International Student Acculturation: Stressors and Sources of Support

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: International Student Experiences (Table 9)

Abstract

This qualitative study, part of a larger investigation of the international student (IS) experience at one US university, focused on uncovering the cultural, social, academic and linguistic acculturation process of 27 students through focus group and individual interviews. The findings show that ISs experience a myriad of complex challenges, from language barriers to new cultural norms, and that most of the strategies they used to navigate their acculturation process were self initiated rather than university provided. The study is a call to action to higher education to strive to better meet the needs of this resourceful but neglected group of students.

Authors

• Johanna M. Tigert, University of Turku

• Golnar Fotouhi, University of Massachusetts - Lowell

• Lugyi No, University of Massachusetts - Lowell

• Susannah Marcucci, University of Massachusetts - Lowell