The US's National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) have long shown that students' engagement such as the level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environment, have all contributed to the desired outcomes in college. In Taiwan, a national dataset called the Freshman-Junior Student Survey (FJSS); wherein 49,609 students were surveyed, was used to gather information regarding students' learning experiences. Using the NSSE as a model, this paper details the quantitative analysis of the FJSS with the aim of developing a Taiwan student engagement model (TSEM). Results show that the TSEM both contains conceptual factors derived from the NSSE and contextual issues that are only found in Taiwan. Lastly, the psychometric properties of the TSEM were validated using the confirmatory factor analysis.

Exposing to a new culture has always been a challenging part of short-term study abroad (exchange) programs. Studies have shown that these exposures, if handled correctly, should be able to provide valuable cross-cultural experiences. As the opportunities for study abroad kept increasing, understanding the changes that happen is quite crucial in preparing students before they embark to their exchange destination. To answer this question, the current study discusses the formation and validation of a set of behavioral, cognitive, and affective situational changes that students encounter during their study abroad duration in Taiwan. Focus group interviews were conducted to gather and collect a set of situational changes that most short-term study abroad students encounter. A pilot study was conducted on 219 students; afterwards the validated survey was administered nationwide with a total of 512 respondents. Structured equation modelling was used to present the confirmatory factor analysis of the measured dimensions. It is hoped that by having a validated set of situational changes that most study abroad students encounter, more effective pre/post travel preparations can be made.In addition, the data collected from the nationwide survey can also be used to determine the current state of short-term study abroad students in Taiwan.

Within the 2013 OECD annual education report, statistics have shown that there are already around 4.3 million tertiary level students studying outside their home country. Yet, this number is expected to increase in the years to come. However, parallel to the increasing number of study abroad opportunities are the rising number of problematic mental health issues of these international students.In Taiwan, similar trends of increasing number of international students are also observed. A more distinct Taiwan characteristic is the presence of four foreign student groups, namely: international students (IS), mainland Chinese students (MCS), Hong Kong and Macau students (HKM), and the overseas Chinese students (OCS). With the goal of developing Taiwan higher education institutions into strong venues for study abroad, it is quite important that these students are well taken care of. Therefore, understanding the students' mental health situation is a key step in achieving this purpose.In light of this issue, the current paper shall present the findings of a study focusing on the different student groups' acculturative hassles and strategies and the corresponding relationship with their level of depression, anxiety, and stress. Focus group interviews were conducted to gather the various acculturative hassles, while a revised acculturative strategies survey based on Barry's (2001) East Asian Acculturation Measure (EAAM) was used to determine the students' reactions and behaviors during study abroad. In addition, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) was also administered to measure the students' level of depression, anxiety, and stress. A total of 888 responds were collected from an online survey that lasted for three weeks. Factor analyses were accomplished resulting in the formation of three major groups of acculturative hassles, namely: adverse feelings, struggles, and communication (language) difficulties. Statistical results show that the HKM scored highest in the three DASS scales for depression, anxiety, and stress. In addition, OCS is the most marginalized and separated student group among the foreign students. Lastly, IS seems to have the most communication difficulties, while all the students moderately struggles with their academic related hassles. Additional,

No abstract

This study examined the relationship between intercultural social efficacy (ISE), coping strategies, Mandarin Chinese and English language proficiency, and depression. In total, 1870 foreign students in Taiwan participated in the study. Study results indicated that aspects of background demographics may influence depression levels. Participants with an immigrant background and those who are older are more likely to suffer from depression; however, gender and length of stay do not seem to affect depression. The moderating effects of Mandarin Chinese and English language proficiency and ISE on the relationship between coping strategies and depression were examined. Based on the results, the moderating role of Mandarin Chinese and English language proficiency was not supported, suggesting that coping strategies are independent of linguistic proficiency. However, knowing both languages is an important factor in reducing the stress of studying abroad. Additionally, the results confirmed the moderating effects of ISE, suggesting that a higher level of social effectiveness reinforces the negative association between coping strategies and depression. Students who are better able to interact with other cultures may be able to develop effective coping strategies. Moreover, this study found that although most of the study abroad students were not depressed, early intervention and prevention measures could help alleviate possible mental health crises.