Expectations, emerging issues and change for Chinese international students in a New Zealand university : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

dc.contributor.authorSkyrme, Gillian Ray
dc.date.accessioned2009-05-04T20:17:43Z
dc.date.availableNO_RESTRICTIONen_US
dc.date.available2009-05-04T20:17:43Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.description.abstractThis study uses a sociocultural framework to trace the experiences of 24 Chinese international undergraduate students studying business and information sciences in a New Zealand university, using community of practice perspectives recognising the university as a site of complex discourses requiring negotiation of new identities and practices. The students’ expectations, the issues that emerged and the processes of change they went through to meet their goals were investigated from retrospective and longitudinal viewpoints, using semi-structured interviews supported by schematic representations developed by the researcher and photographic representations compiled by participants were. The findings suggest that preparation before departure focused largely on expected English demands, rather than wider matters of academic culture, and this was only partially rectified during prior study in New Zealand. Students thus entered the university unfamiliar with its specific discourses and found conditions for resolving difficulties more limited than previously experienced. The anonymity and extreme time pressure pertaining in large first-year classes led to bewilderment about requirements, threats to the sense of identity as competent students which they had arrived with, and often, failure of courses. Nevertheless, the investment, personal and monetary, which this journey represented provided the incentive to persevere. Most students were resourceful in negotiating a fit between their learning preferences and the affordances of the university, resulting in very different journeys for each of them. Measures adopted included those sanctioned by the university, such as developing skills to meet the demands of academic literacies, and others less valued, such as extreme dependence on teacher consultation. Success was gained through personal agency which proved more important than the university goal of student autonomy. Beyond the academic arena, other activities such as part-time jobs were significant in contributing to a sense of identity as competent and educated adults, and to new viewpoints which contrasted with original cultural norms. They continued to identify as Chinese, but in a “third space” owing something to New Zealand influences. The study concludes that entry criteria should include a component of university preparation. It also recommends measures by which the university might enhance the experiences of such students.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/793
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMassey Universityen_US
dc.rightsThe Authoren_US
dc.subjectChinese international studentsen_US
dc.subjectUniversityen_US
dc.subjectNew Zealanden_US
dc.subjectSocial adjustmenten_US
dc.subjectIntercultural communicationen_US
dc.subjectChinese students
dc.subject.otherFields of Research::330000 Education::330100 Education Studies::330199 Education studies not elsewhere classifieden_US
dc.titleExpectations, emerging issues and change for Chinese international students in a New Zealand university : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealanden_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
massey.contributor.authorSkyrme, Gillian Ray
thesis.degree.disciplineSecond Language Teachingen_US
thesis.degree.grantorMassey Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)en_US
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