PWU Journal of Research, Innovation, and Transformation
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TY - JOUR AU - Rehal, Satwinder AU - Chebat, Raul Guillermo B. PY - 2026 DA - 2026/03/06 TI - International Students’ Cross-Cultural Experiences in The Philippines: A Netnographic Study JO - PWU Journal of Research, Innovation, and Transformation T2 - PWU Journal of Research, Innovation, and Transformation JF - PWU Journal of Research, Innovation, and Transformation VL - 1 IS - 1 SP - 49 EP - 64 DO - 10.62762/JRIT.2025.485535 UR - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JRIT.2025.485535 KW - culture shock KW - culture learning KW - international students KW - netnography KW - Philippines AB - The international higher education sector is characterized by the mobility of international students, who undergo transitions in unfamiliar cultural environments that may negatively affect their academic experiences and overall well-being. Culture shock often arises from insufficient knowledge of, and limited understanding about, the norms of the host culture, as well as cultural gaps between international students and the host country. Drawing on a netnographic study of YouTube vlogs by a purposive sample of international students in the Philippines, this paper examines their experiences of culture shock. The findings indicate that international students act as active agents in adapting to these experiences. The study recommends further research adopting nuanced phenomenological perspectives on international students’ cross-cultural experiences to inform the design of responsive interventions that promote cross-cultural adaptation. This recommendation is grounded in scholarly arguments that successful cross-cultural adaptation among international students enhances their overall satisfaction in the host country as well as their academic performance—outcomes that are particularly critical for emerging players in the global higher education market, including the Philippines. SN - pending PB - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge LA - English ER -
@article{Rehal2026Internatio,
author = {Satwinder Rehal and Raul Guillermo B. Chebat},
title = {International Students’ Cross-Cultural Experiences in The Philippines: A Netnographic Study},
journal = {PWU Journal of Research, Innovation, and Transformation},
year = {2026},
volume = {1},
number = {1},
pages = {49-64},
doi = {10.62762/JRIT.2025.485535},
url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JRIT.2025.485535},
abstract = {The international higher education sector is characterized by the mobility of international students, who undergo transitions in unfamiliar cultural environments that may negatively affect their academic experiences and overall well-being. Culture shock often arises from insufficient knowledge of, and limited understanding about, the norms of the host culture, as well as cultural gaps between international students and the host country. Drawing on a netnographic study of YouTube vlogs by a purposive sample of international students in the Philippines, this paper examines their experiences of culture shock. The findings indicate that international students act as active agents in adapting to these experiences. The study recommends further research adopting nuanced phenomenological perspectives on international students’ cross-cultural experiences to inform the design of responsive interventions that promote cross-cultural adaptation. This recommendation is grounded in scholarly arguments that successful cross-cultural adaptation among international students enhances their overall satisfaction in the host country as well as their academic performance—outcomes that are particularly critical for emerging players in the global higher education market, including the Philippines.},
keywords = {culture shock, culture learning, international students, netnography, Philippines},
issn = {pending},
publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}
Copyright © 2026 by the Author(s). Published by Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. 
PWU Journal of Research, Innovation, and Transformation
ISSN: pending (Online)
Email: [email protected]
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