Learning and Personal Growth in a ‘Foreign’ Context: Intercultural Experiences of International Students

Dr Qing Gu, Dr Michele Schweisfurth & Professor Christopher Day 12 th September 2007

Presentation Outline

 Research Background  Mixed Method Research Design  Preliminary observations 2

Background (1): International Context Rapid internationalisation of higher education in the 1990s:  institutions of higher education become active players in the global marketplace (de Wit, 2002: 227)  ‘integrating an international/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research, and service functions of the academic institution’ (Knight, 1999: 16). 3

Background (2): National Context   British government’s worldwide educational campaign: “

Open a window on the world

” (Blair, 1999) “

International students are vital to the current and future health of UK further and higher education

” (D. A. Burslem, Chair of UKCOSA’s Board of Trustees, 2004):   Academic significance Cultural significance  Financial significance 4

Background (3): National Context  “Overseas student numbers are down. Bad news for British universities.” (

The Economist

12 th March 2005: 54)  The main “worrying” reasons (

The Economist

15 th January 2005: 27):  Global growing competition  “What Britain is offering if not as good as it could be”  Many British courses stiffly priced for what they offer 5

Background (3): Research  Few systematic, rigorous enquiries, and none offering a combined holistic and comparative perspective into international students’ intercultural adaptation over time in the British educational and societal environment  Little information on what has contributed to their differing levels of adaptation in the UK and why 6



A Comparative Study of International Students’ Intercultural Experiences

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Theoretical Framework (1) 

Hidden cultures

(Hall, 1959,1976)  Hofstede’s four dimensions of culture variability (1980, 1991, 2001) 8

Theoretical Framework (2)  Psychological and sociocultural adaptation (Ward

et al

2001)  Crosscultural versus intercultural experience  Intercultural experience in/as education (Alred

et al

2003)  Learner identities and power relationships between teachers and learners (Gu and Schweisfurth, 2006) 9

Theoretical Framework (3) A study abroad experience is:

a significant transitional event that brings with it a considerable amount of accompanying stress, involving both confrontation and adaptation to unfamiliar physical and psychological experiences and changes

(Cushner and Karim, 2004: 292) 10

Theoretical Framework (4) Particular stresses include: 

Cultural shock

(Adler, 1975 and 1985, Furnham and Bochner, 1982, Oberg, 1960, Ward, et al., 2001) 

Learning shock

(Gu, 2005) or

education shock

(Hoff, 1979, Yamazaki, 2005) 

Language shock

(Agar, 1996, Smalley, 1963) 

Role shock

1979). (Byrnes, 1966, Minkler and Biller, 11

Research Questions    Critical influences on the intercultural adaptation of international students during their stay in the UK:  Impact differentially upon international students over time?

 What are the contributing factors?

Key strategies that international students employ in their intercultural adaptation over time Similarities and/or differences in the development of intercultural competence amongst international students over time 12

Research Design

Initial Questionnaire Survey

(1,288 students) (November 2006)

Case Study (10 Students) First Round Interviews

(February 2007)

Two Follow-up Interviews

(May & November 2007)

Final Round Narrative Interviews

(March 2008)

Case study group meeting

(May 2008)

Second Round Questionnaire Survey

(with the initial sample of 1,288 students) (May 2008)

Synthesis of Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

(July-September 2008) 13

Distinctive Features of the Research    A mixed method approach A comparative approach Exhibiting strong

iconicity:

the intercultural theme of the research is embedded and reflected in the process of investigation by researchers whose own backgrounds span different cultures and combine insider and outsider perspectives (Gu & Schweisfurth, 2006; Gu and Maley, in press). 14

Preliminary Observations (1): Academic versus Social Adaptation  For most students, the challenges of adapting to a different academic culture appear to be more acute than adapting to a different cultural environment in the first round survey. Case studies suggest that YOUTH culture is the more challenging adaptation in terms of social life. 15

Preliminary Observations (1) 16

Preliminary Observations (1) 17

Preliminary Observations (2): Impact of Critical Influences Eg. a part-time job in Student Union “…

speaking to unknown people and talking to them about something that they might not be even interested in at all is not something which is in my nature and with which I would normally be comfortable with. But I think I am actually changing a little bit – not that I am starting to like to really but I am starting to be a bit more confident with approaching people out of nothing without any real reason and I don’t feel embarrassed anymore.”

(Case Study M) 18

Preliminary Observations (3): “Enjoy Loneliness”?

 Findings in relation to loneliness and feeling homesick portrayed a fairly positive picture about survey respondents’ psychological adjustment, in contrast to claims of the literature on sojourn adaptation which tend to over emphasise the negative influence of psychological loneliness on international students’ adaptation. 19

Preliminary Observations (3): Friendship Patterns  Survey: 75% had made ‘quite a few’ friends, mixing with international students. Those who mixed with home students were more likely to feel they had adjusted well socially and academically.

 Case studies: Substantial differences between individuals’ experiences and preferences - Internet a key tool for networking 20

Preliminary Observations (4): Dynamics and Complexity of Change  There were no significant differences in students’ reported overall social and academic adjustment between those from different regions of origin in the first round survey.  Personal, pedagogical and psychological factors are equally important as culture in influencing the intercultural process and outcomes  It is the interaction and dynamics within all of these factors, combined with the dynamics within the interaction between an individual and a new environment which impacts on the extent to which the individual may change and develop in the new environment. 21

Preliminary Observations (5): Agency and Resilience  Active social actors: a proactive, positive attitude towards the host society and the people around them.

  Strong sense of agency and resilience Well-being connections between language mastery, social interaction, personal development and academic outcomes in relation to intercultural adaptation: it is the students’ ability to manage these well-being connections which will be an indicator of their successful adaptation over time 22

Preliminary Observations (5): Agency and Resilience

Back home I had a career and a future. I was in control of my own life but I’ve lost track of that now. If I lose track of this one

[undergraduate study]

then I will lose everything so I have to fight hard to keep this one. So when I think of the fact that I need to be able to make money and I need to be able to look after my mum. This is my responsibility for my mum and my younger ones. I have no other choice but to work hard and to make sure that I achieve well. Because I have already lost my home and my job so I have to build something here and that’s why I’m holding on. But it’s not easy.

(Case study D)

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Preliminary Observations (6): Identity  Identity Change is the Key: Evidence suggests that international students’ adaptation to life in the UK and adjustment to academic study at their British universities are profoundly one change process which at the deepest level may involve identity change both as a student and as a person. 24

Contacts:

 Qing: [email protected]

 Michele: [email protected]

 Project Website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/ Research/current-projects/international Student-exper.php

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