Preparing international students for a successful cross-cultural transition experience on Canadian post-secondary campuses: A University of Regina case study.

摘要

As in several other higher education institutions in Canada and across the world, internationalization is one of the key goals of the University of Regina. In the past few years, international students have played an important role in the university's internationalization process. The University hopes to provide effective and efficient services and programs to assist with the cross-cultural transition and integration experience of its international student population.;The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of five Chinese international students who have been involved in the cross-cultural integration and transition process at the University of Regina. The study sought to give voice to these students and to understand the meanings that they attached to their cross-cultural transition experiences and to use their experiences to offer suggestions for improving the programs and services that the University provides for the Chinese international students and for international students in general. The motivation for doing this study was the result of my own experience with the cross-cultural integration and transition process at the University as an international student.;The research design for this study was a qualitative case study that adopted a phenomenological approach to inquiry. The five Chinese international students were randomly recruited from a list of eight potential interviewees who volunteered to participate in the study. Each participant was involved in a one-on-one in-depth interview and a thematic approach was used in the analysis of the interview data.;The study revealed that the participants related their cross-cultural transition and integration experiences to their pre-arrival and post-arrival issues. The pre-arrival issues included the participants' pre-arrival motives and their perspectives of the city of Regina. The post-arrival issues related to their experiences in their academic, cultural and social lives at the University of Regina.;The study concludes with some recommendations that the University of Regina and post-secondary education institutions in general can implement to improve the programs and services they provide for international students, including those from China, to help them to successfully integrate into the campus environment. The study also offers some suggestions for further research.