Chinese overseas doctoral student narratives of intercultural adaptation

Abstract

This study aims to explore how Chinese overseas doctoral students adjust to a different academic, social and cultural environment, using Giddens' theoretical framework of self-identity (1991). The findings indicate the participants proactively used various coping strategies in meeting challenges, and adapting to new social environments. Continuity and stability of selfidentity were achieved either culturally or academically through self-reflexivity, autonomy, creativity, authenticity, and reliance on an ontological identity. The result is to challenge the grand narrative of essentialised "problematic Chinese learners".

Exploring expectations, experiences and long-term plans of Chinese international students studying in the joint Sino-Russian degree

“…(R.9) Discussing students' experiences of studying at SRI Culture is an important factor in shaping the country's education system (Samovar et al 2007). Through socialisation, the educational system is one of the main socio-cultural domains which shapes the students' process of becoming and sense of self (Ye and Edwards 2015). According to Giddens (1991), such a process is not confined to the internal sphere, it is also socially and culturally produced; one which is constitutive of the social and psychological awareness of possible trajectories of life.…”

“…Specifically we wanted to explore how Chinese students perceptions of their educational experiences change during the course of their educational experience in Russia. In so doing, we respond to the need for understanding the educational and cultural challenges faced by the growing number of Chinese international students and their experiences in a foreign country such as Russia which is under-researched (Ye andEdwards 2015, Yang 2016).…”

Fostering Intercultural Identity During Study Abroad to Strengthen Intercultural Competence

“…She believes these exchanges compel abroad students to consider their own personal lives: "Some students start to ponder an increasingly complex sense of self, including their own ethnic identity, as the process of globalization advances and the movement of people and goods intensifies" (p. 717). Laubscher (1994), Jackson (2011), Sol (2013, Udrea (2014), Lo-Philip, Carroll, Tan, Ann, Tan, and Seow (2015), Ye and Edwards (2015), and Young, Natrajan-Tyagi, and Platt (2015) concur.…”

“…Scholars have long touted the personal benefits of study abroad (Pfnister, 1972;Nash, 1976;Kauffmann & Kuh, 1984;Yachimowicz, 1987;Carlson, Burn, Useem, & Yachimowicz, 1990;Kauffmann, Kuh, Weaver, & Weaver, 1992;Miller, 1993;Sharma & Mulka, 1993;Laubscher, 1994;Drews et al, 1996;Bates, 1997;Gmelch, 1997;Thot, 1998;Dwyer, 2004a;van Hoof & Verbeeten, 2005;Guerrero, 2006;Che, Spearman, & Manizade, 2009;Fry, Paige, Jon, Dillow, & Nam, 2009;Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009;Cho & Morris, 2015;Ye & Edwards, 2015). From the Grand Tour of Europe to today's multiple options for learning in different countries and cultures, study abroad has become a fixture within higher education.…”

A narrative inquiry into the identity formation of Chinese doctoral students in relation to study abroad

“…While study abroad is a topic which is attracting considerable interest among researchers (see e.g. Ye and Edwards, 2015;Wu, 2014;Durkin, 2011;Gu. et.…”