“Self-Fashioning”: Female Chinese International Students Navigating United States Campuses

• In Event: Women's experiences in higher education

Proposal

Introduction
Female Chinese international students are a significant element of the student body on American campuses, adding diversity of values, languages, cultures, and educational backgrounds. The obstacles they face have been the main focus of most research (Contreras-Aguirre & Gonzalez, 2017; Manese et al., 1988; McMillen, 1982).
Limited research exists on the positive attributes of female Chinese international students. Even though a growing body of Chinese international students research has focused on the female student population, they discuss the struggles of this population on topics such as (1) gendered differences in academic achievement (Cheng & Xie, 2000), (2) identity negotiation (Hsieh, 2006), (3) gendered perceptions and needs (Manese et al., 1988), (4) problems of adjusting to a new environment (McMillen, 1982), and (5) sense of belong and low support networks (Le et al., 2016). Female Chinese international students have not specifically been studied in their self-fashioning (Greenblatt, 2012; Martin, 2017; Gee, 2006) perspectives in their experiences in U.S. campuses with an asset-based perspective.

We asked the below research question: how are female Chinese international students self-fashioning to (1) navigate the U.S. system, (2) fit into the U.S. society, and (3) construct genuine identities?

Method

To comprehend the self-fashioning experiences of Chinese female international students, we combined multiple case studies (Yin, 2009) and critical orientations. After obtaining IRB approval, using phenomenological interviews (Seidman, 2013), we investigated the experiences in three stages: (1) life histories; (2) counter stories in self-fashioning encounters; and (3) reflections and interpretations.

Participants

Quinn, Shanxi, Master’s, 10 years (in U.S.)
Sally, Jiangsu, Ph.D. student, 5 years
Jane, Shandong, Ph.D. student, 12 years
Anna, Gansu, Ph.D. student, 5 years



Findings

Female Chinese international students use self-fashioning to (1) sophistically navigate the U.S. system better, (2) tactically fit into the new U.S. society, and (3) adaptively create more genuine personal identities.

For example, one participant (Jane) was able to self-fashion by improving her ways of communication. She indicated that communication strategies differed significantly in the U.S. and China. When asked about her experience and strategies used in asking her department to apply for a Green Card, the participant told the interviewer:
As a Chinese person, it was tough to speak up when I first came to America… didn't know how to ask for my right - for them to sponsor me. Other faculty asked the Department Chair, who pushed them to talk with the university…it would be better to keep what we have instead of letting them go and hiring someone new.

This participant, a woman from China, spent her entire life learning how to be submissive and non-confrontational. However, she understood she needed to develop a more direct communication style to stay in the U.S. and be successful.

Discussions and Implications

Female Chinese international students navigate the U.S. system by understanding and mastering the immigration-based hindrances placed on them. They fit into U.S. society by adapting to newer learning styles and being fluid in their career choices. They construct genuine identities by managing the gendered expectations that the Chinese and U.S. society places on them to their advantage.
While most existing studies on Chinese international students focus on their academic experiences and challenges and social adaptation (Zhang, 1999; Ching et al., 2017; Meng et al., 2017), our study extended the research to look into how they successfully overcome academic challenges while in the U.S. This study’s findings can help those in similar circumstances by shedding light on the experiences of successful female Chinese international students in the U.S. The findings also provide practitioners in international education to help these students overcome common obstacles and succeed.

References

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Authors

• Ting Huang, William & Mary

• Shadeed A Khan, William & Mary School of Education