A new study has found that international university students studying in the Philippines go through a distinct emotional and social journey before developing a genuine sense of belonging, with early gestures of warmth from classmates and faculty playing a central role in shaping their experience.
The research, published in the ISPCE Bulletin, explored how foreign students enrolled in universities across Metro Manila experienced what psychologists call allophilia, a term referring to positive attitudes and active goodwill directed towards people from different cultural backgrounds. Rather than focusing on discrimination or barriers alone, the study took a strengths-based approach, examining the conditions under which genuinely positive intergroup relationships are formed.
Researchers from New Era University in the Philippines used a qualitative narrative design, conducting in-depth interviews with four international students from different countries and year levels. The interviews explored how participants adjusted to university life, how they connected with peers and lecturers, and how those relationships shaped their sense of place within their institution.
Analysis of the interviews revealed four overlapping phases of adjustment. The first, called the “discovery period”, captured the initial weeks of arrival, when students described feelings of curiosity mixed with uncertainty. Many reported being surprised by how openly welcoming their Filipino classmates were, though navigating unfamiliar academic systems still proved challenging.
The second phase, the Adaptation Period, reflected a growing familiarity with daily routines, social expectations, and cultural norms. Students described forming friendships more easily than anticipated and spoke of receiving practical support from both peers and staff. Some noted that local students appeared to adjust their own behaviour to accommodate the newcomers, rather than expecting one-sided adaptation.
The third phase, the Breaking Period, introduced moments of difficulty. Language barriers proved particularly disruptive, with some students feeling excluded when classroom conversations shifted to Tagalog. Others described feeling socially vulnerable because of their status as foreign students. Importantly, participants did not view this phase as erasing earlier positive experiences but as a realistic layer within a more complex adjustment process.
The final phase, the Maturation Period, reflected greater confidence and emotional stability. Students described feeling settled within their university communities and no longer dependent on exceptional gestures to feel accepted. For many, the relationships they had built and the challenges they had overcome contributed to a more secure and lasting sense of belonging.
The study argues that belonging among international students is not a fixed outcome that follows a smooth upward path. It is shaped continuously through everyday interactions, moments of support, and the occasional experience of being made to feel different.
The research adds to a growing body of work on student well-being and international higher education, particularly in Southeast Asian academic settings that have received comparatively little attention in the existing literature. It suggests that universities seeking to support foreign students should attend not only to structural provisions but to the quality of daily interpersonal contact.
