Open AccessInternational Students’ Cultural and Social Experiences in a British University: “Such a hard life [it] is here”
Author(s) -
Linda Katherine Newsome,
Paul Cooper
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of international students
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.47
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 2166-3750
pISSN - 2162-3104
DOI - 10.32674/jis.v6i1.488
Subject(s) - psychology , qualitative research , social psychology , higher education , style (visual arts) , study abroad , institution , sociology , accommodation , pedagogy , social science , political science , law , archaeology , neuroscience , history
The authors in this qualitative study examined international students’ cultural and social experiences using data collected through case studies and semi-structured, in-depth, informant style interviews. Participants were all international students (n=18), mostly postgraduate from Asian and Far Eastern countries studying at a British higher education institution. The students’ personal journeys are traced through a three-stage process that moves from (1) high initial expectations, through (2) culture shock, to (3) various eventual patterns of accommodation. In addition to capturing the sometimes raw personal experiences of individuals, the study also delineates the ways in which geopolitical and social-emotional factors coalesce to shape students’ personal experience and self-concepts.