Psychological Adjustment and Its Relationship with Cultural Identity and Academic Achievement among Palestinian Students at Israeli Universities

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal the psychological adjustment and its
relationship with cultural identity and academic achievement among
Palestinian students at Israeli universities.To achieve the objectives of the
study, the researchers developed two tools to detect the level of psychological
adjustment and cultural identity.The study sample consisted of (412) students,
of whom (214) male students, and (198) female students selected from the
total study population.
The results of the study showed that the level of psychological adjustment
among Palestinian students at Israeli universities was low.The results of the
study showed that there were significant statistical differences in the level of
psychological adjustment due to the impact of gender in the social and family
adjustment dimensions in favor of males; there were no significant statistical
differences in psychological adjustment due to the impact of specialization in
all dimensions with the exception of emotional adjustment dimension in favor
of humanistic specializations; there were significant statistical differences in
psychological adjustment between the fourth year and each of first, second
and third year in all dimensions in favor of the fourth year.The results also
showed that the level of cultural identity among Palestinian students at Israeli
universities was moderate.The results indicated the existence of a positive
significant correlation between social and emotional adjustment dimensions
and the ranks of cultural identity scale (language, religion, affiliation,
university education and cultural identity as a whole) , and a negative
significant correlation between social and emotional adjustment dimensions
and the racial discrimination rank.There is a positive significant correlation
between the psychological adjustment dimension and the ranks of cultural
identity scale (religion, affiliation and cultural identity as a whole) ; there
was a positive significant correlation between psychological adjustment as a
whole, and the ranks of cultural identity scale (language, religion, affiliation,
university education, and cultural identity as a whole) ; there was a negative
significant correlation between psychological adjustment as a whole and
the racial discrimination rank.Results of the study pointed to a statistically
significant positive correlation between psychological adjustment level and
academic achievement among the Palestinian students in Israeli universities.
In the light of the results, the researcher provided several recommendations
and the most important is to activate the role of Arab academic institutions
in the territory of 48 and those responsible for university education to take
care of Palestinian students in Israeli universities and their affairs.There is
a need to reduce the low psychological adjustment level students have and at
the same time to increase their psychological adjustment.