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ERIC Number: EJ1070832
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Aug
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1475-2409
EISSN: N/A
Factors in the Cross-Cultural Adaptation of African Students in Chinese Universities
Akhtar, Nadeem; Pratt, Cornelius B.; Bo, Shan
Journal of Research in International Education, v14 n2 p98-113 Aug 2015
Since 2006, the enrollment of African students in Chinese universities has been increasing steadily. A majority of the students have been recruited through the China Scholarship Council. Cast against that background of growth in the number of African students in Chinese universities, it is important that their educational experience in a country whose cultural landscape and political orientation are significantly different from those of their homelands be examined for evidence on their overall well-being. A total of 110 students from 32 African countries enrolled in six public Chinese universities responded to a questionnaire on their satisfaction with and adjustment and adaptation to their new cultural and academic environments. Results indicated that the students' over-expectation of China and natural factors, particularly China's weather as a barrier to adjustment, had negative associations with their overall satisfaction and with their adaptation to their environment. A broad network of friends, prior cross-cultural experience, and prior knowledge of cultural differences had positive associations with satisfaction and adaptation. The implications of these results for developing campus programs for acculturating the students, as well as other international students in Chinese universities, are presented.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Africa; China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A