Identity Construction of Chinese International Students Within Higher Education: A Narrative Study

• In Event: 35.080 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Five - Osgoode Ballroom
  In Roundtable Session: 35.080-2 - College Student Identity in Context

Abstract

This narrative study explored the research questions: What are the challenges experienced by ten Chinese international students within an academic community of American higher education? How do these students (re)position themselves within higher education in the United States? Primary data sources included twenty interviews with ten participants. Findings showed four major challenges: language barriers, academic challenges, cultural differences, and social barriers. Findings also illustrated that the participants positioned themselves as “disadvantaged” students within a storyline of challenges, but they repositioned themselves as “experts” within the storyline of future plans. By comparing and contrasting participants’ narratives of their early years and their senior college year, it is evident that the participants’ study-abroad experience shaped their self-identities.

Author

• Aijuan Cun, The University of New Mexico