The ABCD model provides a helpful overview of the intercultural dynamics relevant to international students’ adjustment. Ward and Szabó (2019) have introduced the A,B,C,D model to capture key factors involved in new settlers/cross-border learners' acculturation:

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A is for Affective 

This identifies the importance of different stress and coping strategies individuals or cultural groups employ when dealing with significant life changes. New settlers from some countries can experience higher rates of loneliness and homesickness than others when adjusting to a foreign culture  (Ward, 2001) . Cultural distance also affects the adjustment experience. Research has shown Asian international students experiencing more challenges adjusting to New Zealand life than their North American or European peers due to greater cultural differences (Ward & Szabó, 2019).   

Management of stress is also impacted by expectations; more realistic expectations help to provide a buffer against culture shock. This is an important point for marketers promoting an educational experience to international students: don’t raise expectations to seal the deal.  Personality factors such as sense of personal agency, flexibility, tolerance of ambiguity and resilience can also influence an individual's response to stress. 

‍B is for Behavioural 

B for Behavioural refers to the normative rules and social conventions in a host society or institution. International learners who are offered opportunities to role-play typical behaviours learn to practise social and academic norms. Simulations and role-plays are very useful tools for cultural learning. The EXCELL programme delivered by Griffith University offers role-playfor international learners to assist their interaction with lecturers, student peers, shopkeepers and checkout assistants

C is for Cognitive 

An evolving self-identity is another important factor in adjustment.  As students adapt to a new learning environment, they are confronted with questions of identity.

There are four different kinds of adjustment strategies that migrants and sojourners adopt to manage the stress of cross-border adjustment: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalisation. The strategy that produces the most positive outcomes for international learners is integration, and this will be explored more in the next section. In terms of forming a new cultural self, new settlers in the younger age groups are more open to the host culture. Those with a preference for a longer term sojourn are more open to making sense of the host institution's academic policy and procedures.

‍D is for Developmental processes

Psychosocial development is integral to a young person's identity formation. Ward suggests that the cross-border experience can precipitate something akin to an identity crisis for some, and this needs to be investigated more closely. International students’ transition into a foreign context may disrupt their socio-cultural formation and sense of belonging. For course coordinators, this reinforces the importance of content and pedagogy that affirms learners' cultural identities, where possible.

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In his Acculturation Model, cultural psychologist John Berry uses the term integration to refers to the most positive strategy a new settler or student can adopt. Acculturation describes almost any type of intercultural contact (Arnett, 2002) and includes the study of individuals living in countries or regions other than where they were born (Berry, 2006)

Four acculturation strategies have been identified (see model below):

• Assimilation: adopts the receiving culture and discards the heritage culture

• Separation: rejects the receiving culture and retains the heritage culture

• Integration: adopts the receiving culture and retains the heritage culture

• Marginalisation: rejects both the heritage and receiving cultures.

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Why is this relevant to teachers? Integration is the most successful strategy for learners in terms of psychosocial adjustment and study success. Berry uses the concept of ‘double engagement’ to show how minorities/student sojourners successfully integrate. They intuitively learn how to celebrate their heritage culture while at the same time participate positively in the host culture. Host institution policies, curricula and teaching practices that intentionally include international learners can have a significant role in aiding their participation.

Integration is a two-way process. If a host institution demonstrates "diversity responsiveness", international learners are more likely to feel a sense of connection and make meaningful contributions to the learning community.

Individual characteristics are a contributing factor. This was vividly shown in the 2007 film Waves, which followed the lives of six Chinese international students adjusting to life in a New Zealand school. Rose intuitively integrated into school and community life with the support of her homestay family, while Jane found this more difficult and preferred to keep her watch on 'Beijing time".

Research has shown that institutions that are ‘diversity responsive’, i.e. demonstrate a welcoming, proactive attitude towards their diverse learner body, have a positive impact on international learners' integration (Ward et al, 2025). What tailored initiative(s) do you implement to achieve this end? 

An essential thread in the 2021 Education Code of Practice is the tailored support of diverse learners. For international learners, this requires whole-of-provider strategies that support their integration and study success. Otherwise, their unique cross-border needs will fall through the cracks.

There are some significant risks for education providers enrolling international students who do not carefully consider intercultural dynamics. These include impacts on international learner wellbeing and lost opportunities for domestic students. Decision makers need to be aware of the following risks if intercultural dynamics pass under the radar:

Marginalised learners

International learners are likely to experience alienation if they are seen to be invisible. This currently appears to be the case in the New Zealand curriculum, with little or no references to culturally responsive pedagogy for international learners. There is also limited awareness of the Code imperative to respond to their "distinct wellbeing needs" (Education Code of Practice, Outcome 8, 2021). Yet it is not straightforward for cross-border learners to adapt to a foreign academic regime, and it is not surprising that international students commonly seek help for problems from their co-ethnic friends and families in the first instance. Nor is it surprising that making friendships with local students is not easy. These shortcomings are not without cost. If international learners do not receive scaffolded support, their well-being will inevitably be impacted. 

‍Lost opportunities for domestic learners

For the past thirty years, international students have enriched the learning experience in classrooms, lecture theatres, zoom meetings, laboratories, study groups and clubs. The funds of knowledge and cultural capital that international learners bring with them to the learning environment is increasingly evident. There has also been a growing awareness that in many cases international students’ wealth of knowledge have been underutilised. An education provider that commits to whole-of-provider training that supports staff knowledge of cultural dynamics, including the adjustment experiences of international students and cross-border learners, will be opening up opportunities for richer interactions between international and domestic students

Academic misconduct

International learners face a raft of unique pressures, not least parental expectations to perform academically in a foreign context. In the age of AI, it is not unreasonable to hypothesise that academic misconduct presents an attractive option for international learners under pressure. A 2025 investigation uncovered a significant increase in academic misconduct at an Australian University. 90 % of cases were international students.

How can you provide strong local support for your students? Not by leaving this to chance. Being proactive, intentional and well informed in your approach will set you up for success. Here are some areas to think about:

• Cultural competency training for staff: Make sure you use this checklist to review your curriculum and staff training from the Support international student transitions topic.

• Support for homestay families and accommodation managers: students spend a considerable amount of their time with their host families and they are the main source of cultural information and they provide immediate support for the students. Equipping them with intercultural understanding and skills to navigate the differences will be crucial for student integration. Similarly, accommodation managers in ITP or university halls play an important role in assisting student’s settlement in their first 6-12 months in New Zealand. Supporting their intercultural capabilities will help them to offer timely support to their international student residents. See Training and supporting homestay families and Providing tailored accommodation support for international students. 

• Campus initiatives, after school groups and peer to peer programmes: creating an environment at your institution filled with opportunities for engagement across cultural groups, activities to promote and celebrate diversity, and programmes to support language learning will create a sense of belonging for everyone, and help students to settle and fit into the local culture. See Enhance the international student experience for strategies to support international learners’ social connections.

• Culturally appropriate mental health support: we have discussed how the international student journey will present plenty of highs and lows and providing timely and culturally appropriate support should be a key part of student services. You can explore this further in Understand intercultural dimensions of care.

All these initiatives will help students develop the local connectedness they need to succeed in their intercultural adventure.

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Teu Le Vā offers a blueprint for supporting international learner’s sense of belonging and connectedness. A focus on the quality of relational spaces we experience in the international education context protects against auto-pilot instincts in our day-to-day operations. It is important to engage in cultural learning to support international learners’ grasp of “how things are done around here”.

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You might already be doing a great deal of work in helping your students integrate and make the best out of their time in New Zealand or you might be just starting. Have a look at this brief checklist about your current offering and plan for improvements to support students in their integration to New Zealand.

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While the adaptation to New Zealand will not be a linear one, many factors can play either a positive or negative role in the international students' experience. Proactive local support and a sense of connectedness, i.e. having friends and close relationships in New Zealand, are the most important factors in the adaptation process. 

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It is very important that we plan our programmes and initiatives to make sure we support students in developing these local meaningful connections. Some of the many ways we can contribute to students' successful integration include providing cultural competency training for staff and homestays and opportunities for students to engage in meaningful relationships with domestic students through your curriculum content (you can gain some inspiration in the Working with the teaching profession topic), campus initiatives and after school groups.

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Arnett J., J. (2002). The psychology of globalization. American Psychologist, 57, 774–783. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3700543/

Berry, J. W. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In A. M. Padilla (Ed.),

Acculturation: Theory, models, and some new findings (pp. 9-26). Boulder.

Berry, J. W. (2001). A Psychology of Immigration. Journal of Social Issues, 57,

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Berry, J. W. (2009). A critique of critical acculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33(5), 361-371.

Berry, J. W. (2011),  ‘Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies: Research Derived from Canadian Multiculturalism Policy’, Canadian Ethnic Studies, 3 (1), 43-44.

Demes, K. A., & Geeraert, N. (2015). The Highs and Lows of a Cultural Transition: A Longitudinal Analysis of Sojourner Stress and Adaptation Across 50 Countries. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109 (2), 316–337.

Gibson MA. (2001). Immigrant adaptation and patterns of acculturation. Human Development, 44, 19–23.

Mesidor, J. K. and Sly, F. (2016). Factors that contribute to the adjustment of international students, Journal of International Students, 6(1), 262–82.

Ministry of Education. (2022). Pacific values. https://tapasa.tki.org.nz/teaching-stories/where-am-i/pacific-values/pacific-values/

Sam, D. L., & Berry, J. W. (Eds.). (2006). The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology. Cambridge University Press.

Ward, C. & Kim, I. (2020). Report to Oakley Mental Health Foundation: Does Diversity-Receptiveness in Educational Institutions Predict International Students’ Psychological and Social Well-being? [Unpublished manuscript]. Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research, Victoria University of Wellington.

Ward, C., Kim, I., & Stuart, J. (2025). Diversity‑receptiveness in higher education: Perceived multicultural norms, well‑beingand attitudes toward international students. Social Psychology of Education, 28 (83). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-024-09979-z

Ward, Colleen (2001). The A, B, Cs of acculturation. in D. Matsumoto (Ed.), The Handbook of Culture and Psychology (pp. 411–45). Oxford University Press.

Ward, C. & Ágnes Szabó, Á. (2019). Affect, Behavior, Cognition, and Development: Adding to the Alphabet of Acculturation. In D. Matsumoto, &  C. Hwang (Eds.),  The handbook of culture and psychology  (pp.640-691). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190679743.003.0020

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