Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2018, College of Education and Human Services

Internationalization of higher education is a major characteristic of China's higher education policy. Accordingly, the Chinese government is fervently encouraging the spread of Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes, student exchange programs, recruitment of international students, and international collaborations. South Asia is no exception to China's higher education outreach. Against this background, this qualitative study examined experiences of South Asian students with regard to China's higher education program(s) in relation to the explicit and implicit aims of China's soft power policy. Soft power refers to the power of attraction and co-optation, which is based on a nation's intangible resources such as "culture, ideology and institutions" (Nye, 1990). A case study approach was employed by using Nepal as the site for an in-depth investigation into academic, socio-cultural and political experiences of Nepalese students in relation to China's higher education policy and programs. Soft power constitutes the theoretical framework. Data sources included interviews with 20 Nepalese students (including alumni) and six experts, You Tube videos, images, news stories, books, journal articles, documents, and reports. Findings indicate that whereas the Chinese political system--specifically governance--and foreign policy as well as certain traits of the Chinese society drew admiration from the Nepalese students, the Chinese education program was found deficient in brand reputation and Chinese cultural penetration remains challenging, while such issues as racism and color discrimination stood out as social ills in the Chinese society. The study bridges a critical gap in the existing literature that is largely exclusive of the South Asian region where China is rapidly strengthening its strategic foothold, as well as making a significant contribution to the literature on linkages between soft power and education by employing the educational soft (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anne Galletta Dr. (Committee Chair); Joanne Goodell Dr. (Committee Member); Marius Boboc Dr. (Committee Member); Jonathan Ring Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian Studies; Education; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; International Relations; South Asian Studies

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2015, Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising (Education)

This ethnography examines the motivations behind the dress habits of Chinese university students studying at a Midwestern university in the United States. Symbolic consumption and self-discrepancy were implemented in the research design. Seven participants completed a demographics questionnaire and in-depth interviews designed to shed light on the relationship between identity, norms, and masculinity in the construction of the dress and behavior habits of university males. Differences in the construction of identity, masculinity, and the symbolism of dress-related goods were examined through the participants' contributions. An index was also be administered which measured participants' conformity to (western) masculine norms. The results of the study indicated that the majority of the participants reported altering their dress in order to conform to masculinity norms. The majority of participants associated muscularity, casualness of dress, and athletic clothing as accepted masculine norms at Ohio University.

Committee: Ann Paulins (Advisor); Sandy Chen (Committee Member); Krisanna Machtmes (Committee Member); RayeCarol Cavender (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Gender Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Social Research; Sociology

Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2007, Educational Psychology

Self-perception of school-aged students has a strong interaction with their academic achievement, social relationship, and emotional well-being. The present study explores the grade, gender, and cultural difference in self-perception among Chinese and American students using a Cultural-Probe-Approach self-perception instrument that incorporates values emphasized by both American and Chinese cultures. Self-report data were acquired from 77 American students and 510 Chinese students from grades 4, 6, 8, and 10. The results display some revealing grade, gender, and cultural differences in students' self-perception at overall and domain-specific levels. Implications for education and mental health services are also discussed.

Committee: Aimin Wang (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2021, East Asian Languages and Literatures

This study investigates the experiences, feelings, and opinions of first and second year international undergraduates from China in campus housing at The Ohio State University. Based on a comprehensive understanding of their residential life, the study aims to help them integrate more smoothly and quickly into the American campus culture, understand the concept of American higher education, and adapt to American college life. At the same time, the program aims to promote and improve the management of international students in U.S. colleges and universities, thus increasing the enrollment and retention rates of international students in universities.

Committee: Jianqi Wang PhD (Advisor); Xiaobin Jian PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate how non-matriculated Chinese and Saudi students perceive their language learning experiences in an ESL context in a U.S. University. Specifically, it examines how each group perceives differences in language teaching methods and language learning environment between their native communities and the United States during the language learning process. The study also seeks an answer about how those differences influence the nature and pace of their linguistic development of each group. Both Chinese and Saudi speaking students have quite distinctive learner characteristics, and this research will delve into how their experiences and perceptions compare in regards to their English Education. Different types of data sources, such as online survey questions and participant interviews were collected and analyzed in order to get some answers to the research questions of this dissertation. The findings in general showed that both Chinese and Saudi students face several challenges in and around language learning environment. This study also revealed that language teachers and administrators have critical roles while addressing the educational and social needs of these students. To a large extent, their knowledge, actions, and awareness over the cultural identities of these two student groups were the critical factors that determined the overall quality and the pace of language learning experiences.

Committee: Todd Hawley Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Education; English As A Second Language; Multicultural Education

MS, Kent State University, 2018, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Health Sciences

This descriptive non-experimental study was to describe the changes in eating behaviors, home cooking, and language barriers in Northeastern Ohio University. An online survey was completed by 31 Chinese and Indian undergraduate and graduate international students aged 18-30 with F-1 student visa and maintain minimum course load of full-time at Kent State's main campus. Means and standard deviations were utilized to determine the home cooking. The data collected from food intakes, type of meals, eating behaviors, and language barriers questions were presented as percentages, showing Chinese international students increased the intake of protein and decreased the consumption of vegetables and fruits, while the Indian international students increased the intake of protein, fat, and sweet, and daily calories, and decreased the consumption of vegetables and fruits. In addition, Chinese and Indian international students had similar mean scores in home cooking. Moreover, Chinese international students experienced more language barriers than Indian international students. Overall, the results of this study might have benefit for promoting international students healthy eating.

Committee: Natalie Caine-Bish (Advisor); Karen Lowry Gordon (Committee Member); Jamie Matthews (Committee Member) Subjects: Nutrition

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, EDU Teaching and Learning

Lecture note-taking skills have been studied in the context of academic listening for a long time; however, these studies have not clarified the relationship between the learners' listening comprehension and their note-taking skills in different lecture contexts. Nowadays, many lectures are filled with various multimedia that support teaching and engage students in large class settings. What is not known is whether and how the nature of the input from these varying multimodal instructional sources may impact, positively or negatively, on second language (L2) students' listening and note-taking experiences and efficacy. Students now have to distribute their attentional resources skillfully to account for the new combinations of visual and aural input from lecturers, and this situation could pose listening and note-taking challenges for first-year international students, who are learning how to learn in a new educational context while still developing their L2 proficiency in the language of instruction. Given these circumstances, the objectives of this dissertation were: (1) to present multiple portraits of international students' development of lecture listening and note-taking skills, (2) to examine how different course settings affected their listening and note-taking approaches, (3) to identify the similarities and differences in their listening and note-taking methods, and (4) to provide insights into the realm of academic listening by scrutinizing the interplay between various factors that can shape students' listening and note-taking experiences. In this multiple-case study, I observed six Chinese-speaking international students in their first semester studying at a Midwestern university in the United States. To record their development of listening and note-taking skills as well as the difficulties they encountered, I collected various types of data, including classroom observations, recall protocols, students' notes, individual interviews, and online checkl (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Hirvela (Advisor); Leslie Moore (Committee Member); Keiko Samimy (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, EDU Teaching and Learning

The number of international students who pursue higher education in Western countries, such as the US, increases yearly. Asian international students are a significant proportion of international students from different countries. Numerous researchers have identified various challenges encountered by this group of international students, including difficulties in adjusting to new linguistic and academic environments (Scheyvens, Wild,& Overton, 2003; Yeh & Inose, 2003), struggling to learn Western styles of academic writing (Silva, 1992), inadequately participating in class discussions (Currie, 2007; Liu, 2000; Morita, 2004), being isolated from faculty and peers (Le & Gardner, 2010; Trice, 2003), and lacking the knowledge of local culture (Scheyvens et al., 2003). Some researchers also discovered that the use of technology could assist international students in developing their L2 competence (Bakar & Ismail, 2009; Kessler, Bikowski, & Boggs, 2012), increasing their participation in course-related discussions (Kamhi-Stein, 2000; Kim, 2011), and making connections with people from the identical ethnic group (Cao & Zhang, 2012; Fan, 2008; Kim, 2010; Kim et al., 2009) and from the target culture (Fan, 2008; Hodis & Hodis, 2012; Kim, 2010; Kim et al, 2009) in a foreign country. Nevertheless, a few studies (e.g., Hughes, 2013) have investigated the influence of technology use on international students' discipline-specific learning. This present study, therefore, examined the role of technology during Asian international doctoral students' acculturation to their particular academic disciplines. Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory, Lave and Wenger's (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) communities of practice, and Casanave, Li, and other scholars' academic acculturation (Casanave, 2002; Casanave & Li, 2008) were adopted to design this research, collect and analyze data, and interpret findings. Participants were three Chinese-speaking international students who (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Keiko Samimy (Advisor); Alan Hirvela (Committee Member); Francis Troyan (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Technology; English As A Second Language

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, EDU Teaching and Learning

Writing from sources is viewed as a fundamental component of academic literacy as well as developing connections between reading and writing. An especially challenging task of source-based writing is synthesizing, which requires careful selection, organization and integration of sources. Given the significance of synthesizing in developing multilingual students' academic literacy in English, this study examined the teaching and learning of synthesis writing in a university L2 composition course. Within a multidimensional view of literacy and discourses of writing, I conducted classroom-based qualitative multiple case studies, in which both the teacher's experience with synthesis instruction and four Chinese undergraduate students' engagement in synthesis writing were examined. Guided by the constructivist model of discourse synthesis–organizing, selecting and connecting (Spivey, 1990, 1997)–from the L1 composition literature, I investigated the teacher's task representation of synthesis, the students' developmental trajectories of learning to write a synthesis, and the individual and contextual factors that contributed to their varied writing abilities while approaching synthesis tasks. Over a five-month period comprising one academic semester, I collected multiple sources of data, including semi-structured interviews, stimulated-recall protocols, writing samples, recordings of teacher-student writing tutorials, classroom observation field notes, course-related documents and artifacts, and surveys. These data were analyzed inductively and triangulated to explore different aspects of the teaching and learning of synthesis writing. The findings of the study revealed that both the teacher's task representation of synthesis and the students' products and processes of synthesis writing involved the three operations–organizing, selecting and connecting–albeit to various degrees among the student participants. Thus, it appears that the constructivist model of discourse (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Hirvela Ph.D. (Advisor); George Newell Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lin Ding Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Education; English As A Second Language; Literacy; Pedagogy; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Psychology

Despite a growing literature regarding both the social self-efficacy and the cross-cultural adjustment of international students, an integration of research in these two areas is still not yet well developed. Given concern over this lack of integration and interest in understanding the nature of the adjustment process of international students, this present study endeavored to explore the role of social self-efficacy in the process of cross-cultural adjustment for Chinese international students. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to seek to examine whether there is a discrepancy in the levels of social self-efficacy in different language settings for Chinese international students. Also, the relationships between social self-efficacy in different language settings and other constructs, such as acculturation stress, global self-esteem, and English proficiency, would be examined. Other hypotheses examining the predicting relationships between these variables would be discussed in this study as well for applications in intervening. The sample of participants consisted of 203 Chinese international students who were mainly recruited from the Ohio State University. There were four measures administered in this study: the scale of Perceived Social Self-Efficacy, the Unconditional Self-Regard Scale, the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students, and a Demographic Questionnaire, which contained three questions regarding English proficiency. Several important findings have been evident in this study. First, Chinese international students reported different levels of social self-efficacy in different language settings. That is, they perceived a significantly higher social self-efficacy in Chinese interactional setting than in English setting. Secondly, English social self-efficacy is the major resource in influencing international students' adjustment outcomes. That is, a higher level of social self-efficacy will predict a lower level of acculturation s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Nancy Betz (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2012, Cross-Cultural, International Education

This study explored the patterns of interactions and networks of interpersonal support of Chinese graduate students during their study abroad experience at a midsized university in the Midwest of the U.S. Eleven graduate students from the People's Republic of China were interviewed to address three research questions including: 1) what are the goals of Chinese international students for their study abroad experience?, 2) what kinds of groups and networks do Chinese international students interact with at graduate school?, and 3) what barriers to interaction and participation do the students perceive in these environments? The findings show that the students had primarily academic and professional goals and their academic goal orientation shapes their daily lives and interaction with others in the U.S. The students interacted primarily with other students from China in academic and social settings. However, some of the students built relationships with Americans who were able to relate to them through intercultural understanding and utilize intercultural communication techniques. A better understanding of Chinese international students' interaction with others and their new environment in the U.S. can enhance the ability of academic institutions in the U.S and American students, faculty and community members to help international students from China achieve their goals and facilitate their process of adaptation in the U.S.

Committee: Christopher Frey (Committee Chair); Hyeyoung Bang (Committee Member); Susana Peña (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian Studies; Education; Educational Psychology; Higher Education

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2007, English/Technical Writing

This study investigated the challenges Chinese students may encounter from the beginning of their study-abroad experience in a Midwestern U.S. university and their responses to these challenges. The sample group was composed of 26 Chinese students who were studying in a Midwestern university in the United States. The data were colleted through a questionnaire distributed to the participants. The results of this study indicate that 1) most Chinese students ask for help in the visa application process when they pursue their study in the U.S.; 2) Chinese students tend to take actions rather than being quiet and passive when they face challenges only when the “mianzi” (face) and “guanxi” (relationship) issues are considered as less important in the situation; 3) Chinese students identify their co-nationals (family, significant other, and friends) as their strongest social support. This study also found that Chinese students have both academic and non-academic difficulties in the U.S. The biggest non-academic difficulty for this group of participants was transportation. The differences among their reactions to different levels of challenges were studied in previous research. Their needs for help in the visa application process, the available help sources, and the helpfulness of these sources were first researched in this study. Recommendations for universities, professors, international program specialists and Chinese students were provided based on the results. Future research may include open-ended questions, employ cross-sectional research design and recruit a lager sample of participants. The difference in Chinese students' reactions to different levels of challenges has not been researched before in other studies, so replications of research are needed to retest this conclusion with a different sample or population.

Committee: William Coggin (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1969, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Arts and Sciences: Communication

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Chinese international students in romantic relationships living in the United States communicate about gender roles and how living in U.S. society influences their gender role beliefs and relationships. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings suggest that participants lied on a gender role continuum. The female students had a more progressive perspective on gender roles, whereas male students had a mix of conservative and equality perspectives.

Committee: Stephen Haas Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Pamara Chang Ph.D. (Committee Member); Nancy Jennings Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Psychology/Clinical

Over half a million of Chinese international students left their homeland to study abroad in western universities. These students' unique mental health needs should be addressed. Research has indicated that Chinese international students face unique acculturative stressors and have higher levels of psychological distress compared to their domestic counterparts. Yet, there is a lack of research on the measurement of these stressors. In a previous study, we used data from a focus group study to develop a new acculturative stress measure for Chinese international students and conducted a preliminary analysis with a small sample to further modify the measure. Then, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted using a bigger sample and that resulted in a 9-factor measure. This measure has a total of 40 items and was named the Unique Stress of Chinese International Students Questionnaire (USCIS). The USCIS demonstrated good internal consistencies and criterion-related validity when used to predict psychological distress. In this study, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with data from 333 Chinese international student participants. This CFA replicated the previously established nine-factor model and this model demonstrated a good model fit. The nine factors in the model are Loneliness, Social Isolation, Academic Stress, Health Care, Language Barrier, Financial Burden, Academic Isolation, Family Distance, and Transportation. The psychometric properties of this new measure were evaluated, including internal consistency and construct validity by using correlational analysis and hierarchical regression. The testing results suggested excellent internal consistency of the USCIS and adequate convergent/discriminant validity and criterion-related validity. The USCIS is one of the first measures devoted to assessing acculturative stress experienced by CIS. We envision this measure to be used as a screening tool for identifying CIS who express acculturation-r (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William O'Brien PhD (Advisor); Abby Braden PhD (Committee Member); Yiwei Chen PhD (Committee Member); Lara Lengel PhD (Other) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

Chinese international students face high rates of professional mental health (MH) concerns, but they demonstrate less help-seeking behaviors, such as seeking professional counseling. The underutilization of MH resources presents a challenge to colleges and universities. This study is aimed at assessing the perceptions and the barriers of international Chinese graduate students that prevent them from accessing professional MH services at UC. The goal of this study is to create a toolkit that addresses cultural sensitivity to help these students easily conduct self-directed MH care at an early stage. This study uses qualitative research methods to allow participants to extensively express their experiences and perceptions of professional MH services. About 10 in-depth interviews were conducted with graduate Chinese international students at UC, that included but not limited to the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) students. Three significant barriers preventing Chinese graduate students from accessing MH services are lack of mental health resources, concerns of privacy protection, and language interpretation. Additionally, limited knowledge of self-directed care, lack regular treatment time due to busy academic schedules and a shortage of culturally appropriate services pose further difficulties.

Committee: Craig Vogel M.I.D. (Committee Chair); Gerald Michaud M.A. (Committee Member); Danny T. Y. Wu PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Higher Education Administration

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a theory that explains the process of self-authorship development of college students in China. Little research exists that explicitly explores the integrated development of college students in China and influences on that development from the educational environment. Despite the extensive research in U.S. higher education settings on students' development from an integrated perspective, little comparable research has been done in the context of college students in China. I interviewed 13 junior or senior college students from three institutions in one province in China via synchronous video conferencing. I utilized convenience sampling to choose the province, purposive sampling to select the three institutions with different rankings, purposive sampling to choose the first six participants, and then theoretical sampling to select the subsequent seven participants, until theoretical saturation was reached. I used constant comparative analysis to facilitate theoretical sampling and the data analysis process. An initial conceptual model of self-authorship development emerged from this study. The trajectory of development in the epistemological domain is from depending on external sources' knowing to beginning to construct knowledge. The trajectory of development in the interpersonal domain is from being subordinate or dominant in relationships to striving for mutual relationships. In other words, participants were becoming less dependent in relationships. The intrapersonal domain is comprised of three dimensions: self-defined goals, self-efficacy, and self-knowledge. The trajectory of development in the intrapersonal domain is from unclear self-defined goals to clear self-defined goals, low self-efficacy to high self-efficacy, and little self-knowledge to robust self-knowledge. In addition, I found four factors promoting participants' self-authorship development: absence of externally defined go (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ellen Broido (Advisor); Dafina-Lazarus Stewart (Committee Member); Christina Lunceford (Committee Member); William Sawaya (Other) Subjects: Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Psychology/Clinical

China has become a leading source of international college students for Western countries, including the USA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Given Chinese students' increasingly large contribution to the college population and financial import (tuition, travel expenses, other expenses, etc.) to the host countries, their specific needs in community services such as mental health and counseling should be addressed. Studies across different countries have explored the challenges associated with overseas experiences. These studies indicate that international college students, relative to domestic students, face higher levels of stress given the additional acculturative challenges. Research has further shown that Chinese international students reported high levels of psychological distress (depression, anxiety, stress). However, there is little research either investigating the measurement of unique stressors experienced by Chinese International Students or developing culturally sensitive interventions for their stress management. In the current two-part study, we aimed to, first, identify unique stressors of Chinese international students in the United States; and second, further design a culturally relevant Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention focused on helping Chinese international students manage the transition from their home country to the United States. Additionally, we ran a pilot study (randomized clinical trial) to examine the effectiveness of this intervention. Focus groups results revealed ten major domains of acculturative stress experienced by Chinese International Students. An acculturative stress measure, the Unique Stress of Chinese International Students (USCIS), was developed from the focus groups. The USCIS contains 103 items and demonstrated excellent internal consistency and convergent validity based on a sample of 30 Chinese International Students. Results of the pilot study based on a sample of 8 participants showed pre (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William O'Brien Ph.D (Advisor); Yiwei Chen Ph.D (Committee Member); Dryw Dworsky Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2018, Communication

This study examined the potential for concepts within the Health Belief Model to predict Chinese college students' daily brushing, daily flossing, and annual dental check-up behavior. Additionally, dental-related information seeking and scanning were explored. The survey was completed by 150 Chinese college students and found that some components of HBM significantly predict brushing behavior, flossing behavior, and dental check-up behavior. Self- efficacy was the best predictor of brushing and dental check-up behavior, while barriers and dental-related knowledge were the best predictors of flossing behavior. Participants prefer to seeking from social media and with his or her dentist and scan information from social media and mass media. Information seeking and scanning only significantly predicted flossing behavior. Knowledge, seeking and scanning information from a dentist were the best predictor of dental check-up behavior. Future studies could examine more about self-efficacy and dental health behavior in the Chinese cultural context.

Committee: Angeline Sangalang (Advisor); Teri Thompson (Committee Member); James Robinson (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Dental Care

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2018, Higher Education (Education)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of part-time, on-campus employment on Chinese international undergraduate students' integration and development on American campuses. In doing so, I focused on exploring how Chinese undergraduate students learn English, make friends with the domestic students, shape identities in the workplace, and at the same time, how they balance study and work. Gaining a deep understanding in those areas could help determine whether on-campus employment could be utilized as an effective means to enhance Chinese undergraduate students' learning outcomes and overall satisfaction with their overseas educational experiences. In this study, I adopted a qualitative research methodology and used phenomenological inquiry to collect detailed information from a sample of 12 Chinese undergraduate students who had at least one semester's relevant work experience on campus. I conducted an approximately 30-minute, one-on-one, semi-structured interview with each participant in our native language, Chinese. I also used techniques such as member checks, adequate engagement in data collection, researchers' reflexivity, peer review, thick descriptions, and maximum variation to increase the validity of the research findings. Findings resulted from thematic analysis of the rich in vivo data are in accordance with the hypothesis of the study that taking on-campus employment improves Chinese undergraduate students' overseas educational experiences. Participants reported that they had improved ESL learning, exposed to more intercultural contacts, and built new personal identities in the workplace. I, therefore, made policy recommendations on supervising Chinese international student employees to university administrators, and suggested a guideline of optimum maximum work time for future student workers.

Committee: Laura Harrison (Committee Chair); Peter Mather (Committee Member); Gordon Brooks (Committee Member); Lijing Yang (Committee Member) Subjects: English As A Second Language; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration