Cultural Integration and Social Cohesion among UEF students in academic settings

As universities become increasingly multicultural, cultural integration must promote social cohesion for students’ success and well-being. This study investigates the impact of five dimensions of cultural integration (intercultural awareness, intercultural contact, positive attitudes toward diversity, perception of openness, and engagement in cultural activities) on social cohesion experienced by students at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance (UEF). Grounded in Deardorff’s Intercultural Competence Framework (2006) and Earley and Ang’s Cultural Intelligence Theory (2003), this research model links the cognitive, affective, and behavioural aspects of intercultural interaction to students’ sense of belonging, collaboration, and solidarity. Employing a quantitative survey of 354 UEF undergraduates, this study tested a multiple regression model to predict social cohesion. The predictors collectively explained 76.3% of the variance (Adjusted R² = .759, p < .001). Intercultural contact emerged as the most important factor (β = .665), followed by positive attitude (β = .520), cultural engagement (β = .313), intercultural awareness (β = .198), and openness perception (β = .179). These results show the importance of direct intercultural experiences and positive attitudes in building a strong learning community. These findings suggest that university administrators should establish structured intercultural workshops and peer mentoring programs to foster significant cross-cultural interactions. Such initiatives promise to strengthen social solidarity and academic collaboration in diverse settings.