COMPARING TWO GENERATIONS OF CHINESE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS STUDYING IN THE UNITED STATES
Open Access
- Author:
- Zhang, Xiaoqiao
- Graduate Program:
- Lifelong Learning and Adult Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 27, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Adnan Qayyum, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Adnan Qayyum, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Craig A. Campbell, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Roger C Shouse, Committee Member
Weifan Chen, Outside Member
Susan Mary Land, Program Head/Chair
Craig A. Campbell, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- International Student
Chinese Student
Acculturation Stress
Generational Differnece
Social Support
Situated Learning - Abstract:
- This study is an exploratory multiple case study that compares two different generations of Chinese international students in the United States and describes their experiences. This research investigates three questions: How do acculturation stresses differ between the two generations of Chinese international students? How do individuals create their social networks? How do individuals learn from their social networks to cope with these acculturation stresses? The eight participants in this study represent two generations of Chinese international students. Four of the participants were born in the 1950s, 五零后, and studied in the United States after the China economic reform policy was implemented in 1978. The other four participants were born in the 1990s, 九零后, and studied in the United States during the peak period of globalization and international education in China. Situated learning is used to analyze and understand the path from the stressors students encounter to the final coping strategies the students deploy. The results suggest that the challenges facing participants from the two generations did not generally differ much despite differences in historical contexts, and the locations and types of universities at which the participants studied. All of the participants had difficulties with language, the U.S. education system, social support, and mental health. However, the patterns and the experiences of the stressors differed. The participants from the 1950s generation found that the language and education differences mostly emerged in academic settings. In contrast, the participants from the 1990s generation found that language challenges mainly arose during social interaction and everyday life. One surprising finding is that despite current digital technologies and tools, both generations found physical social support to be important. Likewise, for both generations the importance of communities working together was clear. Finally, for all the international students interviewed in this study, important learning happened not only in the classroom and among peers. In fact, much learning happened outside of the classroom and through various people and organizations. The communities of practice that the students created during their journeys impacted their overall growth in significant ways, both professionally and personally.