research paper for foreign students

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

The experience of international students and institutional recommendations: a comparison between the students from the developing and developed regions.

• 1 Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
• 2 Department of Economics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
• 3 Jinnah University for Women, Karachi, Pakistan

Prior studies on the experiences of international students in China have mostly focused on their academic, sociocultural, and accommodation experiences. Hence, student health and safety, discrimination, and the services by the International Student Office (ISO) have remained unexplored. Moreover, due to the motivational differences between the students from developing and developed regions, a study that samples students from both regions may depict an exact picture of the experience of international students. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the influence of the dimensions (including those dimensions that have been ignored) of the experience of international students on their satisfaction. In addition, we make recommendations regarding Chinese institutes for future students based on a comparison between the students from developing and developed regions. Using hierarchical regression analysis, this study reveals that educational and non-educational experiences vary among students from different regions. Therefore, based on developing (e.g., Asia and Africa) and developed (e.g., America, Europe, and Australia) regions, important recommendations are discussed regarding how educational institutions and the Chinese government could best allocate resources and introduce policies to improve the experience of international students.

Introduction

International students strongly benefit both the host countries and the academic institutions ( Beine et al., 2014 ). These students can drive campus internationalization and financial benefits for host nations, and they are essential to the prestige of institutions, general reputation, and cultural enhancement ( Forbes-Mewett, 2016 ). If international students remain in the host nation after graduation, their expertise plays an important role in the growth of a competent workforce that lifts the development of the host nation ( Beine et al., 2014 ). Moreover, international students often become excellent ambassadors of the host countries if they return to their home countries ( Pandit, 2007 ).

Thus, these benefits result in increased international student searches for higher education around the world ( Mok et al., 2021 ). Accordingly, the USA, the UK, and Australia fascinate the majority of overseas students from across the globe ( Ammigan and Jones, 2018 ). Simultaneously, China is among those countries that have initiated policies to bolster the enrollment of international students and to retain them in the local labor markets. In this regard, the Chinese government aspires to host 500,000 students from around the world by 2020 ( Institute of International Education, 2018 ).

To attract more international students, the government suggested several strategies such as offering more scholarships and programs with instruction in English ( Ahmad and Shah, 2018 ). As a result of these policies, ~440,000 international students from 205 countries were studying at Chinese universities in 2016. Of these students, 49,022 international students from 183 countries were on scholarships ( Wang and Byram, 2019 ). These statistics show that international students in China have also started to contribute to the Chinese economy.

Nevertheless, increasing numbers of international students do not necessarily imply that these students are content with their academic and non-academic experiences, nor do they imply whether these students are eager to endorse China as a terminus to other international students. Besides, a recent study revealed that as the number of international students increases in China, their emotional problems are also rising ( Li et al., 2021 ). Researchers have recommended that given the economic and global importance of the international students, their experience should be considered as an issue of customer satisfaction ( Wearring et al., 2015 ). In a study, Wekullo (2019) also recommended that future research should investigate the ways that international students react to their particular experiences. The experiences of international students often include the challenges of functioning in a different educational system and cultural setting at a great distance from their families and current social support links ( Horne et al., 2018 ). However, because they compose an increasing and diverse population, the unique experiences of international students have traditionally been overlooked ( Wekullo, 2019 ). The current literature lacks sufficient research to provide a comprehensive understanding of the expectations, motivations, and experiences of international students in non-native English-speaking countries ( Calikoglu, 2018 ).

During a program of study, numerous factors can directly influence the experiences of foreign students abroad ( Ammigan and Jones, 2018 ). These factors include the satisfaction of international students with academics, security, community engagement, relationships, and home life ( Arambewela and Hall, 2013 ). Other important factors include academic, social, and perceived discrimination ( Wekullo, 2019 ), and support services ( Ammigan and Jones, 2018 ). Understanding the implications of these factors can help attract more foreign students by boosting the image of the University in other countries ( Chelliah et al., 2019 ).

However, prior research on the international students who study in China focuses largely on their experience regarding learning ( Ahmad and Shah, 2018 ; Wen et al., 2018 ; Fan et al., 2019 ; Wang and Byram, 2019 ), accommodations ( Ding, 2016 ), and cultural settings ( Yu, 2010 ; Tian and Lowe, 2014 ; Ping et al., 2019 ; Wang and Lin, 2019 ). The roles of the experiences of overseas students with support services, health, and safety services, and perceived discrimination are missing in the current literature. With this study, we hope to fill this void.

In the context of overseas students in China, Ahmad and Shah (2018) suggested that students from Asia and other developing countries may consider lower living costs or the availability of scholarships as some of the most significant factors when deciding to study in China. Therefore, it is essential to examine if there are any differences between students from developing and developed regions ( Ahmad and Shah, 2018 ). We believe that the research addresses the concerns of previous studies through a comparison analysis between students from developed regions (e.g., Europe, America, and Australia) and those from developing regions (e.g., Asia and Africa). This research will develop insights into the experiences of international students by analyzing the related influences of the experiences of foreign students in China using their institutional recommendations to others and analyzing their attitudinal feedback. With a greater understanding of how overseas students share their personal experiences in China with future students, the government and Chinese universities can better adjust their strategies for managing foreign students to enjoy the full benefits of international students.

Literature Review and Conceptual Framework

Past research has promoted the view of students as customers and of education as a service ( Halbesleben et al., 2003 ). Therefore, to identify the dimensions (accommodation, academic, sociocultural, discrimination, health and safety, and support services) of service quality, assess the overall satisfaction of students, define the influence of the overall satisfaction of students on future recommendations, and the expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm ( Oliver, 1980 ) along with the Service Quality (SERVQUAL) model is adopted as a basic theoretical framework for this study.

Customer satisfaction is related to the direction and size of disconfirmation, which is defined as the difference between the pre-choice expectations of an individual and the post-choice performance of the service as perceived by the customer ( Oliver, 1980 ). The customer is satisfied if expectations are met or exceeded. When perceived performance falls below expectations, the customer is dissatisfied. However, the construct of service quality is defined as the judgment of a customer about the overall superiority or excellence of an entity. According to Arambewela and Hall (2009) , SERVQUAL as an instrument has been widely used for assessing customer perceptions of service quality in service organizations.

Research shows that student satisfaction is related to the match between student priorities and the campus environment ( Borden, 1995 ) and is being shaped continually by repeated experiences in campus life ( Elliott and Shin, 2002 ). Prior literature on the experience of international students revealed that the overall experience of these students had a positive direct effect on their institutional recommendations ( Ammigan and Jones, 2018 ) and satisfaction ( Chelliah et al., 2019 ). Satisfaction has a positive and significant link with the likelihood of an institutional recommendation or an intention to revisit ( Mavondo et al., 2004 ; Chelliah et al., 2019 ). The detailed theoretical explanations for the inter-construct relationships depicted in Figure 1 will be further explained in this section.

Figure 1 . Hypothesized model.

Accommodation Experience

Living at the accommodation provided by the University may have a positive impact on the experiences of international students ( Paltridge et al., 2010 ). In this regard, past research suggested that University accommodation may assist in creating a sense of belonging among international students ( Johnson et al., 2007 ). Previous literature also confirmed that living on campus facilitates international students to form new social networks ( Sawir et al., 2008 ). Besides, international students expect their accommodation not only to be available by universities but at a reasonable cost with minimum standards of comfort ( Arambewela and Hall, 2009 ).

Life outside the classroom can be a critical aspect of the experience of any international student on campus ( Ammigan, 2019 ). The establishment of support networks in the early stages of University life is particularly important. The quality of the accommodations is a significant factor in improving the experience of international students in a host country ( Ammigan and Jones, 2018 ). Accordingly, the accommodations provided by the host institute should be suitable for the number of students to whom they are assigned, and they should have all of the facilities necessary for daily life, such as Wi-Fi, air conditioning, hot and cold water for daily use, and cooking facilities. With regard to the living experience of international students, Ammigan and Jones (2018) also found that the quality of the housing had the greatest influence on their satisfaction level.

Academic Experience

International students have to adapt to a new academic environment for course selection, communication with teachers, understanding lectures, and a new assessment system ( Hussain and Shen, 2019 ). Unfamiliarity with the new academic system ( Lin and Yi, 1997 ) and the requirements of new skills lead international students to a variety of difficulties ( Hussain and Shen, 2019 ). Research has confirmed the quality of teaching and good access to faculty are perceived to be key variables influencing student satisfaction ( Arambewela and Hall, 2009 ).

The academic achievement of students is a major concern for teachers and governments ( Doménech-Betoret et al., 2019 ). The academic experience includes the factors that meaningfully impact the overall learning experience of international students. These factors include the ability and expertise of lecturers, the quality of the lectures, the organization of courses and academic content, language education, and professional preparation ( Ammigan and Jones, 2018 ). As a result, a teaching philosophy that incorporates these aspects is crucial for fulfilling the educational requirements of overseas students ( Hellsten and Prescott, 2004 ). Prior research suggested that the conduct of overseas students in the lecture hall is frequently perceived as incorrect by the faculty members. Therefore, it is important for institutes to directly address and assess the types of support required in the academic environment by international students. A study conducted by Ammigan and Jones (2018) in English-speaking countries found that academic or learning satisfaction was significantly linked with the overall University experience of international students.

Health and Safety

International students have to function not only in a dissimilar educational system but also in a different cultural context at a great distance from family and friends ( Horne et al., 2018 ). Given this situation, the students themselves and their family members have concerns about encountering health issues in another country. Thus, safety is a major concern to international students and their families ( Arambewela and Hall, 2009 ). Until recently, this issue has not appeared in public discussion for fear of undermining the market position of international students. After the recent deadly attacks on overseas students living in the USA, India, and Australia, the safety and security of international students became pressing concerns in the field of international education ( Chelliah et al., 2019 ). At foreign destinations, numerous elements create an unsafe environment for international students, including a lack of private transportation, the need for casual employment, late work hours, and inadequate housing located in less-safe areas ( Buchanan, 2014 ). Taking these factors into account, a recent study revealed that personal safety positively influences the satisfaction of international students ( Chelliah et al., 2019 ).

Support by the International Student Office

While the organization and structure of support services for overseas learners can differ significantly, Chinese universities generally have devoted offices that are intended to support international students in academic and non-academic matters. ISOs are a powerful entity in Chinese universities, and international students will engage with this office from the time of their admission until the completion of their degree program. The services provided by the ISO to international students, such as registration assistance, residential assistance, counseling services, cultural activities, tuition, and scholarship services, can be significant to maintain success on campus and academic satisfaction. Therefore, the support services provided by overseas student offices must be furnished to deal with the mental and emotional anxieties possibly caused by adjustment issues ( Ammigan, 2019 ). Because of the importance of these services, the engagement of ISOs with overseas students cannot be overlooked. To understand the experiences of international students, it is worthwhile to investigate the role of the ISOs regarding their support to international students. To increase the level of satisfaction of international students, the service provider must be more aligned with the expectations of these students. Providing this support to international students can contribute directly to their level of satisfaction ( Roberts and Dunworth, 2012 ) and institutional recommendations.

Sociocultural Experience

Sociocultural experience is comprised of the perception of international students of how they were treated while studying abroad and the cultural and psychological problems they encountered ( Wen et al., 2018 ). International students are a high-risk population who are vulnerable to stress due to the process of adapting to a new country ( Amado et al., 2020 ). Prior studies such as Brisset et al. (2010) suggest that personality variables such as attachment style, trait anxiety, and extroversion may influence the ability of overseas students to make networks, and in turn influence their sociocultural and mental adaption.

Research conducted on the experience of overseas students in China exposed that these students experience difficulties with sociocultural adjustments ( Wen et al., 2018 ). International students may wish to uphold their inherited sociocultural values and behaviors, whereas students from the host country may expect international students to integrate or assimilate their approaches to be more in line with the culture of the host country. Thus, better sociocultural settings of overseas students in the host country will have a significant impact on their level of satisfaction. Therefore, the sociocultural setting will influence the institutional recommendations of international students.

Discrimination

Discrimination against international students varies depending on their race and nationality. Research has revealed that international students have often been stereotyped based on assumptions about their culture, linguistic backgrounds, and other differences ( Siczek, 2015 ). Compared to domestic students, international students reported experiencing higher levels of discrimination.

Additional research revealed that discrimination affected the satisfaction of international students with their academic programs and social relations ( Horne et al., 2018 ; Wekullo, 2019 ). Echoing these findings, Harrison (2010) concluded that this discrimination can be harsh, which generates noteworthy fear among overseas students. Intense discrimination may also decrease the number of international students. However, favorable perceptions of international students can lead to satisfaction with the host country as well the recommendations of their current institute to future international students.

Institutional Recommendation

Recommendations from acquaintances, family, and friends can be key factors in the decision-making procedure of international students regarding their institutional and destination choice ( Mavondo et al., 2004 ). This recommendation can be made orally or electronically by word of mouth. For example, to obtain information, international students may search for independent online resources written by prior students because they believe these accounts are more detailed and trustworthy compared to the testimonies delivered by universities ( Gomes and Murphy, 2003 ). Ammigan (2019) revealed that the experiences of international students influence the recommendations of their current institutions to future students. Therefore, the experiences of international students with the academic environment of the host country, sociocultural situation, discrimination ( Wekullo, 2019 ), accommodations, safety and security ( Arambewela and Hall, 2013 ), and support services ( Ammigan and Jones, 2018 ) play an important role in the institutional and destination choices of international students. Accordingly, Ammigan (2019) and Mavondo et al. (2004) found that the students who were more satisfied with their in-country experience were more expected to recommend their host University to future international students. Past research acknowledged strong relations between the quality of the experience of international students and their favorable future behavioral intentions ( Boulding et al., 1993 ). Thus, we hypothesized that:

H1: A higher level of satisfaction among international students with their experience will have a greater positive impact on their institutional recommendation.

H1a: A higher level of satisfaction among international students with their accommodations and living arrangements will have a greater impact on their institutional recommendation.

H1b: A higher level of satisfaction among international students with their academic experience will have a greater impact on their institutional recommendation.

H1c: A higher level of satisfaction among international students with their health and safety experience will have a greater impact on their institutional recommendation.

H1d: A higher level of satisfaction among international students in their interactions with the ISO will have a greater impact on their institutional recommendation.

H1e: A higher level of satisfaction among international students with their sociocultural experience in a host country will have a greater impact on their institutional recommendation.

H1f: Fewer instances of discrimination against international students will have a greater impact on their institutional recommendation.

The Satisfaction of International Students

The satisfaction of international students depends on their evaluation of the services provided by academia, such as (among other things) the level of academic and teaching services, social climate, infrastructure, and support facilities ( Wiers-Jenssen et al., 2002 ). Elliott and Shin (2002) suggested that international student satisfaction is a dynamic process and a continually changing construct. Based on student feedback, ensuring satisfaction requires effective and clear action.

Thus, it is critical for higher education administrators and practitioners to have a comprehensive understanding of the elements that influence the experience and satisfaction of overseas students. The literature has revealed that overseas students whose educational experience exceeded their expectations were found to be more satisfied ( Appleton-Knapp and Krentler, 2006 ). Similarly, a study showed that the dimensions of the experience of international students such as the support services, living, and learning had a significant effect on their overall satisfaction level ( Ammigan and Jones, 2018 ). Furthermore, the satisfaction of international students influenced their institutional recommendation. Thus, we make the following hypotheses.

H2: Student satisfaction mediates the relationship between the experience of international students and their consequent institutional recommendation.

H2a: Student satisfaction mediates the relationship between the accommodation and living experience of international students and their consequent institutional recommendation.

H2b: Student satisfaction mediates the relationship between the academic experience of international students and their consequent institutional recommendation.

H2c: Student satisfaction mediates the relationship between the health and safety experience of international students and their consequent institutional recommendation.

H2d: Student satisfaction mediates the relationship between the experience of students with the ISO and their consequent institutional recommendation.

H2e: Student satisfaction mediates the relationship between the sociocultural experience of international students and their consequent institutional recommendation.

H2f: Student satisfaction mediates the relationship between the non-discrimination experience of international students and their consequent institutional recommendation.

Methodology

A structured questionnaire comprised of questions with lists of precoded items was used to collect the data for analyzing the experience of international students who are studying in China. The questionnaire was sent to students who have at least 6 months of living and studying experience in China, and the objective of the data collection was also explained to all of the participants. A pretest was conducted ( n = 30) to ensure the appropriateness of the wording of the questionnaire, and statistical criteria were used in the study.

The data were collected in the three Chinese Universities (Sichuan, SWUFE, and UESTC) located in Chengdu city. A total of 302 international students responded to the survey questionnaire. All of the data were collected through www.wjx.cn . After eliminating the incomplete questionnaires ( n = 24), a final sample of 278 respondents who lived and studied in China was collected for further processing. Roughly 30.94% of the respondents were from Africa, 42.80% were from Asia, and 26.26% were from developed regions. A majority of the participants were enrolled in Master (34.17%) or PhD programs (31.65%), which enhances the heterogeneity of the sample pool. In Table 1 , a detailed overview of the demographic sample is presented.

Table 1 . Demographics of respondents.

All of the items were measured using a 5-point Likert scale with response choices ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. In line with other empirical studies, the measurement items based on previous research in the context of the experience of international students were modified to better fit the context of this study. Four items were used to calculate the accommodation experiences of international students. Among these items, three were adopted from Santos (2018) and one came from Ammigan (2019) . Three items were used to measure the overall learning experience of students ( Ammigan, 2019 ). The health and safety variable were measured using three items from Chelliah et al. (2019) . Questions regarding the support services provided by the ISO were taken from Chelliah et al. (2019) . The perceived discrimination experience was measured using two items from Wekullo (2019) and one item from Harrison (2010) . Three items were used to gauge the satisfaction of international students, and they were adopted from Chelliah et al. (2019) . One item for the institutional recommendation was adapted from Mavondo et al. (2004) and two others came from Chelliah et al. (2019) . For a detailed list of these items, please see the Appendix .

Descriptive Statistics

The means, SDs, and correlations for all of the variables are presented in Table 2 . To check the internal consistency and reliability of the studied variables, we measured Cronbach's alphas and found that the values of all of the variables are higher than the recommended level of 0.70 ( Fornell and Larcker, 1981 ).

Table 2 . Descriptive statistics and correlations.

The validity of the construct was tested by both discriminant and convergent. By performing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), both discriminant and convergent validity were confirmed ( Avsec and Jamšek, 2018 ). Second, to verify both the concurrent and predictive validity, Pearson's corrected coefficient r xy was examined (Odom and Morrow, 2006). Correlation between individual items was all found below the threshold level of r xy < 0.7 ( Miller et al., 2009 ; Rossiter, 2011 ). The output of validity measurement thus revealed that all test items are appropriately constructed and designed to measure what they supposed ( Avsec and Jamšek, 2018 ). Therefore, we avoided overlapping test items.

Hierarchical Regression

To test the hypotheses, a series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. First, control variables such as gender, education, and country were entered into the regression model. Then, the experiences of international students such as accommodations, academics, health and safety, support services by the ISO, sociocultural factors, and discrimination were entered into the model.

After controlling the effects of the demographic variables, as shown in Table 3 , we added the experiences of international students (the accommodation, academics, health and safety, support services by the ISO, socioculture, and discrimination) in M2. With this addition, the explanatory power of the regression model was significantly improved (Δ R 2 = 0.512, p < 0.01). Consequently, Hypothesis 1 was supported partially, which means that the accommodation [ β = 0.217 ( t = 4.345), p < 0.00], academics [β = 0.126 ( t = 2.403), p < 0.05], health and safety [β = 0.114 ( t = 2.206), p < 0.05], support services by the ISO [β = 0.367 ( t = 7.372), p < 0.00], and discrimination [β = 0.147 ( t = 2.976), p < 0.00] had a significant positive impact on the recommendations of the current institute to future students. Hence, Hypotheses 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, and 1f were supported. However, 1e was rejected, as the socioculture experience of international students was shown to have a non-significant impact on the institutional recommendation [β = 0.026 ( t = 0.535), ns].

Table 3 . Regression results.

Then, we followed the procedure proposed by Kenny and Baron (1986) to test the mediation effect. Accordingly, we entered satisfaction into the model in M3, and we found that the explanatory power with respect to the institutional recommendation was improved (Δ R 2 = 0.177, p < 0.01).

As shown in Table 3 , the satisfaction of students was positively related to their institutional recommendation (β = 0.653, p < 0.01). The accommodation [β = 0.012 ( t = 0.271), ns], academic experience [β = −0.031 ( t = −0.723), ns], health and safety [β = 0.075 ( t = 1.824), ns], and support services by the ISO [β = −0.070 ( t = −1.812), ns] all had a non-significant impact on the recommendations of students of their current institute to future students. However, the impacts of support services by the ISO [β = 0.237 ( t = 5.832), p < 0.00] and discrimination [β = 0.084 ( t = 2.131), p < 0.05] on the institutional recommendation were still significant (β = 0.125, p < 0.05). As shown in M5, after controlling the effects of the demographic variables, adequate accommodation [β = 0.315 ( t = 6.673), p < 0.00], academic experience [β = 0.241 ( t = 4.864), p < 0.00], support services by the ISO [β = 0.200 ( t = 4.249), p < 0.00], socioculture [β = 0.148 ( t = 3.231), p < 0.00], and discrimination [β = 0.097 ( t = 2.079), p < 0.05] had a significant positive impact on the satisfaction of students, while health and safety had a non-significant impact on their satisfaction [β = 0.060 ( t = 1.237), ns].

In conclusion, Hypothesis 2 was partially supported: H2a, H2b, H2d, H2e, and H2f were supported, whereas H2c was rejected.

Supplementary Analysis

We designed a supplementary analysis to further investigate whether there are differences between the perceived experiences of students from different regions in the above models. First, we divided the sample into three subsamples according to the developing (Africa and Asia excluding South Korea, Singapore, and Japan) and developed (America, Australia, and Europe) regions. After the above steps, the regression analysis was undertaken. The difference between this analysis and the previous analyses is that country is no longer a control variable. The results are shown in Tables 4 – 6 , Figures 2 – 4 .

Table 4 . Results of African students.

Table 5 . Results of Asian students.

Table 6 . Results of the respondents from developed regions.

Figure 2 . Results for the African (country code = 1) sample with controls for gender and education.

Figure 3 . Results for the Asian (country code = 2) sample with controls for gender and education.

Figure 4 . Sample from developed regions [country code = (3+4+5) 3] with controls for gender and education.

In general, for the students from both developing and developed regions, the mechanism of experience that affects the institutional recommendation is the same. That is, the perceived experience of international students influences the recommendation of their current University to others through the mediated role of the satisfaction of students. In terms of the specific differences as per the experiences of the samples of African students shown in Table 4 and Figure 2 , academic experiences [β = 0.437 ( t = 3.739), p < 0.01] and health and safety [β = 0.287 ( t = 2.721), p < 0.01] were the strongest factors in determining the satisfaction and institutional recommendation of students. These factors were followed by the accommodation [β = 0.233 ( t = 2.575), p < 0.05]. However, discrimination [β = 0.218 ( t = 2.604), p < 0.05] and ISO services [β = 0.168 ( t = 2.174), p < 0.05] were revealed to have a direct impact on the recommendation. More importantly, a significant direct relationship between the ISO and the institutional recommendation was identified after we entered the satisfaction of students as a mediating variable. Conversely, non-significant direct (between the socioculture and the satisfaction) and indirect (between the socioculture and the recommendation) relationships revealed that African students in China face more problems in understanding and adapting to the local sociocultural values.

As shown in Table 5 and Figure 3 , Asian students give more weight to the factors of the accommodation and the ISO as the strongest predictors of the satisfaction of students and the recommendation of their current institute to others. These two factors are followed by academic, sociocultural, and discrimination experiences. In addition to the impact on the satisfaction of students, the accommodation and ISO can also directly affect the institutional recommendation. However, non-significant direct [health and safety and recommendation; β = 0.027 ( t = 0.348), ns] and indirect [between health and safety and satisfaction; β = 0.022 ( t = 0.324), ns] relationships revealed that Asian students in China face troublesome health and safety issues.

As shown in Table 6 and Figure 4 , students from developed countries who are more satisfied with the services provided by the ISO [β = 0.316 ( t = 2.896), p < 0.01] are more likely to recommend their current institution to future students. This factor is followed by the accommodation services [β = 0.267 ( t = 2.634), p < 0.05]. However, the academic, health and safety, discrimination, and sociocultural dimensions of the experience of international students from developed countries revealed no direct influence on the institutional recommendation and indirect influence through the satisfaction of students.

The decision to recruit international students has been considered as both a national strategy to strengthen the international competitiveness and soft power of China and a diplomatic strategy to reposition Chinese higher education in the world. To reap the full benefits of hosting international students and sustain the current growth in the international student market, it is key to examine the experience of international students as an issue of customer satisfaction and understand the factors that influence the recommendations of their current institute to future students. Accordingly, this study performed an analysis of the experience of international students with their accommodations, academic opportunities, health and safety services, services by the ISO, sociocultural experiences, and discrimination to reveal the influence of these factors on their overall satisfaction and their recommendations to future students. Furthermore, past research revealed that both educational and non-educational experience varies among nationality groups ( Arambewela and Hall, 2009 ). Accordingly, a comparative analysis has also been conducted to better understand the exact picture of the experience of international students in the host country. Based on the responses of students, the dimensions of international student experiences are discussed in the following sections.

In the main model, accommodation was revealed to not only have a positive direct effect on the institutional recommendations of students but also have an indirect positive effect through student satisfaction. In the Asian student sample, for example, positive experiences with accommodations directly influenced the recommendations of students. In addition, these experiences influenced the overall satisfaction of students, which in turn indirectly influenced their recommendations. Notably, African students and students from developed regions were shown to have an indirect relationship through satisfaction. These outcomes revealed that international students, in general, are willing to recommend their current institute to future international students based on their accommodation experience. In the context of student regions, Asian students were revealed to have the strongest positive effect on both the satisfaction and the recommendation, followed by African students and students from developed regions. Thus, students from developed (0.267, p < 0.05) regions and Africa (0.233, p < 0.05) are relatively less satisfied with their experience in China. This difference could be because the quality of the dormitories in Chinese universities was not up to western standards ( Ping et al., 2019 ), because the dormitory buildings for international students are often far from central areas of University activity ( Ding, 2016 ), or because classrooms and dormitories are located on different campuses. To improve the accommodation experiences of students from developed regions and Africa, institutions must review their accommodation facilities to determine whether all of the necessary amenities have been provided. This review would include ensuring that the environment of dormitories is suitable for studying and the dormitories are situated not far from school.

Academic experience has a positive direct effect on the institutional recommendation in the main model. Moreover, in common with the accommodations, academic experience also has an indirect effect on student satisfaction. In the supplementary analysis, African students were revealed to have a stronger (0.347, p < 0.01) relationship between academic experience and overall satisfaction. In contrast to African students, a relatively weak relationship was found between the academic experiences of Asian students and the level of their satisfaction (0.174, p < 0.05). Moreover, students from developed regions displayed a non-significant direct relationship between the academics and their recommendations or an indirect effect through their satisfaction. These results reveal that the students from Africa appear to be satisfied with the academic experience in China, while Asian students may be relatively less satisfied. However, students from developed regions are neither satisfied nor willing to recommend their current institute to future international students based on their academic experience. These results are consistent with a prior study in which Ding (2016) found low levels of satisfaction among international students with their study experience in Chinese universities.

Major challenges for international students include inadequate student-faculty interactions on campus ( Wen et al., 2018 ), a lack of teachers with adequate English skills, and misunderstandings of teaching methodologies. There may also exist cultural differences in the relationship between teacher behaviors and the learning of students ( Jiang et al., 2021 ). Therefore, instructors need to better understand the cultures of international students, including their approaches to both learning and teaching, by familiarizing themselves with the prior learning experiences of these students. Further, while considering the diversity of international students and to cater to the specific pedagogical demands of students from all around the globe, academia will need to adapt non-traditional teaching techniques.

To fulfill the learning requirements of international students and to meet the quality of universities from developed regions, institutions must recruit qualified foreign and local teaching and management staff in the various areas of study. Accordingly, the Chinese government should encourage institutions to hire foreign teachers, and policies should be introduced to attract and retain foreign talent. Moreover, to establish intercultural awareness within departments, institutions should provide intercultural training to both Chinese faculty and international students.

Health and safety were revealed to only have a positive direct effect on the institutional recommendation in the main model, while the indirect effect through satisfaction has a non-significant effect. For the African student sample, health and safety factors influenced the recommendations directly. Health and safety factors also influenced the recommendations indirectly through the overall satisfaction. These outcomes revealed that African students, in general, are satisfied with their health and safety experience in China. Furthermore, African students are willing to recommend their current institute to future international students based on their health and safety experience. However, a non-significant direct relationship was found between health and safety and the institutional recommendation, and an indirect relationship through satisfaction among the students from developed regions and Asia was uncovered. These relationships imply that these students have concerns regarding their health and safety in China. It is important to question why African students are more satisfied with health and safety compared to their Asian and Western counterparts. It may be that the provided health benefits and overall safety in China are preferable to their home countries. However, the students from developed regions and Asia have different perceptions regarding the provided health benefits and the safety measures in China. In most European countries, for instance, free medical facilities are provided. To deal with the health and safety issues of international students, institutions should inform incoming students about the health facilities available for them. Institutions should also guide if international students have to purchase health insurance, and they should clearly explain the extent of this health insurance coverage. For the safety of students, new international students should be guided through the campus or dormitory environment and given introductions to other important local customs, norms, rules, and regulations.

In the main model, services provided by the ISO have a positive direct effect on the institutional recommendation and an indirect effect through student satisfaction. Among Asian students and students from developed regions, the ISO services have both direct influence on the recommendation and indirect influence through satisfaction. These results demonstrate that international students can use their own positive experiences with the ISO as an influencing factor to recommend their current institution to future students. Notably, the experience of African students only revealed a direct relationship between the ISO and the institutional recommendation. Thus, African students could have concerns with the ISO staff or their policies. Therefore, representatives of the ISO should listen to the issues faced specifically by African students.

With respect to the international discrimination experience in China in the main model, discrimination was found to have a positive direct effect on the institutional recommendation and an indirect effect through student satisfaction. In the supplementary analysis, a direct positive relationship between the discrimination experience and the institutional recommendation (0.218, p < 0.05) was confirmed by the experiences of African students. This relationship was the strongest (0.209, p < 0.01) after we added the student satisfaction into the model. However, Asian students revealed a relatively low-level (0.176, p < 0.05) relationship between the perceived discrimination and their satisfaction. This finding appears to show that African students are fully satisfied with their experience, and Asian students also seem to be satisfied to some extent with the perceived non-discrimination experience in China. Based on their non-discriminatory experience, these students are willing to recommend their current institute to future international students.

Remarkably, a non-significant direct relationship between the perceived discrimination and the recommendation, or an indirect relationship via the student satisfaction, was revealed among the students from developed regions. It should also be noted that students from developed regions do not seem to be satisfied with their sociocultural experience in China. Consequently, due to differing cultural and social backgrounds, the attitudes of local people and faculty members could be perceived as discriminatory by students from developed regions. Asian strategies of managing the classroom environment and the expectations of a teacher or supervisor from international students could affect the perception of discrimination of Western students. In China, students tend to be obedient in classes ( Li and Wegerif, 2014 ) and classes are more teacher-centered ( Haley and Ferro, 2011 ). In the Western educational philosophy, however, the relationship between the student and the teacher is considered mutual ( Qi, 1999 ). Therefore, the unfamiliarity of students with Asian customs and formalities could be one reason why their discrimination perception does not positively influence their recommendation.

In this regard, researchers have suggested ongoing professional development activities focusing on how to respond to linguistically and culturally varied students ( Siczek, 2015 ). Lee and Rice (2007) suggested that creating campus events would help incorporate these students and create awareness of the challenging environment faced by the international students. Moreover, international students not only need to be informed of local traditions, but they also need to be familiar with the roles and statuses of teachers in Asian society.

In the main model, the sociocultural experience was discovered to have only an indirect effect through the student satisfaction on the recommendation. For Asian students, in particular, satisfaction with their sociocultural experience in China influenced their recommendations to future students. However, no direct (between the sociocultural experience and the recommendation) or indirect (through satisfaction) relationship was revealed among the students from developed regions and Africa. These outcomes demonstrated that international students from Africa and developed regions face difficulties understanding Chinese culture and risk cultural misunderstandings with local peoples. Prior research also indicated that major challenges for international students in China include integrating with local students ( Ma and Wen, 2018 ) and the difficulties in sociocultural adjustment ( Wen et al., 2018 ).

Therefore, international students in general and those from African and developed countries, in particular, do not appear to be satisfied with their sociocultural experience in China. Consequently, they are unwilling to recommend their current institute to future international students based on this experience. However, Asian students are more willing to recommend their current institute to future students due to their sociocultural experiences. This outcome may be because the cultural background of these students makes it easy for them to understand local norms and customs, and as a result, they do not feel as much discomfort in Chinese culture compared to their African and Western counterparts. To improve the sociocultural experiences of international students, universities and local governments can arrange cultural activities (such as short live dramas or movies) that display local customs and norms. Similarly, regular meetings, sports events, food galas, and other such activities between local and international students can also increase the understanding of newcomers of local traditions.

In an increasingly competitive global market of international education, the host country must continue concentrating on the overall experience of international students in regard to increasing their satisfaction rating and subsequent recommendations of their institutions to others. Consequently, to advance the overall quality of the services provided to overseas students and to maintain sustainable growth in the market of international students, aggressive policies have been formulated by the governments of other major study destinations for international students ( Ding, 2016 ). However, most of the related research has been conducted in native English-speaking countries. Therefore, the current literature lacks sufficient research that provides an inclusive understanding of the individual experiences, expectations, and motivations of students in non-English speaking countries ( Calikoglu, 2018 ). As a result, the objective of this research is to examine the experiences of international students in China.

The outcomes of this study revealed that establishing an ISO for the sake of assisting international students with University registration, residence help, counseling services, personal issues, trips, tuition fees, scholarships, and arrangements of cultural activities in a non-English speaking country is seen as an influential and encouraging step by international students. Contrary to the previous studies on international students in China (e.g., Ding, 2016 ), this study reveals a slight improvement in the accommodation facilities in Chinese universities. However, the findings of the current research confirmed the overall experience of international students in China, including the academic and other experiences, to be below the international benchmark. Participants from developed regions only appear to be satisfied with the ISO and the accommodations, and they are willing to recommend their current institute to future students only based on their experience with these elements. Additionally, the outcomes of the current research exposed that regardless of their origin (in developing or developed regions), international students face inconveniences regarding their sociocultural and health, and safety experiences. Consequently, this study recommends that to compete with other studies abroad destinations and to improve the experiences of international students, China should formulate comprehensive policies to support international students.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Author Contributions

MJ developed the conceptual notions and drafted the manuscript. TQ and AM contributed in literature, methods, and analysis. MW and SZ reviewed the manuscript critically, provided substantial contributions, and approved the final version to be submitted. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.667230/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords: international student experience, students from developing regions, students from developed regions, student satisfaction, institutional recommendation

Citation: Qadeer T, Javed MK, Manzoor A, Wu M and Zaman SI (2021) The Experience of International Students and Institutional Recommendations: A Comparison Between the Students From the Developing and Developed Regions. Front. Psychol. 12:667230. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.667230

Received: 12 February 2021; Accepted: 19 July 2021; Published: 13 August 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Qadeer, Javed, Manzoor, Wu and Zaman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Muhammad Kashif Javed, mkjaved3@gmail.com

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Social Adaptation Strategies and Inclusion Initiatives for Foreign Students of Batangas State University

IOER International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 3(2), pp. 75 - 83

9 Pages Posted: 5 Aug 2021

Amiel A. Abacan

Batangas State University - College of Teacher Education

ANABELLE M. ANABELLE M. ARRIOLA

Affiliation not provided to ssrn, carl jenkins c. magno magno.

Batangas State University, College of Teacher Education, Batangas City, Philippines

DRIAN JC MUELL D. MAGBOJOS

Ethan jon joshua b. ramos, princess diane u. sulit.

Date Written: July 10, 2021

Socio-cultural immersion is an integral part of every student's learning. Integration to unfamiliar community is crucial particularly for students who choose to study overseas. The researchers employed a qualitative research approach. Descriptive and phenomenological research designs were used to observe the behavior of participants and semi-structured interview to narrate the respondents’ lived-experiences. Findings revealed that the foreign students of Batangas State University experience socialization positively and negatively. The social challenges encountered by foreign students in terms of academic performance are language barriers, medium of instructions, and communication and collaboration towards academic inclination. There is also a rising problem in terms of socialization in relation to language preferences, common norms, and values attributed to foreign and local students. In terms of adaptation to Filipino culture, foreign students are challenged in understanding cultural diversities, hence, adapting to cultural preferences. Hence, the implementation of inclusion initiatives and adaptation strategies for foreign students was recommended including Include Me Now Project, Foreign Students Caravan, Universal Language for students of Batangas State University, #WeAcceptasOne – Project, and the WeSite website portal platform.

Keywords: Foreign students, social adaptation, inclusion initiatives, and Filipino Culture

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Amiel A. Abacan (Contact Author)

Batangas state university - college of teacher education ( email ).

Philippines

Batangas State University, College of Teacher Education, Batangas City, Philippines ( email )

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Challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions for international and migrant students in academic nursing programs in major host countries: a scoping review with a gender lens

1 Faculty of Nursing, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

2 SHERPA Research Centre, The University Institute with Regards to Cultural Communities, CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, Montreal, Canada

3 InterActions, Centre de recherche et de partage des savoirs, CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, Canada

Bilkis Vissandjée

4 Centre de recherche en santé publique (CReSP) du CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal et l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

Kathryn Verville-Provencher

Associated data.

All data generated and analysed during this study are included in this published article and the original sources.

International and migrant students face specific challenges which may impact their mental health, well-being and academic outcomes, and these may be gendered experiences. The purpose of this scoping review was to map the literature on the challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions for international and migrant students in academic nursing programs in major host countries, with a gender lens.

We searched 10 databases to identify literature reporting on the challenges, coping responses and/or supportive interventions for international and migrant nursing students in college or university programs in Canada, the United-States, Australia, New Zealand or a European country. We included peer-reviewed research (any design), discussion papers and literature reviews. English, French and Spanish publications were considered and no time restrictions were applied. Drawing from existing frameworks, we critically assessed each paper and extracted information with a gender lens.

One hundred fourteen publications were included. Overall the literature mostly focused on international students, and among migrants, migration history/status and length of time in country were not considered with regards to challenges, coping or interventions. Females and males, respectively, were included in 69 and 59% of studies with student participants, while those students who identify as other genders/sexual orientations were not named or identified in any of the research. Several papers suggest that foreign-born nursing students face challenges associated with different cultural roles, norms and expectations for men and women. Other challenges included perceived discrimination due to wearing a hijab and being a ‘foreign-born male nurse’, and in general nursing being viewed as a feminine, low-status profession. Only two strategies, accessing support from family and other student mothers, used by women to cope with challenges, were identified. Supportive interventions considering gender were limited; these included matching students with support services' personnel by sex, involving male family members in admission and orientation processes, and using patient simulation as a method to prepare students for care-provision of patients of the opposite-sex.

Future work in nursing higher education, especially regarding supportive interventions, needs to address the intersections of gender, gender identity/sexual orientation and foreign-born status, and also consider the complexity of migrant students’ contexts.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-021-00678-0.

In 2017, there were over 5 million international students worldwide (i.e., individuals pursuing educational activities in a country that is different than their country of residence) and this number is increasing annually [ 1 ]. This is largely due to a growing demand from students for higher education (college/vocational and university degrees) and the limited capacity in certain countries to meet this need. International experience is also highly valued by many employers and thus studying abroad makes new graduates more competitive in the workforce [ 2 , 3 ]. On the pull-side, academic institutions are wanting to draw the most talented candidates and are looking to increase their student enrollment and revenues [ 2 , 3 ]. Most international students are from Asia, in particular China, India, South Korea and Middle Eastern countries, while top destinations for these students are the US, the UK, France, Australia, Canada and Germany [ 3 ]. These same countries are also primary resettlement sites, and have substantial numbers of migrants (e.g., immigrants, refugees), especially from low and middle-income countries, enrolled in their colleges and universities [ 3 – 7 ]. This is driven by migrants who desire, or who are required to supplement their previous education in order to integrate into the local workforce, and by the expectations of many migrants for their children (including the 1.5 generation) to obtain an academic degree. Academic institutions in these major host countries are therefore needing to respond to and serve a more diverse student clientele.

Nursing is one of the many disciplines with an increasing number of foreign-born students. There are several benefits to the globalization of nursing education, including strengthening the healthcare workforce capacity (front-line workers, administrators, policy-makers, academics as well as researchers), increasing the linguistic and cultural diversity of nursing professionals, and the sharing of new ideas across countries toward the improvement of nursing practice [ 8 , 9 ]. Increasing the level of education among nurses also improves health outcomes, enhances gender equality and contributes to economic growth, especially in low-and-middle-income countries [ 10 , 11 ]. The course of study and clinical training in academic nursing programs however, are demanding and can affect the well-being of students and result in mental health problems [ 12 – 16 ]. Stress in turn can result in failure or students deciding to withdraw from their studies.

The stresses experienced by foreign-born nursing students are magnified due to factors related to their international/migrant status [ 17 – 20 ]. Challenges associated with living in a new country, including financial concerns, discrimination (perceived or actual), adapting to a new culture and language, loss of social support and unfamiliarity with the education, health and other systems, may affect education experiences and compound psychological distress. The challenges experienced and impacts may be patterned by gender. Gender is defined as the ‘socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men, women, boys and girls’ [ 21 ]. The migration process itself is influenced by gender as the opportunity and the level of control over the decision to migrate typically differs between men and women. Fear of being persecuted because of one’s ‘gender identity’ (i.e., a person’s individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond to one’s biological sex) [ 22 ], may also be the reason one decides to migrate. Transit and post-migration experiences also diverge along gender lines, for example risks for gender-based violence, perceptions by the receiving-country society and integration outcomes often vary between male and female migrants and also by sexual orientation or gender identity (e.g., if one identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or intersex) [ 23 ]. Moreover, international female students compared to male students, have reported facing greater expectations to balance home/childcare responsibilities [ 24 , 25 ], experiencing more value conflicts regarding gender roles [ 26 , 27 ], and having stronger emotional and physiological reactions to stress [ 28 , 29 ]. In contrast, male students have expressed feeling stress associated with social status loss and due to traditional expectations to financially provide for the family, and they have been shown to be more likely to process their stress in solitude [ 30 ]. Gender norms can also affect both male and female students’ abilities to relate to members of the opposite sex in academic and clinical settings [ 27 , 31 ]. To effectively support and promote the success of foreign-born nursing students, academic institutions should therefore ensure that approaches and resources not only take into account the foreign-born context, but also consider the gender dynamics that are shaping students’ experiences.

There is an extensive body of literature on foreign-born nursing students [ 17 , 32 – 34 ], however, we did not identify any review that assessed the literature with a gender lens. Within the nursing education literature, reviews that have examined gender have primarily focused on the experiences of male students in general without any mention of a migrant or international background [ 35 – 39 ]; more recent reviews have considered the experiences of nursing students with diverse sexual and gender identities, although the research in this area remains scarce and also does not refer to foreign-born students [ 40 – 42 ]. In parallel, other literature has reviewed or discussed the intersection of gender or gender identity/sexual orientation and international status in relation to students’ experiences and its implications for academic institutions and educators, but none of these address the context of nursing or other healthcare professional education [ 43 – 45 ]. We therefore conducted a scoping review to address this gap. The objective of this scoping review was to map the literature on the challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions for international and migrant nursing students in academic institutions in major host countries with a gender lens.

A scoping review is commonly used to explore and summarize what is known on a particular topic [ 46 ]. This methodology was therefore selected since our goal was to describe what is known about gender and foreign-born nursing students’ experiences and supportive interventions across a broad array of existing literature while applying a gender lens. We used the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews to guide our approach [ 46 ].

Search strategy

We consulted a university librarian to assist us in selecting the databases and in developing the search strategies. We searched 10 electronic databases including CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane, Medline, Web of Science, the Joanna-Briggs institute EBP database, Psych-Info, Eric, Sociological abstracts and ProQuest. Search terms (subject headings/descriptors, keywords) included those related to international and migrant students and to nursing education; the strategy was adapted for each database and the AND/OR Boolean operators were applied accordingly. Keywords were searched in the titles, abstracts, keywords and subject fields. No language or time restrictions were applied. In order to refine the searches and adjust them for the various platforms, we first conducted test searches in two databases (CINAHL and Medline). An example of one of the search strategies (CINAHL) is presented in Table ​ Table1. 1 . Additional papers were identified through the examination of the reference lists of literature review papers that met the inclusion criteria.

CINAHL search strategy a

a Lines 3, 5 and 8, are keyword searches that were executed in the following fields: TI (title), AB (Abstract) and MW (Word in Subject Heading)

Literature selection

We included peer-reviewed research (qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods), discussion papers and literature reviews. Study protocols, abstracts, books and dissertations/theses were excluded. English, French, and Spanish publications were considered. Literature was included if it discussed or reported on challenges, coping responses and/or supportive interventions for foreign-born students studying in an academic nursing program in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand or a European country (i.e., high-income countries according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that receive large numbers of migrants and international students and that have similar sociocultural norms and political systems) [ 47 ]. Challenges were defined as any difficulties experienced by the students; coping responses referred to any strategies that were used by the students to help overcome, minimize or tolerate challenges; while supportive interventions were policies, programs, or strategies meant to address challenges, enhance coping and improve students’ overall experiences. Challenges, coping and/or interventions could have been examined from the perspective of students and/or educators and administrators or could have just been described and discussed generally. Papers that reported on the evaluation or testing of an intervention were also included.

‘International students’ were defined as individuals with student visas but excluding exchange students and those completing only part of their degree abroad. ‘Migrant students’ were defined as individuals born in another country who moved with the intention of resettling in the new country; this includes immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers (i.e., individuals in the process of making a refugee claim) who could have migrated as children or as adults (second generation migrants were excluded). We included literature that focused on ‘English-as a second/additional-language’ (ESL/EAL) students without specifying the countries of origin, since foreign-born students often comprise a significant proportion of ESL/EAL students. Papers that focused on ‘minority’ or non-traditional nursing students were also kept if foreign-born or ESL/EAL students were clearly included and there were results and/or implications specific to this population. Similarly, if a paper included or discussed nursing students generally, it was retained if there were study results and/or implications relevant to foreign-born or ESL/EAL students. Literature that included internationally-trained nurses was considered if the nurses were studying in an academic nursing program; we excluded papers that examined internationally-trained nurses who were completing a transition/integration program.

Lastly, ‘Academic nursing program’ was defined as any program leading to a post-secondary degree including college/vocational, bachelor and graduate degrees in nursing. Papers that studied or discussed students from other healthcare disciplines were only kept if there were results and/or implications that referred to nursing students. Papers could have pertained to students in the context of clinical, theoretical and/or research education and training.

The database searches yielded 8269 records (see Additional file  1 for the search results by database). All citations were downloaded and managed using Endnote. We first removed duplicates and then screened titles to remove citations that clearly did not meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria. We then reviewed abstracts to further eliminate papers that did not meet all of the criteria. For the remaining citations we retrieved and reviewed the full-texts ( n  = 266) in order to confirm eligibility. The screening and selection process was led by KPV and supported by LM and BV via ongoing discussions to ensure that the criteria were being correctly and consistently applied. Articles at this step were mainly excluded because they did not have results and/or implications specific to foreign-born/ESL/EAL students or to nursing students (i.e., all healthcare professionals were examined and discussed together), or because they were theses/dissertations or descriptions of nursing programs that were intended to be advertisements to recruit new students. When there was uncertainty regarding the eligibility of an article, LM independently reviewed it and a decision on whether to include it was made through joint discussion with the other authors. Twenty-three additional papers were identified by examining the reference lists of included review papers. LM read all of the papers and confirmed the final selection (see Fig.  1 for the PRISMA flow diagram).

PRISMA Flow diagram. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, Prisma Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS medicine. 2009 Jul 21;6 (7):e1000097

Data extraction, analysis and synthesis

For all eligible papers, we extracted and stored data in an excel file including: 1) paper characteristics (publication type, year, and language); and 2) study/review/discussion paper information. For the latter this included the paper objective, the location(s) of the study/discussion/review, the foreign-born student population(s) of interest in the paper (international students and/or migrants and their countries/regions of origin and length of time in the country; for migrants we also sought information on immigration status), the educational context, whether or not the perspectives of educators and/or administrators were considered/discussed, and information on challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions. For studies, we also extracted information on the research design and data collection methods, and for reviews, we recorded the type of review conducted, the number and type of sources (e.g., articles, books), and the process used to identify sources.

To address the review objective, we critically assessed each paper and recorded information related to gender. To do this, we drew on existing frameworks used to conduct gender analyses in health research [ 48 , 49 ] and LM and BV developed key questions to help guide the assessment. These included the following:

• Was sex included or addressed by the authors/researchers?
• Was gender explicitly considered by the authors/researchers through use of a framework or lens?
• Was gender identity/sexual orientation included or addressed by the authors/researchers?
• Was sex and/or gender considered as a variable in analyses?
• Were findings and/or implications reported separately by sex and/or gender?
• Did sex or gender (appear to) play a role in the challenges experienced by students? For example, at the intersection of sex and gender such as roles within the family, cultural/religious conventions that dictate how men and women should behave, differential access to resources, and experiences of discrimination.
• Did coping responses (appear to) differ by sex or gender?
• Did interventions (appear to) consider gender roles, norms and expectations?
• Did interventions (appear to) consider diversity in gender identities/sexual orientations?

KPV was responsible for extracting the paper characteristics and information; LM verified all data extraction. The assessment of papers for gender related information was conducted by two research assistants. To ensure consistency in the process, 20 papers were reviewed by both research assistants. LM independently assessed all papers. All information collected was collated and synthesized into summary tables and text.

One hundred and fourteen articles were included in the scoping review. A summary of the literature is reported in Table  2 . All of the papers were published in English, 12 were discussion papers, 20 were reviews and 82 were research studies. The publication period spanned 39 years (1981–2019) and just over a quarter of papers ( n  = 30, 26%) were published within the last 5 years. Two-thirds of the research were qualitative studies.

Summary of the literature

a The methodology is based on what was reported in the paper. If a general qualitative methodology was used, it is described as ‘Qualitative descriptive’

b The review type is based on what was reported in the paper. If no specific type of review was named, it is described as a ‘Literature review’

c For discussion papers, the country is based on the location that was the focus of interest in the discussion. For reviews, the country is based on the country where the first author is based (since almost all reviews included literature from multiple countries and did not focus on a specific country)

d For research papers that included student participants, the description of students indicates whether participants included international students and/or migrants; ‘foreign-born’ is indicated if it’s clear that foreign-born students were included but it’s unclear whether they were international students and/or migrants; ‘ESL students’ is indicated if it was not explicitly stated that foreign-born students were included in the study (and there was no explicit mention of international students and/or immigrant students). Country/region of origin or ethnic/language background and LOT (length of time) in country are indicated if information was available for these indicators. For research papers that included only educators and/or administrators as participants, discussion papers and reviews, the description of students is based on the focus of the paper – i.e., international students and/or migrants or foreign-born or ESL students; country/ethnic background is indicated if a specific group was examined

e For research papers, the methods include the sample (the number of student and/or educator/administrator participants) and the methods used to gather data. For reviews, the methods include the number and type of sources included in the review and the process used for identifying sources

f For research papers, the educational context is based on the degree level of the student participants and/or the degree level of the students who were supervised and educated by the educator participants. ‘College/vocational’ refers to a level of qualification that is between a high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree. For discussion papers and reviews, the educational context is based on the degree level that was the focus of interest in the paper or the degree level that the results pertain to. In all instances, ‘Clinical’ is indicated if the clinical context was examined or discussed in the paper

Focus of the research, discussion papers and reviews

Twenty-two of the research papers primarily focused on highlighting challenges faced by foreign-born students; nine of these included the perspectives of educators (Table ​ (Table2). 2 ). Seventeen research papers aimed to identify or examine coping responses and factors that facilitated success among foreign-born students, while 24 papers generally explored students’ and/or educators’ experiences. Twelve research articles described and reported the findings of evaluations of support programs, courses or other strategies meant to support foreign-born/ESL/EAL students and seven other papers were intervention studies (including qualitative and quantitative), which mostly sought to help students’ overcome learning difficulties due to language barriers.

The discussion papers and reviews had similar foci (Table ​ (Table2). 2 ). Three discussion papers provided tips on how educators and institutions can support foreign-born/ESL/EAL students, five discussed challenges, implications and strategies to address these, and four other papers described programs, frameworks or approaches to promote the success of students. Among the 20 review papers, all but three included a mix of qualitative, quantitative and other types of literature and only three specifically named the type of review being conducted. Most ( n  = 12) aimed to synthesize the literature on foreign-born/ESL/EAL students’ challenges and support strategies for these students, while five were reviews of the literature of foreign-born/ESL/EAL students’ general experiences, and two focused on interventions including mobile applications to support ESL students’ learning, and programs to improve clinical placement outcomes of international students.

Locations, educational contexts and populations

The majority of the research (57%) was conducted in the United States; four studies were conducted in non-English speaking countries (Norway and Finland) (Table  3 ). All but three of the discussion papers, and one review were also specific to the United States context. Several of the research papers pertained to more than one level of education; overall bachelor or college level studies were included in 90%, and graduate level education in 42%, of studies (Table ​ (Table3). 3 ). Four discussion papers were limited to bachelor level, four were focused on graduate level, and four others were relevant to nursing education in general. The literature reviews tended to be non-specific, however one and two papers respectively focused on bachelor and doctorate level education. The clinical learning environment was mentioned in two-thirds of the research papers, although was the primary focus in 18% of the research (Table ​ (Table3). 3 ). The clinical context was also the main focus in six of the reviews.

Characteristics of the research studies

a Two also included some quantitative data

b Seven also included some qualitative data

c Includes the United Kingdom ( n  = 5), Finland ( n  = 3), Ireland ( n  = 1) and Norway ( n  = 1)

d Based on the student participants and/or the focus of the paper

e A study may be counted in more than one category so percentages do not add to 100%

f Based on studies with student participants

Across the literature students were described using different terms including ‘foreign-born’, ‘ESL’, ‘EAL’, ‘culturally-and-linguistically diverse (CALD)’, ‘international students’, ‘non-English-speaking background’, ‘immigrants’, and ‘minority or non-traditional students’; in other instances, students were described based on their ethnic background or origin. Length of time in the host country was generally not highlighted; just over a third (34%) of studies with student participants mentioned some information on length of time. International students were the main population of focus in almost half of the studies (Table ​ (Table3). 3 ). Similarly, they were also the main focus in seven discussion papers and eight of the literature reviews. Thirteen studies, three discussion papers and one review focused specifically on migrants. The remaining literature examined a mix of international students and migrants or were non-specific in their description of the student population (i.e., described as foreign-born or ESL students).

For migrant students, migration history or status were not reported in the description of the participants in any of the research papers nor were they mentioned or discussed in the review and discussion papers. There were five studies however, that implied based on other sections of the paper that they may have included student participants with a refugee or difficult migration background (i.e., political unrest in their country) [ 57 , 77 , 84 , 104 ]. Only one research paper explicitly mentioned students with a refugee background in the introduction and discussion sections [ 57 ].

In the research studies with student participants ( n  = 73), students were mainly from East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia; top source countries in descending order, were China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Korea, India and Taiwan. Asian students (Taiwan = 1, India = 1, China = 1, and one unspecified) were also the population of interest in two discussion papers and two reviews. Instructors/educators were participants in 34% of studies (Table ​ (Table3) 3 ) and their perspectives were also explicitly mentioned in two of the literature reviews.

General overview of challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions

Language and communication barriers, including oral and written expression and comprehension, were the challenges highlighted most often in the literature [ 9 , 17 – 20 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 42 , 50 – 53 , 55 , 57 – 65 , 67 – 76 , 78 – 113 , 115 , 117 – 123 , 125 – 131 , 133 , 134 , 136 , 139 , 141 – 143 , 145 – 148 , 150 – 154 ]. Language and communication issues occur in academic and clinical settings as well as in social contexts. Learning nursing and medical terminology and colloquial expressions and adapting to a ‘low context communication’ style, were noted as particularly difficult. At the graduate level, academic writing was the major issue, including demonstrating critical analysis [ 71 , 79 , 80 , 115 , 130 , 146 , 148 ].

Cultural barriers were also frequently noted [ 9 , 17 – 20 , 34 , 42 , 51 – 56 , 59 , 63 , 64 , 67 , 68 , 71 , 73 – 77 , 79 , 80 , 82 – 87 , 89 , 96 , 97 , 100 – 103 , 105 – 107 , 111 , 112 , 115 , 117 , 119 , 120 , 122 , 124 , 125 , 127 , 129 , 132 , 136 , 138 , 139 , 142 , 143 , 145 , 147 , 148 , 150 , 152 – 154 ]. These included, for example, divergent views regarding the role of nurses in patient care, and different styles of relating socially whether it be with friends or in care-provider-patient interactions. Difficulties with the supervisory-graduate student relationship were identified as well, as international students often expect structured guidance and for supervisors to be readily available to them based on the supervisory styles they have observed in their home countries [ 56 , 80 , 146 ]. The most apparent cultural challenges described were in the classroom milieu; a number of papers reported that foreign-born students struggle with ‘Western’ learning, teaching and evaluation methods (e.g., self-directed and interactive learning, critical analysis and debating). Self-guided learning and conducting independent research were particular concerns for doctoral students [ 56 , 146 ]. All these issues are due to the fact that many foreign-born students come from cultures where teaching is primarily didactic, rote learning is encouraged and students are expected to be passive and to not question instructors. Educators and clinical preceptors are equally challenged in this dynamic and feel unable to assess whether students have understood content and instructions, especially when language barriers are significant [ 65 , 74 , 79 , 94 , 112 , 126 , 150 ]. In the clinical context this also raises concerns about patient safety [ 50 , 74 , 99 , 112 , 150 ]. Overall, educators/supervisors and preceptors expressed feeling that they have insufficient time and resources to adequately support foreign-born students [ 65 , 74 , 79 , 94 , 112 , 126 , 150 ].

In addition to cultural issues, foreign-born students also struggle with the unfamiliarity of the healthcare system and clinical setting [ 9 , 19 , 20 , 37 , 42 , 65 , 92 , 96 , 99 , 100 , 102 , 112 , 115 , 129 , 132 , 146 ]. For graduate students, often they are unable to work clinically in the receiving-country and so they grapple in making links between the theory/research and practice. Regardless of the education level, for students who return to their home country post-graduation, the course content and skills learned, and for graduate students, the research conducted, are not always relevant and applicable to their context [ 53 , 54 , 75 , 84 , 85 , 129 , 148 ]. Conducting research internationally is also not always feasible due to a lack of funding and/or supervisory support abroad [ 148 ].

Other challenges experienced by foreign-born students included loneliness, social exclusion/isolation, discrimination, resettlement issues (e.g., immigration, housing), financial concerns and maintaining a work-life balance [ 9 , 17 – 20 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 42 , 52 , 53 , 55 , 59 , 65 , 68 , 71 , 73 – 75 , 77 , 79 , 80 , 82 – 84 , 87 , 89 , 91 , 93 – 97 , 100 , 103 , 105 – 107 , 109 , 111 , 113 , 115 , 120 – 123 , 127 – 129 , 138 , 139 , 142 , 143 , 145 – 148 , 150 , 152 – 154 ]. Access to research funding, limited interaction with student peers and transitioning from a leadership role (held in their home country) to a student position, were challenges specifically noted by international graduate students [ 79 , 80 , 148 ]. Feeling inadequately prepared or overwhelmed and unable to optimize their skills upon return to the home country, were also highlighted as particular issues at the graduate level [ 56 , 75 , 79 , 148 ]. Mental health problems, including stress, feeling pressure to succeed, depression, a loss of self-esteem, feelings of guilt (for leaving their families) and anxiety, were commonly reported across the literature irrespective of the level of education [ 9 , 17 – 20 , 33 , 55 , 65 , 68 , 71 , 75 , 76 , 79 , 80 , 82 , 84 , 86 , 89 , 91 , 93 – 95 , 97 , 98 , 100 , 102 , 105 , 106 , 111 , 112 , 115 , 117 , 122 , 126 – 128 , 130 , 134 , 138 , 139 , 142 , 143 , 145 , 146 , 148 , 152 – 154 ].

The main coping responses used by foreign-born nursing students to overcome challenges, included accessing support (emotional, practical and/or informational) from family and friends, especially student peers with a similar cultural or linguistic background, and staying focused and determined to succeed [ 18 , 20 , 34 , 52 – 54 , 66 , 73 , 76 , 79 – 82 , 89 , 91 , 93 – 96 , 103 , 105 – 107 , 111 , 115 , 117 , 121 – 123 , 127 – 130 , 141 – 143 , 145 , 146 , 148 , 151 – 154 ]. Maintaining their culture and values, but also accepting and being open to differences, were identified as coping mechanisms to deal with cultural barriers, while positive thinking and celebrating successes, were highlighted as ways that students boost their sense of self-worth and reduce stress [ 20 , 34 , 56 , 64 , 71 , 73 , 79 , 80 , 85 , 89 , 91 , 93 , 96 , 107 , 123 , 127 , 145 , 152 – 154 ]. Numerous papers also reported that students use various strategies (e.g., asking for clarifications, using non-verbal communication, doing additional reading), and actively develop their skills, in order to gain confidence and overcome language and academic barriers [ 18 , 20 , 61 , 71 , 73 , 75 , 76 , 80 , 82 , 84 , 88 , 90 , 92 , 93 , 98 , 99 , 101 , 103 – 107 , 109 , 111 , 113 , 115 , 117 , 120 , 123 , 127 – 130 , 133 , 146 , 151 – 153 ].

There were several interventions that were described or suggested in the literature as being potentially helpful to foreign-born students (reported in Table  4 ); the vast majority of these were based on anecdotal evidence. At the structural level, it was recommended that institutions be actively committed, in the form of mission statements, action plans and dedicated resources, to cultivating an inclusive and equitable education environment [ 17 , 20 , 33 , 37 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 63 , 64 , 68 , 74 , 79 , 80 , 82 , 92 , 94 – 96 , 103 , 106 , 108 , 110 , 112 , 113 , 115 , 117 , 119 – 121 , 125 – 127 , 129 , 132 , 138 , 139 , 141 , 145 – 154 ]. Equally noted was the importance of promoting diversity and fostering a sense of belonging [ 17 , 37 , 108 , 127 , 145 , 146 , 148 , 151 – 154 ]. It was also recommended that educators and preceptors receive training to ensure that they are aware of the challenges that many foreign-born students encounter and to provide them strategies and tools for teaching a multi-lingual and culturally diverse student population [ 17 , 18 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 50 , 60 , 63 – 65 , 68 , 71 , 73 – 85 , 87 – 89 , 91 – 96 , 103 , 106 – 108 , 111 – 113 , 115 , 117 , 120 , 121 , 123 , 125 – 128 , 131 , 138 , 139 , 141 , 143 , 145 – 147 , 149 – 154 ]. It was also suggested that instructors have smaller classes, clinical groups and student-supervisory ratios, and more time allotted to devote to foreign-born students [ 20 , 50 , 51 , 64 , 65 , 74 , 79 , 104 , 108 , 112 , 120 , 121 , 127 , 129 , 139 , 147 , 149 – 151 , 153 ].

Summary of supportive interventions a

a Based on the results and discussion sections in the research and review articles and based on the reflections/discussion points of authors in the discussion papers

According to the literature it may also be beneficial if students have more time to complete their degree, or if the program is adapted to better suit their needs (e.g., an additional session or qualifying year to take pre-requisites, a transition semester with courses modified to allow students to acclimate to their new environment, and/or extra clinical training) [ 37 , 60 , 71 , 79 , 102 – 104 , 108 , 126 , 133 , 138 , 139 , 148 , 151 , 153 ]. Screening students at the point of admission may also ensure that those who need supplementary support are identified immediately and referred without delay [ 34 , 37 , 73 , 74 , 79 , 92 – 94 , 108 , 110 , 113 , 119 , 125 , 126 , 131 , 135 , 138 , 139 , 143 , 148 , 149 , 151 , 152 ]. It was also suggested that offering a range of services and resources throughout the academic trajectory could aid students in overcoming a variety of challenges. These included orientation sessions to the institution and clinical settings, workshops to develop writing, critical analysis and test-taking skills, language courses (specific to nursing), writing/editing support (especially at the graduate level), tutoring services, practical assistance including access to financial aid, scholarships and research funding, social activities, peer support initiatives, a mentorship program and counselling/psychological services [ 9 , 17 – 20 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 50 – 53 , 55 , 60 , 61 , 63 – 65 , 68 , 69 , 71 , 73 – 77 , 79 , 80 , 82 – 85 , 87 – 89 , 92 – 105 , 107 – 110 , 113 – 121 , 123 , 125 – 133 , 138 , 139 , 141 – 143 , 145 – 154 ].

There were also a number of approaches at the curricular/instructor level that were proposed to help students overcome language and cultural barriers and to facilitate learning whether it be in a classroom, clinical or research supervisory context. For example, using audio-visual material, providing information and expectations in writing, giving frequent and detailed feedback, debriefing one on one with students, speaking more slowly and avoiding colloquial language, verifying understanding, using storytelling, audio-taping lectures, and providing more structured guidance (e.g., writing examples for assignments, standardized forms for clinical documentation) [ 9 , 17 , 18 , 20 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 50 – 52 , 60 – 65 , 68 , 69 , 71 , 73 – 77 , 79 – 85 , 87 , 88 , 90 , 92 – 95 , 98 – 103 , 105 – 108 , 110 – 112 , 115 , 120 , 122 – 131 , 136 – 143 , 145 – 154 ]. Evaluations, including assignments and tests could also be modified to accommodate students, for example allowing more time to complete an exam or the opportunity to submit an initial draft of an assignment for feedback before submitting the final version that is to be graded [ 17 , 34 , 37 , 60 , 63 , 64 , 69 , 73 , 74 , 76 , 81 , 84 , 87 , 93 , 100 , 104 , 110 , 111 , 125 , 127 , 128 , 139 , 140 , 143 , 147 , 151 , 152 ]. Course content, evaluations, research topics and clinical experiences may also be adapted to make them more culturally relevant, particularly if students plan to return to work in their country of origin following their graduation [ 17 , 34 , 37 , 60 , 64 , 65 , 68 , 71 , 77 , 87 , 92 , 93 , 95 , 111 , 125 , 127 , 128 , 131 , 136 , 139 , 141 – 143 , 145 , 147 , 148 , 152 , 154 ]. Equally emphasized was the importance to provide content and an opportunity to learn more about the host country’s healthcare system and approach to nursing practice [ 37 , 63 , 65 , 74 , 80 , 82 , 87 , 92 , 95 , 115 , 129 , 136 , 138 , 140 , 143 , 152 ]. For doctoral students, offering leadership training and opportunities to network and develop their research identity and skills (e.g., conferences, student seminars, research groups, research activities like publishing, committees, joining professional organizations), were also deemed essential [ 65 , 80 , 146 , 148 , 149 ]. Lastly, to increase foreign-born students’ confidence and feelings of inclusion, it was recommended that instructors foster peer to peer learning and positive interactions between students, show interest in foreign-born students (know their name, relate to them on a personal and emotional level) and be encouraging and respectful [ 9 , 17 , 20 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 51 – 53 , 55 , 65 , 69 – 71 , 73 – 75 , 79 – 84 , 87 – 91 , 93 – 97 , 100 , 103 , 106 , 107 , 112 , 113 , 115 , 117 , 120 – 125 , 127 , 128 , 130 – 132 , 136 , 138 – 143 , 145 – 154 ].

Applying a gender lens

Gender was not explicitly used as a guiding framework or lens, nor was it defined, in any of the studies, literature reviews or discussion papers. Among the research papers that included student participants, 29% did not specify the sex of participants, and although male students were included in 59% of the research (Table ​ (Table3), 3 ), overall there were many more female participants compared to male participants across and within studies -over three quarters of the studies with both male and female participants clearly had more females than males. Other gender identities/sexual orientations (e.g., lesbian, gay, non-binary, transgender) were not identified or named in any of the study samples. One study, however, acknowledged that there was a lack of gender diversity among their participants [ 95 ].

Of all the studies that included both men and women, only one reported results for the foreign-born students by sex. This study, which examined predictors of success among a cohort of Saudi Arabian students enrolled in an accelerated bachelor program (a collaborative initiative between Saudi Arabia and a US University), showed that the mean graduating grade point average (GPA) varied among female students depending on whether or not they were married or had family present with them in the United States- i.e., single females and women who had no family in the US had lower GPAs compared to their respective counterparts, but these variations were not observed among the male students [ 66 ]. One other study and two reviews, which focused on ‘non-traditional students’, also reported results for male nurses, and reported that men tended to feel excluded and delegated to certain roles because of their gender, and felt they were stereotyped as being homosexual [ 37 , 42 , 70 ]. These findings however, did not pertain specifically to foreign-born/ESL/EAL students.

Four quantitative studies included sex as a variable in their analyses with foreign-born students. The study by Carty et al. (2007) showed that overall male students had a higher graduating GPA compared to their female counterparts. A study in Finland with international students found that female students were more likely than male students to perceive cultural diversity in the clinical placement as causing negative consequences, however there were no differences between men and women regarding their perceptions of the impacts of language barriers on their clinical training [ 109 ]. Another study, conducted in the US, found sex to not be predictive of attrition among ESL students studying in pre-licensure programs in the state of Texas [ 72 ]. Similarly, the fourth study found no association between sex and academic or clinical placement stress among international students studying nursing at the undergraduate level in programs across Australia [ 100 ].

With respect to challenges, we identified several papers that reported results and/or that discussed issues related to gender roles and expectations. In one study, conducted more than 30 years ago, a female student participant expressed that it was initially disconcerting, and that it required significant adaptation to come to terms with the idea that women should be assertive and outspoken when interacting with physicians [ 54 ]. Similarly, in another study, timidity and not wanting to speak up, was noted to be more challenging for female ESL students compared to male students [ 84 ]. In another older study, male students from Saudi Arabia who were studying in the US, found it challenging to have mixed-gender classes, to socialize with female students, to learn about women’s health and to care for female patients in the clinical setting, particularly hygiene and bathing (these same results were also highlighted in a review paper) [ 17 , 64 ]. Likewise, in another US study (and review), Omani women found it challenging to adapt to openness between sexes, going out alone and independent decision-making [ 107 , 153 ]. Similar findings were also shown in a study in the UK, where Middle-Eastern women who were completing a doctoral degree, reported finding it difficult to manage everything on their own as they were used to being surrounded by extended family and doing daily activities collectively; consequently these women also reported feeling very lonely [ 80 ].

Other difficulties related to gender norms and the mixing of men and women were also reported/discussed, including a hesitation among students to form friendships with the opposite sex because it was deemed inappropriate [ 81 ]; male students feeling uncomfortable receiving input or direction from female instructors [ 84 ]; female students feeling it is inappropriate to be in ‘intimate’ contact with patients [ 86 ]; and women finding it challenging to relate to their native-born female colleagues due to different value systems [ 97 ]. The review by Olson (2012) suggested that some female students may not be supported by family during their studies because male family members felt threatened by the possibility that their wives/daughters may earn more income than them [ 34 ]. One study also found that female international students more than male students, faced additional challenges professionally post-graduation, irrespective of whether or not they returned to their country of origin, and that these challenges were rooted in the divergent and conflictual cultural norms and expectations of women between the host country and country of origin [ 84 ]. Another study supported this notion as it found that international female students from Canada or Europe studying in the US seemed to have less difficulty adjusting to the US compared to other international students due to a greater resemblance in gender norms across the US, Canada and Europe [ 96 ].

Managing family/childcare and household responsibilities while studying, and feeling pressure to ascribe to a ‘traditional’ female role, were described as challenges for women in a number of papers [ 34 , 74 , 82 , 83 , 86 , 102 , 122 , 152 , 153 ]. In one study (but highlighted in four different papers), a woman reported significant stress due to her husband and in-laws who disapproved of her studying and who felt that she was a ‘bad wife and mother’ for pursuing her studies [ 34 , 82 , 83 , 153 ]. Feeling guilty about leaving children behind also appeared to be a concern particularly affecting women [ 89 , 128 ]. In contrast, a male student, in the study by Gardner (2005), reported feeling immense pressure to succeed, because he was recognized as a leader in his community in his home country and he felt he needed to return with a nursing degree so that he could help his community [ 83 ].

Perceived discrimination was noted in four papers; in one (a research study), an instructor participant reported that a student had shared with her that a patient had said that he did not like the student because the student was ‘a man and foreign’ [ 74 ]. In another study, women reported discrimination due to wearing a hijab and being Arab [ 115 ]. This latter issue was further highlighted in two review papers [ 145 , 153 ].

Nursing being perceived as a feminine profession and low status employment was also highlighted as an issue. In one study, a male student participant shared that he felt that his father had concerns about him pursuing nursing as a profession because of his gender [ 76 ]. In another study, women from non-English speaking background cultures reported not being supported by their family to pursue their studies in nursing as the profession was deemed to be the type of work that is only done by “loose women or prostitutes” [ 86 ].

We did not identify many results or discussion points related to gender and coping. One recent US study, suggests that female students who were mothers found mutual understanding and support from other female students who also had children [ 76 ]. Extended family support also seems to be source of help for female students who are trying to balance studying with home/family obligations [ 34 ]; in one study a student sent her child to India to be cared for while she completed her studies; providing a better life for her daughter was also a motivating factor that kept her going [ 83 ]. Family back home, calling male family members, was also identified as a source of support for the Omani nursing students in the US who were not used to being alone and who found making decisions on their own, challenging [ 107 ]. Although not a coping mechanism per se, a number of papers also mentioned that female international students had increased confidence over time and enjoyed the new independence that they had gained while living and studying in the host country [ 75 , 80 , 101 , 115 , 128 , 153 ].

A handful of papers made reference to gender in relation to supportive interventions. One study described a female educator calling on a male colleague to intervene with a male international student on a sensitive topic in order to make the student more comfortable since he was from a cultural background where women usually do not have authoritative roles [ 84 ]. Sending letters or involving family members in the orientation was recommended in one study and two reviews, as an approach to enhance family support and understanding for female students who face challenges balancing their studies with family and household responsibilities [ 34 , 83 , 152 ]. Similarly, including fathers and husbands in the admission process was a strategy described in the paper by Robinson et al. (2006) to ensure support for Indian women who wished to pursue their studies in an American university [ 138 ]. In the same paper, female applicants were interviewed by women during the recruitment process, and gender dynamics (in reference to male dominance) was considered when pairing female students with community supports once arrived in the US [ 138 ]. Matching advisors and international students by sex was also discussed in the paper by Thompson (2012) as an approach to promote comfort for students who are not used to receiving advice from or confiding in someone of the opposite sex [ 141 ]. In the study by King et al. (2017), a standardized simulation patient was used as a method to give EAL students an opportunity to get used to providing care to patients of the opposite sex [ 101 ]. And avoiding gender bias when presenting exemplars, was given as teaching tip when teaching international students, in the paper by Henderson (2016), [ 136 ].

Lastly, gender identity/sexual orientation was not considered or highlighted in any of the results or discussions related to challenges, coping responses or interventions across the literature. The review by Greene et al. (2012) which outlines strategies for promoting the success of international students, however, recommended that students be exposed to and learn how to care for patients with different backgrounds, including different sexual orientations, although no details were provided on how this should be done [ 33 ]. The review by Koch et al. (2015) also reported on the clinical placement experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) nursing students, but this was for nursing students in general and not specific to foreign-born/ESL/EAL students [ 42 ]. The review highlighted that overall there is very little known about the experiences of LGBTQ nursing students.

Overall, the literature mostly reflects women’s experiences, there was less focus on men, and students who identify as other genders/sexual orientations were not visible in the research and discussions. Our review shows that international and migrant nursing students face a number of challenges associated with different cultural roles, norms and expectations for men and women; other challenges included perceived discrimination, and in general nursing being viewed as a feminine, low-status profession. We only identified a couple of strategies, accessing support from family and other student mothers, used specifically by female students to cope with some of the challenges associated with gender roles and norms, and we found nothing regarding men’s coping responses. Supportive interventions that considered gender were limited; these included matching students with support persons and advisors by sex, involving male family members in admission and orientation processes, and using patient simulation as a method to prepare students for care-provision of patients of the opposite-sex. Taken together, the results reveal that sex, gender and gender identity/sexual orientation have been under examined and discussed in the literature on international and migrant nursing students in academic institutions in major host countries.

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are fundamental to the nursing profession and its practice as nurses interface with individuals, families and communities in very intimate ways (physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually/existentially) and during the most vulnerable moments of life, which are greatly influenced by one’s social group memberships/identities such as gender, culture, religion, ethnicity and sexuality. Therefore in order to promote the health and well-being for all, nurses must be prepared to respond to the needs of diverse populations and to provide care that is safe and that addresses inequities. It also requires a workforce that reflects the population demographics. Despite there being a movement towards inclusivity, the profession, however, remains predominantly Caucasian (in high-income countries) and heteronormative, especially at the leadership levels, and gender and gender identity/sexual orientation discrimination are still prevalent [ 39 , 155 – 158 ]. Rectifying this problem begins with nursing education programs that are inclusive, fair, and that celebrate diversity within the curriculum, and among the student, faculty and administrative bodies. EDI are currently top priority for many academic institutions in major migrant/international student receiving-countries [ 159 – 161 ]. Many have developed strategic plans and have a mandate to implement strategies to reduce discrimination and bias and create more respectful learning environments where the presence and expression of differences are valued and supported and everyone feels they belong and can thrive. Gender issues in higher education and the need for gender-sensitive interventions at the structural and curricular levels in order to attract and retain students, have been identified in both the nursing and international education literature, respectively [ 25 , 30 , 31 , 36 , 162 – 164 ]; more recently, there has also been greater attention given to gender identity/sexual orientation [ 40 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 165 ]. To further develop EDI best practices, and to advance the profession and practice, future research and discussion papers in nursing higher education must also address the intersections of gender, gender identity/sexual orientation and foreign-born status.

The review also highlights that a variety of terms have been used in the literature to describe foreign-born students, and that although migrant students have been included to some extent, the role of migration history/status and length of time in country have not been considered, making it difficult to tease out information about groups in more vulnerable contexts. More recently-arrived migrants are more likely compared to more established migrants to experience cultural barriers, be unfamiliar with a host country’s systems and have difficulty accessing services. Many refugees and asylum-seekers have experienced trauma and difficult migration trajectories that can exacerbate mental health issues and further complicate adjustment to a new academic environment [ 166 – 168 ]. Refugees and asylum-seekers are also more likely compared to other migrants and international students to have experienced disruptions in their education and to face language barriers and social-economic disadvantages during resettlement [ 166 – 168 ]. They are also more likely to experience family separation and may feel greater pressure to succeed especially if family members in the home country are financially dependent on them. Asylum-seekers also are commonly excluded from social programs and have the added strain of not knowing what their future holds. Therefore to have a more nuanced understanding of foreign-born nursing students’ challenges and coping responses, and to better identify supportive interventions, future work should take into account not only gender and gender identity/sexual orientation, but also the migration context (status and length of time), which should be clearly defined [ 41 , 169 – 172 ].

The results of the review show that generally there is an abundance written on supportive interventions for foreign-born nursing students in academic institutions, however it remains mostly descriptive and anecdotal. The results raise a number of questions regarding the specifics on how institutions and educators can best be supportive. For example, language and communication remain significant issues yet it is unclear what level of language ability should be required upon admission- high level requirements restrict access while a low level requirement puts undue stress on students, particularly since nursing requires knowledge of specific terminology. Likewise, to what extent should educators adapt teaching approaches and evaluations to facilitate adjustment to the new academic milieu and how can educators effectively provide emotional support whilst maintaining their professional stance? Furthermore, what should the role of institutions be in ensuring that foreign-born students are adequately prepared for work post-graduation, whether they stay in the host country or decide to return to their country of origin, especially when increasingly these institutions are integrating notions of EDI in their mandates? For example, should institutions provide additional support to prepare foreign-born students for the licensure exam in the host country? Alternatively, should institutions provide training within the program that is relevant to international students’ country of origin context and/or provide re-entry programs prior to students’ return home? It would be timely to also study and debate these broader questions related to supportive interventions.

Limitations and strengths

We purposely chose to not use ‘gender’, ‘gender identity’ or related terms in our search strategy so that our search would be broad, however, this exclusion may have contributed to missing some literature. We did not include grey literature, which may explain the lack of language diversity (French and Spanish publications), and consequently the small number of papers on students’ experiences in non-English speaking host countries. Due to the scoping nature of the review we did not closely analyze or report on the evidence related to the identified challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions (e.g., prevalence of challenges, evaluations of interventions). We also did not report on the overall benefits or positive experiences of foreign-born nursing students, which would have been informative. Nevertheless, the review was very thorough and provides a comprehensive overview with a gender lens, of the challenges, coping strategies and supportive interventions that have been studied and discussed over a 39 year period. The results also highlight gaps in the literature, especially with regards to gender.

Future research

Future research on challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions for international and migrant students in academic nursing programs in major host countries, should include sex and gender-based analyses; an intersectionality-based approach, including gender, gender identity/sexual orientation, migration/international status and context, as well as other identity markers (e.g., race, religion) is warranted. Additional reviews on existing gender and gender-identity/sexual orientation sensitive interventions in nursing/healthcare education in general, and for foreign-born students across a variety of disciplines, would also be informative. Overall, more studies that test and evaluate supportive interventions for international and migrant nursing students, at both the structural and curricular levels are needed; a systematic review would be useful as well to provide a better evidence base for academic institutions to draw from. Since most of the literature to date has focused on the US context, and much more has been written on undergraduate students, more research in non-English speaking countries, and with graduate students, especially at the doctoral level, would also be worthwhile.

The literature on the challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions for international and migrant students in academic nursing programs in major host countries, has significant gaps with regards to how it addresses the contributions and consequences of sex, gender and gender identity/sexual orientation related experiences. To draw and retain a diversity of candidates to the nursing profession, and to create more inclusive and equitable learning environments, future work, especially with respect to supportive interventions, needs to address the intersections of gender, gender identity/sexual orientation and foreign-born status, and also consider the complexity of migrant students’ contexts.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge and thank Assia Mourid, the librarian for allied health sciences at the University of Montreal for her assistance in developing the database search strategies and support in conducting the database searches. We would also like to thank Ye Na Kim for her help with the data extraction and Aracely Estefania Rodriguez Espinosa and Kassandre Thériault for their support in the assessment of the literature for gender related information.

Abbreviations

Authors’ contributions

LM and BV conceived the idea for the review, obtained funding and supervised the literature search, review and selection process. KPV developed the database search strategies (with assistance from a librarian), conducted the searches, reviewed and selected the literature, and extracted the data and created the summary tables; KPV also aided in the writing of the methods section of the manuscript. LM drafted the manuscript. BV contributed to the results and discussion sections and critically revised the manuscript for intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

This work was supported by the SHERPA research centre, the University Institute with regards to cultural communities of the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal and by the Quebec Population Health Research Network (QPHRN). LM was supported by a research scholar junior 1 award from The Fonds de recherche du Québec- Santé (FRQS) .

Availability of data and materials

Declarations.

Not applicable.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Language and communication in international students’ adaptation: a bibliometric and content analysis review

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• Michał Wilczewski   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7650-5759 1 &
• Ilan Alon   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6927-593X 2 , 3  

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This article systematically reviews the literature (313 articles) on language and communication in international students’ cross-cultural adaptation in institutions of higher education for 1994–2021. We used bibliometric analysis to identify the most impactful journals and articles, and the intellectual structure of the field. We used content analysis to synthesize the results within each research stream and suggest future research directions. We established two major research streams: second-language proficiency and interactions in the host country. We found inconclusive results about the role of communication with co-nationals in students’ adaptation, which contradicts the major adaptation theories. New contextualized research and the use of other theories could help explain the contradictory results and develop the existing theories. Our review suggests the need to theoretically refine the interrelationships between the interactional variables and different adaptation domains. Moreover, to create a better fit between the empirical data and the adaptation models, research should test the mediating effects of second-language proficiency and the willingness to communicate with locals. Finally, research should focus on students in non-Anglophone countries and explore the effects of remote communication in online learning on students’ adaptation. We document the intellectual structure of the research on the role of language and communication in international students’ adaptation and suggest a future research agenda.

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Introduction

One of the consequences of globalization is the changing landscape of international higher education. Over the past two decades, there has been a major increase in the number of international students, that is, those who have crossed borders for the purpose of study (OECD, 2021a ), from 1.9 million in 1997 to over 6.1 million in 2019 (UIS Statistics, 2021 ). Even students who are motivated to develop intercultural competence by studying abroad (Jackson, 2015 ) face several challenges that prevent them from benefitting fully from that experience. Examples of these challenges include language and communication difficulties, cultural and educational obstacles affecting their adaptation, socialization, and learning experiences (Andrade, 2006 ), psychological distress (Smith & Khawaja, 2011 ), or social isolation and immigration and visa extension issues caused by Covid-19 travel restrictions (Hope, 2020 ).

Cross-cultural adaptation theories and empirical research (for reviews, see Andrade, 2006 ; Smith & Khawaja, 2011 ) confirm the critical importance of foreign-language and communication skills and transitioning to the host culture for a successful academic and social life. Improving our understanding of the role of foreign-language proficiency and communication in students’ adaptation is important as the number of international students in higher education worldwide is on the rise. This increase has been accompanied by a growing number of publications on this topic over the last decade (see Fig.  1 ). Previous reviews of the literature have identified foreign-language proficiency and communication as predictors of students’ adaptation and well-being in various countries (Smith & Khawaja, 2011 ). The most recent reviews (Jing et al., 2020 ) list second-language acquisition and cross-cultural adaptation as among the most commonly studied topics in international student research. However, to date, there are no studies specifically examining the role of language and communication in international students’ adaptation (henceforth “language and communication in student adaptation”). This gap is especially important given recent research promoting students’ self-formation (Marginson, 2014 ) and reciprocity between international and domestic students (Volet & Jones, 2012 ). The results challenge the traditional “adjustment to the host culture” paradigm whereby international students are treated as being out of sync with the host country’s norms (Marginson, 2014 ). Thus, this article differs from prior research by offering a systematic and in-depth review of the literature on language and communication in student adaptation using bibliometric co-citation analysis and qualitative content analysis. Our research has a methodological advantage in using various bibliometric tools, which should improve the validity of the results.

Source: HistCite). Note . TLC, total local citations received; TGC, total global citations received; Articles, number of articles published in the field; International Students, number (in millions) of international students worldwide (UIS Statistics, 2021 )

Yearly publication of articles on language and communication in student adaptation (

We focus on several questions:

What are the most impactful journals and articles about the role of language and communication in student adaptation?

What is the thematic structure of the research in the field?

What are the leading research streams investigating language and communication in student adaptation?

What are the effects of language and communication on student adaptation?

What are the future research directions?

After introducing the major concepts related to language and communication in student adaptation and the theoretical underpinnings of the field, we present our methodology. Using bibliometric and content analysis, we track the development of the field and identify the major themes, research streams, and studies that have shaped the state-of-the art and our current knowledge about the role of language and communication in student adaptation. Finally, we suggest avenues for future research.

Defining the concepts and theories related to language and communication in student adaptation

Concepts related to language and communication.

Culture is a socially constructed reality in which language and social practices interact to construct meanings (Burr, 2006 ). In this social constructionist perspective, language is viewed as a form of social action. Intertwined with culture, it allows individuals to communicate their knowledge about the world, as well as the assumptions, opinions, and viewpoints they share with other people (Kramsch, 1998 ). In this sense, people identify themselves and others through the use of language, which allows them to communicate their social and cultural identity (Kramsch, 1998 ).

Intercultural communication refers to the process of constructing shared meaning among individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds (Piller, 2007 ). Based on the research traditions in the language and communication in student adaptation research, we view foreign or second-language proficiency , that is, the skill allowing an individual to manage communication interactions in a second language successfully (Gallagher, 2013 ), as complementary to communication (Benzie, 2010 ).

Cross-cultural adaptation

The term adaptation is used in the literature interchangeably with acculturation , adjustment , assimilation , or integration . Understood as a state, cultural adaptation refers to the degree to which people fit into a new cultural environment (Gudykunst and Hammer, 1988 ), which is reflected in their psychological and emotional response to that environment (Black, 1990 ). In processual terms, adaptation is the process of responding to the new environment and developing the ability to function in it (Kim, 2001 ).

The literature on language and communication in student adaptation distinguishes between psychological, sociocultural, and academic adaptation. Psychological adaptation refers to people’s psychological well-being, reflected in their satisfaction with relationships with host nationals and their functioning in the new environment. Sociocultural adaptation is the individual’s ability to fit into the interactive aspects of the new cultural environment (Searle and Ward, 1990 ). Finally, academic adaptation refers to the ability to function in the new academic environment (Anderson, 1994 ). We will discuss the results of the research on language and communication in student adaptation with reference to these adaptation domains.

Theoretical underpinnings of language and communication in student adaptation

We will outline the major theories used in the research on international students and other sojourners, which has recognized foreign-language skills and interactions in the host country as critical for an individual’s adaptation and successful international experience.

The sojourner adjustment framework (Church, 1982 ) states that host-language proficiency allows one to establish and maintain interactions with host nationals, which contributes to one’s adaptation to the host country. In turn, social connectedness with host nationals protects one from psychological distress and facilitates cultural learning.

The cultural learning approach to acculturation (Ward et al., 2001 ) states that learning culture-specific skills allows people to handle sociocultural problems. The theory identifies foreign-language proficiency (including nonverbal communication), communication competence, and awareness of cultural differences as prerequisites for successful intercultural interactions and sociocultural adaptation (Ward et al., 2001 ). According to this approach, greater intercultural contact results in fewer sociocultural difficulties (Ward and Kennedy, 1993 ).

Acculturation theory (Berry, 1997 , 2005 ; Ward et al., 2001 ) identifies four acculturation practices when interacting with host nationals: assimilation (seeking interactions with hosts and not maintaining one’s cultural identity), integration (maintaining one’s home culture and seeking interactions with hosts), separation (maintaining one’s home culture and avoiding interactions with hosts), and marginalization (showing little interest in both maintaining one’s culture and interactions with others) (Berry, 1997 ). Acculturation theory postulates that host-language skills help establish supportive social and interpersonal relationships with host nationals and, thus, improve intercultural communication and sociocultural adjustment (Ward and Kennedy, 1993 ).

The anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory (Gudykunst, 2005 ; Gudykunst and Hammer, 1988 ) states that intercultural adjustment is a function of one’s ability to cope with anxiety and uncertainty caused by interactions with hosts and situational processes. People’s ability to communicate effectively depends on their cognitive resources (e.g., cultural knowledge), which helps them respond to environmental demands and ease their anxiety.

The integrative theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation (Kim, 2001 ) posits that people’s cultural adaptation is reflected in their functional fitness, meaning, the degree to which they have internalized the host culture’s meanings and communication symbols, their psychological well-being, and the development of a cultural identity (Kim, 2001 ). Communication with host nationals improves cultural adaptation by providing opportunities to learn about the host country’s society and culture, and developing intercultural communication competence that includes the ability to receive and interpret comprehensible messages in the host environment.

The intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954 ; Pettigrew, 2008 ) states that contact between two distinct groups reduces mutual prejudice under certain conditions: when groups have common goals and equal status in the social interaction, exhibit intergroup cooperation, and have opportunities to become friends. Intercultural contact reduces prejudice toward and stereotypical views of the cultural other and provides opportunities for cultural learning (Allport, 1954 ).

These theories provide the theoretical framework guiding the discussion of the results synthesized through the content analysis of the most impactful articles in the field.

Methodology

Bibliometric and content analysis methods.

We used a mixed-method approach to review the research on language and communication in student adaptation for all of 1994–2021. This timeframe was informed by the data extraction process described in the next section. Specifically, we conducted quantitative bibliometric analyses such as co-citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and conceptual thematic mapping, as well as qualitative content analysis to explore the research questions (Bretas & Alon, 2021 ).

Bibliometric methods use bibliographic data to identify the structures of scientific fields (Zupic and Čater, 2015 ). Using these methods, we can create an objective view of the literature by making the search and review process transparent and reproducible (Bretas and Alon, 2021 ). First, we measured the impact of the journals and articles by retrieving data from HistCite concerning the number of articles per journal and citations per article. We analyzed the number of total local citations (TLC) per year, that is, the number of times an article has been cited by other articles in the same literature (313 articles in our sample). We then analyzed the total global citations (TGC) each article received in the entire Web of Science (WoS) database. We also identified the trending articles in HistCite by calculating the total citation score (TLCe) at the end of the year covered in the study (mid-2021). This score rewards articles that received more citations within the last three years (i.e., up to the beginning of 2018). Using this technique, we can determine the emerging topics in the field because it considers not only articles with the highest number of citations received over a fixed period of time, but also those that have been cited most frequently in recent times (Alon et al., 2018 ).

Second, to establish a general conceptual structure of the field, we analyzed the co-occurrence of authors’ keywords using VOS software. Next, based on the authors’ keywords, we plotted a conceptual map using Biblioshiny (a tool for scientific mapping analysis that is part of the R bibliometrix-package) to identify motor, basic, niche, and emerging/declining themes in the field (Bretas and Alon, 2021 ).

Third, to determine specific research streams and map patterns within the field (Alon et al., 2018 ), we used the co-citation mapping techniques in HistCite that analyze and visualize citation linkages between articles (Garfield et al., 2006 ) over time.

Next, we used content analysis to synthesize the results from the 31 most impactful articles in the field. We analyzed the results within each research stream and discussed them in light of the major adaptation theories to suggest future research directions and trends within each research stream (Alon et al., 2018 ). Content analysis allows the researcher to identify the relatively objective characteristics of messages (Neuendorf, 2002 ). Thus, this technique enabled us to verify and refine the results produced by the bibliometric analysis, with the goal of improving their validity.

Data extraction

We extracted the bibliographic data from Clarivate Analytics’ WoS database that includes over 21,000 high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarly journals (as of July 2020 from clarivate.libguides.com). We adopted a two-stage data extraction approach (Alon et al., 2018 ; Bretas and Alon, 2021 ). Table 1 describes the data search and extraction processes.

First, in June 2021, we used keywords that would best cover the researched topic by searching for the following combinations of terms: (a) “international student*” OR “foreign student*” OR “overseas student*” OR “study* abroad” OR “international education”—to cover international students as a specific sojourner group; (b) “language*” and “communicat*”—to cover research on foreign-language proficiency as well as communication issues; and (c) “adapt*” OR “adjust*” OR “integrat*” OR “acculturat*”—to cover the adaptation aspects of the international students’ experience. However, given that cross-cultural adaptation is reflected in an individual’s functional fitness, psychological well-being, and development of a cultural identity (Kim, 2001 ), we included two additional terms in the search: “identit*” OR “satisf*”—to cover the literature on the students’ identity issues and satisfaction in the host country. Finally, based on a frequency analysis of our data extracted in step 2, we added “cultur* shock” in step 3 to cover important studies on culture shock as one of critical aspects of cross-cultural adaptation (Gudykunst, 2005 ; Pettigrew, 2008 ; Ward et al., 2001 ). After refining the search by limiting the data to articles published in English, the extraction process yielded 921 sources in WoS.

In the second stage, we refined the extraction further through a detailed examination of all 921 sources. We carefully read the articles’ abstracts to identify those suitable for further analysis. If the abstracts did not contain one or more of the three major aspects specified in the keyword search (i.e., international student, language and communication, adaptation), we studied the whole article to either include or exclude it. We did not identify any duplicates, but we removed book chapters and reviews of prior literature that were not filtered out by the search in WoS. Moreover, we excluded articles that (a) reported on students’ experiences outside of higher education contexts; (b) dealt with teaching portfolios, authors’ reflective inquiries, or anecdotal studies lacking a method section; (c) focused on the students’ experience outside the host country or on the experience of other stakeholders (e.g., students’ spouses, expatriate academics); (d) used the terms “adaptation,” “integration,” or “identity” in a sense different from cultural adaptation (e.g., adaptation of a syllabus/method/language instruction; integration of research/teaching methods/technology; “professional” but not “cultural” identity); or (e) used language/communication as a dependent rather than an independent variable. This process yielded 313 articles relevant to the topic. From them, we extracted the article’s title, author(s) names and affiliations, journal name, number, volume, page range, date of publication, abstract, and cited references for bibliometric analysis.

In a bibliometric analysis, the article is the unit of analysis. The goal of the analysis is to demonstrate interconnections among articles and research areas by measuring how many times the article is (co)cited by other articles (Bretas & Alon, 2021 ).

• Bibliometric analysis

Most relevant journals and articles

We addressed research question 1 regarding the most impactful journals and articles about the role of language and communication in student adaptation by identifying the most relevant journals and articles. Figure  2 lists the top 20 journals publishing in the field. The five most influential journals in terms of the number of local and global citations are as follows: International Journal of Intercultural Relations (79 and 695 citations, respectively), Journal of Studies in International Education (28 and 343 citations, respectively), Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (14 and 105 citations, respectively), Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (13 and 302 citations, respectively), and Higher Education (11 and 114 citations, respectively),

Source: HistCite). Note . TLC, total local citations received; TLC/t, total local citations received per year; TGC, total global citations received; Articles, number of articles published in the field

Top 20 journals publishing on language and communication in student adaptation (

Table 2  lists the 20 most influential and trending articles as measured by, respectively, local citations (TLC) and trending local citations at the end of the period covered (TLCe), that is, mid-2021. The most locally cited article was a qualitative study of Asian students’ experiences in New Zealand by Campbell and Li ( 2008 ) (TLC = 12). That study, which linked host-language proficiency with student satisfaction and effective communication in academic contexts, also received the highest number of global citations per year (TGC/t = 7.86). The most influential article in terms of total local citations per year was a quantitative study by Akhtar and Kröner-Herwig ( 2015 ) (TLC/t = 1.00) who linked students’ host-language proficiency, prior international experience, and age with acculturative stress among students in Germany. Finally, Sam’s ( 2001 ) quantitative study, which found no relationship between host-language and English proficiency and having a local friend on students’ satisfaction with life in Norway, received the most global citations (TGC = 115).

The most trending article (TLCe = 7) was a quantitative study by Duru and Poyrazli ( 2011 ) who considered the role of social connectedness, perceived discrimination, and communication with locals and co-nationals in the sociocultural adaptation of Turkish students in the USA. The second article with the most trending local citations (TLCe = 5) was a qualitative study by Sawir et al. ( 2012 ) who focused on host-language proficiency as a barrier to sociocultural adaptation and communication in the experience of students in Anglophone countries.

Keyword co-occurrence analysis

We addressed research question 2 regarding the thematic structure of the research in the field by analyzing the authors’ keyword co-occurrences to establish the thematic structure of the field (Bretas and Alon, 2021 ; Donthu et al., 2020 ). Figure  3 depicts the network of keywords that occurred together in at least five articles between 1994 and 2021. The nodes represent keywords, the edges represent linkages among the keywords, and the proximity of the nodes and the thickness of the edges represent how frequently the keywords co-occurred (Donthu et al., 2020 ). The analysis yielded two even clusters with 17 keywords each. Cluster 1 represents the primary focus on the role of language proficiency in student adaptation. It includes keywords such as “language proficiency,” “adaptation,” “acculturative stress,” “culture shock,” and “challenges.” Cluster 2 represents the focus on the role of intercultural communication and competence in student adaptation. It includes keywords such as “intercultural communication,” “intercultural competence,” “academic/psychological/sociocultural adaptation,” and “transition.”

Source: VOS)

Authors’ keyword co-occurrence analysis (

Conceptual thematic map

Based on the authors’ keywords, we plotted a conceptual map (see Fig.  4 ) using two dimensions. The first is density , which indicates the degree of development of the themes as measured by the internal associations among the keywords. The second is centrality , which indicates the relevance of the themes as measured by the external associations among the keywords. The map shows four quadrants: (a) motor themes (high density and centrality), (b) basic themes (low density and high centrality), (c) niche themes (high density and low centrality), and (d) emerging/declining themes (low density and centrality) (Bretas & Alon, 2021 ). The analysis revealed that motor themes in the field are studies of Chinese students’ experiences and student integration. Unsurprisingly, the basic themes encompass most topics related to language in student adaptation. Research examining the perspective of the students’ parents with regard to their children’s overseas experience exemplifies a niche theme. Finally, “international medical students” and “learning environment” unfold as emerging/declining themes. To determine if the theme is emerging or declining, we analyzed bibliometric data on articles relating to medical students’ adaptation and students’ learning environment. We found that out of 19 articles on medical students published in 13 journals (10 medicine/public health-related), 15 (79%) articles were published over the last five years (2016–2021), which clearly suggests an emerging trend. The analysis of authors’ keywords yielded only three occurrences of the keyword “learning environment” in articles published in 2012, 2016, and 2020, which may suggest an emerging trend. To further validate this result, we searched for this keyword in titles and abstracts and identified eight relevant articles published between 2016 and 2020, which supports the emerging trend.

Source: Biblioshiny)

Conceptual thematic map (

Citation mapping: research streams

We addressed research question 3 regarding the leading research streams investigating language and communication in student adaptation by using co-citation mapping techniques to reveal how the articles in our dataset are co-cited over time. To produce meaningful results that would not trade depth for breadth in our large dataset (313 articles), we limited the search to articles with TGC ≥ 10 and TLC ≥ 3. These thresholds yielded the 31 articles (10% of the dataset) that are most frequently cited within and outside the dataset, indicating their driving force in the field. We analyzed these 31 articles further because their number corresponds with the suggested range of the most-cited core articles for mapping in HistCite (Garfield et al., 2006 ).

Figure  5 presents the citation mapping of these 31 articles. The vertical axis shows how the articles have been co-cited over time. Each node represents an article, the number in the box represents the location of the article in the entire dataset, and the size of the box indicates the article’s impact in terms of TLCs. The arrows indicate the citing direction between two articles. A closer distance between two nodes/articles indicates their similarity. Ten isolated articles in Fig.  5 have not been co-cited by other articles in the subsample of 31 articles.

Source: HistCite)

Citation mapping of articles on language and communication in student adaptation (

A content analysis of these 31 articles points to two major and quite even streams in the field: (a) “ second-language proficiency ” (16 articles) and (b) “ interactions in the host country ” involving second-language proficiency, communication competence, intercultural communication, and other factors (15 articles). We clustered the articles based on similar conceptualizations of language and communication and their role in student adaptation. As Fig.  5 illustrates, the articles formed distinct but interrelated clusters. The vertical axis indicates that while studies focusing solely on second-language proficiency and host-country interactions have developed relatively concurrently throughout the entire timespan, a particular interest in host-country interactions occurred in the second decade of research within the field (between 2009 and 2013). The ensuing sections present the results of the content analysis of the studies in each research stream, discussing the results in light of the major theories outlined before.

Content analysis

We sought to answer research question 4 regarding the effects of language and communication on student adaptation by synthesizing the literature within the previously established two research streams. The concept map in Fig.  6 illustrates the predictive effects of second-language proficiency and host-country interactions on various adaptation domains. Table 4 in the Appendix presents a detailed description of the synthesis and lists studies reporting these effects, underscoring inconclusive results.

A concept map synthesizing research on language and communication in student adaptation

Second-language proficiency

This research stream focuses on language barriers and the role of foreign-language proficiency in student adaptation. Having host-language proficiency predicts less acculturative stress (Akhtar and Kröner-Herwig, 2015 ), while limited host-language proficiency inhibits communication with locals and academic integration (Cao et al., 2016 ). These results are in line with the acculturation theory (Berry, 1997 , 2005 ; Ward et al., 2001 ) and the communication and cross-cultural adaptation theory (Kim, 2001 ). Cross ( 1995 ) suggested that social skills predict sociocultural rather than psychological (perceived stress, well-being) adaptation (Searle and Ward, 1990 ). Indeed, several qualitative studies have explained that the language barrier affects sociocultural adaptation by preventing students from establishing contacts with host nationals (Wang and Hannes, 2014 ), developing meaningful relationships (Sawir et al., 2012 ), and limiting occasions for cultural learning (Trentman, 2013 ), supporting the acculturation theory (Anderson, 1994 ; Church, 1982 ; Searle and Ward, 1990 ).

Moreover, insufficient host-language proficiency reduces students’ satisfaction by hampering their communication, socialization, and understanding of lectures in academic contexts (Campbell and Li, 2008 ). Similarly, language affects academic adaptation in students who have difficulty communicating with domestic students (Young and Schartner, 2014 ) or when used as a tool in power struggles, limiting students’ opportunities to speak up in class and participate in discussions or decision-making (Shi, 2011 ). Students who have limited host-language proficiency tend to interact with other international students, which exacerbates their separation from domestic students (Sawir et al., 2012 ). These findings again confirm the theories of acculturation (Berry, 1997 ; Ward et al., 2001 ) and communication and cross-cultural adaptation (Kim, 2001 ).

With regard to the acculturation theory (Berry, 1997 ; Ward and Kennedy, 1999 ), we found inconclusive results concerning the impact of foreign-language skills on students’ satisfaction and adaptation. Specifically, some studies (e.g., Sam, 2001 ; Ying and Liese, 1994 ) found this effect to be non-significant when tested in regression models. One explanation for this result might be the indirect effect of language on adaptation. For instance, Yang et al. ( 2006 ) established that host-language proficiency mediated the relationship between contact with host nationals and the psychological and sociocultural adjustment of students in Canada. Swami et al. ( 2010 ) reported that better host-language skills among Asian students in Britain predicted their adaptation partly because they had more contacts with host nationals. In turn, Meng et al. ( 2018 ) found that the relationship between foreign-language proficiency and social and academic adaptation was fully mediated by global competence (understood as “intercultural competence” or “global mindset”) in Chinese students in Belgium.

Interactions in the host country

The second research stream comprises studies taking a broader look at language and communication in student adaptation by considering both individual and social interaction contexts: second-language (host-language and English) proficiency; willingness to communicate in the second language; communication interactions with domestic and international students, host nationals, and co-nationals; social connectedness (i.e., a subjective awareness of being in a close relationship with the social world; Lee and Robbins, 1998 ; and integrative motivation (i.e., a positive affective disposition towards the host community; Yu, 2013 .

Host-language proficiency predicts academic (Hirai et al., 2015 ; Yu, 2013 ), psychological (Hirai et al., 2015 ; Rui and Wang, 2015 ), and sociocultural adaptation (Brown, 2009 ; Duru and Poyrazli, 2011 ), confirming the acculturation theory (Ward et al., 2001 ). However, although some studies (Hirai et al., 2015 ; Yu, 2013 ) confirmed the impact of host-language proficiency on academic adaptation, they found no such impact on sociocultural adaptation. Yu’s ( 2013 ) study reported that sociocultural adaptation depends on academic adaptation rather than on host-language proficiency. Moreover, host-language proficiency increases the students’ knowledge of the host culture, reduces their uncertainty, and promotes intercultural communication (Gallagher, 2013 ; Rui and Wang, 2015 ), supporting the central aspects of the AUM theory (Gudykunst, 2005 ).

In turn, by enabling communication with academics and peers, second-language proficiency promotes academic (Yu and Shen, 2012 ) and sociocultural adaptation, as well as social satisfaction (Perrucci and Hu, 1995 ). It also increases the students’ willingness to communicate in non-academic contexts. This willingness mediates the relationship between second-language proficiency and cross-cultural difficulties among Asian students in England (Gallagher, 2013 ). This finding may explain inconclusive results concerning the relationship between second-language proficiency and cultural adaptation. It appears that second-language proficiency alone is insufficient for successful adaptation. This proficiency should be coupled with the students’ willingness to initiate intercultural communication to cope with communication and cultural difficulties, which is compatible with both the AUM theory and Kim’s ( 2001 ) communication and cross-cultural adaptation theory.

As mentioned before, host-language proficiency facilitates adaptation through social interactions. Research demonstrates that communication with domestic students predicts academic satisfaction (Perrucci and Hu, 1995 ) and academic adaptation (Yu and Shen, 2012 ), confirming Kim’s ( 2001 ) theory. Moreover, the frequency of interaction (Zimmermann, 1995 ) and direct communication with host nationals (Rui and Wang, 2015 ) predict adaptation and reduce uncertainty, supporting the AUM theory. Zhang and Goodson ( 2011 ) found that social interactions with host nationals mediate the relationship between adherence to the host culture and sociocultural adaptation difficulties, confirming the acculturation theory (Berry, 1997 ), the intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954 ; Pettigrew, 2008 ), and the culture learning approach in acculturation theory (Ward et al., 2001 ).

In line with the intergroup contact theory, social connectedness with host nationals predicts psychological and sociocultural adaptation (e.g., Hirai et al., 2015 ; Zhang and Goodson, 2011 ), confirming the sojourner adjustment framework (Church, 1982 ) and extending the acculturation framework (Ward and Kennedy, 1999 ) that recognizes the relevance of social connectedness for sociocultural adaptation only.

Research on interactions with co-nationals has produced inconclusive results. Some qualitative studies (Pitts, 2009 ) revealed that communication with co-nationals enhances students’ sociocultural adaptation and psychological and functional fitness for interacting with host nationals. Consistent with Kim’s ( 2001 ) theory, such communication may be a source of instrumental and emotional support for students when locals are not interested in contacts with them (Brown, 2009 ). Nonetheless, Pedersen et al. ( 2011 ) found that social interactions with co-nationals may cause psychological adjustment problems (e.g., homesickness), contradicting the acculturation theory (Ward and Kennedy, 1994 ), or increase their uncertainty (Rui and Wang, 2015 ), supporting the AUM theory.

Avenues for future research

We addressed research question 5 regarding future research directions through a content analysis of the 31 most impactful articles in the field. Importantly, all 20 trending articles listed in Table 1 were contained in the set of 31 articles. This outcome confirms the relevance of the results of the content analysis. We used these results as the basis for formulating the research questions we believe should be addressed within each of the two research streams. These questions are listed in Table 3 .

Research has focused primarily on the experience of Asian students in Anglophone countries (16 out of 31 most impactful articles), with Chinese students’ integration being the motor theme. This is not surprising given that Asian students account for 58% of all international students worldwide (OECD, 2021b ). In addition, Anglophone countries have been the top host destinations for the last two decades. The USA, the UK, and Australia hosted 49% of international students in 2000, while the USA, the UK, Canada, and Australia hosted 47% of international students in 2020 (Project Atlas, 2020 ). This fact raises the question of the generalizability of the research results across cultural contexts, especially given the previously identified cultural variation in student adaptation (Fritz et al., 2008 ). Thus, it is important to study the experiences of students in underexplored non-Anglophone host destinations that are currently gaining in popularity, such as China, hosting 9% of international students worldwide in 2019, France, Japan, or Spain (Project Atlas, 2020 ). Furthermore, future research in various non-Anglophone countries could precisely define the role of English as a lingua franca vs. host-language proficiency in international students’ experience.

The inconsistent results concerning the effects of communication with co-nationals on student adaptation (e.g., Pedersen et al., 2011 ; Pitts, 2009 ) indicate that more contextualized research is needed to determine if such communication is a product of or a precursor to adaptation difficulties (Pedersen et al., 2011 ). Given the lack of confirmation of the acculturation theory (Ward and Kennedy, 1994 ) or the communication and cross-cultural adaptation theory (Kim, 2001 ) in this regard, future research could cross-check the formation of students’ social networks with their adaptation trajectories, potentially using other theories such as social network theory to explain the contradictory results of empirical research.

Zhang and Goodson ( 2011 ) showed that social connectedness and social interaction with host nationals predict both psychological and sociocultural adaptation. In contrast, the sojourner adjustment framework (Ward and Kennedy, 1999 ) considered their impact on sociocultural adaptation only. Thus, future research should conceptualize the interrelationships among social interactions in the host country and various adaptation domains (psychological, sociocultural, and academic) more precisely.

Some studies (Brown, 2009 ; Gallagher, 2013 ; Rui and Wang, 2015 ) confirm all of the major adaptation theories in that host-language proficiency increases cultural knowledge and the acquisition of social skills, reduces uncertainty and facilitates intercultural communication. Nevertheless, the impact of language on sociocultural adaptation appears to be a complex issue. Our content analysis indicated that sociocultural adaptation may be impacted by academic adaptation (Yu, 2013 ) or does not occur when students do not engage in meaningful interactions with host nationals (Ortaçtepe, 2013 ). To better capture the positive sociocultural adaptation outcomes, researchers should take into account students’ communication motivations, together with other types of adaptation that may determine sociocultural adaptation.

Next, in view of some research suggesting the mediating role of second-language proficiency (Yang et al., 2006 ), contacts with host nationals (Swami et al., 2010 ), and students’ global competence (Meng et al., 2018 ) in their adaptation, future research should consider other non-language-related factors such as demographic, sociocultural, and personality characteristics in student adaptation models.

Finally, the conceptual map of the field established the experiences of medical students and the learning environment as an emerging research agenda. We expect that future research will focus on the experience of other types of students such as management or tourism students who combine studies with gaining professional experience in their fields. In terms of the learning environment and given the development and growing importance of online learning as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, future research should explore the effects of remote communication, both synchronous and asynchronous, in online learning on students’ adaptation and well-being.

This article offers an objective approach to reviewing the current state of the literature on language and communication in student adaptation by conducting a bibliometric analysis of 313 articles and a content analysis of 31 articles identified as the driving force in the field. Only articles in English were included due to the authors’ inability to read the identified articles in Russian, Spanish, or Chinese. Future research could extend the data search to other languages.

This review found support for the effects of language of communication on student adaptation, confirming major adaptation theories. Nevertheless, it also identified inconsistent results concerning communication with co-nationals and the complex effects of communication with host nationals. Thus, we suggested that future research better captures the adaptation outcomes by conducting contextualized research in various cultural contexts, tracking the formation of students’ social networks, and precisely conceptualizing interrelations among social interactions in the host country and different adaptation domains. Researchers should also consider students’ communication motivations and the mediating role of non-language-related factors in student adaptation models.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

This research is supported by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange grant “Exploring international students’ experiences across European and non-European contexts” [grant number PPN/BEK/2019/1/00448/U/00001] to Michał Wilczewski.

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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. Michał Wilczewski had the idea for the article, performed the literature search and data analysis, and drafted the manuscript. Ilan Alon critically revised the work, suggested developments and revisions, and edited the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Wilczewski, M., Alon, I. Language and communication in international students’ adaptation: a bibliometric and content analysis review. High Educ 85 , 1235–1256 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00888-8

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What a Thesis Paper is and How to Write One

From choosing a topic and conducting research to crafting a strong argument, writing a thesis paper can be a rewarding experience.

It can also be a challenging experience. If you've never written a thesis paper before, you may not know where to start. You may not even be sure exactly what a thesis paper is. But don't worry; the right support and resources can help you navigate this writing process.

What is a Thesis Paper?

A thesis paper is a type of academic essay that you might write as a graduation requirement for certain bachelor's, master's or honors programs. Thesis papers present your own original research or analysis on a specific topic related to your field.

“In some ways, a thesis paper can look a lot like a novella,” said Shana Chartier , director of information literacy at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). “It’s too short to be a full-length novel, but with the standard size of 40-60 pages (for a bachelor’s) and 60-100 pages (for a master’s), it is a robust exploration of a topic, explaining one’s understanding of a topic based on personal research.”

Chartier has worked in academia for over 13 years and at SNHU for nearly eight. In her role as an instructor and director, Chartier has helped to guide students through the writing process, like editing and providing resources.

Chartier has written and published academic papers such as "Augmented Reality Gamifies the Library: A Ride Through the Technological Frontier" and "Going Beyond the One-Shot: Spiraling Information Literacy Across Four Years." Both of these academic papers required Chartier to have hands-on experience with the subject matter. Like a thesis paper, they also involved hypothesizing and doing original research to come to a conclusion.

“When writing a thesis paper, the importance of staying organized cannot be overstated,” said Chartier. “Mapping out each step of the way, making firm and soft deadlines... and having other pairs of eyes on your work to ensure academic accuracy and clean editing are crucial to writing a successful paper.”

How Do I Choose a Topic For My Thesis Paper?

What your thesis paper is for will determine some of the specific requirements and steps you might take, but the first step is usually the same: Choosing a topic.

“Choosing a topic can be daunting," said Rochelle Attari , a peer tutor at SNHU. "But if (you) stick with a subject (you're) interested in... choosing a topic is much more manageable.”

Similar to a thesis, Attari recently finished the capstone  for her bachelor’s in psychology . Her bachelor’s concentration is in forensics, and her capstone focused on the topic of using a combined therapy model for inmates who experience substance abuse issues to reduce recidivism.

“The hardest part was deciding what I wanted to focus on,” Attari said. “But once I nailed down my topic, each milestone was more straightforward.”

In her own writing experience, Attari said brainstorming was an important step when choosing her topic. She recommends writing down different ideas on a piece of paper and doing some preliminary research on what’s already been written on your topic.

By doing this exercise, you can narrow or broaden your ideas until you’ve found a topic you’re excited about. " Brainstorming is essential when writing a paper and is not a last-minute activity,” Attari said.

How Do I Structure My Thesis Paper?

Thesis papers tend to have a standard format with common sections as the building blocks.

While the structure Attari describes below will work for many theses, it’s important to double-check with your program to see if there are any specific requirements. Writing a thesis for a Master of Fine Arts, for example, might actually look more like a fiction novel.

According to Attari, a thesis paper is often structured with the following major sections:

Introduction

• Literature review
• Methods, results

Now, let’s take a closer look at what each different section should include.

Your introduction is your opportunity to present the topic of your thesis paper. In this section, you can explain why that topic is important. The introduction is also the place to include your thesis statement, which shows your stance in the paper.

Attari said that writing an introduction can be tricky, especially when you're trying to capture your reader’s attention and state your argument.

“I have found that starting with a statement of truth about a topic that pertains to an issue I am writing about typically does the trick,” Attari said. She demonstrated this advice in an example introduction she wrote for a paper on the effects of daylight in Alaska:

In the continental United States, we can always count on the sun rising and setting around the same time each day, but in Alaska, during certain times of the year, the sun rises and does not set for weeks. Research has shown that the sun provides vitamin D and is an essential part of our health, but little is known about how daylight twenty-four hours a day affects the circadian rhythm and sleep.

In the example Attari wrote, she introduces the topic and informs the reader what the paper will cover. Somewhere in her intro, she said she would also include her thesis statement, which might be:

Twenty-four hours of daylight over an extended period does not affect sleep patterns in humans and is not the cause of daytime fatigue in northern Alaska .

Literature Review

In the literature review, you'll look at what information is already out there about your topic. “This is where scholarly articles  about your topic are essential,” said Attari. “These articles will help you find the gap in research that you have identified and will also support your thesis statement."

Telling your reader what research has already been done will help them see how your research fits into the larger conversation. Most university libraries offer databases of scholarly/peer-reviewed articles that can be helpful in your search.

In the methods section of your thesis paper, you get to explain how you learned what you learned. This might include what experiment you conducted as a part of your independent research.

“For instance,” Attari said, “if you are a psychology major and have identified a gap in research on which therapies are effective for anxiety, your methods section would consist of the number of participants, the type of experiment and any other particulars you would use for that experiment.”

In this section, you'll explain the results of your study. For example, building on the psychology example Attari outlined, you might share self-reported anxiety levels for participants trying different kinds of therapies. To help you communicate your results clearly, you might include data, charts, tables or other visualizations.

The discussion section of your thesis paper is where you will analyze and interpret the results you presented in the previous section. This is where you can discuss what your findings really mean or compare them to the research you found in your literature review.

The discussion section is your chance to show why the data you collected matters and how it fits into bigger conversations in your field.

The conclusion of your thesis paper is your opportunity to sum up your argument and leave your reader thinking about why your research matters.

Attari breaks the conclusion down into simple parts. “You restate the original issue and thesis statement, explain the experiment's results and discuss possible next steps for further research,” she said.

Find Your Program

Resources to help write your thesis paper.

While your thesis paper may be based on your independent research, writing it doesn’t have to be a solitary process. Asking for help and using the resources that are available to you can make the process easier.

If you're writing a thesis paper, some resources Chartier encourages you to use are:

• Citation Handbooks: An online citation guide or handbook can help you ensure your citations are correct. APA , MLA and Chicago styles have all published their own guides.
• Citation Generators: There are many citation generator tools that help you to create citations. Some — like RefWorks — even let you directly import citations from library databases as you research.
• Your Library's Website: Many academic and public libraries allow patrons to access resources like databases or FAQs. Some FAQs at the SNHU library that might be helpful in your thesis writing process include “ How do I read a scholarly article? ” or “ What is a research question and how do I develop one? ”

It can also be helpful to check out what coaching or tutoring options are available through your school. At SNHU, for example, the Academic Support Center offers writing and grammar workshops , and students can access 24/7 tutoring and 1:1 sessions with peer tutors, like Attari.

"Students can even submit their papers and receive written feedback... like revisions and editing suggestions," she said.

If you are writing a thesis paper, there are many resources available to you. It's a long paper, but with the right mindset and support, you can successfully navigate the process.

“Pace yourself,” said Chartier. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. Setting smaller goals to get to the big finish line can make the process seem less daunting, and remember to be proud of yourself and celebrate your accomplishment once you’re done. Writing a thesis is no small task, and it’s important work for the scholarly community.”

A degree can change your life. Choose your program  from 200+ SNHU degrees that can take you where you want to go.

Meg Palmer ’18 is a writer and scholar by trade who loves reading, riding her bike and singing in a barbershop quartet. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English, language and literature at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and her master’s degree in writing, rhetoric and discourse at DePaul University (’20). While attending SNHU, she served as the editor-in-chief of the campus student newspaper, The Penmen Press, where she deepened her passion for writing. Meg is an adjunct professor at Johnson and Wales University, where she teaches first year writing, honors composition, and public speaking. Connect with her on LinkedIn .

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About southern new hampshire university.

SNHU is a nonprofit, accredited university with a mission to make high-quality education more accessible and affordable for everyone.

Founded in 1932, and online since 1995, we’ve helped countless students reach their goals with flexible, career-focused programs . Our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH is home to over 3,000 students, and we serve over 135,000 students online. Visit our about SNHU  page to learn more about our mission, accreditations, leadership team, national recognitions and awards.

3L Annabelle Lincoln Presents Pioneering Paper at SportsLand Summit

Third-year law student Annabelle Lincoln recently presented her research at the inaugural SportsLand Summit, held at the Cleveland Browns Stadium. The summit gathered prominent figures in sports, healthcare, technology and human performance.

Lincoln's presentation focused on a research paper she co-authored with fellow CWRU Law students Nathaniel Arnholt and Trey Quillin. The research began in the fall of 2023, with the students exploring varying sports law topics. Ultimately, Lincoln, Arnholt and Quillin were encouraged to further explore their research in the spring semester, culminating in a research paper that was finalized over the summer. 

Their paper explores the critical issue of collegiate athletes’ control over their personal data within college athletics. With rapid advancements in wearable technology, the ability to collect vast amounts of data on athletes both on and off the field has grown exponentially. This data is increasingly valuable to organizations, raising important questions about ownership of that information. 

The legal frameworks governing athlete data rights are complex and vary depending on the athlete's status—whether professional, collegiate or amateur. While the research of Lincoln and her team primarily focused on collegiate athletes, they believe their findings may have broader implications for athletes at all levels. Those interested in the topic can find the full paper on the CWRU Law Athlete Data Lab website .

Reflecting on her experience, Lincoln expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to speak at such a prestigious event, which featured influential leaders such as David Jenkins, COO of the Cleveland Browns, and the CEO of the Rock Entertainment Group, Nic Barlage, along with top team physicians and HealthTech experts. She also thanked Sports Data Labs founders Stan Mimoto and Mark Gorski, and commended Professor Craig Nard for his guidance throughout her research journey.

Lincoln concluded by emphasizing the importance of their research, stating, "Nathan, Trey and I researched this topic extensively and hope our paper will be helpful to players and industry leaders moving forward."  

PhD MathEd student receives Best Scientific Paper award in NCEME 2024

02 Sep 2024

Mark Lester B Garcia, a PhD Mathematics Education student, is one of the recipients of the Best Scientific Paper award at the National Conference on Educational Measurement and Evaluation (NCEME) 2024 for his paper entitled "Leveraging International Large-Scale Assessments: Insights from an Item-Writing Professional Development Program for High School Mathematics Teachers." This paper is co-authored by his dissertation adviser, Dr Catherine P Vistro-Yu.

Held on 29 August to 31 August 2024 at De La Salle University, Manila and organized by the Philippine Educational Measurement and Evaluation Association (PEMEA), NCEME 2024 aims to bring together various educational stakeholders to discuss issues and propose solutions related to educational assessment at the national level. In line with this year's theme, "Assessment Innovations: Initiatives for Education Reform in the Philippines," the keynote speeches and panel discussions were about the dissemination of research findings and recommendations geared towards education reform, particularly in the planning and implementation of assessments, with emphasis on those from the report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education. The conference was attended by 220 in-person participants and 100 online participants. Seven, out of 45 accepted papers, were named Best Scientific Paper during the awarding ceremony. 

As a PhD MathEd student, Garcia believes in the importance of being cognizant of the broader societal issues, significant research studies, as well as national policies and legislation that may have direct or indirect effects to both teaching and assessment practices down to the classroom level. Attending NCEME 2024 also provided him critical updates about the imminent trends in educational assessment, such as the increased importance of embracing international education standards promoted by International Large-Scale Assessments such as PISA and TIMSS, and the movement towards the incorporation of advanced assessment strategies such as those in adaptive learning. 

Garcia is grateful to the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Research, Creative Work, and Innovation, the School of Science and Engineering, and the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Graduate Education for supporting his participation in the NCEME 2024.

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It is recommended that you complete a pre-travel health assessment with your physician or the Student Health Center, including completing any required vaccinations.

Contact Catey Williams with any questions about the University’s international travel policy and compliance process at [email protected]. Additional information about travel services at Georgetown can be found at travel.georgetown.edu .

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