Pre-Departure Cultural Preparation for International Students

Abstract

As international students continue influencing U.S. higher educational systems, greater attention is placed on innovative cross-cultural curriculum as well as international student recruitment and retention policies. To contribute research-based implications for practice, the authors introduces findings from a phenomenological study which examined pre-departure and post-arrival experiences of eastern Asian undergraduate international students who either completed a pre-departure cultural preparation treatment or received the university's standard international student services at a western U.S. research university. This study contributes a new understanding of one pre-departure online cultural preparation treatment that increased cultural knowledge and cross-cultural coping in addition to eastern Asian students' recommendations for U.S. higher education to improve international education's pre-departure and post-arrival processes.

Factors Influencing Life Satisfaction of International Students in Mainland China

“…Pre-departure preparedness in terms of information provided by the host institution has also been found to influence how easily an international student adapts to a new study environment (Madden-Dent and Laden 2016 ). This pre-preparation information from host country settings typically includes not only important educational details about academic matters but also information about social life, accommodation, financial budgeting, and the availability of counseling and learning support services (Alemu and Cordier 2017 ).…”

“My Cross-Border PhD Journey”: A Qualitative Study on the Educational and Life Challenges of Mainland Chinese PhD Students in Hong Kong

“…CCT refers to formal educational efforts to help elicit affective, behavioral and cognitive changes for improving crosscultural adjustment and communication [86], which has been recommended for increasing students' confidence and ability to adjust effectively in a cross-cultural setting, raising their awareness towards the norms and ways of living in the host society [87]. It may also be advised for universities to provide pre-departure online CCT to new mainland students [88]. Reliable information resources (e.g., online living guidance brochure, links for helping cultural adaption, brief introduction of services provided by universities) could be provided alongside the admission notice.…”