In the past decade, the number of Chinese international students attending school in America has increased exponentially. The adjustment of these Chinese international students has always been of great interest to researchers. This review strives to delve into the melodramatic rhetoric present throughout research involving Chinese international student’s experience in America and the role of the universities that they attend. A large percentage of the literature involving the adjustment of Chinese international students focuses on the unique challenges they face compared to American students. In International Students in the U.S.: Trends, Cultural Adjustments, and Solutions for a Better Experience, author Kwasi Sarkodie-Mensah lists some of the challenges international students face, “Culture shock, social isolation, conditions/situations in home countries, cross-cultural relationships, financial difficulties, immigration laws and accompanying anxiety, employment for self and spouse, stress, and depression are examples of problems international students have to deal with.” The focus on the challenges the Chinese international students face goes along with a focus on the universities’ role in the students’ adjustment to the school. Throughout the literature, there seems to be a clear vilification of universities for not recognizing international students as a vulnerable student population. In International Students: A Vulnerable Student Population, researchers criticize universities stating, “However institutions that do not address the unique needs of international students may leave these students feeling disappointed, unfulfilled, and even exploited”. Still, the data for that particular study contradicted the statement that students would feel disappointed and unfulfilled as the data for the study revealed that 64.9% of respondents had “no problems” at all adjusting. A very interesting point from this study was that Chinese students were far more likely to indicate that their culture was understood. Even in studies that focus on why Chinese international students choose to stay at schools in America, there seems to be a bias in the research. In Higher Education by Ketevan Mamiseishvili, researchers studying international students persistence stated that they found a negative relationship between social integration and persistence. They explained these surprising results by stating, “It could be that international students might be involved in other types of social activities, such as multicultural and international events on campus, but the participation in these activities was not captured in this study”. To not take into account participation of international students in multicultural or international events and clubs on campus leaves a large gap in data. The existing research fails to focus on why Chinese students are choosing to leave China and attend school in the United States and the positive aspects of their experience.
Check out my annotated bibliography and comic strip literary review
Check out my annotated bibliography and comic strip literary review