Correlational study of the effects of cultural differences in students

socialization in Emilio Aguinaldo College

An undergraduate research paper presented to

Dr. Ma Lourdes Perez
Professor of Geography 3 in Emilio Aguinaldo
College

In partial fulfillment of the requirements in

Research 1

Arellano, Laniel Jade

Canasta, Sem D.
2025
Emilio Aguinaldo College

1113-1117 San Marcelino St., Paco, Manila 1007, Philippines

Correlational study of the effects of cultural differences in students socialization in Emilio

Aguinaldo College

Arellano, Laniel Jade, Canasta Sem

BSED Major in Social Studies

May, 2024
I. Abstract
II. Introduction
In our Current age globalization is a concept that is connected to almost every individual, and is
considered as an inevitable movement that would be part of our progress as a civilization. It brought
upon imminent changes in various fields such as sciences, technology, engineering, medicine,
education, etc. Globalization is a process that inevitably irreversibly changes the world(P. Quang,
2017). But while advancement of knowledge is significant for our society, another important aspect
brought upon by globalization is culture. As products, merchandise, information, etc. traverse continents
and is shared by billions of people, culture can easily be defined as the way of life or sets of beliefs for a
certain group of people, integrating it in a large pool of people who have come from different walks of
life is becoming a problem. Human interaction is easier than ever because of the technological
innovations that are being developed and produced today. But at the same time issues in “Human
interaction” have also risen. Things such as ethnocentrism- which is a concept in which the other people
believe that a particular culture is better than the other. Another is racism, a particularly common word
that is used to describe a notion of hate, prejudice, or antagonism towards a certain group or person
because of their race or ethnicity.

The emergence of multicultural social structures is changing relations between people and
opening many questions, especially for the education system, with regard to the intercultural,
interreligious and ethical dialogue and coexistence. Learning to live with that social, cultural, ethnic,
religious and other diversity has become one of the greatest challenges of modern education.
Educational institutions, schools especially, have an important role to play in promoting intercultural
education and dialogue (Malovic & Vujica, 2021). This research seeks to understand how the impact of
cultural differences may affect students' socialization within a multicultural institution that seeks to
provide a safe space for all students regardless of their culture, ethnicity, nationality, religion, etc. While
there is multiple research that tackles the challenges that a multicultural society, community and
institutions are facing, the experiences of intercultural socialization that are occurring on a day to day
basis are yet to be on a personal level. This paper aims to provide a more comprehensive insight on the
 life that the students in multicultural institutions are living, specifically in the Emilio Aguinaldo
College-Manila. By taking a closer look at students' lived experiences, the researchers hope to provide
insightful data that can be used in developing more inclusive policies that may result in a more
welcoming environment.

III. Statement of the problem

The trend of globalization has brought upon people around the world, connecting the globe as
one interconnected global village. Subsequently people started moving spaces across the globe creating
multicultural communities. However students in multicultural institutions face various challenges due to
the variety of culture that exist within their communities. The differences in their culture, beliefs,
values, languages proves to be a major hindrance in forming valuable relationships. This can be
observed within the bounds of Emilio Aguinaldo College, a non sectarian, multicultural institution, that
aims to give students quality education regardless of their cultural background. Despite the institution's
efforts to maintain a safe environment for all students, cultural divide between students still remains to
be eminent. If the problem remains constant, it may hinder the development of all students not just
academically, but also socially, and culturally.

IV. Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of cultural differences in student’s
socialization in a multicultural environment specifically in the Emilio Aguinaldo College- Manila.

The research would gather the experiences of both international and local students in studying in a
multicultural educational setting. By doing so the researchers seek to understand the effect of cultural
differences in developing peer relationships across cultural boundaries.

V. Research questions
1. How do cultural differences affect the socialization of the students in Emilio Aguinaldo
College?

1.1. How does cultural differences in terms of language affect the socialization of the
 students in Emilio Aguinaldo College?

1.2. How does cultural differences in terms of behavior affect the socialization of the
students in Emilio Aguinaldo College?

1.3. How does cultural differences in terms of expectations affect the socialization of the
students in Emilio Aguinaldo College?

2. What is the level of socialization between students who have differences in culture?

2.1. What is the level of socialization between students who have differences in culture
in terms of language?

2.2. What is the level of socialization between students who have differences in culture
in terms of Behavior?

2.3. What is the level of socialization between students who have differences in culture
in terms of expectations?

3. How does the difference in culture directly affect levels of socialization in students.

VI. Significance of the study

The study aims to determine the impact of cultural differences in students' socialization in a
multicultural educational setting such as Emilio Aguinaldo College. By gaining insights on the
experiences of the students, the data that would be collected would be detrimental in advancing the
current understanding of the real time relationships of students in a multicultural educational
[Link] the findings that would be presented can be used to make appropriate adjustments,
improvements and even creating policies that would uphold the essence of multicultural coexistence
between all students.

And thus the possible direct beneficiaries of the results are the following:
 Students - understanding the real life situation in a broader perspective might help the students bridge
the gap created by the cultural differences in order to improve peer relationships across cultures.

Teachers - Gaining insight on the individual differences as a result of multiculturalism, might help the
educators to make necessary actions in improving the relationship between multicultural students.

Administrators - The data that will be collected can open up new perspectives on the daily struggles of
the students, subsequently giving opportunities for the administrators to make necessary policies that
may improve multicultural students relationships.

Community - Understanding how differences in culture can make a gap between students' relationships
in a multicultural setting, the community can conduct events using the data collected to develop
programs to improve multicultural relationships.

Future Researchers - The data collected in the research can be used as a reference for future research
in the connected topic or other relevant projects.

VII. Scope and limitations

The study would seek to understand the effects of cultural differences in students' socialization
within Emilio Aguinaldo College- Manila. The respondents would be students who are currently
enrolled and studying in Emilio Aguinaldo College- Manila, the respondents would be randomly
selected from the Highschool Department (Grade 7 - Senior High School) up to the First year to Fourth
Year students of all courses in the institution. The researchers would focus their perspective in the
effects (or lack thereof) of cultural differences in terms of Behavior, Language, and Values. The
researchers would use Mixed Methods in order to gain the desired amount of information in order to
 come up with the most precise conclusions.

VIII. Theoretical Framework

Social Identity Theory

The study is anchored on standing social theory, the Social Identity Theory ( Tajfel & Turner,
1979) in which the theory expands our understanding on how a person who identifies themselves in a
group can change their perspective and even action to other people. According to social identity theory,
there is a continuum on which identity and relationships can be depicted as purely personal and
interpersonal at one extreme, and purely social, or intergroup at the other. Personal identity is derived
from personality, idiosyncratic traits and features, and particular personal relationships with other
individuals ( Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 2021). The Social Identity Theory or SIT
establishes that a person systematically categorizes people and groups, and chooses to align themselves
on a group in which they can ascertain satisfaction, the reasoning of choosing and categorization varies
from ethnicity, culture, political beliefs, nationality, gender, etc. Though there are a lot of factors
involving categorization, the process in which a person chooses to identify within a certain group has a
consistent pattern. The first step is Social categorization in which the individual differentiates the social
groups, the second step is Social Identity, in this step the person adopts the identity of their chosen
social group and started to act base on the norms and the expected behavior of the said group, and lastly
the Social comparison, in this step the individual compares their chosen group, or their in-group to other
groups, or out-groups. The theory suggests that this prejudice can lead to serious social problems such
as stereotyping and racism.
IX. Conceptual Framework

Cultural Levels
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X. Methodology
The research data collection will be conducted in a Mixed Method, using this approach would
grant the researchers the data required in realizing the goals of the research. The research will be
conducted on a sufficient number of the population of the students, the goal of doing so is for the
researchers to minimize or even eliminate the personal biases and prejudices of the respondents. Given
the approach of the research is a mixed method approach, two methods of collecting data will be done
in a non fixed manner. The first method would be the surveys, it will be conducted in online form for
the convenience of the researchers and respondents. This method would give the researchers the
hindsight on the stand of the masses in the subject of the research. The next method would be the
interviews, while the surveys would provide the data for a holistic view of the subject, the goal of the
interview would be to understand the impact of cultural differences on a personal level. The data that
would be collected would be analysed using descriptive analysis and thematic analysis.

XI. RRL
 References
[Link]