Cross-cultural Interactions of Chinese Graduate Students at a Midsized U.S. University

Dr. Christopher Frey, Advisor This study explored the patterns of interactions and networks of interpersonal support of Chinese graduate students during their study abroad experience at a midsized university in the Midwest of the U.S. Eleven graduate students from the People’s Republic of China were interviewed to address three research questions including: 1) what are the goals of Chinese international students for their study abroad experience? , 2) what kinds of groups and networks do Chinese international students interact with at graduate school? , and 3) what barriers to interaction and participation do the students perceive in these environments? The findings show that the students had primarily academic and professional goals and their academic goal orientation shapes their daily lives and interaction with others in the U.S. The students interacted primarily with other students from China in academic and social settings. However, some of the students built relationships with Americans who were able to relate to them through intercultural understanding and utilize intercultural communication techniques. A better understanding of Chinese international students’ interaction with others and their new environment in the U.S. can enhance the ability of academic institutions in the U.S and American students, faculty and community members to help international students from China achieve their goals and facilitate their process of adaptation in the U.S. CROSS‐CULTURAL INTERACTION iii Dedicated to the students from China and all other countries who bravely leave their home country to pursue their studies abroad. CROSS‐CULTURAL INTERACTION iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Christopher Frey, my thesis advisor, not only for his support and guidance throughout the process of conducting my study and completing my thesis, but also for his endless patience and understanding when I stayed too long in his office talking or had to renegotiate deadlines. I am also especially grateful to Dr. Hyeyoung Bang and Dr. Susana Peña for their feedback and assistance that have been integral to my study. I want to thank all of the Chinese international students who participated in my study. They shared their personal experiences about studying abroad at BGSU with me and also introduced me to friends and classmates who also participated in my study. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Jian Liu, who is from China and at the time of this study, was completing his graduate program in the U.S. He contributed his experience and perspective to this study in endless conversations about his study abroad experience and helped me to stay on track so my thesis would be completed. 非常感谢您们! Thank you all very much! CROSS‐CULTURAL INTERACTION v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW . 11 Primary Motivations for Studying Abroad. 11 The Acculturation of International Students. 12 The Acculturation of Chinese Students Studying Abroad in the U.S. . 24 Integration: Cross-Cultural Interaction and Participation. 30 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY. 36 Case Study . 36 Participants . 36 Setting . 40 Procedure . 42 Limitations and Generalizability . 46 CHAPTER IV. RESULTS . 50 Theme One: Academic Goal Orientation . 51 Theme Two: American the Familiar. 57 Theme Three: Meeting in the Middle. 64 Theme Four: Making it on Your Own. 70 CHAPTER V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION . 77 REFERENCES . 94 APPENDIX A. HSRB APPROVAL . 101 APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS . 102 CROSS‐CULTURAL INTERACTION vi LIST OF FIGURES/TABLES Figure/Table Page 1 Varieties of intercultural strategies in immigrant groups and in the receiving society, Berry (2001), p. 618 . 17 2 The Eleven Participants in this Study. 38 CROSS‐CULTURAL INTERACTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION The number of international students studying in U.S. higher education institutions continues to increase and much of that growth is due to the rising number of students coming from the People’s Republic of China. In the 2010-11 academic year, over 700,000 international students studied in U.S. higher education institutions contributing over $20 billion per year to the U.S. economy (IIE, 2011). Over 157,000, or almost a quarter of those students came from mainland China, excluding Taiwan and Hong Kong. China, India and South Korea currently send the largest number of students, but the 25 countries sending the highest number of students include nine other Asian countries, five European countries, five countries in North and South America, two Middle Eastern countries, and one African country (IIE, 2011). China and Saudi Arabia have shown the largest increases in the number of students studying in the U.S. at 23.5% and 43.6% respectively, but in regard to numbers, students from China make up 21.8% of all international students studying in the U.S., while students from Saudi Arabia still make up only 3.1% of the total (IIE, 2011). International students from China chose to study in the U.S. to gain educational experience they feel will contribute to their future academic and professional success. The U.S. universities also benefit from increasing their numbers of fee-paying students and contributing to the diversity of their campus with high-caliber international students. Rising Numbers of Chinese Students Studying in the U.S. In the late 1970s the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began a process of political and economic reformation that has transformed the country from a relatively secluded and underdeveloped nation to a major actor in the global political economy. Changes were needed as Mao Zedong died in 1976 and the end of the Cultural Revolution saw the rise of reformer Deng Xiaoping. Deng considered improving the Chinese economy of utmost importance and CROSS‐CULTURAL INTERACTION 2 introduced policies that “greatly altered the socialist system he inherited from Mao by reintroducing capitalist principles into various facets of the economy” (James, 2007, p. 463). Deng enacted the “reform and opening” which sought to reestablish political and economic ties with other countries and transitioned the China to a market-oriented economy, which has continued until present day. The past four decades have seen China retake its seat in the United Nations (UN) from Taiwan and increase its international trade to become the world’s second largest exporter and the third largest importer. In the same period, GDP growth has ranged from 7-13% annually, the country’s average income per capita has quadrupled and more than 270 million people have been lifted from poverty (Qin, Cagas, Ducanes, He, Liu, & Liu, 2008). Higher education in China has also undergone a series of important changes due to changing political and economic policies; from the Cultural Revolution in the 1970’s, when education was vilified and most universities were closed, to 2010, when more than 6 million students graduated from higher education institutions (Dexter, 2010). In the late 1970’s, after the death of Chairman Mao, China’s universities reopened and began to increase enrollment. Admissions were highly competitive and based on a rigorous admissions exam, the Gaokao, students’ political performance and their class background. In 1999, due to new policies removing upper limits on tuition and abolishing the job allocation system, university enrollment around the country increased by 40%. However, universities were not prepared for this rapid increase and there have been many negative consequences. Universities took out substantial loans to expand school facilities, but many schools were still overloaded. Class sizes increased, housing was substandard and facilities were insufficient (Bai, 2006). In addition, there is little diversity or flexibility in university curricula and students and employers complain about the “teacher-centered and exam-oriented approach” (Guo & van der Heijden, 2008, p. 293), which CROSS‐CULTURAL INTERACTION 3 has resulted in “the inevitable mismatches between the curriculum of higher education and market demands, and between graduates’ aspirations and their employability” (Bai, 2006, p. 1