Culture Shock: A Review of the Literature for Practitioners

Furnham, Adrian

doi:10.4236/psych.2019.1013119

“…At the societal level for instance, globalization and internationalization of higher education in South Africa and the consequent reaching out to an international pool of applicants have contributed to it being their choice for studies While push factors in their country of origin have also come to the fore. At the individual level in line with Furnham (2019), results showed that certain characteristics of individual students played a role in their adapting to their new learning environment for example "training and experience". Participants were able to gain access to part-time work as tutors or research assistants while studying, and as such could use their learning, whether formal or informal to aid their cultural transition.…”

Section: Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 76%

Experiences of African international students in a South African university – A qualitative study

Kasese-Hara

¹

,

Mugambi

²

2021

SAJHE

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South Africa has in latter decades embraced the growing trend of internationalization in higher education leading to greater international mobility of staff and students. Compared to other countries in most of the sub-Saharan Africa region, South Africa has a larger capacity to meet the tertiary needs of students within the region. An increasing number of international students has implications for their academic success, adaptation and wellbeing once in their host country. The current study explored the lived experiences of international students in a South African university, from 5 other African countries. The study adopted a qualitative design, using semi-structured in-depth interviews and open-ended questions. Nine mainly postgraduate students (4 males and 5 females) were recruited using convenient and snowball sampling methods. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis and revealed 5 themes namely "Internationalisation", "experiencing the unforeseen", "access", "social support" and "structural support", with several sub-themes emerging from these. A resulting framework shows "empowerment", "alienation" and "adaptation" as over-arching themes in experiencing the phenomenon of being an African foreign student in South Africa.

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“…Ward et al's (2001; and Zhou et al's (2008) acculturation models An unpleasant experience that cultural travellers have in a host country is generally termed 'culture shock'. Coupled with 'reverse culture shock', this term has been widely used in the popular media (Furnham, 2019) and employed in studies on international students' experiences (Belford, 2017;Furnham, 2019;Presbitero, 2016). The concept of culture shock is used by many international students because it resonates with them and provides some reassurance that what they experience has been encountered by others (Belford, 2017;Heng, 2017).…”

Section: Other Acculturation Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…was initially used to explore people's intercultural experience. In the past, this term was used to investigate immigrants' experiences relating to mental health (Furnham, 2019).…”

Section: Other Acculturation Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

A home away from home? An interpretative phenomenological analysis of Vietnamese students’ acculturation experiences in Aotearoa-New Zealand

Ho¹

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International students’ experiences are a major concern for universities and educational researchers. Globally, Vietnam is a top source country for international students. Universities in Aotearoa-New Zealand host an increasing number of Vietnamese students, but researchers often subsume this group into generic cultural and ethnic categories such as ‘Asian student’. As a result, little is known about their experience.<div> This study explores the everyday experiences of 10 Vietnamese master’s students from an Aotearoa-New Zealand university through a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews. An interpretative phenomenological analysis approach enabled me to capture the essential meanings of the participants’ experiences and understand what it was like to be Vietnamese students in Aotearoa-New Zealand. <div> </div>As the participants built new lives in Aotearoa-New Zealand, they dealt with the practicalities of uncomfortable or difficult housing conditions as well as established relationships within the diverse cultural contexts of the host country. Accommodation issues had a significant impact on their studies and sense of security and belonging. The students had a hard time finding a place to live. Not feeling comfortable, safe or at peace in their new houses, they did not feel like they were at home. They did not view their houses as a place where they could take refuge and leave the hustle of life outside. In academic settings, the students initially struggled to deal with a range of new and unfamiliar learning and teaching styles (e.g., classroom discussion) and conventions about referencing and citing. These made them feel overwhelmed and bewildered. During these formative months, many of them experienced language difficulties, a sense of cultural dislocation, and a deep yearning for their families. These difficulties forced them to learn to deal with challenges and become independent. The students drew strength from their Vietnamese cultural values and practices to overcome difficulties. Based on the findings, I propose a framework for exploring the experience of short-term Vietnamese international students. The study provides implications for host universities to assist Vietnamese students as they orient themselves to daily life in Aotearoa-New Zealand.</div>

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“…An unpleasant experience that cultural travellers have in a host country is generally termed 'culture shock'. Coupled with 'reverse culture shock', this term has been widely used in the popular media (Furnham, 2019) and employed in studies on international students'…”

Section: Acculturation Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…experiences (Belford, 2017;Furnham, 2019;Presbitero, 2016). The concept of culture shock is used by many international students because it resonates with them and provides some reassurance that what they experience has been encountered by others (Belford, 2017;Heng, 2017).…”

Section: Acculturation Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A home away from home? An interpretative phenomenological analysis of Vietnamese students’ acculturation experiences in Aotearoa-New Zealand

Ho¹

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

International students’ experiences are a major concern for universities and educational researchers. Globally, Vietnam is a top source country for international students. Universities in Aotearoa-New Zealand host an increasing number of Vietnamese students, but researchers often subsume this group into generic cultural and ethnic categories such as ‘Asian student’. As a result, little is known about their experience.<div> This study explores the everyday experiences of 10 Vietnamese master’s students from an Aotearoa-New Zealand university through a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews. An interpretative phenomenological analysis approach enabled me to capture the essential meanings of the participants’ experiences and understand what it was like to be Vietnamese students in Aotearoa-New Zealand. <div> </div>As the participants built new lives in Aotearoa-New Zealand, they dealt with the practicalities of uncomfortable or difficult housing conditions as well as established relationships within the diverse cultural contexts of the host country. Accommodation issues had a significant impact on their studies and sense of security and belonging. The students had a hard time finding a place to live. Not feeling comfortable, safe or at peace in their new houses, they did not feel like they were at home. They did not view their houses as a place where they could take refuge and leave the hustle of life outside. In academic settings, the students initially struggled to deal with a range of new and unfamiliar learning and teaching styles (e.g., classroom discussion) and conventions about referencing and citing. These made them feel overwhelmed and bewildered. During these formative months, many of them experienced language difficulties, a sense of cultural dislocation, and a deep yearning for their families. These difficulties forced them to learn to deal with challenges and become independent. The students drew strength from their Vietnamese cultural values and practices to overcome difficulties. Based on the findings, I propose a framework for exploring the experience of short-term Vietnamese international students. The study provides implications for host universities to assist Vietnamese students as they orient themselves to daily life in Aotearoa-New Zealand.</div>

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Culture Shock: A Review of the Literature for Practitioners

Cited by 42 publications

References 77 publications

Experiences of African international students in a South African university – A qualitative study

Experiences of African international students in a South African university – A qualitative study

A home away from home? An interpretative phenomenological analysis of Vietnamese students’ acculturation experiences in Aotearoa-New Zealand

A home away from home? An interpretative phenomenological analysis of Vietnamese students’ acculturation experiences in Aotearoa-New Zealand

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