Recurring Themes Across Fractal Issues Facing International Students: A Thematic Analysis of 2016 Dissertations and Theses

Bista, Krishna; Gaulee, Uttam

doi:10.32674/jis.v7i4.198

“…The academic communities, research groups and other scholarly forums within the university provide an opportunity to the doctoral students to interact, experience and give meanings to what is happening and how these activities immediately affect their understanding of the academic environment and how do they contribute to their development in relations to the world where these events occur and where they exist 'bodily' (Bista, 2016;Bista & Gaulee, 2017;Cowly & Ssekasi, 2018;Khanal & Gaulee, 2019;Li, Wang, Liu, Xu, & Cui, 2018;Li & Zizzi, 2018). The previous research in this area shows that students' learning experiences are determined by the learning environment (Austin, 2002;Golde & Dore, 2001;McAlpine & Amundsen, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Understanding of Doctoral Students’ Experience of Embodiment

Waheed

¹

2021

JASS

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Human beings exist in the world ‘bodily’ and their existence is inexorable. International doctoral students’ understanding of themselves and their perspectives of the learning environment is through their embodiment. The purpose of the present research was to understand doctoral students’ embodiment experiences in relation to a culturally and academically diverse university environment. This understanding was gained through the phenomenological lense of qualitative research. For this purpose, thirteen doctoral students were selected through maximum variation sampling from the Austrian public sector universities located in different states. They were doing doctoral studies in various physical and social sciences at different stages of their dissertation. The understanding of the phenomenon was sought through semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed by coding the text and categorizing it into themes that emerged while frequently reading the transcripts. The emerging themes include ‘stress and anxiety, ‘confidence and motivation’ and ‘physical fatigue and exertion’. Most of the students experienced ‘confidence’, ‘encouragement’, ‘depression’, ‘nervousness’, ‘homesickness’, ‘stress’ and ‘frustration’ when asked about ‘lived body’ or corporeality. The study has implications in understanding doctoral students’ ‘bodily’ existence in the universities.

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“…Most academic departments have different norms and values that influence students' performance, adjustment, and experiences with other students and faculty (Le & Gardner, 2010;Lechuga, 2011). In other words, the students and faculty significantly contribute to the development and social adjustment of international students in a foreign university (Bista, 2016;Bista & Gaulee, 2017;Cowly & Ssekasi, 2018;Khanal & Gaulee, 2019;Li, Wang, Liu, Xu, & Cui, 2018;Li & Zizzi, 2018;Gardner, 2010;Jones, 2013;Weidman, & Stein, 2003). In particular, international students' assistance in emotional and professional matters is considered the most important and salient feature of their institutional adjustment that helps them cope with other crucial problems during their studies (Khanal & Gaulee, 2019;Li & Zizzi, 2018;Martinez, Ordu, Della Sala, & McFarlane, 2013;Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research shows that the student-supervisor relationship depends upon match or mismatch between them, which affects students' performance (Hilmer & Hilmer, 2007). The supervisors should be effective guide, pleasant counsellor, influential trainer and good critic for engaging students in guiding them (Bista & Gaulee, 2017;Li & Zizzi, 2018;Spillett, & Moisiewicz, 2004). Also, the supervisors are academicians and researchers, and should not behave bureaucratically (Barnes & Austin, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Supervisor-Doctoral Student Relationship: A Qualitative Interview Study in Austrian Universities

Waheed¹

2021

PSSR

0

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Doctoral students' relationship with supervisors and cosupervisors supports their socio-academic integration and contributes to their academic success. The study purports to explicate a deeper understanding of doctoral students' lived experience of how they tend to develop their relationship with the supervisors and how they assist them in adjusting to the university's institutional environment. Eleven purposively selected doctoral students described their experiences in response to open-ended questions posed in the semi-structured interviews. A phenomenological approach was employed to execute the study and analyze the qualitative data (Van Manen, 1997). As a result, significant thematic aspects were identified from the participants' conversations that include 'supportive relationship', 'friendly and informal interaction' and 'interactive communication'. The emergent themes informed that most of the doctoral students experienced positive and supporting relationships with the supervisors and co-supervisors that helped them integrate into the university's academic communities. The study has implications for the supervisors and doctoral students for establishing and strengthening the academic relationships.

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Studying in a foreign country presents some unique adjustment problems for international students who tend to be more vulnerable to emotional, relational, and psychological distress in comparison to their domestic counterparts (Bista & Gaulee, 2017; HBSC, 2019;Mesidor & Sly, 2016). If not properly understood and appropriately addressed, these problems can result in declining academic performance, withdrawal from school, and physical deterioration (Alloh, Tait, & Taylor, 2018;Bista & Gaulee, 2017).

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…

Studying in a foreign country presents some unique adjustment problems for international students who tend to be more vulnerable to emotional, relational, and psychological distress in comparison to their domestic counterparts (Bista & Gaulee, 2017; HBSC, 2019;Mesidor & Sly, 2016). If not properly understood and appropriately addressed, these problems can result in declining academic performance, withdrawal from school, and physical deterioration (Alloh, Tait, & Taylor, 2018;Bista & Gaulee, 2017). Even though efforts are being made to study international students' experiences, most samples have come from Asian and Latin American international student populations and results have been overgeneralized to all international students (Bista & Gaulee, 2017;Araujo, 2011).

…”

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confidence: 99%

Adjustment Experiences of Zimbabwean International Students Studying in the United States

2021

JEP

0

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Studying in a foreign country presents some unique adjustment problems for international students who tend to be more vulnerable to emotional, relational, and psychological distress in comparison to their domestic counterparts (Bista & Gaulee, 2017; HBSC, 2019;Mesidor & Sly, 2016). If not properly understood and appropriately addressed, these problems can result in declining academic performance, withdrawal from school, and physical deterioration (Alloh, Tait, & Taylor, 2018;Bista & Gaulee, 2017). Even though efforts are being made to study international students' experiences, most samples have come from Asian and Latin American international student populations and results have been overgeneralized to all international students (Bista & Gaulee, 2017;Araujo, 2011). This trend in literature tends to overlook the unique experiences of students from other nations. To avoid such overgeneralizations, this qualitative study explored adjustment experiences of Zimbabwean international students studying in the United States. Qualitative inquiry (basic interpretive approach) was selected as the research method due to the explorative nature of the research questions. Nine participants from six universities across the United States were recruited using the snowball sampling method. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data and NVivo was used to code and categorize responses. Three overarching themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) limited resources, (b) navigating the United States' academic environment, and (c) socio-cultural barriers. These findings will likely provide new insights that help educators become more culturally responsive to the needs of Zimbabwean international students and create more inclusive learning environments that facilitate better adjustment and academic success.

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Recurring Themes Across Fractal Issues Facing International Students: A Thematic Analysis of 2016 Dissertations and Theses

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

A Qualitative Understanding of Doctoral Students’ Experience of Embodiment

A Qualitative Understanding of Doctoral Students’ Experience of Embodiment

Understanding Supervisor-Doctoral Student Relationship: A Qualitative Interview Study in Austrian Universities

Adjustment Experiences of Zimbabwean International Students Studying in the United States

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