Academic and Social Experiences of  Chinese International Undergraduate Students at a Canadian University

Zhang, Chuqing

Academic and Social Experiences of Chinese International Undergraduate Students at a Canadian University

dc.contributor.advisor	Guo, Yan
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, Chuqing
dc.contributor.committeemember	Roy, Sylvie
dc.contributor.committeemember	Spencer, Brenda L.
dc.date	2019-11
dc.date.accessioned	2019-09-05T20:06:00Z
dc.date.available	2019-09-05T20:06:00Z
dc.date.issued	2019-08-28
dc.description.abstract	The number of international students studying in Canadian universities continues to rise as a direct consequence of the internationalization of higher education in Canada. International students bring financial, cultural, and academic benefits to Canadian universities. Among all the international students pursuing higher education in Canada, Chinese international students take up a large portion and have become an important population group within the Canadian university community. Although Chinese international students have made tremendous contributions to Canadian universities, they also face many challenges when adjusting to their new environment. This study investigates the academic and social experiences of Chinese international undergraduate students through examining their transition process at one university in western Canada. The study is informed by Bourdieu’s capital theory. Specifically, this study employs a qualitative case study as the methodology and relied on semi-structured interviews as the method. Data for the study were collected from interviews with 10 Chinese international undergraduate students. This study reveals that Chinese international undergraduate students were motivated by different factors to study in Canada; additionally, they encountered various language, academic and social challenges, but each adopted creative coping strategies such as mobilizing their digital social capital to overcome these challenges. This study also suggests that it is important for university instructors, staff and local students to value international students’ cultural capital and their multilingual capital. Insights of the study can inform university policymakers, instructors, and staff to provide a better environment and appropriate support for international students.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Zhang, C. (2019). Academic and Social Experiences of Chinese International Undergraduate Students at a Canadian University (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/36942
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/110864
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Werklund School of Education	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	Chinese international student	en_US
dc.subject	Bourdieu	en_US
dc.subject	Transition process	en_US
dc.subject	Education policy	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education--Bilingual and Multicultural	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education--Higher	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education--Language and Literature	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education--Social Sciences	en_US
dc.title	Academic and Social Experiences of Chinese International Undergraduate Students at a Canadian University	en_US
dc.type	master thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Education Graduate Program – Educational Research	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Master of Arts (MA)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US