The influence of cultural intelligence on cross-cultural adjustment and academic performance: An application on international university students

In today's increasingly globalized world, the number of individuals looking for opportunities in other countries with the purpose of pursuing education or an occupation continues to increase, year by year. Thus, it necessitates the ability to be able to adapt to other countries' cultures and practices. When individuals live and work in a new country, they encounter a new culture, language, society, customs etc. Accordingly, they need to be able to conform appropriately in culturally diverse conditions. As the study of intercultural competences has grown in significance for researchers in recent years, many studies have been conducted regarding cultural intelligence (CQ), cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) and work performance most often with reference to expatriates or the business environment. Nevertheless, those studies are still relatively rarely carried out within educational settings. The increasing number of international students studying outside their home countries is a growing phenomenon in today's global education context. International students frequently experience similar problems of cultural divergence as those experienced by expatriates in a host-country. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of four aspects of CQ (Metacognitive CQ, Cognitive CQ, Motivational CQ, Behavioral CQ) towards CCA dimensions (general adjustment and interaction adjustment) and academic performance as applied to international students in higher education. Data for the study was collected from the 224 international students studying at Bursa Uludağ University. Data collected was analyzed using explanatory factor analysis, t-test, ANOVA and regression analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the facets of CQ positively influence the general adjustment and interaction adjustment. However, it was determined that facets of CQ did not influence academic performance.