Exploring knowledge of Canadian values and social axioms in international and landed immigrant students' adaptation to Canada

This thesis was an exploration of the relationship between the host cultural knowledge of newcomers and their behavioural and psychological adaptation to the host culture. Utilizing a theoretical and applied approach to this research, 160 international and landed immigrant students at the University of Saskatchewan completed a questionnaire examining their perceptions of Canadian values and social axioms. Values and social axioms are guiding principles and mediating beliefs, respectively, that individuals use to organize, understand and facilitate physical and social functionality within a culture (Schwartz, 1994; Leung et al., 2002). Despite the complexity of the research task, there was marginal support for the main hypothesis that the participants’ understanding of Canadian cultural knowledge was related to adaptation to a host culture, specifically psychological adaptation. Furthermore, the results indicate that the participants’ knowledge of Canadian values and social axioms was differentially related to psychological and behavioural adaption to Canada.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Saskatchewan

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Calvez, Stryker Shay

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Alexitch, Louise R.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Somerville, Kara
• Chirkov, Valery I.
• Cheesman, James E. (Jim)
• Wormith, J. Stephen

• acculturation
• sociocultural learning
• cross-cultural training

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-01182009-181018

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:harvest.usask.ca:10388/etd-01182009-181018