Cultural Pluralism and Social Connectedness as Predictors of Immigrant Students’ Social Wellbeing and Achievements

Abstract

Based on the utmost importance of respecting cultural differences to foster learning among immigrant students from diverse cultures and grounded in Social Psychology Theory, this study investigates the impact of cultural pluralism and social connectedness on immigrant students’ achievement through social wellbeing. Moreover, the contingent impact of perceived discrimination in decreasing the positive influence of students’ social wellbeing has been assessed. This study advances the body of literature regarding cultural diversity as well as the importance of cultural pluralism and social connectedness in promoting social wellbeing to enhance the achievements of immigrant students. Applying a time-lagged survey methodology, data were collected from the 323 immigrant students from the universities located at Kalimantan Island of Indonesia. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS software. The results revealed the positive impact of cultural pluralism and social connectedness on immigrant students’ social wellbeing leading to high achievements. Results also showed that the positive influence of immigrant students’ social wellbeing on their achievements decreases in the presence of perceived discrimination as a moderator.