scholarly journals International Students in Transition: Voices of Chinese Doctoral Students in a U.S. Research University

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-194
Author(s):  
Yi (Leaf) Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Research University ◽  
Adult Transition ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Sociocultural Experiences ◽  
Students In Transition ◽  
Chinese Doctoral Students

In this study, I focused on international Chinese doctoral students and sought to better understand their lived experience in transition to U.S. higher education. I also aimed to explore strategies that can be employed to improve these students’ academic and sociocultural experiences on American campuses. Guided by the adult transition theory (Goodman, Schlossberg & Anderson, 2006), this study used an interpretive phenomenological method. Qualitative data were collected from in-depth focus group interviews. The findings of this study informed higher education educators and practitioners about unique challenges faced by international Chinese graduates in transition and provided insightful knowledge for new practice, programs, and policies that can be created to improve international students’ transition and success

Increasing Participation of International Students in the Higher Education Classrooms Through Technology-Enhanced Instruction

2020 ◽  
pp. 307-327
Author(s):  
Hyunsil Park ◽  
Robert A. Filback ◽  
Jenifer Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Research University ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
International Graduate Students ◽  
International Graduate ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
Speakers Of Other Languages ◽  
Master Of Arts ◽  
The U.S

This research-based chapter explores East Asian international graduate students' challenges in the U.S. higher education environment and identifies how technology-enhanced instructional practices can increase their active participation in the classroom. The classroom-based intervention study was conducted in a Master of Arts program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at a research university in the Western U.S. The participants were 56 students in this TESOL program. The three types of technology (Padlet, Plickers, and Poll Everywhere) were selected based on criteria including ease of implementation and positive influences on students' participation and learning in class. The data were collected through a pre- and post-survey and three weeks of classroom observation. The resulting qualitative observational and survey data revealed consequences of the technology enhancements in instruction in terms of changes in students' active participation in class, insights produced into critical cultural understandings, and relationships to learning outcomes.

Beyond the Cultural Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-258
Author(s):  
Jingzhou Liu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Chinese International Students ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Color Line ◽  
Cultural Approach ◽  
Canadian Higher Education ◽  
Intercultural Adaptation

AbstractChinese international students are vital to internationalization development in Canadian higher education, providing immediate and significant social and economic benefits to Canadian society. The existing scholarly studies have primarily adopted a cultural approach, with a focus on intercultural adaptation or related cross-cultural perspectives. This study goes beyond the cultural approach and examines how race, gender, and class intersect in producing social inequality among Chinese international students in Canada. Through the narratives of five students attending higher education institutions in British Columbia, the study reveals that Chinese international students have experienced discrimination in relation to developing friendship, integrating to the learning environment, and accessing supports and resources on campus based on the color of skin, their gender, and misperception of their class. The color line divides them into the “dominant white” and “people of color.” Color blindness negates their racial identities and ignores the ways in which these affect their learning experiences. The findings of this research call for an intersectional approach to examine international students and their lived experiences by addressing students’ multiple identities and differences to enrich their lived experience in Canada.

scholarly journals Do international classes pay off? A cost-benefit analysis of the internationalisation of higher education in Flanders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristof De Witte ◽  
Mara Soncin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Micro Data ◽  
Internationalisation Of Higher Education ◽  
Major Trend ◽  
National Economies

AbstractInternationalisation is a major trend in higher education worldwide. Yet, little evidence is given on the net impact of international students on national economies. This study addresses this gap by estimating the benefits against the costs driven by international students in Belgium and its Flemish region in particular. Using a unique combination of various sources of micro-data, the results show net positive benefits that exceed costs by a factor ranging between 2.4 (lower bound) and 3.1 (upper bound) times. The results vary highly with the level of education, as the ratio is the lowest for doctoral students (1.2–1.6) and highest for master students (5.1–6.3). The effect is mainly driven by a high stay rate of international students, who are likely to work in the country after graduation. When considering indirect effects, our results show that there are no significant peer effects due to the presence of international students in the classroom.

scholarly journals Beyond survey measures: exploring international male graduate students’ sense of belonging in electrical engineering

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Lising Antonio ◽  
Chanwoong Baek
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Research University ◽  
Academic Motivation ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
International Graduate Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Graduate

Purpose Although a student’s sense of belonging is a key factor of persistence in higher education, research on international students’ belonging tends to rely on domain-agnostic survey measures and promote interpretations that focus mainly on social integration and adjustment. This paper aims to examine how male international graduate students in engineering understand and describe their sense of belonging and how they perceive its development at their institution. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 12 male electrical engineering doctoral students at a selective research university in the USA. This interpretive approach allowed students to articulate their subjective understanding of belonging within a specific disciplinary context. Findings Contrary to the broad notion that the social domain is the primary locus of students’ sense of belonging, participants emphasized the academic domain when referring to their struggles with, and attempts to develop, a sense of belonging. Results suggest that the meritocratic culture of engineering education may influence students to prioritize the academic domain when conceptualizing and developing their belonging. Moreover, the strong academic motivation endemic to international students pursuing graduate education at a top American research university intensified this mechanism. Originality/value This study argues that universities seeking to enhance international graduate students’ sense of belonging can be more intentional in providing opportunities for students to establish positive academic identities. Furthermore, addressing students’ non-academic identity and marginalization as relevant and essential topics in engineering will expand their understanding of what means to belong.

scholarly journals Psychological Adjustment of Chinese PhD Students: A Narrative Study

10.28945/4649 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 595-614
Author(s):  
Chun Yan Yang ◽  
Li Bai
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Moral Education ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies ◽  
International Doctoral Students ◽  
Chinese Doctoral Students

Aim/Purpose: International PhD students suffer a lot of stress. However, many studies about international students focus on identifying the stressors these students experience rather than the stress-coping strategies, and those that explore international students’ coping behaviour often report maladjustments. Background: This study intended to fill the research gap by examining the strategies that Chinese students employed to psychologically adjust to their PhD study. Methodology: Narrative inquiry method was employed to give voice to the research participants. Six Chinese doctoral students in social sciences in Australian universities were purposefully sampled and interviewed three times during their candidature in order to gain an in-depth understanding of their lived experiences of stress-coping. Contribution: This paper provides positive stress-coping strategies used by six Chinese doctoral students, which can be used by international doctoral students or those who work with doctoral students from abroad to improve their psychological well-beings. Findings: These Chinese PhD students adopted positive stress-coping strategies of regulating their emotions and retaining their motivation. They adopted illusory and interpretive forms of secondary control by reframing realities to obtain psychological peace when faced with stress. The ways that Chinese PhD students handled stress suggest that the Chinese moral education and the characteristic motivation for learning attributed them with positive personal characteristics to battle the adverse conditions. Recommendations for Practitioners: Institutions/departments can initiate support groups for PhD students from the same disciplines where students can express their stress, seek assistance from senior doctoral students and exchange their strategies. Institutions/departments can also support international doctoral candidates by taking a more flexible approach to policies and procedures concerning doctoral students taking leave both in terms of when it is taken and the duration. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can focus on international doctoral students’ positive stress-coping experiences as well as negative experiences to present a balanced picture of the doctoral journey. Impact on Society: The findings from this research on doctoral students’ stress-coping can equip doctoral students with strategies to handle their psychological challenges, which in turn may enhance their overseas doctoral experiences, reduce the dropout rates, and raise awareness of supervisors and institutions about doctoral students’ psychological well-beings. Future Research: Future research can examine the stress-coping experiences of other international doctoral students, focusing not only from the individual psychological angle but from the academic and social perspectives.

scholarly journals PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF ACADEMIC STAFF IN SWEDEN ON EXAMPLE OF RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (14) ◽  
pp. 27-29
Author(s):  
Ilona Mariuts ◽  
◽  
Veronica Bovsunovska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research University ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
National Strategy ◽  
Educational Activities

The article deals with the professional development of teaching staff in Sweden on the example of Lund Research University. The author reveals the national strategy for the development and support of higher education staff in Sweden, as well as the features of the educational activities of Swedish higher education teachers on the example of Lund University. The author reveals the university's approach to improving the activities of teachers, namely the introduction of a teaching course in higher education is mandatory for all who teach at Lund University. We are talking about the course "Teaching and learning in higher education" or "Development of a course in higher education". Accordingly, teachers who supervise doctoral students must undergo special teacher training.

scholarly journals The Dynamics of Being Alone and Stressed: Pakistani Female Doctoral Students’ Experiences and Coping Strategies while Pursuing Higher Education in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
Syed Faisal Hyder Shah ◽  
Abdul Razaque Channa ◽  
Musharaf Ali Talpur
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Community Based ◽  
New Host ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
And Coping

This paper explores the complex nuances and experiences of international female doctoral students when they are in the ‘settling-in phase’ to their new (host) country of higher education. When coming to Malaysia as international students, they experience feelings of being outside of their country of origin. Being physically away from their loved ones, they constantly feel stress, loneliness and homesickness. To overcome these challenges, it is especially important for the international students to surmount their first few months in the host country's communities. To achieve these results, the study employs a qualitative methodology underpinned by symbolic interactionism to elicit the true significance of these Pakistani female doctoral students’ social interactions with the host country’s community. Based on our findings, we established that female doctoral students involve themselves in a variety of coping strategies keeping in view the new environment of a host country and their adjustment to it, such as binge-watching, social network sharing, faith-based activities, going to the gym, routine management and travel and outing

scholarly journals Suggestions for International Students in the US

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-316
Author(s):  
Uttam Gaulee
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Culture ◽  
Admission Process ◽  
Successful Student ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Way

For international students transitioning into the US academic and social culture, as well as for those aspiring to make USA their higher education destination, Paras’ book is a savvy guide and companion. The book provides a detailed guidance in an illustrative manner for aspiring international students on critical steps from the beginning of the admission process to documentation, travel, and transition. The way Paras has chronicled a lived experience of a successful student himself, is commendable.

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