Cross-Cultural Transition and Psychological Adaptation of International Students: The Mediating Role of Host National Connectedness

Bethel, Alicia; Ward, Colleen; Fetvadjiev, Velichko H.

doi:10.3389/feduc.2020.539950

Cited by 38 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…Similar problems of adaptation are highlighted in a number of studies (Bethel et al, 2020;Chaiyasat, 2020;Ladum & Burkholder, 2019), which emphasize students' experience in culture shock and associated acculturative stress, cultural adjustment, negative emotional responses and others, strategies that could enhance student-host connectedness during cross-cultural transitions. At the same time, it is obvious that foreign students today demonstrate a demanding attitude towards members of the host society, noting the need to jointly create a cooperative environment that can benefit both representatives of the newcomers and the host society (Bethel et al, 2020).…”

Section: Adaptation and Psychological Problemsmentioning

confidence: 61%

New Understanding of the Barriers to Foreign Students Adaptation in the Changing Educational Landscape: The Case of Psycholinguistic Narrative Analysis

Tikhonova

Kosycheva

Efremova

2021

JLE

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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed nowadays life in every aspect so irreversibly that there is no doubt that the educational landscape must be continuously re-evaluated and revised. In this regard, particular emphasis is given to the issues of academic mobility and adaptation of foreign students. The aim of the study is to clarify a new understanding of the issues traditionally faced by foreign students in universities in the host country and to analyze new barriers that have arisen as a result of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper reports on a narrative research study exploring the experiences and perceptions of 42 first-year bachelor and master foreign students having come to Russia for the first time. Taking into account that human behaiviour can be predicted through language patterns, we analysed language features to compare the participants’ rational and emotional perception of the barriers to adaptation highlighted from their narratives. The findings suggest that almost all issues traditionally faced by foreign students have received a new understanding or have changed their hierarchy in their perception. Contemporary challenges have also created new barriers to adaptation. Temporalities and restrictions in physical movement received special emphasis as an obstacle to adaptation of foreign students. In the context of the total transformation that awaits higher education after the end of the pandemic and its transition to a hybrid format, the results of this study can be used by academic developers to establish a system of foreign students’ psychological adaptation.

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Section: Adaptation and Psychological Problemsmentioning

confidence: 61%

New Understanding of the Barriers to Foreign Students Adaptation in the Changing Educational Landscape: The Case of Psycholinguistic Narrative Analysis

Tikhonova

Kosycheva

Efremova

2021

JLE

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“…International students often face special challenges, so that their drop-out rates are higher compared to native German students -45% vs. 28% (bachelor level) and 29% vs. 19% (master level) (Heublein et al, 2017). Many of them feel challenged with adapting to a new cultural context (Bethel et al, 2020;Jindal-Snape & Ingram, 2013;Li, 2017Li, , 2019. Language barriers are a major difficulty of international students (Akanwa, 2015; Li, 2019;Wisniewski, 2018).…”

Section: Deriving Literature Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

35 th Bled eConference Digital Restructuring and Human (Re)action

2022

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There is widespread recognition that, during the process of digitalisation, much greater care is necessary in relation to the needs of individuals and society. One key area in which tensions exist is identity management. People think that their identities are intrinsic to themselves. Yet organisations represent themselves as 'provisioning' people with their 'identities'. In addition, the model of identity that organisations typically use evidences some important deficiencies. A fresh approach is needed to the model that underpins organisations' management of their relationships with people. This needs to be based on a deeper appreciation by designers of the nature of the phenomena that they seek to document and to exercise control over. A model of those phenomena is needed that is pragmatic, in the sense of fulfilling the needs of information systems (IS) practitioners and organisations, but also of the people whose data the organisation handles. It also needs to reflect metatheoretic insights. This paper presents such a model. It commences by drawing on ontology, epistemology and axiology in order to establish an outline metatheoretic model. The model is articulated, at the conceptual level and at the data modelling level. Initially, a relatively simple model is established, sufficient for inanimate objects and artefacts. The more complex requirements of humans are then addressed. It is contended that the resulting model provides a robust framework for identification and authentication in IS. 2 35 TH BLED ECONFERENCE DIGITAL RESTRUCTURING AND HUMAN (RE)ACTION R. Clarke: A Reconsideration of the Foundations of Identity Management 3 6 35 TH BLED ECONFERENCE DIGITAL RESTRUCTURING AND HUMAN (RE)ACTION EpistemologyThis section summarises analysis in Clarke ( 2021). Epistemology is the study of knowledge. Two contrasting conceptions of knowledge exist. The proposition of the first, 'empiricism', is that knowledge is derived from sensory experience, and is a body of facts and principles accumulated by humankind over the course of time, that are capable of being stored in the equivalent of a warehouse. This works well in circumstances where the Things represented by Entities are real rather than imaginary, and are inanimate, and their handling is largely mechanical. Examples include aircraft guidance systems and robotic production-lines.The other, 'apriorist' view is that that knowledge is internal and personal, and the concept is not applicable outside the mind of an individual human. Within this school of thought, knowledge is the matrix of impressions within which an individual situates newly acquired information.In order to cater for these two extremes, the term 'Knowledge' is best avoided, except when qualified by one of two adjectives:

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“…In the case of international students, all of these challenges are even more pronounced since they are accompanied by a cross-cultural transition (Bethel et al, 2020) that often implies language differences (Li et al, 2017;Wisniewski, 2018) and changes in the educational system and academic culture (Bethel et al, 2020;Morris-Lange, 2017).…”

Section: Psychological and Academic Adaptation Of International Students In Germanymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, a sense of university belonging was shown to buffer academic and social stressors of university life and thus to prevent negative consequences such as depression and burnout (e. g., Walton & Cohen, 2011). While many students are confronted with stressors related to the transition to university, such as study demands, relocation, separation from family and friends, and the need to make new friends (O'Keeffe, 2013), international students also have to master these challenges in a new cultural context (Bethel et al, 2020;Jindal-Snape & Ingram, 2013). Hence, a sense of university belonging can be expected to be a particularly important predictor for their academic and psychological adaptation.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Importance of a Sense of University Belonging for the Psychological and Academic Adaptation of International Students in Germany

Yildirim

Zimmermann

Jonkmann

2021

Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psycho

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Abstract. Although a sense of university belonging has been established as a crucial factor for students’ academic success and subjective well-being, little is known about its importance regarding the adaptation of international students in Germany. Likewise, few studies have addressed the long-term reciprocal relations of a sense of university belonging and psychological and academic outcomes. To close this research gap, we analyzed data from N = 3,837 international students with a set of cross-lagged panel models. The results showed that a high sense of belonging is beneficial for international students’ adaptation in Germany as it is related to better well-being, higher study satisfaction, and lower drop-out intention. Furthermore, these indicators of psychological and academic adaption predicted the development of a sense of university belonging across the study entrance period, which points to the dynamic relationship between both kinds of constructs. We discuss the theoretical implications and the implementation of interventions that promote a sense of university belonging to increase the psychological and academic adaptation of international students in Germany.

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Cross-Cultural Transition and Psychological Adaptation of International Students: The Mediating Role of Host National Connectedness

Cited by 38 publications

References 112 publications

New Understanding of the Barriers to Foreign Students Adaptation in the Changing Educational Landscape: The Case of Psycholinguistic Narrative Analysis

New Understanding of the Barriers to Foreign Students Adaptation in the Changing Educational Landscape: The Case of Psycholinguistic Narrative Analysis

35 th Bled eConference Digital Restructuring and Human (Re)action

The Importance of a Sense of University Belonging for the Psychological and Academic Adaptation of International Students in Germany

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