 2 2
British 1 1
German 1 1
Nigerian 1 1
Singaporean 1 1
Somalian 1 1
Ugandan 1 1
Vietnamesse 1 1
Yemen 1 1
Total 127 100

Table 1 above showed the different nationalities of the respondents. This

included 90 or 71 % of the 127 respondents were Indians, 15 or 12 % were

Koreans, six (6) or 5 % were from America and Palau while two (2) or 2 % were

Egyptians while one (1) or 1 % of them were British, German, Nigerian,

Singaporean, Somalian, Ugandan, Vietnamese and Yemen. As shown in the

table above, most of the respondents are from India. There is an agency directly

under the administration of Cebu Doctors’ University that recruits Indian students

to migrate and study in the said institution as stated by the Registrar of Cebu

Doctors’ University.
 35

An article entitled “Number of Indian students heading abroad increases

dramatically over past decade” (2012), stated that the main reason for many

Indian students deciding to pursue education abroad is due to the lack of good

institutions and the increasing competition among students in their country. Only

a few universities in India offer good quality education thus impede the Indian

students’ chance for a better school preference. Furthermore, reservation

policies reduces the availability of seats to students and such strict and mostly

unrealistic requirements place students under pressure thus lowers their chances

of attaining good quality education.

In this research, 15 respondents or 11.8% of the respondents were

Koreans for the reason that most of these students enrol in the university not only

to enhance their communication skills in English but also to engage themselves

in their chosen medical field. According to a Korean respondent, he verbalized

that studying in the Philippines is affordable and offers him a good quality

education.

Khan (2013) emphasized that Philippines is known as a high-quality

career destination for foreign students. This country provides vast good options

to specific student communities according to their own financial capabilities and

personal preferences. Schools in the Philippines also uphold the English

language that would be of a great help in taking up medical related courses.

There are many benefits in studying in the Philippines like low cost of living and a

quick student visa process.

 36

Table 2.0

Frequency Distribution of the Respondents

According to Course taken

n=127

COLLEGE NO. OF STUDENTS PERCENTAGE (%)

Biology 90 71
Dentistry 10 8
Physical Therapy 7 6
Medical Technology 6 5
Nursing 4 3
Radiology Technology 3 2
Dentistry 2 2
Psychology 2 2
Computer Science 1 1
Pharmacy 1 1
Speech Pathology 1 1
Total 127 100

Table 2 showed that most of the respondents were enrolled in Biology,

which composed of 90 or 71%. ten (10) or 8% were enrolled in Dentistry, seven

(7) or 6% in Physical Therapy (PT), six (6) or 5% are from Medical Technology,

four (4) or 3% in Nursing. There were three (3) or 2% Radiologic Technology

students and one (1) or 1% was from Pharmacy and Speech Pathology. During

an interview, a number of respondents verbalized that taking Biology in the

Philippines is not only affordable but will also allow them to graduate earlier

without taking the board examination and will also serve as a platform for Medical
 37

School. They also believe that being a doctor is a way to improve their means of

living.

In an article entitled “Biology Courses in India” (2015), it stated that Indian

students pursue their tertiary education and enrol in biology as their chosen

medical field because it is one of the common related courses provided by

various Biology Colleges in India. Most premed students, major in either biology

or chemistry. Biology will prepare students in the first two years of medical

school. Biology makes up the core foundation of the scientific background in

medical school courses. It is one of the main premise in learning the science

behind how the body works.

Percentage Distribution of the Respondents According

to Ordinal Position in the Family

n=127

50.00%
46%
45.00%
40.00%
34%
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%
20.00% 17% No. of Respondents
15.00%
10.00%
5.00% 2% 2%
0.00%
1st born 2nd born 3rd born 4th born 5th born

Figure 4.0
 38

As shown in Figure 4, 58 or 46% were first born or the eldest in the family,

43 or 34% of the respondents were 2nd born in the family, 22 or 17% of the 127

respondents were 3rd born in the family and two or 2% were 4th or 5th born.

Parents expect their first born children to be responsible and have the capacity to

endure any stress. The first born child tends to be hard working, achievement-

oriented, and dependable. Carson, Swanson, Cooney, & Gillum (1992, as cited

in “Birth Order”, n.d.) stated that first born are more prepared to face any

challenge because of resiliency and great locus of control towards any

circumstance.

Most parents preferred to send their children to study abroad rather than

pursuing the education in their host country since they are aware of the benefits

of studying overseas. It has been shown that education in a foreign country can

increase better views about themselves as well as the society they are in with

this research study.

Percentage Distribution of the Respondents According to

Frequency of visits in the Philippines prior to College level

n=127

70.00% 66%

60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
No. of
21% Respondents
20.00%
10.00% 6%
4%
1% 2% 1%
0.00%
none 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
 39

Figure 5.0

As shown in Figure 5, 84 or 66% of the respondents have visited the

Philippines only once prior to college level, 26 or 21% have not visited the

Philippines, eight (8) or 6% of the respondents visited the Philippines for the 2 nd

time, five (5) or 4% of the 127 respondents have visited the Philippines for three

times, two (2) or 2% visited the Philippines for five times and one (1) or 1% has

visited the Philippines for the 4th and 6th time prior to college level. The reasons

given why people visit in another country is to immerse oneself in another culture

as a tourist, or to visit a distant family or friend (Blackman, Smith, Rowe, &

Stewart, 2005). As we can observe in the findings, the majority of the

respondents have little to no family or friends residing in the Philippines. This

may lead these individuals to visit the Philippines only for educational purposes.

Percentage Distribution of the Respondents

According to Relatives present in the Philippines

n=127

YES
9%

NO
91 %

Figure 6.0
 40

As shown in Figure 6, 116 or 91% of the respondents had no relatives in

the Philippines and 11 or 9% of the 127 respondents had relatives in the

Philippines. During an interview with the respondents, the majority of them

verbalized that they have no relatives residing in the Philippines, and the primary

reason for their stay was solely for educational purposes.

Parents abroad preferred to sacrifice the joy of having their children

around them after a certain age for what they believed was the greater benefit of

their children in building a good foundation to their education and gaining

independence and opportunities to achieve daily life skills that will be of use in

the future (Foster, 2009).

Level of Personal Attitude

This section showed the percentage distribution of the Level of Personal

Attitude among the foreign students.

Table 3.0

Percentage Distribution of the Respondents

Level of Personal Attitude

n=127

Level of Personal
Attitude No. of Percentage Mean Interpretation
Students
Positive Attitude 105 87
Positive Attitude

Negative Attitude 22 17 1.6

 41

The table above depicted that 105 or 87% of the 127 respondents had

a positive attitude while 22 or 17% of the respondents had negative attitude.

Based on the data, most of the first year foreign students of Cebu Doctors'

University viewed themselves to have a positive attitude. While on campus,

foreign students can be seen enjoying school facilities such as the basketball

court, volleyball court and indulging in Filipino delicacies. Teachers verbalized

that foreign students tend to be vocal during class discussions and are eager to

inquire if questions may arise. The researchers presumed that these

respondents possess a characteristic wherein they modify their behaviour in

response to a situation.

The result agrees with the consistency theory wherein there is a great

possibility that the attitude of a person towards group of people can be changed

through inducing a behavioural modification. This changed attitude shows the

effort of a person to bring congruency with his impressions and actions. To

achieve this attitude, socialization is encouraged and is given importance due to

the consistency of the person’s behaviour and the formation and modification as

well as how the mind structured his attitude towards others (Festinger, 1957).

There are various ways and factors that may affect or change the attitude of a

person towards a society and adaptation is a great aspect which induces a

change in their personality.

Furnham and Bochner 1982; Kim 2005; Martin and Harrel 1996; Ward

and Kennedy 2001 (as cited in Lawrence, 2011), stated that studying abroad in a

diverse cultural country is believed to be a great transition in a persons life which

 42

may bring a great deal of stress both physically and psychologically. Every

individual varies in their acculturation process basing on their attitudes towards

the host country. This is why 22 respondents possess a negative attitude. Some

foreign students can be seen on campus arguing with a faculty and staff

concerning school policies and regulations. For example Indians residing in the

dormitory disregard curfew hours. Korean students prefer to be grouped within

their nationality rather than immersing themselves with other students of different

culture. In an interview with a Korean student, he verbalized that language barrier

is a great hindrance in conversing with other nationalities.

According to Lily Arasaratnam (n.d., as cited in Jackson II, 2010), the

attitude of the person towards the host country along with his willingness to

integrate, is the best way to characterize the way how the person acculturate

himself to a diverse host culture. A tendency to unwillingly respond to this

situation will result to a negative attitude. Variety of reasons would result to this

circumstance: this may be due to the cultural gap between the soujourner’s home

and the host country, the abrupt change of environment that demands an

immediate adjustment and the salience of necessary changes. One example of

this would be in terms of physical touch. Some of the respondents find it

awkward to initiate physical contact such as patting the back, hugging or shaking

hands.

According to Roces (2013), Philippines had been known to have much

physical contact with the same sex. Females kiss each other’s cheeks or two

males can have their arms over each others’ shoulders as a sign of greeting but
 43

male and female are kept respectfully apart. Physical contact among Western

countries also means social dominance. Mc Neely (1987, as cited in Zur &

Nordmarken, 2015), said that in general, the American culture prohibited physical

touch. This must be due to their historical background of having a master-slave

relationship during the early 1900’s.

 44

Item Analysis: Personal Attitude Scale II

This section shows the item analysis of the 36- item Personal Attitude Scale II.

Item Analysis for Personal Attitude Scale II

Table 4.0

SITUATIONS MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. I find it difficult to express myself 1.2 Negative

clearly when I am under pressure.
2. I enjoy accepting challenges instantly. 1.6 Positive
3. I like to take risks. 1.5 Negative
4. I do not like when people play 1.3 Negative
practical jokes on me.
5. I adjust to new situations easily. 1.7 Positive
6. When someone yells at me, I am able 1.8 Positive
to stand up for myself.
7. I frequently look for new ways of 1.8 Positive
doing things.
8. I am comfortable giving human touch. 1.6 Positive
9. I tend to keep my feelings inside. 1.7 Positive
10. I try to consider as many options as 1.8 Positive
possible when making plans.
11. Generally, I feel awkward when I am 1.3 Negative
unexpectedly asked to perform
physical movements, actions, and or
gestures in front of people.
12. I am open to new experiences. 1.8 Positive
13. I tend to make decisions easily and 1.7 Positive
quickly.
14. I tend not to handle crisis situations 1.4 Negative
effectively.
15. I could speak at a meeting even if I 1.4 Negative
was unprepared.
16. I have positive attitude about myself. 1.8 Positive
17. I tend to be flexible with rules and 1.8 Positive
regulations.
18. I often speak my mind regardless of 1.7 Positive
the consequences.
 45

19. I become anxious upon meeting 1.6 Positive

someone whom I know nothing.
20. I find that when I act quickly, my 1.6 Positive
actions are usually correct.
21. I tend to be an impulsive person. 1.5 Negative

22. I can easily accept when plans change 1.6 Positive

quickly.
23. I am at ease when meeting new 1.6 Positive
people.
24. I often get “stuck” trying to consider all 1.4 Negative
of my options and can’t make a
decision.
25. I have keen sense of humor. 1.7 Positive

26. I rarely find myself bored. 1.5 Negative

27. I am generally a creative person. 1.7 Positive

28. I consider myself to be a spontaneous 1.7 Positive

person.
29. I am afraid to act silly around others. 1.4 Negative

30. I find it difficult to share personal 1.3 Negative

information.
31. I do not like to try new things. 1.6 Positive

32. I can enjoy myself at any time. 1.7 Positive

33. I am comfortable receiving human 1.5 Negative

touch.
34. I am good at letting others know when I 1.6 Positive
need affection.
35. I do not like to share my thoughts in 1.4 Negative
large groups.
36. I regard myself as an assertive person. 1.6 Positive

Overall mean 1.6 Positive

Table 4 explained the thorough analysis of the 36 item Modified Personal

Attitude Scale. It revealed an overall mean of 1.6 which signifies the foreign

students' having positive attitude.

Out of the 36 items, 23 questions fell within the range of positive attitude.

This included item numbers 6, 7, 10, 12, 16 and 17 with a mean score of 1.8;

item numbers 5, 9, 13, 18, 25, 27, 28 and 32 with a mean score of 1.7; a mean
 46

score of 1.6 for numbers 2, 8, 19, 20, 22, 23, 31, 34 and 36. These items were

about the capability of the foreign students to adjust and be open to new

situations as well as being flexible with the rules and regulation of the host

country. These also signified their ability to create and make effective decision

making and their willingness to adapt to possible changes. They were also

comfortable with human touch and have a keen sense of humor. The implication

of this is that the foreign students were able to successfully adjust ones attributes

and primary beliefs in assimilating to different social settings. These results

pertained to the foreign students' enthusiasm to amend ones attitude towards the

host country's diversity. Fritz (2008) gave particular emphasis that positive

attitude serves as an inspiration in dealing with life's obstacles and overcoming

them. This will also affect ones interpretation to different situations or

circumstances that may lead to positive outlook in life.

The remaining 13 items fell within the range of negative attitude. These

items were 3, 21, 26, 33 with a mean score of 1.5; numbers 14, 15, 24, 29 and

35 with a mean score of 1.4; a mean score of 1.3 for numbers 4, 11 and 30; and

a mean score of 1.2 for number 1. Verbalization of feelings is one of the best

ways to cope up with stressful situation. Though the problem may not be entirely

fixed, it somehow lessens anxiety and stress. The results above implied that the

foreign students find it uneasy to express ones thoughts and feelings. Keeping

these feelings will make the pressure unbearable that may lead to depression. A

respondent revealed that the fear of not being understood is one of the main

reasons why they hesitate to communicate their thoughts and feelings to others.
 47

One class teacher stated that Indians have their way of conveying non-verbal

communication as part of their culture. An example would be shaking ones head

as a sign of affirmation which can lead to misunderstanding. They magnify their

"being different" in a negative way. This shows that they have not deliberately

accepted ones differences.

The result also showed that they have difficulties in handling crisis

effectively. This is due to the reason that the respondents do not have any

relatives situating in the host country which may decrease availability of their

support system. The foreign students also have difficulty in making friends within

the university because they view people around them as strangers and that they

have not yet been acquainted well with them. In an article entitled “Words that

describe Negative Attitude” (2015), it clearly defined that a negative attitude

affects the person's quality of life. This greatly affects homeostasis and leads an

individual to see everything in the worse possible way. It can keep him from

maturing and learning on how to cope up with the difficulties and challenges of

life.
 48

Profile of the Respondents Based on Subscales

Table 5 showed the profile of the respondents Social Adaptation Scale

based on university life, daily life and contact with people.

Table 5.0
Percentage Distribution of the Respondents

Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation based on Daily Life

n=127

Level of Socio-cultural No. of Percentage Mean Interpretation

Adaptation Students
High 58 47
3.6
Moderate 62 49 Moderate level
Low 7 6

As shown in the table above, 62 or 49% had moderate adaptation

while 58 or 47% of the respondents had high adaptation while seven (7) or 6% of

the respondents had a low adaptation towards their daily life.

In an overall interpretation, the foreign students had a Moderate level

Socio-cultural Adaptation towards Daily Life with a mean score of 3.6. Basing

from the result, most of the respondents were able to deal with the stressors

brought about by the environment yet; they still experienced an amount of

difficulty. As stated in the theory of Adaptation by Sister Calista Roy (n.d., as

cited in Tomey & Alligood, 2006), human beings are continually exposed to an

ever changing environment that constantly confront their coping abilities. With

this, the foreign students were able to gradually adjust themselves towards the
 49

new environment they are in specifically with this subscale, Daily Life, despite the

amount of difficulty that possibly emerge throughout the process of adaptation.

Triandis (n.d., as cited in Lochtman & Keppel, 2008) proposed that different

phases of adjustment may happen and everyone has a different approach

towards the host culture. They may have gradually adjusted to the host culture

and environment by having an amount of integration to these differences.

However, out of 127 respondents, 7 foreign students scored low level

socio-cultural adaptation towards Daily Life. This is due to certain factors that

place them a great difficulty in adjusting to daily events in a new environment

such as the host country’s climate, housing, food and transportation. They failed

to gradually adjust themselves to these differences that consequently increase

the amount of difficulty. Triandis (n.d., as cited in Lochtman & Keppel, 2008)

agrees that cultural adjustment may sometimes become unsuccessful. One

example that leads to adaption difficulties is the unusual systemic reactions thay

may be experience in terms of food adjustment.

Fleming (2003) stated that as individuals mature, it becomes harder for

them to get accustomed to new tastes of food and the nervous system is held

responsible for it. In nutrition, it is called programming wherein if an individual

gets used to a specific type of food or drink when young, the brain will program

these types of food in your system. Thus, with aging the brain’s capacity to retain

information becomes less efficient. For instance, Indians are used to eat spicy

foods and chicken curry. They verbalized that the recipe and taste of the Filipino
 50

chicken curry is different from their own recipe and it's quite difficult for them to

adjust with the taste.

(James, 1997; Castex, 1997, as cited in McCarthy, n.d.) stated that, in

general, students that travel abroad to study may temporarily leave behind their

common language, culture, community and social system. They may also go

through trauma of leaving their parents, enduring unfamiliar travel conditions,

having difficulty finding food and shelter.

Table 6.0

Percentage Distribution of the Respondents

Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation based on University Life

n=127

Level of Socio- No. of Percentage Mean Interpretation

cultural Adaptation Students

High 82 65

3.9 High level

Moderate 45 35

Low 0 0

The table above showed that majority of the respondents which is 82 or

47% has high adaptation, 45 or 35% has moderate adaptation while none or 0%

of the respondents have a low adaptation towards their academic life.

An overall result of high level socio-cultural adaptation towards

University Life subscale shows that the foreign students were able to effectively

manage to cope up with the curriculum, policies, and standards that the

university upholds and respond positively to it despite certain amount of

 51

differences it may contain. The Philippines has long been highly regarded for

their educational achievements in the Asian region. Influenced by its colonial

past, Philippines had constructed an educational system similar to the United

States. Altbach, Reisberg, and Rumbley (2009) stated that the United States

continues to influence the educational system and strives to offer accessible high

level education to the Southeast Asian nations. Based on an interview, these

foreign students came to the Philippines for the purpose to pursue tertiary level of

education and due to the fact that they have almost similar educational standards

in their homeland. This voluntary nature of the respondents helped them

positively adapt with this matter.

Chen (1996, as cited in Chooi Seong, 2014) coined the term Effort

regulation as the effort a student exerts to achieve his learning goals. It is closely

associated with volitional control which is the tendency to maintain focus towards

the set goals despite potential distractions. Effort regulation enhances the ability

of the student to manage failures and setbacks within the learning process by

appropriately allocating available resources and effort for more successful

learning in the future. According to Pintrich and Schrauben (1992, as cited in

Chooi Seong, 2014) emphasized that the effort a student exerts on a task is

influenced by the importance and value assigned to it.

According to Burney (2008, as cited in Chooi Seong, 2014), cited Albert

Bandura’s social cognitive theory explains that human’s cognitive function in

learning interrelates with individual’s thinking and behavior through the

observation of the environment and others. The theory also stated that self-
 52

efficacy affects the development of the individuals thinking and performance.

Therefore, students with a strong belief in their capabilities to achieve goals will

have better cognitive functioning, develop coping strategies and enhance

motivation which leads to better adaptation towards academic life.

The Registrar’s Office also mentioned about agencies that recruited

some of the foreign students to study in Cebu Doctors’ University, therefore

orientations about the customs of the university has been made before hand. In

relation to this, none of the respondents scored low in the level of socio-cultural

adaptation.

Table 7.0

Percentage Distribution of the Respondents Level of Socio-

cultural Adaptation based on Contact with People

n=127

Level of Socio- No. of Percentage Mean Interpretation

cultural Adaptation Students
High 64 50

Moderate 60 47 3.8 High level

Low 3 2

The table above revealed that, 64 or 50% of the respondents have a

high adaptation, 60 or 47% has a moderate adaptation and three (3) or 2% of the

respondents have a low adaptation. Most of the foreign students demonstrate

high adaptation towards contact with people. Kelman (1961, as cited in Jiang,

2013) believe that behaviours, languages and attitudes greatly help an individual
 53

assimilate to a corresponding environment. They have found that those who

speak a similar language have less anxiety and feelings of separation.

Respondents from their research verbalized that having a positive outlook on

culture and social interaction will create a positive experience.

With the 64 respondents who had a high level of adaptation, a good

number of them verbalized that they can adapt well with people because they

share a common language which is English. Researchers have observed that

foreign students were vocal about their ideas which is considered to be a positive

attitude, thus, leading to adaptation.

Berry (1985, as cited by Jiang, 2013) recognized four factors concerning

foreign students adaptation the following factors were socio-cultural, which

includes interpersonal relationships, environmental which includes climate

conditions, food and housing, academic such as exams, school, language and

lastly psychological which includes attitude of the individual.

 54

Overall Profile of the respondents’ Socio-cultural Adaptation

This section revealed the overall profile of the Respondents’ Socio-cultural

Adaptation.

Table 8.0
Percentage Distribution of the Respondents Overall

Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation

n=127

Level of Socio-cultural No. of Percentage Mean Interpretation

Adaptation Students

High Level Socio- 80 63

cultural Adaptation

Moderate Level Socio- 47 37 3.8

Cultural Adaptation High Level

Low Level Socio- 0 0

cultural Adaptation

The table presented above shows that majority of the respondents which

summed up to 80 (63%) had a high level Socio-cultural adaptation, while 47

(37%) of the respondents had a moderate level of Socio-cultural adaptation and

none of them fell into the low level Socio-cultural adaptation. The respondents

had an overall result of High level Socio-cultural adaptation with a mean score of

3.8. The researchers have observed that the foreign students were able to adjust

successfully according to daily life, university life and contact with people in

general. Being able to adjust to these aspect means, the respondents were able

to effectively manage their environment and responded positively to unfavorable

circumstances.
 55

As exemplified by Sister Callista Roy’s Adaptation Theory (n.d., as cited in

Tomey & Alligood, 2006), that human being is in constant interaction with his

environment. When the person is able to modify his behaviour towards the

environment, he will be able to adapt well to it. The foreign students responded to

these circumstances positively that promoted positive human and environmental

integration. This also explains why none of them had a low level of socio-cultural

adaptation.

Having a moderate level of adaptation meant that the respondent is

having an amount of difficulty but still able to deal with the stressors brought

about by the environment. There are several factors that lead to a difficulty in

dealing with these stressors. These factors included age, gender and country of

origin as well as the individual’s language proficiency, level of preparedness

(e.g., whether or not the foreign student have already visited the country several

times that made him acquainted with their culture and norms and have the

knowledge about the host country) and availability of resources that may promote

adaptation such as support system and counselling Nevertheless, these foreign

students were still able to maintain homeostasis with these factors when he

possesses a positive attitude that made them able to gradually modify his

behaviour to acquire adaptation.

 56

Item Analysis: Socio-cultural Adaptation Scale

This section showed the item analysis of the 36-item Modified Socio-

cultural Adaptation Scale.

Table 9.0

Item Analysis for Socio-Cultural Adaptation Scale

SITUATIONS MEAN INTERPRETATION

Daily Life 3.6 Moderate
1. Getting used to the local climate 3.8 High
2. Getting used to the local food 3.6 Moderate
3. Buying daily necessities 3.7 High
4. Adapting to the local accommodation (e.g. use
3.5 Moderate
of kitchen or sharing a house with others)
5. Travelling around by public transport 3.4 Moderate
6. Getting used to the pace of life in Coventry 3.7 High
7. Carrying on with your favourite leisure
3.6 Moderate
activities
University Academic Life 3.9 High
8. Asking teachers for help when you have
3.9 High
problems with your study
9. Participating in the discussions in class 4.0 High
10. Expressing clearly your ideas in class 3.7 High
11. Understanding lectures 3.9 High
12. Taking notes of key points of lecture in class 4.1 High
13. Reading and understanding materials
4.0 High
recommended by your tutors
14. Writing up papers that can earn you good
4.0 High
grades
15. Understanding tutors’ comments on your
4.1 High
coursework or papers
16. Getting used to the teaching methods 3.9 High
17. Obtaining the books and journals you want in
3.8 High
the university library
18. Using computers to do your coursework 4.2 High
19. Completing coursework on time 4.1 High
20. Getting used to being grouped with students
3.8 High
of different nationalities
 57

21. Talking about study issues with students of

3.8 High
other nationalities after class
22. Understanding the assessment scheme of
3.4 Moderate
the university
Contact with People 3.8 High
23. Making friends with your own countrymen 4.1
High

24. Making friends with Foreign people 3.9 High

25. Making friends with people of other
3.7 High
nationalities apart from British
26. Taking part in local social events (e.g pubs
3.8 High
and holiday celebrations)
27. Getting used to living independently from
3.6 Moderate
your parents
28. Contacting your families or friends through
3.9 High
email/telephone
29. Dealing with other nationalities who annoy
3.5 Moderate
you (e.g. those making noise in the library)
30. Dealing with staff working in the finance or
3.7 High
accommodation office
31. Being with other nationalities of the opposite
3.6 Moderate
sex
32. Being introduced to new people of different
3.9 High
nationalities
33. Starting a conversation with people of other 3.7
High
nationalities and keeping it going
34. Understanding jokes and humour in English 4.0 High
35. Dealing with physical closeness and touching
3.4 Moderate
in social settings (e.g. kissing and hugging)
36. Getting used to making appointments with
3.7 High
people before visiting them
Overall 3.8 High

Table 9 explained the thorough analysis of the 36-item Modified Socio-

cultural Adaptation Scale. For the three subscales, Daily Life had a mean score

of 3.6 which was interpreted as moderate level socio-cultural adaptation; and a

high level socio-cultural adaptation for the University Life that had a mean score

of 3.9 and for Contact with People Life with a mean score of 3.8. It revealed an
 58

overall mean of 3.8 which signified the foreign students' overall high level of

adaptation towards the three subscales.

Out of the 36 items, 27 questions fell within the range of high level socio-

cultural adaptation. Basing from the three subscales, Daily Life included items

number 1 with a mean score of 3.8 and numbers 3 and 6 with a mean score of

3.7; University Life included items number 10 with a mean score of 3.7, numbers

17, 20 and 21 with a mean score of 3.8, numbers 8, 11, and 16 with a mean

score of 3.9, a mean score of 4.0 for numbers 9, 13 and 14, a mean score 4.1 for

numbers 12, 15 and 19, and a mean score of 4.2 for number 18; while Contact

with People included items number 25, 30, 33 and 36 with a mean score of 3.7, a

mean score of 3.8 for number 26, for numbers 24, 28 and 32 with a mean score

of 3.9, a mean score of 4.0 for number 34, and a mean score of 4.1 for number

23. The implication of this was that the foreign students were able to successfully

adjust ones attributes and primary beliefs in assimilating to a different social

setting basing from these items.

The remaining 9 items fell within the range of moderate adaptation level.

Basing on the three subscales, items number 5 with a mean score of 3.4; number

4 with a mean score of 3.5 and numbers 2 and 7 with a mean score of 3.6

belonged to Daily Life. Only item number 22 with a mean score of 3.4 belonged

to the University Life. Contact with People included items number 35 with a mean

score of 3.4, number 27 and 31 with a mean score of 3.6, and number 29 with a

mean score of 3.5.

None of the items had a score of low adaptation.

 59

The twenty-seven items that were rated high adaptation mostly involved

situations related to their university life. The foreign students were expected to

gain a high level of adaptation in terms of this subscale due to their voluntary

nature of going abroad for the purpose of educational attainment. In terms of

their daily life, they scored high adaptation in getting used to the climate for most

of the respondents were from Asian countries which had similar weather

conditions with the host country. Adapting to the situation of buying for their daily

necessities was also high due to the fact that the stores and supermarkets were

readily made accessible within the vicinity of the university.

The nine items that revealed a moderate adaptation included situations

such as getting used to the local food and accommodation, public transport and

carrying on with their favorite leisure activities. According to Chatoor and

Ganiban (2003, as cited in Preedy, Watson, & Martin, 2011), as majority of the

people know, change is inevitable. As people grow older, they become more set

with rituals and traditions in their daily lives. Change becomes more difficult for a

person to manage which is why it is perfectly acceptable to introduce change in

children since they have yet to set traditions and rituals in their lives.

Foreign students found it hard to adjust with the Filipino foods because

they have been accustomed to their own native food during childhood years.

Since most of the foreign students do not have relatives residing in the

Philippines, staying in dormitories and boarding houses were their common

means of accommodation. This provoked their capability of adjusting to different

roommates, especially to those with different nationalities.

 60

Philippines had been known to be the only country that uses Jeepneys

as a mode of public transportation. It is hard for them to get used to riding

jeepneys for they were used to ride buses, trains and cabs. However, the

researchers observed that most of them choose to ride taxi for their own safety

and convenience. Also, unfamiliarity with the different places in the host country

leads the foreign students in having difficulties carrying out their favorite leisure

activities.

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation

Figure 7 presented the scatter plot that serves as a visual representation

between the relationship of the two (2) variables; Personal Attitude and Socio-

cultural Adaptation.

Scatter Plot: Personal Attitude and Level of Socio-cultural Adaptation

80

70

60
Personal Attitude

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 50 100 150 200
Socio-cultural Adaptation

Figure 7.0
 61

The implication of the figure shown above is that there is a significant

relationship between Personal Attitude (horizontal or x-axis) and the level of

Socio-cultural Adaptation (vertical of y-axis) among the First Year Foreign

Students of Cebu Doctors’ University. The computed Pearson r of 0.238 was

interpreted as having a positive weak linear relationship. When one variable

increases with the other variable, this suggests a positive linear correlation. In

connection to the results of the two (2) variables, Socio-cultural Adaptation

revealed high with an average mean score of 136.40 along with a Positive

Personal Attitude that has an average mean score of 57.10. Both of the variables

scored high accordingly. However, the obtained correlation was interpreted

Positive weak linear relationship which means that there is an extent of

distribution among the points presented in the figure. This entails that some of

these points, which signifies the respondents, are a little scattered and has a

degree of distance from the line.

Table 10.0

Relationship between Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation

Mean Correlation p - value Interpretation

Variables Coefficient

2.7 Weak 0.007 Reject Ho

Personal Socio-cultural
Attitude Adaptation

The table 10 showed that the p-value which is 0.007 was less than the

standard alpha value of 0.05. This indicates that there was a significant
 62

relationship between Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation among first

year foreign students. It is true that adaptation is affected by the person’s

attitude.

Socio-cultural adaptation happens when the individual is able to effectively

manage the environment and respond positively to any unfavourable

circumstance. Adaptation takes place when the person willingly modifies his

beliefs and attitude in order to be consistent with his environment. When a

person is unable to adapt to circumstances that happen within his environment

this may lead to disruption of his integrity.

Adaptation increases when the individual’s perception about it is strong

enough to make a change about his beliefs and at the same time it does not go

against his values. If the person thinks that he is able to bring about a change in

his behaviour and that behaviour produce a positive outcome and response to

the society. Then, people perceive this person to possess a positive attitude.

On the other hand, the attitude of a person is usually subjective. It can

be observed through a person’s behaviour which can result to positive or

negative attitude. An individual’s attitude may be molded at home, school, and

within the environment he is situated in. There are several factors that can

intervene in a person’s attitude. One factor would be habit which plays a great

impact on attitude since habits are the usual behavior in certain situations without

thinking twice. When a person is used to behave a certain way for many years
 63

which becomes a habit, it can be barrier for adopting actions which can improve

a person.

Social norm is another factor that can intervene attitude since society is

characterized by certain standards which influence the behavior of its members.

These social norms are expectations of behavior which the members of a group

and society share which includes role expectations of how people should behave

appropriately. If norms are strong and supported by enough people, the

individual may behave in a manner more consistent with the norms than that of

his attitude.

Helson (1964, as cited in Jiang, 2013) enumerates three factors

relating to adaptation level which are personal experiences, previous experience,

and attitudes. He believed that attitude is a huge contributor to the level of an

individual’s adaptation.

Relationship between Moderator Variables

This section presented the relationship between the two variables when

grouped according to age, gender, nationality, course taken, ordinal position in

the family, frequency of visits in the Philippines prior to college level and relatives

present in the Philippines.

 64

Table 11.0

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when Grouped

According to Age

Independent and Mean Standard

Moderator Correlation
Dependent Deviation p-value
Variable Coefficient Interpretation
Variables
Personal Attitude 57.23 4.12

Aged 18-20 Socio-cultural 0.274 0.004

Reject Ho
137.51 19.34
Adaptation

The table showed the relationship between personal attitude and socio-

cultural adaptation. The p-value was 0.004 which was less than the standard

alpha value of 0.05 thus, the null hypothesis is rejected. There is a significant

relationship between the two variables when grouped according to ages 18 to 20.

However, these variables have no significant relationship with ages 21 and

above.

According to Beiser, Barwick, da Costa, Fantino, Ganesan, Lee, Milne,

Naido, Prince, Tousignant, & Vela. (1988, as cited in Quarasse, 2003)

adolescence is believed to be in relation to psychological problem which is

common in the stage of identity formation. During the adolescent stage, they are

still trying to search for their identity and roles in the community. Chuang and

Tamis-LeMonda (2013), examined accultural orientation and adaptation

outcomes among late adolescents aged 18-20 years old. The result showed that

due to the identity development of the aged group they are more likely to conform

to different cultures. During adaptation they try to meet the demand of the
 65

society, if they allow it. They use social support from the ethnic community thus

helping them to cope and realize their worth in the society. These respondents

are more susceptible to developing a flexible bicultural identity.

According to Masgoret and Ward (2006, as cited in Sumer, 2009), the

culture learning approach suggested that intercultural effectiveness is attained as

any other desirable scale and behavioral goal. The personal attitude of these

respondents was dependent on realizing the effectiveness of socio-cultural

adaptation. They evaluated themselves and appraised adaptation as a sense of

opportunity to fulfil their individual goals.

Heider (1958, as cited in University of Twente, n.d.) stated that a person

can make two attributions. Internal attribution determines the way a person may

act because of beliefs and values. Second, external attribution is the belief that a

person acts according to the given situation he or she may be experiencing.

Generally, adolescents have a strong sense of independence from their

parents. Most western cultures entail that when their children graduate from high

school, they are held responsible for their personal finances as well as their

everyday necessities. This may be a reason why adolescents tend to be

adventurous with life wherein they perceive things easily. The researchers have

observed that respondents who fall under this category are those who interact

and mingle with other nationalities especially Filipinos. Adolescents are more

likely to adapt to any crisis in their cultural experience because of this attitude.
 66

Table 12.0

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when Grouped

According to Gender

Moderator Independent and Mean Standard Correlation

Deviation p-value
Variable Dependent Variables Coefficient Interpretation
Personal Attitude 56.64 4.11
Female .300 .021 Reject Ho
Socio-cultural
138.44 19.89
Adaptation

In this table, it showed the relationship between personal attitude and

socio-cultural adaptation. The pearson r coffecient was 0.300 which signifies a

direct proportion between the two variables. The p value was 0.021 which was

less than the standard alpha value of 0.05 thus, the null hypothesis is rejected.

There is a significant relationship between the two variables when grouped

according to gender specifically females.

Girls and boys did not differ in their heritage culture orientations in their

private and public lives, but older girls assigned greater importance to adoption of

mainstream culture in both private and public domains than older boys. In

addition older girls were more proficient in the mainstream language thus making

them better in socio-cultural adaptation. (Chuang & Tamis-LeMonda, 2013, p.

186).

Karen Horney (n.d., as cited in Kaplan & Sadock, 1998) characterized the

person’s attitude attributes as a result of the interaction made between the

 67

person concerned and environment. Holistic psychology values a person as a

unitary whole who influences and is influenced by the environment. In this

research study, women were more open-minded to any idea that is brought

about by their experience. They were more sensitive with matters concerning

cultural assignments and handle stressors with effectively. This attribute may be

a result of the interaction made with the environment which influenced her

attitude.

Spindler (2009), women had less anxiety in social situations in comparison

to males. Women have a higher degree to orient themselves in the current

environment and analyze her surroundings more effectively. These abilities that

women possess helped them adapt to new environments. Males are logical

creatures and are too caught up in their minds. On the other hand females live in

the moment and can effectively communicate their feelings, which can give them

an upper hand in cultural adaptations. Having the ability to control ones emotions

can ultimately affect an individual’s attitude on a given situation. Since females

have shown effective emotional control, they may tend to have positive outlooks

on new situations for cultural adaptation compared to their counterparts.

 68

Table 13.0

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when Grouped

According to Nationality

Mean Standard
Independent and Correlation
Moderator Deviation p-value
Dependent Variables Coefficient Interpretation
Variable
Personal Attitude 57.54 4.22

Indian Socio-cultural 0.278 0.008 Reject Ho

138.88 20.61
Nationality Adaptation

The table above showed the relationship between personal attitude and

socio-cultural adaptation. The pearson r coffecient was 0.278 which signifies

direct proportion between the two variables. The p value was 0.008 which was

less than the standard alpha value of 0.05 thus, the null hypothesis is rejected at

5%.

Out of the different nationalities of foreign students, Indians reveals a

significant relationship of the two variables. Respondents verbalized that their

behavior is based upon Hindu religion where family influences and social bonds

develop a positive attitude. This can be the result of similar family structure and

educational system between the Philippines and in India.

In general, Indians valued attitudes that stem from positive thoughts. They

respect an individual’s dignity and personal autonomy. They also valued

cooperation and placed importance on group harmony. They verbalized that

there values and beliefs are essential in their way of living. These thoughts and

perceptions in life set a key role towards a positive acculturation process.

 69

According to a presentation slide entitled “Cultural Diversity” (UNESCO,

2014), the major language in India is Hindi, and however English is commonly

used in many areas of life resembling the Philippines that is the reason why

communication was not a barrier. Academic adjustment was not difficult because

there were a lot of similarities in terms of customs. It also identified significant

and distinct commonalities and differences in their geographic characteristic,

livelihood, literature and arts.

Table 14.0

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when Grouped

According to Course Taken

Moderator Independent and Mean Standard Correlation p-value Interpretation

Variables Dependent Variables Deviation Coefficient
Personal Attitude 57.44 4.34
Biology
Socio-cultural 0.258 0.014 Reject Ho
Course
138.92 20.10
Adaptation

The table showed the relationship between personal attitude and socio-

cultural adaptation. The pearson r coffecient was 0.258 which signifies direct

proportion between the two variables. The p value was 0.014 which was less

than the standard alpha value of 0.05 thus, the null hypothesis is rejected. Of the

different colleges, this table showed that Biology students had a significant

relationship of personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation for the majority of

students enrolled in this course are Indian students.

 70

An article entitled “Theories of Behavior Change” by Communication for

Governance & Accountability Program (CommGAP, n.d.), the essential variable

in predicting behavioral change is known as intention. It is vital in shaping

positive attitudes towards the actions, stress, and opinions that support the

behavior.

Indian students’ main intention in coming to the Philippines is for

educational purposes. In connection with this, their motivation to finish their pre-

med course together with their purpose in the Philippines places an essential part

in their behavior. This information aids in molding positive attitude towards their

behavior. These students quoted that “We strive hard because want to finish

school and become doctors someday.” Their motivation serves as a drive to

adjust to any difficulties in their experience. This behavior promotes a high level

adaptation which was derived from their positive attitude.

Table 15.0

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when Grouped

According to Ordinal Position in the Family

Moderator Independent and Mean Standard Correlation p-value Interpretation

Variable Dependent Variables Deviation Coefficient

Personal Attitude 57.14 4.36

Third Born Socio-cultural 0.463 0.030 Reject Ho

135.55 21.68
Child Adaptation

Table 15 showed the relationship between personal attitude and socio-

cultural adaptation. The pearson r coffecient was 0.463 which signifies direct
 71

proportion between the two variables. The p value was 0.030 which was less

than the standard alpha value of 0.05 thus, the null hypothesis is rejected at 5%.

There is a significant relationship of the two variables and third born child.

Steelman, Powell, Werum, and Carter (2002, as cited in Rogers, 2013)

stated that some research suggests that later-born children are more possible

than older children to be the beneficiaries of their parents’ economic resources

(for example, financial assistance in college) because their parents are a lot more

financially stable.

Morell (n.d.) stated that third born child usually feels lonely, excluded and

unnoticed. Feeling thus will have an effect on their identity. They have a

tendency to feel more remote, aloof, and detached to most of what happens in

their surroundings. Sometimes they'll appear hesitant, confused, unsure and

ambivalent. To some extent they seek and take refuge in friendships shaped

outside the house, as they have a little control than those in the family. As a

result, third born children have good insights and understanding on how to work

well with others. They are more keen, tactful and sensitive enough to handle

problems with people.

 72

Table 16.0

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when Grouped

According to Frequency of Visits in the Philippines Prior to College Level

Moderator Independent and Mean Standard Correlation p-value Interpretation

Variable Dependent Variables Deviation Coefficient

First time Personal Attitude 57.50 4.47

visit in the 0.300 0.006
Philippines Socio-cultural Reject Ho
139.56 19.43
Adaptation

As shown in the table above, there is significant relationship between

foreign students’ First time visit in the Philippines and the personal attitude and

socio-cultural adaptation. The p value was 0.006 which was less than the

standard alpha value of 0.05 thus, the null hypothesis is rejected.

According to Miglietta and Tartaglia (2009, as cited in Panitru & Barley,

n.d.), studies have shown that the duration of stay in the host culture can

influence adaptation. The longer a person lives in the host country, the more

positive the effects he or she may experience. This goes same for foreign

students, the longer the stay, the higher the chance of being more integration to

occur.

Students’ who were not yet exposed or have not immersed themselves in

the host country tends to be curious and anxious at the same time. These

individuals explored about the country before they come in order to overcome
 73

their fears and anxiety. This attitude in turn affects the person’s cultural

adjustment.

The ideal model measuring cross-cultural adjustment is Lysgaard’s

Culture Shock Model (n.d., as cited in Jiang, 2013). This model revealed the

adaptation process for foreign students that begins at the excitement period to

the culture shock period leading to the gradual adjustment period and finally the

full culture recovery. Those individuals who have positive attitude towards

education in a foreign country may result in a shorter period of culture shock and

quicker cultural adjustment. On the other hand, those students who have newly

immersed themselves in the host country may find it harder to adjust and

experience culture shock.

Students entering college for the first time places a great stress on them.

The unfamiliarity of university towards an individual can make the transition to

adulthood challenging on his personal security, need for acceptance, need for

comfort, and social support network. Having positive attitude and skill can mold

an individual to be well prepared in facing new circumstances and experiences

necessary for successful adaptation to a new environment. As a result, many

incoming first time foreign students may have difficulty adapting to University

Life.
 74

Table 17.0

Relationship of Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation when Grouped

According to Relatives Present in the Philippines

Moderator Independent and Mean Standard Correlation p-value Interpretation

Variable Dependent Variable Deviation Coefficient

No relatives Personal Attitude 57.22 4.39

present in the Weak 0.009
Philippines Socio-cultural Reject Ho
135.97 20.38
Adaptation

This table revealed a significant relationship of the two variables with the

group of respondents who have no relatives in the Philippines. The table showed

the relationship between personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation. The

pearson r coffecient was 0.243 which signifies a direct proportion between the

two variables. The p value was 0.009 which was less than the standard alpha

value of 0.05 thus, the null hypothesis was rejected at 5%. Most of the foreign

students that live independently manage their own life and strive to survive in a

society different from theirs. The main purpose of enrolment in the Philippines

was to attain a high quality education. With the foreign student who doesn’t have

any relatives to the present environment, they socialized and maintained contact

with other people in order to cope with stressful situations.

In an article entitled “Life outside the Classroom” by Higher Education

Academy (2014), it emphasized that support system places a vital role in a

student to adjust to any circumstance he may encounter in the diverse cultural

experience. Adolescents who leave home as well as their families result to a

 75

great stress. They feel lonely and empty at some point but as they cope with the

difficulties, these individuals seek love and belongingness from people most

especially their friends. Peers are one of the most important people of an

adolescent. In relation to this, they can easily build friendship and interact with

people with their same age groups. They hold an attitude of willingness to create

their own network of support system (friends) in the host country which leads to

adaptation.

Foreign students living alone seemed to have tremendous difficulties

coping and adjusting into the sudden changes in their environment. They were

faced with a number of challenges like dealing with their daily life, university life

and contact with people. One of the important things about being a foreign

student living alone is that for the first time they considered themselves to be in a

more vulnerable position than what they previously experienced. A positive

attitude towards cultural adaptation was a great help in dealing with living

independently. Their willingness to adjust helped them achieve and pursue their

goals as a student.
 CHAPTER 3

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This section of the study presents the summary of findings, conclusion,

and recommendation.

This study aimed to determine the significance between Personal Attitude

and Socio-cultural adaptation among selected foreign students of Cebu Doctors

University with the use of Modified Personal Attitude Scale II and Modified Socio-

Cultural Adaptation Scale.

The following questions were formulated to answer the main problem:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 age;

1.2 gender;

1.3 nationality;

1.4 course taken;

1.5 ordinal position in the family;

1.6 frequency of visits in the Philippines prior to college level;

1.7 relatives present in the Philippines;

2. What is the level of the respondents personal attitude?

3. What is the profile of the respondents socio-cultural adaptation scale

based on:

a.) daily life;

b.) university life;

c.) contact with people;

 77

4. What is the overall profile of the respondents’ socio-cultural adaptation?

5. Is there a significant relationship between the person’s attitude and socio-

cultural adaptation?

6. Is there a significant relationship between the two variables when grouped

according to age, gender, nationality, course level, ordinal position in the

family, frequency of visits in the Philippines and relatives present in the

Philippines?

7. Based on the findings, what guidelines will be formulated to promote

societal integration among first year foreign students?

This study utilized a descriptive correlational research design to determine

the significant relationship between two variables. There were 127 foreign

student respondents who qualified in the inclusion criteria, and were identified

using a purposive sampling technique.

Summary of Findings

Based on the data presented, interpreted and analyzed in Chapter 2, the

following findings are found out:

The profile of the respondents according to age are as follows: 107 (84%)

belongs to ages 18-20 years old and only 20 (16%) belong to ages 21 and

above. According to gender are as follows: that 68 (54%) are Male and 59

(467%) are Female. According to nationality are as follows: 90 (71%) of the 127

respondents are Indian, 15 (12%) are Koreans, six (6) or 5% were American and

Palauan while two (2) or 2% were Egyptian and one (1) or 1% were Brittish,

German, Nigerian, Singaporean, Somalian, Ugandan, Vietnamese and Yemen.

 78

According to course taken are as follows: most of the respondents were

enrolled in Biology, which composed of 90 (71%). Ten (10) or 8% were enrolled

in Dentistry, seven (7) or 6% in Physical Therapy (PT), six (6) or 5% are from

Medical Technology and four (4) or 3% in Nursing. There were three (3) or 2%

Radiologic Technology students and one (1) or 1% were in Pharmacy and

Speech Pathology. According to Ordinal Position in the family are as follows 58

(46%) were first born or the eldest in the family, 43 (34%) of the respondents

were 2nd born in the family, 22 (17%) of the respondents were 3rd born in the

family and two (2%) were 4th or 5th born.

Frequency of Visits in the Philippines Prior to college level showed 84

(66%) of the respondents visited the Philippines once, 26 (21%) have not visited

the Philippines, (8) or 6% of the respondents visited the Philippines for the 2 nd

time, five (5) or 4% of the respondents have visited the Philippines for three

times, two (2) or 2% visited the Philippines for five times and one (1) or 1% have

visited the Philippines for the 4th and 6th time. According to relatives present here

in the Philippines: 116 (91%) of the respondents had no relatives in the

Philippines and 11 (9%) of the 127 respondents had relatives in the Philippines.

The respondents demonstrated a positive attitude.

The respondents revealed a high level adaptation towards university life

and contact with people but have a moderate level of adaptation towards their

daily life.

The relationship between personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation,

results showed that the p-value which was 0.007 is lesser than the standard
 79

alpha value of 0.05. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected. This showed that there

was a significant relationship between the Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural

Adaptation among First Year Foreign students. The result of the Pearson r which

was 0.238 indicated a weak positive correlation which showed that the variables

are directly proportional to each other. This meant that when Personal Attitude is

positive, Socio-cultural Adaptation increases. The changes in one variable is

correlated with changes in the second variable.

The researchers found that there was a significant relationship between

the personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation among the selected first year

foreign students Academic Year 2014 – 2015 when grouped according to age

(ages 18-20), gender (female), nationality (Indian), course taken (Biology),

ordinal position in the family (third born), frequent visits in the Philippines prior to

college level (First time in the Philippines) and presence of relatives in the

Philippines (None).

Conclusion:

Based on the findings, the following statements of conclusions are made:

1. The results of the study revealed a high level of positive attitude and

socio-cultural adaptation amongst first year foreign students enrolled in

Cebu Doctors’ University. The study also revealed a significant

relationship between personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation.

Therefore the null hypothesis was rejected. Although significant, the

correlation between these two variables is quite low, 0.238, which means

that there is a weak positive correlation between them. External factors

 80

that may have affected the relationship of these two variables would be

that attitude is subjective and varies from person to person, foreign

students’ cultural differences and their opposing beliefs. This is also

because the success of socio-cultural adaptation depends on the

individual’s willingness to accept host countries way of life and adjust to

their primary beliefs. The results of the study further showed that positive

personal attitude increases adaptation towards daily life, contact with

people, and university life.

2. Even though the results showed a positive attitude and high level of

overall socio-cultural adaptation, it was reflected that there were some

aspects in daily life that could be enhanced in order to make the foreign

students’ interaction more adaptive.

Recommendations:

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were

made:

1. For the Cebu Doctors’ University Foreign Student Offices to hold seminars

and conduct orientations to incoming foreign students. These seminars

will contain general information on the university culture, campus life,

foods to expect, transportation services, and weather.

2. The researchers would also like to recommend that informational

pamphlets should be produced for all foreign students. These pamphlets

will contain general guidelines about the culture of Cebu, expected

climate, types of foods offered, societal norms, and will enumerate

 81

different methods to cope with the stress of adapting to the new

environment.

3. A development program for Cebu Doctors’ University personnel

composing of cultural awareness seminars is recommended to help guide

personnel when interacting with foreign students. This will promote

understanding of various cultures and ease socio-cultural adaptation of

foreign students.

4. Finally, for further research to be conducted to assess alternate variables

that may affect socio-cultural adaptation such as cultural background,

stress, beliefs, and english competency. Further research is highly

recommended in this field to better understand the process of socio-

cultural adaptation.

In the interest of future studies, the researchers would like recommend the

following:

1. Cross-school cultural assimilation management interventions on the

level of adaptation effectiveness experienced among selected level I

Filipino-foreign nursing students in attaining optimum level of cultural

adjustment in Cebu T University, Mandaue City

2. The Level of Emotional and Social Loneliness/Isolation of the foreign

students of Cebu Doctors’ University

3. The study on the relationship between the factor influences (such as

age and gender) on the degree of coping and the level of self-esteem

of first year.
 82

Proposed Guidelines to Promote Societal Integration

The Philippines is composed of different cultural backgrounds, religions

and social traditions. Its culture has been enriched by the contributions of

migrants from around the globe. Foreign students will have to continue to adjust

to these changes to successfully handle situations that they may encounter.

The researchers have formulated proposed guidelines that will promote

the level of the first year foreign students’ socio-cultural adaptation studying in

Cebu Doctors’ University. These guidelines were categorized into 3 aspects

which include: Daily Life, University Life and Contact with People that helped

build awareness among the foreign students studying in the Philippines. Each

category had corresponding information regarding the practices, etiquette and

basic necessities of Filipinos everyday life.

The following guidelines were formulated based on the expectation and

anticipation of foreign students that will help them adapt and to enhance their

social skills in integrating with the new society most especially, Cebu.

Considerations were taken as their first time coming in the Philippines, since they

were not yet accustomed with the culture, traditions, places, local foods and

transportation of the new environment.

Brochures were distributed to each foreign student within their respective

classrooms during their vacant periods. The purpose of these guidelines was to

focus specifically on the promotion of societal integration.

83
 84

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APPENDIX A-1

Transmittal Letter to the Dean of College of Nursing

 95

APPENDIX A-2

Transmittal Letter to the President Of Cebu Doctors’ University English Second

Language Center
 96

APPENDIX A-3

Transmittal Letter to the Vice President of Academic Affairs

 97

APPENDIX A-4

Transmittal Letter to the Author of the Personal Attitude Scale

 98

APPENDIX A-5

Transmittal Letter to the Author of the Socio-Cultural Adaptation Scale

 99

APPENDIX B-1

FACE DATA SHEET

The Level IV students are conducting a research study entitled “

Personal Attitude and Socio-cultural Adaptation of Selected First Year Foreign

Students of Cebu Doctors’ University A.Y. 2014-2015: Proposed Guidelines to

Enhance Societal Integration. This study will help enhance personal attitude and

socio-cultural adaptation of the first year foreign students. It will also aid these

respondents to integrate within the society. There will be questionnaires given

out to measure one’s personal attitude and socio-cultural adaptation.

 100

Respondent No:___

Name:___________________

Age:____

Sex:____

Nationality:____________

Course Taken:

____ Dentistry ____ Occupational Therapy

____ Pharmacy ____ Medical Technology

____ Nursing ____ Radiological

Technology

____ Physical Therapy ____ Psychology

____ Speech Pathology ____ Biology

____ Computer Sciences ____ Optometry

How many siblings do you have? ____

What is your ordinal position?____

____1st(Eldest) ____4th

____2nd ____5th

____3rd others: please specify: ____

How many times have you visited the Philippines prior to college level?

____once ____thrice

____twice others: please specify: ____

Do you have any relatives in the Philippines?

____Yes

____No
 101

APPENDIX B-2
INFORMED CONSENT

In signing this document, I agree to partake in this research study entitled

“Personal attitude and Socio- Cultural Adaptation of selected Foreign Students of
Cebu Doctors’ University: Proposed Guidelines to Promote Societal Integration”,
in which, I will be answering questionnaires that will determine my attitude and
socio-cultural adaptation.
I have also been informed about the details of the study that:
1. I am conscious that the research study will be carried out by the selected
Level IV nursing students of Cebu Doctors’ University after my classes
and/or during my study breaks;
2. I am aware of the risk that may be involved in the said study such as
disruption of my personal schedule during the completion of the research
study and the exposure of my personal information to the researchers;
3. I am guaranteed that any information that may be obtained in this study
and that can be identified with me will remain confidential and will be
disclosed only with my permission;
4. I am also aware that I am approved to pull out my involvement in this
study at any time without penalty, and prejudicing my prospect relations;
5. I am giving my voluntary participation in undertaking in this study and
entirely granting them my consent;
6. I will benefit from the proposed guidelines to promote societal integration
through enhancing my personal attitude;
7. I understand that if I would (want/like) to know the results of this study or
other related questions;
8. I can contact this student listed below for me to access the results of the
study: Caroleen Anne R. Agno: Research study leader - Contact number:
09322821846
In witness where of, both parties (respondents & researchers) have affixed their
signature on the ___day, month of ___, year 2014.

Printed Name and Signature Date Participant

Signed

CAROLEEN ANNE R. AGNO

GROUP A-1 Research Study Leader
 102

APPENDIX C

Ethical Review Form

 103

APPENDIX D-1

Modified Socio-Cultural Adaptation

Adapted from Helen Spencer-Oatley & Xiong Zhaoning

The research tool was designed to achieve the following objectives:

 to assess the importance that students attached to socio-cultural

adjustment

 to identify which of the domain(s); university academic life, contact with

people and daily life were perceived as most/least difficult.

Questionnaire Items:
As an international student, you might have encountered problems dealing with
unfamiliarity with the social, cultural and educational differences between your
home country and the Philippines.

Please read through the list of situations below and show how difficult it is for you
to be able to cope with them successfully, by circling an appropriate number of
each situation. Please follow the rating below.
1 = No difficulty
2 = Slight difficulty
3 = Moderate difficulty
4 = Great difficulty
5 = Extreme difficulty
 104

Situation Amount of Difficulty

No Slight Moderate Great Extreme

Difficulty Difficulty
1. Getting used to the local climate 5 4 3 2 1

2. Getting used to the local food 5 4 3 2 1

3. Buying daily necessities 5 4 3 2 1
4. Adapting to the local accommodation 5 4 3 2 1
5. Traveling around by public transport 5 4 3 2 1
6. Getting used to the place of life in 5 4 3 2 1
Coventry
7. Carrying on with your favorite leisure 5 4 3 2 1
activities
8. Asking teachers for help when you 5 4 3 2 1
have problems with your study
9. Participating in the discussions in 5 4 3 2 1
class
10. Expressing clearly your ideas in 5 4 3 2 1
class
11. Understanding lectures 5 4 3 2 1
12. Taking notes of key points of 5 4 3 2 1
lectures in class
13.Reading and understanding 5 4 3 2 1
materials recommended by your tutors
14. Writing up papers that can earn you 5 4 3 2 1
good grades
15. Understanding tutors’ comments on 5 4 3 2 1
your coursework or papers
16. Getting used to the teaching 5 4 3 2 1
methods
17. Obtaining the books and journals 5 4 3 2 1
you want in the university library
18. Using computers to do your 5 4 3 2 1
coursework
19. Completing coursework on time 5 4 3 2 1
20. Getting used to being grouped with 5 4 3 2 1
students of different nationalities
21. Talking about study issues with 5 4 3 2 1
students of other nationalities after
class
22. Understanding the assessment 5 4 3 2 1
scheme of the university
23. Making friends with your own 5 4 3 2 1
countrymen.
24. Making friends with foreign people 5 4 3 2 1
 105

25. Making friends with people of other 5 4 3 2 1

nationalities apart from foreign
26. Taking part in local social events, 5 4 3 2 1
pubs and holiday celebrations
27. Getting used to living independently 5 4 3 2 1
from your parents
28. Contacting your families or friends 5 4 3 2 1
through email/telephone
29. Dealing with other nationalities who 5 4 3 2 1
annoy you
30. Dealing with staff working in the 5 4 3 2 1
finance or accommodation office
31. Being with other nationalities of the 5 4 3 2 1
opposite sex
32. Being introduced to new people of 5 4 3 2 1
different nationalities
33. Starting a conversation with people 5 4 3 2 1
of other nationalities and keeping it
going
34. Understanding jokes and humor in 5 4 3 2 1
English
35. Dealing with physical closeness 5 4 3 2 1
and touching in social settings
36.Getting used to making 5 4 3 2 1
appointments with people before
visiting them
 106

APPENDIX D-3

Modified Personal Attitude Scale II

Adapted from Treadwell, Kellar and Kumar

2 1

SITUATIONS Agree Disagree

1. I find it difficult to express myself 2 1
clearly when I am under pressure.
2. I enjoy accepting challenges 2 1
instantly
3. I like to take risks. 2 1
4. I do not like when people play 2 1
practical jokes on me.
5. I adjust to new situations easily. 2 1
6. When someone yells at me, I am 2 1
able to stand up for myself.
7. I frequently look for new ways of 2 1
doing things.
8. I am comfortable giving human 2 1
touch.
9. I tend to keep my feelings inside. 2 1
10. I try to consider as many options as 2 1
possible when making plans.
11. Generally, I feel awkward when I 2 1
am unexpectedly asked to perform
physical movements, actions, and
or gestures in front of people.
12. I am open to new experiences. 2 1
13. I tend to make decisions easily and 2 1
quickly.
14. I tend not to handle crisis situations 2 1
effectively.
15. I could speak at a meeting even if I 2 1
was unprepared.
16. I have positive attitude about myself 2 1
17. I tend to be flexible with rules and 2 1
regulations.
18. I often speak my mind regardless of 2 1
the consequences.
 107

19. I become anxious upon meeting 2 1

someone whom I know nothing.
20. I find that when I act quickly, my 2 1
actions are usually correct.
21. I tend to be an impulsive person. 2 1
22. I can easily accept when plans 2 1
change quickly.
23. I am at ease when meeting new 2 1
people.
24. I often get “stuck” trying to consider 2 1
all of my options and can’t make a
decision.
25. I have keen sense of humor. 2 1
26. I rarely find myself bored. 2 1
27. I am generally a creative person. 2 1
28. I consider myself to be a 2 1
spontaneous person.
29. I am afraid to act silly around 2 1
others.
30. I find it difficult to share personal 2 1
information.
31. I do not like to try new things. 2 1
32. I can enjoy myself at any time. 2 1
33. I am comfortable receiving human 2 1
touch.
34. I am good at letting others know 2 1
when I need affection.
35. I do not like to share my thoughts in 2 1
large groups.
36. I regard myself as an assertive 2 1
person.
 108

APPENDIX E

TIMETABLE OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Research Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct
2013 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014
Activities

Research
Title
Screening

Ethical
Review

Thesis
Proposal
Hearing
Data
Collection

Data
Processing

Data Analysis
and
Interpretation
Development
of the Final
Report
(Chap.2 &3)

Oral Defense

Research
Forum

Submission of
Final
Requirements
 109

APPENDIX F

BUDGET SUMMARY

OFFICE SUPPLIES
Bond Paper Php 800.00
Folders Php 250.00
Folder Jacket Php 50.00
Envelopes Php 50.00
Fastener Php 100.00
Php 1,250.00

COST OF SERVICES
Printing Php 750.00
Photocopy Php 1,000.00
Binding Php 250.00
Php 2,000.00

TOTAL Php 3, 250.00

 110

APPENDIX G

RESEARCH DOCUMENTATION
 111

DISSEMINATION
 112

APPENDIX H

CROHNBACH’S RELIABILITY SCORE FOR PERSONAL ATTITUDE SCALE II

 113

APPENDIX I

CROHNBACH’S RELIABILITY SCORE FOR SOCIO-CULTURAL

ADAPTATION SCALE
 114

CURRICULUM VITAE

Personal Background:

Name : Caroleen Anne R. Agno

Address :Guadalupe, Cebu City

Contact no : (032) 266 - 2515

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

2000-2006
Elementary level
St. Theresa’s College
Cebu City

2006-2010
Secondary level
Paramus Catholic High School
New Jersey

2011-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City
 115

Personal Background:

Name :Paul Jim R. Agno

Address : Guadalupe, Cebu City

Contact no : (032) 266 - 2515

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

1998-2003
Elementary level
Don Bosco Technology Center
Cebu City

2003-2007
Secondary level
Don Bosco Technology Center
Cebu City

2011-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors‘ University
Mandaue City
 116

Personal Background:

Name : Frances Jonahly Q. Allic

Address : Corner Apricot, Guava Street Pacific Grand Villa Lapu-Lapu

city

Contact No : (032) 260-0672

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

2001-2007
Elementary level
Nissi Academy
Lapu-Lapu City

2007-20011
Secondary level
Nissi Academy
Lapu-Lapu City

2011-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City
 117

Personal Background:

Name : Hannah Jane D. Arcenal

Address : Larrazabal Hall Dormitory, Mandaue City

Contact no : 09352795516

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

2001-2007
Elementary level
Jose Zurbito Sr. Elementary School
Masbate City

2007-2011
Secondary level
Masbate National Comprehensive High School
Masbate City

2011-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City
 118

Personal Background:

Name : Nathan Jude B. Batucan

Address : Basak Pardo, Holy Cross, Cebu City

Contact no : 09323669515

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

1998-2003
Elementary level
Victor Elementary School
Torrance, CA

2003-2006
Secondary level
Jefferson Middle School
Torrance, CA

2006-2010
Secondary level
West High School
Torrance, CA

2010-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City
 119

Personal Background:

Name : Ernestine Denise M. Borja

Address : Tagbilaran City, Bohol

Contact no : 09228183476

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

2001-2007
Elementary level
Holy Name University
Tagbilaran City Bohol

2007-2011
Secondary level
Holy Name University
Tagbilaran City Bohol

2011-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City
 120

Personal Data:

Name : Kimberly G. Bularin

Address : Basak Lapu-Lapu City

Contact no : 09334817108

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

2000-2006
Elementary level
St. Alphonsus Catholic School
Lapu-Lapu City

2006-2010
Secondary level
St. Alphonsus Catholic School
Lapu-Lapu City

2010-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City
 121

Personal Background:

Name : Ladyberg T. Canuday

Address : Larrazabal Hall Dormitory, Mandaue City

Contact no : 09339437055

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

2000-2006
Elementary level
Paitan Elementary School
Escalante City Negros Oriental

2006-2010
Secondary level
Mount Carmel College
Escalante City Negros Oriental

2010-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City
 122

Personal Background:

Name : Mary Rose A. Paquibot

Address : Gabi Tomoy, Cordova, Cebu Prov.

Contact no : (032) 239-2287

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

2001-2007
Elementary level
Buyong Elementary School
Lapu-Lapu City

2007- 2011
Secondary level
St. Joseph School of Mactan
St. Alphonsus Catholic School
Lapu-Lapu City

2011-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City
 123

Personal Background:

Name : Godfrey G. Pisiao

Address : Carmen, Cebu City

Contact no : 09239827252

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

2001- 2007
Elementary level
Maria Montessori International School
Cebu City

2007- 2011
Secondary level
Maria Montessori International School
Cebu City

2011-2015
Tertiary level
Cebu Doctors’ University
Mandaue City