ERIC Number: EJ1222706
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1837-6290
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Stranger in a Strange Land: Experiences of Adjustment among International Postgraduate Students in Malaysia
Ahrari, Seyedali; Krauss, Steven Eric; Suandi, Turiman; Abdullah, Haslinda; Sahimi, Aishah Hamizah Abdullah; Olutokunbo, Adekalu Samuel; Dahalan, Dzuhailmi
Issues in Educational Research, v29 n3 p611-632 2019
Despite the ongoing globalisation of higher education, few studies have attempted to understand international students' adjustment experiences in non-Western institutions of higher learning. This study employed in depth, semi-structured interviews to explore the adjustment experiences of 10 international postgraduate students in Malaysia. Three themes and twelve sub-themes emerged from the interviews, including academic adjustment (academic experiences with English language, different teaching and learning approaches, experiences with student support services, and academic support), psychological adjustment (safety and peacefulness, loneliness, anxiety and stress, and homesickness), and sociocultural adjustment (perceived discrimination, language and communication challenges, personal friendships with local students, and culture shock). The theoretical and practical implications are outlined in regard to international students' expectations and experiences of living and studying in Malaysia.
Descriptors: Student Adjustment, Graduate Students, Social Bias, Second Language Learning, Anxiety, Stress Variables, Teaching Methods, Learning Processes, Foreign Countries, Friendship, Student Attitudes, Educational Experience, English (Second Language), Language of Instruction, Psychological Patterns, Academic Support Services, Student Personnel Services, Culture Conflict, Study Abroad
Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc. 5/202 Coode Street, Como, Western Australia 6152, Australia. e-mail: editor@iier.org.au; Web site: http://www.waier.org.au
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Malaysia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A