Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(6): 2509-2519, 2020 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080635
Life Satisfaction of International Students: Intercultural
Sensitivity and Knowledge Sharing Attitude
as Determinants
Wang Lulan
1
, Priyadarshini Muthukrishnan
2,*
, Irudhaya Mary
3
1
Institute of Graduate Studies, SEGi University, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Education and Languages, HELP University, Selangor, Malaysia
3
Department of English Education, Stella Matutina College of Education, Chennai, India
Received March 21, 2020; Revised April 17, 2020; Accepted May 3, 2020
Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract The growing multicultural environments of
higher learning institutions have broadened the scope of
cultural interactions among students of diverse cultural
backgrounds. The current study attempted to investigate the
influence of the intercultural sensitivity and knowledge
sharing attitude on life satisfaction of international students
in three private universities in Malaysia. The study adopted
quantitative research methods, and the sample for the study
were 300 international students in the undergraduate
programme. Correlation and multiple regression analyses
were conducted to examine the relationship between
predictors and life satisfaction. The final regression model
revealed that 22.72% of the variance in life satisfaction of
international students could be explained by the predictor
variable intercultural sensitivity while knowledge sharing
attitude did not contribute to the regression model. The study
has brought new insights into understanding the life
satisfaction of international students. The study concluded
with relevant recommendations that are needed to be
implemented to improve the intercultural sensitivity,
knowledge sharing attitude and life satisfaction of
international students.
Keywords Intercultural Sensitivity, Knowledge
Sharing, Interaction Enjoyment, International Students,
Attitude towards Knowledge Sharing
1. Introduction
Over the past decades, due to globalisation and the
knowledge-driven economy, the education industry has
experienced a rapid uplift in the internationalisation of
higher education. The emergence of knowledge-driven
economy has allowed educational institutions to be more
open for international students in pursuing their higher
education and preparing them for the future workforce
demands. Internationalisation of higher education has
contributed to the socio-economic development of the
country by generating substantial scale revenues and
employment in the international market. Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (2009) reported
that global higher education is paramount and international
student mobility is the primary form of cross-border higher
education. Due to the significant flow of international
students, higher learning institutions derive international
character with social responsibilities in strengthening the
cultural ties to broaden the scope of cultural interactions
among students from diverse cultural backgrounds. In this
perspective, intercultural sensitivity encourages international
students to adopt enthusiastically to their environment, and
the attrition rate of these students could be avoided. However,
empirical evidence has shown that international students are
confronted with multifaceted challenges in their
acculturation process related to cultural values, beliefs and
culture of the host country. Therefore, raising intercultural
sensitivity of international students enhances their ability to
make meaningful interpretations of the culture, norms,
values and community practices which ascertain satisfied life
during their interim of stay in the host country.
De-Andrés (1999) emphasised that students develop
positive self-esteem based on their environment, life
experiences, and how others perceive them. The
international students adapt and integrate themselves to the
social, psychological, academic, cultural and organisational
setting of the university (Rienties et al., 2012). The social
integration involves developing interpersonal relationships
in the unique intercultural space within and outside
classrooms and experiencing a positive relationship with
CITE THIS PAPER
[1] Wang Lulan , Priyadarshini Muthukrishnan , Irudhaya Mary , "Life Satisfaction of International Students: Intercultural Sensitivity
and Knowledge Sharing Attitude as Determinants," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 6, pp. 2509 - 2519, 2020.
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080635.