A Study Examining The Interculturalness Of University Adjustment

Instead of heading towards cultural homogenization or cultural polarization,globalization has been called a historical process of cultural mixing or hybridization(Nederveen,2009).This can be reflected in today's Chinese universities students.With the leap-frog development of China and the world,the in-group discrepancy among college students in China has become increasingly notable.Though of the same age,young adults sitting in the same college classroom may have extremely different cultural narratives and perceptions of the world,and their varied college adjustments can elicit very different experiences as well.The overarching objective of the present dissertation is to examine the “interculturalness” of within-nation college adjustment in China.“Interculturalness”,according to Gudykunst and Kim(2003),is the varying degrees of difference,unfamiliarity,and psychological distance involved in intercultural situations,including intergroup commutation encounters.Considering the diverse cultural backgrounds of contemporary Chinese college students,adopting an intercultural perspective provides fresh insights into the study of their college adjustment,especially considering inter-group interaction,hybridity within or among students,and issues of how to assist students' transition in diverse college communities.Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are adopted to explore college adjustment processes and outcomes.The first study adopted the College Stress and College Adjustment Scale of Zou Xiaoqin(2013)to statistically analyze college adjustment of more than 500 students from five universities across China.Results show that about 40% of the respondents are going through their college adjustment with a certain degree of difficulty.The students' college adjustment is significantly related to college stress,especially academic stress and economic stress.Students' home region(city or rural,economic zone)and travel distance(geographically and socio-economically)also influence their college adjustment experience.The second study is based on seven qualitative interviews and the author's extensive reflections on her student tutor working experiences.Following qualitative thematic coding,notable themes generated from the students' narratives were categorized as intercultural interactions in familial,institutional,and societal contexts,as well as the students' interpersonal resources.The themes well resemble Ward and Geeraert's Process Model of Acculturation(2016)and were matched and compared with key concepts in their model.Results from both studies show that “cultural distance” is an important concept influencing the students' adjustment to college,but has generally been overlooked in within-nation studies.“Cultural distance” here involves the geographical distance that students travel,dissimilarities in cultural habits,as well as their cultural,socio-economic and psychological status.Secondly,respondents with diverse backgrounds report significantly different degrees of adjustment stress academically,socially,and psychologically,and have diverse “college adjustment narratives.” Clearly “college students” should not be regarded as a homogeneous group,but a very much hybridized collection of many varied co-existing groups and individuals.In addition,themes generated from the qualitative study present a map of students' intercultural interaction on different levels of contexts,from their interaction with parents,professors and peers,to their adjustment experience and strategies related to their cultural backgrounds.Based on the above research findings,the author designed a map of “interculturalness of within-nation college adjustment” to present the intercultural interactions taken place.It is also proposed that “the discrepancy between expectation and real perception of settlement culture” could be added to the “cultural awareness” section of Ward and Geeraert's(2016)Process Model of Acculturation.Finally,practical suggestions were proposed to facilitate the students' adjustment to college,including(1)“promote awareness of the hybridized character of students with varied cultural backgrounds among all faculty members”,(2)“promote college orientation programs in high school”,(3)“provide validation to help establish students' self-esteem” and(4)“orient parents as well as students”.Limitations and suggestions for future related research are also proposed to enhance within-nation and inter-college “interculturalness” studies.