Life Being An International Student In The United States: Acculturation, Culture Shock, And Identity Transformation, Lai Yan Vivyan Lam

Master's Theses

The population of international students at community colleges in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. International students play a big role in building the cultural diversity on campus by bringing over different cultures and sharing their global perspective to the local community. However, they often face challenges adapting into American culture due to cultural differences in education system, language, lifestyle, etc. By looking into the acculturation process of international students to analyze the culture shock and cultural identity changes they experienced, this paper intends to seek ways to help this group of students to ease their …

Interns Matter: Maximizing Integration Of Interns Into Community Agencies, Valerie Garcia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Hope Services is a non-profit agency serving individuals with developmental disabilities in six counties. Over the years, there have been many agencies that have formed connections with Hope Services. One of these collaborative partnerships has been with CSU Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) integration of interns through their field placement program. However, recently former Hope Services South District Manager, Greg Dinsmore, witnessed a lack of utilization and integration of interns across all Hope Services agencies. Through firsthand experience as a mentor, he witnessed the benefits of utilizing interns and saw the need for further advocacy and support for the integration of interns …

Exploring Strategies For Teaching Creatively Online, Conny Van Der Wouw

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The way we learn and teach is changing. There is more emphasis on collaboration and personalization of the learning. Teaching online is becoming common. For my Master’s project I have developed a product that will help designing and delivering teaching programs creatively through the use of online learning opportunities. The product discusses the opportunities and challenges of a creative climate when teaching online and provides strategies to develop creativity during the online learning process. It is developed with the use of the Torrance Incubation Model of Teaching and Learning (TIM) and Ekvall’s ten dimensions of a creative climate. This paper …

Expanding Learning While Away: Intercultural Communication Course, Cassandra Clements

Capstone Collection

Today’s society is becoming more interconnected and globalized, making intercultural communication competence (ICC) a necessary competence. Universities are responding to this demand through study away programs. Many students are encouraged to study away during their undergrad years. However, as Alfred and Bryarm (2002) found there is no guarantee a student will enhance their ICC through a study away experience. This capstone project outlines an ICC learning opportunity for students while on the Italy study away program, run through Lorenzo de Medici (LdM) International Institute in Florence, Italy. Lorenzo de Medici is a study abroad institute at which Keene State College …

The Dynamics Of Participatory Monitoring And Evaluation (Pm&E) In Traditional Pakistan., Aamer Shams

Capstone Collection

This research seeks to explore the interpretation and application of Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) in the context of Educational Empowerment by analyzing insights gathered from multiple stakeholder groups in four cities of Pakistan, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, and Peshawar. Analysis of the findings reveals nuances of PM&E, including “Equality and Equity, Respect and Tolerance” (pg. 58-61) that limit the potential of this transdisciplinary empowerment process. Empowerment and educational programs often employ the continuous processes of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) to gain an understanding of the implementation, efficiency, impact, and overall performance of the program. M&E also provides valuable information about …

Verbal -S Productions In The Structured Writing Samples Of Variable Aae-Speaking Fourth-Grade Students With And Without Language Impairment, Jacklyn High Felton

Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers in speech-language pathology and ethnolinguistics have worked to gain knowledge about typical and atypical language patterns of African American children who are identified as African American English (AAE) dialect speakers. Much progress had been made, but limitations in this field of knowledge have persisted, especially for AA children who demonstrate variable use of AAE, presumably through the process of assimilation in the school setting. Therefore, more information is needed to provide diagnostic markers for deviations in typical language development for variable AAE-MAE speakers. Prior empirical research has found that third- and fourth-grade AAE-speaking children with typical language development overtly …

A Mixed Method Study Of A Former Special Operations Community: Identifying Factors That Effect Cross-Cultural Competency, John Phillip Buffin

All Theses And Dissertations

The September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks on the United States caused a series of military events, including the planning and deployment of troops to Afghanistan. In less than a month after that infamous September day, military Special Forces (SF) members and officers from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were operating in Afghanistan. The SF and CIA members were faced with not only the difficult geographical terrain but were hampered by inadequate time to prepare for the complicated human terrain of the Afghan culture.

In the initial months of the war, these deficiencies were not evident; however, over the next decade, …

Measuring What Matters: Exploring Student Motivations To Inform International Student Recruitment, Rebecca Lubitz

Capstone Collection

Over the last decade, international students in the United States have surpassed the one million mark (Institute of International Education [IIE], 2016(a). Research found here highlights the goals and motivations of this growing constituency and examines factors that influence international students to choose educational experiences in the United States.

Two online surveys were distributed, one to international recruitment agents that work for UC Berkeley Extension, and another to international students. The paper examines survey responses along with existing research to offer data-driven theories on how international educators might more effectively approach student recruitment and program design. The research concluded that …

Assessing The Influence Of Career-Linked Experiential Opportunities On The F-1 Undergraduate Student Enrollment Decision-Making Process, Harrison Fuerst

Capstone Collection

International mobility efforts in the United States have garnered increased attention and funding in recent years, with such government-led initiatives as Generation Study Abroad and 100,000 Strong driving up inbound and outbound student numbers. Recent inbound mobility reports from the Institute of International Education show double-digit percentage increases in international student enrollment. Other countries also experiencing an influx of international students continue to research these trends to shape their own education strategies. Research conducted by the International Education Association of Australia points specifically to hands-on professional experience and enhanced employability as key factors important to Australia’s international student population. As …

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …

Media, Borders, And Citizenship: Internationalization And Social Justice In An Undergraduate Communication Program At A Public University In New England, Kristi Mientka

Capstone Collection

Higher education in the U.S. is becoming increasingly internationalized, a process which is necessitated by the global economy and the increase in communication and mobility across borders. The process of internationalization has many effects on institutions, programs, faculty, and students. It also has many purposes, among them to improve students’ future employability and to foster understanding of social issues. The communication discipline, which encompasses a variety of studies ranging from media production to interpersonal communication, has seen the effects of internationalization. Those effects are evident in evolving curriculum and pedagogy that reflect the shifting dynamics of the media landscape and …

Uncovering The Processes And Consequences Of Egyptian Immigrant Parental Involvement In Their Children’S Education: Bridging Cultural Differences, Hend Shalan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

For more than a decade, researchers have concluded that immigrant parents face several barriers to becoming involved in their children’s education. All studies agree that language and cultural differences are the most significant barriers to immigrants’ involvement in their children’s education, yet we know little about what these cultural differences are and how these cultural differences influence the school involvement of immigrant parents. This study integrates theories of cultural differences, acculturation, and culture shock and the corresponding literature to investigate the lesser involvement of immigrant parents in school-related activities.

A focused ethnographic design was employed and a thematic analysis …