Page 46 - Movers, Shapers, and Everything in Between: Influencers of the International Student Experience

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Chapter 2
Research question 3: Roles of academic and social integration in the relationship between nationality and satisfaction
Linear regression revealed that nationality and integration together explain 14.2% of the variation in international student satisfaction, controlling for gender and stage of study (Figure 2.2). The combined effect of these variables is greater than the independent effects of each variable. Table 2.10 shows the unstandardized beta (B), the standard error for the unstandardized beta (SE), the standardized beta (β), and the probability value (p) for each of the variables.
Results show that there is partial mediation present; in other words, the relationship between nationality and satisfaction is strengthened when integration is included in the model. The higher satisfaction of international students from India may be explained by their higher levels of integration relative to other nationalities. Thus, hypothesis 3 was supported. However, while the model is elucidatory, satisfaction is not completely, or even majorly, explained by nationality and integration, indicating that other factors must also play a role.
Combined effect of integration and nationality on satisfaction
Nationality (China, India, South Korea)
R2 = .015
Social Integration
Self-reported Satisfaction
R2 = .142
Academic Integration R2 = .015
R2 = .127
R2 = .069
R2 = .023
Figure 2.2: Relationship between all variables and self-reported satisfaction
diSCuSSion And ConCluSionS
Taken together, results add to the existing literature on the international student experience, setting the stage for continued research in this area, and offering policy and practice implications. The finding that