Cross-Cultural Adjustments and International Collegiate Athletes

Abstract

Ridinger and Pastore (2000a) proposed a theoretical model to measure international student-athlete adjustment to college consisting of: (a) adjustment factors, (b) antecedent dimensions to those factors, and (c) outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the antecedent factors listed by Ridinger and Pastore were indeed the best indicators of successful adjustment to college for international migrant athletes and to determine if other antecedent factors were also relevant to adjustment. Multiple qualitative interviews with 13 international athletes from four NCAA Division I institutions were conducted. Data collected through those interviews supported all of the antecedent dimensions of the Ridinger and Pastore (2000a) model with the exception of the perception dimension subheading of faculty/staff. New dimension subheadings (a) sense of adventure, (b) previous international travel experience, and (c) family influence emerged from the data and were added to a revised model of international athlete adjustment. During the recent "age of migration" (Castles & Miller, 1993), many contexts both within and outside of sport have seen a growing influx of international migrants. Collegiate sports in the United States have been no exception to this trend. According to a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) study, individuals from outside the U.S. comprised 5.5% of all male athletes and 6.9% of all female athletes at the Division I level in 2007-08, up from 2.4% of male athletes and 2.4%

International student-athlete adjustment experience at community colleges in the Midwest

“…The Ridinger and Pastore (2000) adjustment model served as the foundation for this research in providing an understanding of what elements are involved in shaping the adjustment experience for international student-athletes at community colleges. Popp, Love, Hums, and Kim (2010) later extended the Ridinger and Pastore (2000) international student-athlete adjustment model. The Popp et al (2010) cross-cultural adjustment study utilized international student-athletes competing at the NCAA Division I level at four major universities.…”

“…Popp, Love, Hums, and Kim (2010) later extended the Ridinger and Pastore (2000) international student-athlete adjustment model. The Popp et al (2010) cross-cultural adjustment study utilized international student-athletes competing at the NCAA Division I level at four major universities. As a result of their findings, they added additional subcategories to the adjustment model: family influence, travel experience, and adventure.…”

“…It is important for an international student-athlete to understand how to overcome challenges that he or she will face when attending college as a studentathlete outside of the borders of his or her home country. Using the Ridinger (1998) and Ridinger and Pastore (2000) adjustment models, along with the modified adjustments from Popp et al (2010), I investigated the adjustment themes of academic, social, institutional, personal-emotional, and athletics adjustment. I examined the antecedents with which international student-athletes arrived and continued with how their upbringing influenced their adjustment experiences, ultimately discovering how both affected the outcomes of satisfaction and performance (see Figure 1).…”

“…In this study, I also looked for additional emerging themes from international studentathletes at community colleges compared to those attending 4-year universities. A positive adjustment experience leads to successful college experience (Popp et al, 2010). These adjustment experiences influence international student-athletes to remain on campus throughout their first year, return for a second year, and ultimately complete their associate's degree.…”

“…The cultural distance dimension includes the gap between home culture and the culture found at a studentathlete's new institution, community, and geographical region. Connections with teammates, coaches, administration, and faculty and staff encompass the interpersonal dimension (Popp et al, 2010;Ridinger, 1998;Ridinger & Pastore, 2000). Baker and Siryk (1989) created a quantitative questionnaire, the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire, that serves to measure an individual's adjustment to college.…”