The Influence of Acculturation on the Sense of Gain of International Students in China: Perspective from Indonesia Students

Before the outbreak, statistical data from 2016 revealed that China was the third most significant global destination for international students by hosting 442,773 individuals. By 2018, this number had risen to 492,185, representing a 10.49 % increase from the previous year. Indonesia is notably among the top ten countries contributing to this demographic, with its students comprising 3.06% of the international student body in Chinese universities. The divergent cultural norms and academic expectations between China and Indonesia are anticipated to engender a unique form of acculturative stress among these international students. In the context of the perceived sense of gain among international students, certain scholars posit that these individuals are more predisposed to developing proficient mastery skills, which means that the sense of gain often facilitates the acquisition of new knowledge, thereby establishing a positive feedback loop associated with factors pertinent to college students’ acculturation or cross-cultural adaptation. This study examines the influence of acculturation on the sense of gain experienced by Indonesian international students. This paper investigates how Indonesian international students’ sense of gain was impacted by acculturation. For the sense of gain or satisfaction factor, the author will employ four variables in this study: satisfaction, psychological, social, and local culture. The data was analyzed using SPSS 26, which indicates that every independent variable is positive.