Comparison of First-Year International Students' Adjustment to College at the Undergraduate and Graduate Level

Predictors of first-year undergraduate and graduate international students’ adjustment to college were examined using an online survey in 2019. The research sample consisted of 95 international students attending two universities in the United States. Findings showed a statistically significant difference between first-year graduate and undergraduate international students, as related to college adjustment. Further analysis discovered significant relationships among the predictor variables - resilience, relational skills, acculturative stress - and the criterion variable, which is adjustment to college, explaining 55% of the variance. Implications of findings for educators, college counselors, and college administrators, are provided, as well as directions for future research.

From Enrolment Rates to Collaborative Knowledge Production: A Critique to the Internationalization of Higher Education in Canada

Although not a new phenomenon, the evolvement, range and characteristics of the modern process of internationalization are worthy of attention. Despite many potential benefits of having a multicultural campus, internationalizing higher education requires more than the physical presence of international students. As stated on the literature, this process must value transnational knowledge as an asset to the educational experience, thus promoting collaborative knowledge production between teachers and students. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of studies done from the point of view of educators depicting how they perceive their graduate international students and internationalization itself. Therefore, through the perspectives of 10 professors at a mid-sized western Canadian university, this critical phenomenological research offers an analysis of the present condition of higher education in Canada. More specifically, this paper deconstructs some of the challenges of internationalization, in which graduates are to be recognized as active agents of circulation and production of knowledge and not just mere figures or passive recipients of information. Finally, questions about the complexity of incorporating epistemic diversity in a meaningful way through internationalization are proposed.

What Does “Good Adjustment” Mean for Chinese International Students? A Qualitative Investigation

In this study, we aimed to provide a rich description of Chinese graduate international students’ ways of coping with adjustment challenges and their subjective appraisal of adjustment. Nine Chinese graduate international students (six women, three men) from different institutions and disciplines reported their perceptions of the broad sociopolitical context, cultural adjustment experiences, and subjective evaluation of adjustment. We analyzed the data using consensual qualitative research method. Findings were summarized into three domains: (a) Perceived Sociopolitical Context, (b) Cultural Adjustment Challenges, and (c) Coping and Adjustment. We found frequent long-standing challenges in social and professional domains. Furthermore, interviewees reported an ongoing evaluative process where they negotiated host culture participation expectations in the context of adjustment challenges to achieve a subjective sense of satisfaction. Our findings have implications for professionals working with Chinese international students to help them mitigate internalized oppression and develop purpose and well-being.

A Qualitative Exploration of On-Campus Experiences of English-Speaking Graduate International Students at a Leading Japanese University

With the rapid expansion of English-medium courses/degree programs at Japanese universities over the past 15 years, a greater number of English-speaking international students from diverse backgrounds are being attracted. However, little research has been conducted to address the needs of this minority group, especially at the graduate level. Employing interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study explores on-campus satisfaction with life (SWL) of nine graduate international students studying primarily in the Englishmedium regarding the support model of their Japanese university. Four master themes of traditional support, student ideal support, challenges, and best practices are discussed. The results present effective Japanese university support strategies that can promote SWL of English-medium graduate international students.

The Relation of an International Student Center’s Orientation Training Sessions with International Students’ Achievement and Integration to University

The purpose of the research is to examine the relation of orientation training sessions with integration and achievement of the international students. The study used the Institutional Integration Scales, developed by Pascarella and Terenzini (1980), to examine the integration level of the international students. 181 freshmen undergraduate and graduate international students who study at an American university filled out the scales in June 2015. According to the results, the scale’s factor scores vary depending on the frequency of using the center. The students’ GPA scores did not vary with regard to whether the students benefited from the center frequently or not. The study findings show that the frequency of using the center is important on integration to university.

The Role of Attachment, Travel Experiences and English Proficiency in International Students’ Acculturative Stress and Depressive Symptoms

This study examined the relationship between attachment, travel experiences, and English proficiency and international students’ acculturative stress and depressive symptoms. A total of 91 graduate international students completed online surveys. Pearson correlations showed that both attachment anxiety and avoidance were positively correlated with depressive symptoms, while only attachment anxiety was positively correlated with acculturative stress. Acculturative stress was significantly higher for those participants who never traveled abroad prior to moving to the US. Additionally, lower scores on the speaking section of the TOEFL exam were related to more acculturative stress. Implications for outreach, counseling, and future research are discussed.

A New Conceptual Model for Understanding International Students’ College Needs

This study concerns the theory and practice of international marketing in higher education with the purpose of exploring a conceptual model for understanding international students’ needs in the context of a four-year college in the United States. A transcendental phenomenological design was employed to investigate the essence of international students’ needs within their study experiences and explore a conceptual model that can explain these needs. Qualitative data were collected from 12 undergraduate and graduate international students through semi-structured interviews. Using thematic analysis, findings expand typical marketing mix frameworks and advance an eight-dimensional international student needs model: Program, Place, Price, Promotion, Process, People, Physical Facility, and Peace.

Explaining the Effectiveness of the Contrast Culture Method for Managing Interpersonal Interactions Across Cultures

One of the current challenges in the field of intercultural education comes from the limited availability of training efficacy studies. The present study focused on explaining the effectiveness of the Contrast Culture Method (CCM) as an intercultural education method for managing interpersonal interactions across cultures between graduate international students and their local counterparts in an academic program in Japan. By incorporating a qualitative methodology through the grounded theory, the study explained a context of domestic interpersonal relations across cultures in Japan. The result showed CCM’s effectiveness based on respondents’ reflective accounts, and supported the ideas suggested by the original study. The article concludes with future directions for research and application of CCM.

A model of the factors affecting international postgraduate students’ pursuit of degrees: A case study

The aim of this paper is to present a model of the factors affecting international students’ pursuit of their academic degrees in tertiary institutions. This was achieved by identifying factors that commonly affect international postgraduate students. This was a questionnaire based case study with a sample of 24 post-graduate international students from one university in KwaZulu-Natal. Questionnaires were analysed using SPSS (version 21.0) and WarpPLS (4.0). WarpPLS (4.0) was used to draw up a statistically based model regarding the factors affecting international students in pursuit of their academic degrees. Results from the model show that financial stress, accommodation challenges, cultural shock, loneliness/homesick, communication skills and evaluation of their (previous) university experience affect students in their pursuit of their academic degrees in higher education. These findings could be used by students themselves to make them aware of possible challenges that lie ahead as well as by staff in international student offices at higher education institutions.

Place-making and Its Impact on International Graduate Student Persistence

This study explored the impact of place-making activities on the persistence of graduate international students at an American university. Sixteen international graduate students over the age of 18, attending an American university and living in the community for at least 1 year, participated in an in-depth interview about their experiences of places in the Midwestern state where they are currently enrolled as students. The study used a qualitative research method with the goal of uncovering the unique experiences of the participants. The study results indicate that international students benefit from having access to a combination of places that foster growth, social interaction, restoration, and safety. This research contributes to the knowledge of factors impacting international student persistence in graduate education. Results are discussed in the context of strategies that universities can implement to facilitate adjustment among their graduate international students.