A schema social circle of Indonesian students in higher education
Authors
View
Keywords
License
Copyright (c) 2026 by the authors

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How To Cite
Abstract
Social circle is one of the issues that we must address. It emerged as a significant social phenomenon because members joined based on their shared interests, rather than proximity or assigned ranks. It changes based on individual needs and the environment. This research aimed to expand the Indonesian community that studies abroad socially, specifically within their social circle. It is also a goal to explore students' social circle strategies as they learn within Hungary's higher education system. Quantitative pilot research was employed in this study. Convenience sampling was used. A questionnaire was administered to Indonesian students to collect data from 22 per cent (N=47) of Indonesians who studied in Hungary. The Indonesian student was the one who held a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship. All of them come from different educational backgrounds and programs. The results revealed that most of respondents are members of home country student associations. Among various social background variables, educational attainment emerged as the sole significant determinant of multi-organizational membership. Other result is among the identified clusters, there is one that represents new types of motivations including relationship-building motivations, among Indonesian students. These findings highlight the pivotal role of informal, peer-driven networks in the social integration of Indonesian students, superseding formal university-led initiatives. Universities should implement policies that actively promote student satisfaction by facilitating access to identity-affirming and interest-based student organisations, while ensuring the affordability of participation through low-cost or subsidised social programs to guarantee inclusivity and accessibility for all students.
References
- Arps, A. (2024). Setting sails to sundry shores, transnational memories of the Netherlands East Indies in the eyes of Danish writer Aage Krarup Nielsen. Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia, 25(2), 275–297. https://doi.org/10.17510/wacana.v25i2.1727
- Aye, S. H., & Bocsi, V. (2023). Internationalization of higher education in Hungary. Special Treatment Interdisciplinary Journal (Különleges Bánásmód Interdiszciplináris folyóirat), 9(1), 19–35. https://doi.org/10.18458/KB.2023.1.19
- Bocsi, V., & Fényes, H. (2019). Values and the motivations of higher education students’ volunteering in a borderland Central Eastern European region. In G. Pusztai, A. Hatos, & T. Ceglédi (Eds.), Third mission of higher education in a cross-border region (pp. 160–179). University of Debrecen, CHERD.
- Borglum, K., & Kubala, T. (2000). Academic and social integration of community college students: A case study. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 24(7), 567–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668920050139712
- BPS Kabupaten Lahat. (August 14, 2024). Happy 63rd Scout Day: Indonesia becomes the country with the largest number of Scout members in the world. Retrieved from https://lahatkab.bps.go.id/id/news/2024/08/14/222/happy-63rd-scout-day.html
- Cherian, J., Gaikar, V., Paul, R., & Pech, R. (2021). Corporate culture and its impact on employees’ attitude, performance, productivity, and behavior: An investigative analysis from selected organizations of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc7010045
- Chirkov, V. I., Safdar, S., de Guzman, J., & Playford, K. (2008). Further examining the role motivation to study abroad plays in the adaptation of international students in Canada. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32(5), 427–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2007.12.001
- Coleman, J. A. (2015). Social circles during residence abroad: What students do, and who with. Social Interaction, Identity and Language Learning during Residence Abroad, 4, 33–52. http://www.eurosla.org/monographs/EM04/Coleman.pdf
- Davidson, J. R., & Middleton, C. A. (2013). Networking, networking, networking: The role of professional association memberships in mentoring and retention of science librarians. In Recruiting, Training, and Retention of Science and Technology Librarians (pp. 203–224). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.1300/J122v27n01_14
- Elmose-Østerlund, K., Seippel, Ø., Llopis-Goig, R., van der Roest, J.-W., Adler Zwahlen, J., & Nagel, S. (2019). Social Integration in Sports Clubs: Individual and Organizational Factors in a European Context. European Journal for Sport and Society, 1–23. doi:10.1080/16138171.2019.1652382
- Enim, R. P., & Rónay, Z. (2025). Being a member of the community: Participation and inclusion of international students in higher education. Hungarian Educational Research Journal, 15(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1556/063.2025.00364
- Fényes, H., Markos, V., & Pusztai, G. (2018). The relationship between civil activity and dropout risk among higher education students [A civil aktivitás és a lemorzsolódási esély összefüggéseinek vizsgálata a felsőoktatási hallgatók körében]. In G. Pusztai & H. Fényes (Eds.), Student engagement and dropout in higher education (pp. 140–153). Debreceni Egyetemi Kiadó Debrecen University Press. https://mek.oszk.hu/19000/19032/19032.pdf
- Gareis, E. (2012). Intercultural Friendship: The Effects of Home and Host Regions. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 5(4), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2012.691525
- Glass, C. R., & Gesing, P. (2018). The development of social capital through international students' involvement in campus organizations. Journal of International Students, 8(3), 1274–1292. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1254580
- Guala, F., Mittone, L., & Ploner, M. (2013). Group membership, team preferences, and expectations. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 86, 183–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2012.12.003
- Haines, K. (2019). Student Perspectives on Joining Student Organizations [Doctoral Dissertation]. Northeastern University of Boston. https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:m044c837s/fulltext.pdf
- Harney, S., & Olivia, R. (2003). Civil society and civil society organizations in Indonesia. International Labour Office.
- Harro, B. (2000). The cycle of Socialization. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism, Antisemitism, Sexism, Heterosexism, Ableism, and Classism (pp. 45–52). Routledge.
- Hasyim, S. (2014). Challenging a Home Country: A Preliminary Account of Indonesian Student Activism in Berlin, Germany. ASEAS- Austrian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 7(2), 183–198. https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-2014.2-4
- Heine, S. J., Lehman, D. R., Peng, K., & Greenholtz, J. (2002). What’s wrong with cross-cultural comparisons of subjective Likert scales? The reference-group effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 903–918. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.903
- Hogg, M. A. (2016). Social Identity Theory (pp. 3–17). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29869-6_1
- Julious, S. A. (2005). Sample size of 12 per group rule of thumb for a pilot study. Pharmaceutical Statistics, 4(4), 287–291. https://doi.org/10.1002/pst.185
- Kadushin, C. (1966). The Friends and Supporters of Psychotherapy: On Social Circles in Urban Life. American Sociological Review, 31(6), 786–802. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2307/2091658
- Kieser, M., & Wassmer, G. (1996). On the Use of the Upper Confidence Limit for the Variance from a Pilot Sample for Sample Size Determination. MEINHARD KIES. Biom. J, 38, 941–949. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/bimj.4710380806
- King, P. M., Perez, R. J., & Shim, W. J. (2013). How college students experience intercultural learning: Key features and approaches. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 6(2), 69–83. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033243
- Leach, C. W., & Vliek, M. L. W. (2008). Group Membership as a ‘Frame of Reference’ for Interpersonal Comparison. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(1), 539–554. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2007.00058.x
- Li, J., Wang, Y., & Xiao, F. (2014). East Asian International Students and Psychological Well-Being: A Systematic Review. Journal of International Students, 4(4), 301–313. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v4i4.450
- Martono, M., Dewantara, J. A., Efriani, E., & Prasetiyo, W. H. (2022). The national identity on the border: Indonesian language awareness and attitudes through multi-ethnic community involvement. Journal of Community Psychology, 50(1), 111–125. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22505
- McKenna, K. Y. A., Green, A. S., & Gleason, M. E. J. (2002). Relationship Formation on the Internet: What's the Big Attraction? Journal of Social Issues, 58(1).
- Mcpherson, J. M., Popielarz, P. A., & Drobnic, S. (1992). Social Networks and Organizational Dynamics. American Sociological Association, 57(2), 153–170. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2307/2096202
- Mittelmeier, J., Rienties, B., Tempelaar, D., & Whitelock, D. (2018). Overcoming cross-cultural group work tensions: mixed student perspectives on the role of social relationships. Higher Education, 75(1), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0131-3
- Natoli, R., Jackling, B., & Seelanatha, L. (2014). The impact of instructor’s group management strategies on students’ attitudes to group work and generic skill development. Pedagogies, 9(2), 116–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2014.912519
- Noyens, D., Donche, V., Coertjens, L., van Daal, T., & Van Petegem, P. (2018). The directional links between students’ academic motivation and social integration during the first year of higher education. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 33(4), 749–767. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-017-0365-6
- Oktafiani, I. (2019). The meaning of diasporic identity: A case of Indonesian community overseas. Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities, 9(2), 147–156. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.14203/jissh.v9i2.154
- O'Neil, T., Young, T. J., Schartner, A., & Villalobos, L. (2022). Social Integration and Campus Internationalization through Performing Arts Volunteerism. Journal of Studies in International Education, 26(5), 521–540. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153221082722
- Pachur, T., Rieskamp, J., & Hertwig, R. (2004). UC Merced Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Title: The Social Circle Heuristic: Fast and Frugal Decisions Based on Small Samples Permalink Publication Date. The Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 26, 1077–1082. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1hg79025
- Park, K. (2019). Being connected: Academic, social, and linguistic integration of international students [Doctoral dissertation]. Purdue University Graduate School. https://doi.org/10.25394/PGS.8024828.v1
- Prieto-Arranz, J. I., Juan-Garau, M., & Mesquida-Mesquida, F. (2023). “Open Your Mind, Sharpen Your Wits”: A Narrative Approach to the Benefits of Study Abroad as Perceived by Erasmus+ Students. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 22(3), 216–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1871352
- Sahertian, P., & Jawas, U. (2021). Culture and excellent leaders: case of indigenous and non-indigenous Indonesian leaders. Heliyon, 7(11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08288
- Scheepers, D., & Ellemers, N. (2019). Social Identity Theory 1 Social Identity Theory. In K. Sassenberg & M. L. W. Vliek (Eds.), Social psychology in action: Evidence‐based interventions from theory to practice. Springerlink.
- Schiper, A., & Toueg, S. (2006). From Set Membership to Group Membership: A Separation of Concerns. IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, 3, 2–12. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1109/TDSC.2006.13
- Sutter, M. (2008). Individual behavior and group membership: Comment. Behavioral & Experimental Economic, 075, 1–21. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1277825
- Tachie-Donkor, G., & Ezema, I. J. (2023). Effect of information literacy skills on university students’ information seeking behaviour and lifelong learning. Heliyon, 9(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18427
- Teichler, U. (2004). Temporary study abroad: the life of ERASMUS students. European Journal of Education, 39(4).
- Umino, T., & Benson, P. (2016). Communities of Practice in Study Abroad: A Four-Year Study of an Indonesian Student’s Experience in Japan. Modern Language Journal, 100(4), 757–774. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12351
- Verbeke, W., & Wuyts, S. (2007). Moving in social circles - Social circle membership and performance implications. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(4), 357–379. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.423
- Ye, S., Li, J., Zeng, Z., & Hao, S. (2015). Research on the Impact of Social Circles on Self-Brand Connection: Regulation of Self-Awareness and Brand Value. Open Journal of Business and Management, 03(02), 155–162. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojbm.2015.32015
https://doi.org/10.37441/cejer/2025/7/2/15744