Academic adaptation and cross-cultural learning experiences of Chinese students at American universities: A narrative inquiry.

摘要

Studies on the cross-cultural adaptation of Chinese students in American higher education institutions have received more attention in the past decade with the dramatic increase of Chinese students enrolling in American colleges and universities. According to the 2012 Open Doors Report, the number of students studying in the United States from China has continued to grow during the 2011/2012 academic year reaching a total number of 194,029. This growth accounts for a significant increase at the undergraduate level of 31% compared to the previous year (Institute of International Education, 2012). With the rapid growth in the number of Chinese students on American university campuses, both American higher education institutions and the students from China face cross-cultural challenges. However, there is sparse literature that explores the academic adaptation of this unique group of students' cross-cultural learning experience, particularly at the undergraduate level. This qualitative study attempts to fill the research gap by employing a narrative inquiry approach to explore the lived experiences of Chinese undergraduate students from their perspective and understand how they construct the meanings of their experiences during their cross-cultural transition. In light of the relationship between culture and learning, Hofstede's five cultural dimensions are used as an analytical lens to review the related literature on how culture influences Chinese students' learning experiences in American colleges and universities. The primary research question in this study focuses on Chinese undergraduate students' academic adaptation experience during their first year transition on American university campuses. The selected Chinese students' personal transition stories provided valuable information for American colleges and universities to understand cultural differences that the students from China brought to American campuses and to help them succeed in a totally different academic setting.