This thesis is a phenomenological description of the experience of planning to study abroad from the perspective of Chinese students who have not yet left their home country. The themes of Differences in Education, Career Prospects, Intercultural communication, Independence and Escape, Discrimination and Isolation, and Fulfilling Dreams emerged from their answers. The author discusses in detail the approach to the study and concludes with a discussion of the findings. Themes and findings generally indicate that meaning for students lies in an expectation or hope that they can be more self-reliant and in control of their lives and careers.

Chinese international students are the largest group among international students in Canada. They play an important role in Canadian universities as well as in leisure research. The current study aims to reveal Chinese international students’ leisure experience, and to explore their leisure constraints and negotiation strategies in their everyday lives. The framework of leisure constraints negotiation (Jackson, 1993) was employed. Eight interviews with Chinese international students from the University of Manitoba were conducted to hear the stories about their leisure experiences. The constant comparative method was used to analyze the data. Chinese international students were found to be constrained intrapersonally, interpersonally, structurally, and culturally in their leisure. However, they were trying to be active by applying some negotiation strategies. The results of this study can not only benefit this group but also other international student groups by identifying their leisure preferences and constraints, and help leisure service providers to facilitate leisure activities on campus.

Triple Learning: The Journey from Student to Scholar emanates from a phenomenological exploration of the lived experiences of six international graduate students studying at the University of Saskatchewan. Grounded in the knowledge of the growing numbers of students studying at post-secondary institutions, I aimed to unearth and re-present the daily lives of the selected participants to shed light on the experience of being an international graduate student. A phenomenological inquiry through in-depth and semi-structured interviews and observations, undergirded by an interdisciplinary culture, allowed me to explore their daily experiences. Exploring and airing their daily practices, though difficult, illuminated the worlds of international graduate students as they study in and negotiate communities of practice overseas. Furthermore, by examining and ventilating their stories I was able to portray and clarify the essence or meaning of being an international graduate student at a Canadian university in a new way. This research reaches into the lives of the selected students uniquely, revealing their personal and academic experiences while studying at the university. To date, such experiences have been minimally addressed by university officials and prior qualitative research. The anecdotes and reflections shared by participants bordered on and were based in lingua-cultural, social, and academic adaptations, and, ultimately, transformation. Participants were enthralled by the adaptive process of living in a new community. Being newcomers, these students viewed themselves fundamentally as outsiders within the community of practice. Yet their stories encapsulated change from being dependent “scholars to be” to becoming independent scholars. Essentially, findings pointed to the international graduate experience being similar to advancing from student to scholar. Through participation in the academic community of practice, they were learning to become independent scholars in the university. Participant accomplished the non-linear movement from student to scholar by seeking to engage in the communities of practice through situated learning and a process of triple learning. Triple learning emerged as a lingua-cultural phenomenon and was a significant finding borne of participants’ storied experiences. Qualitative data revealed that, in learning, participants were constantly weaving around and through three distinct registers of English lingua-cultures. They were negotiating the English lingua-culture acquired in their home countries, which positioned English as a formal language; that of the provincial community, which seemingly was less formal; and the academic English language specific to their area of study in the university. The academic language includes a variety of discipline-specific language skills, such as vocabulary, syntax, and discipline-specific terminology, and rhetorical conventions that allow students to acquire and develop knowledge and academic skills. These lingua cultures differed significantly, so students constantly shifted among the three to make approximations deemed appropriate for their academic purposes. A significant implication of this research is that it highlights the daily experiences of international graduate students, their perceptions, and conceptualized meanings of these experiences. Findings from this study also have implications for social learning theories and places learning as lingua-cultural in nature. In addition, an understanding of the phenomenon of being an international student can inform universities’ policy makers, recruiters, faculty members, and other staff of the daily plights and experiences of international students as they study. This knowledge has the potential to inform policies and plans to attract and retain a diverse international student body.

This research is a case study on the lived experience of international graduate students in the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies (GSAPS) at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Using cultural globalization and internationalization as a lens, this research positions international graduate students as local actors in an abroad community and addresses, 1) how and why students decided on an English Medium degree in Japan, and 2) the lived academic and social experiences of this particular group of students while in Japan. In-depth interviews with 17 degree seeking international graduate students explore graduate students’ past educational and professional experiences and the purpose of seeking an advanced degree abroad. Graduate students also discussed the types of academic and social sodalities they chose to engage in while in Japan and the other actors involved (or not involved) in these communities. Through inductive analysis, conclusions were drawn on how these actors constructed their social and academic lives amidst the influences of internationalization and cultural globalization.

Chinese international students are the largest group among international students in Canada. They play an important role in Canadian universities as well as in leisure research. The current study aims to reveal Chinese international students’ leisure experience, and to explore their leisure constraints and negotiation strategies in their everyday lives. The framework of leisure constraints negotiation (Jackson, 1993) was employed. Eight interviews with Chinese international students from the University of Manitoba were conducted to hear the stories about their leisure experiences. The constant comparative method was used to analyze the data. Chinese international students were found to be constrained intrapersonally, interpersonally, structurally, and culturally in their leisure. However, they were trying to be active by applying some negotiation strategies. The results of this study can not only benefit this group but also other international student groups by identifying their leisure preferences and constraints, and help leisure service providers to facilitate leisure activities on campus.

This study explored female international graduate students’ experiences in the Graduate Students’ Society (GSS) at the University of Victoria. The overall question that guided this study was: How does female international graduate students’ involvement with the Graduate Students’ Society shape their learning experiences? I used an arts-based methodology, and collected data through collage and photography and discussion in a series of three focus groups. Findings showed that GSS was in invaluable space of learning for women about culture, about organisations, about diversity and also, a place to acquire organisational skills. Learning, however, was almost all done ‘individually’ and there are challenges around exclusion, and sexism. Understanding the issues of sex and race needs to be addressed and collective learning environments needs to be created within the organization. / Graduate / 0745 / 0453

The growth, benefits, and challenges of international students in higher education provide compelling reasons to closely examine the social, cultural, and introspective aspects of learning for this population. One area of research that provides insight into the learning experiences of international students is investigations on conceptions of learning. Previous research has found that conceptions of learning guide primary beliefs, experiences, interpretations, and outcomes of learning. Conceptions of learning also provide insight into the ways students choose to approach learning and influence how they interact with courses, classroom environment, teachers, and peers (Marshall et al., 1999). However, research on conceptions of learning has predominantly been with students from Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia with little attention on other geographical locations such as Africa and South America. The purpose of this study was to examine Brazilian and Nigerian international students’ conceptions of learning while enrolled in an American university. No study to date has investigated Brazilian and Nigerian students’ conceptions of learning within the context of the United States, and no other research has examined both groups within the same study. Reflective diaries and interviews reveal an awareness of learning as a process not limited to inside the classroom. Clear themes emerged from both Brazilian and Nigerian students’ regarding their conceptions of learning and what constitutes good teaching. Importantly, findings of this study indicate differences and similarities between Brazilian and Nigerian students’ ideas about learning and actual learning experiences. Participants generally characterized their learning experiences as challenging and the process of adaptation as difficult. Findings of this study provide valuable information to instructors and international programs regarding academic support and assistance for two growing international populations on American campuses, Brazilian and Nigerian students.

This thesis examines aspects of emergent transnational mobility within the experience of students advancing their education at tertiary institutions, private training establishments and language schools. In particular it focuses on the everyday practices and experiences of one group of international students from South Korea during their time in Auckland, New Zealand. The context for the research is that over the last decade the growth of international students and the institutions associated with their movement and education have begun to have significant economic, social and cultural implications in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland. Here, the rapid increase in the number and proportion of students from three East-Asian nations (China, South Korea and Japan) has contributed to profound changes in the socio-cultural geographies of Auckland’s central city. The aim of this study is to interrogate the everyday urban encounters of South Korean international students as a means to more deeply understand the phenomenon of crossing borders to learn. I employ a multi-method and multi-sited research approach that draws on both orthodox and emergent techniques within human geography and related social sciences. Through these methods I focus on the individual and collective practices and experiences of these students as key actors in the developments associated with international education. At all times the focus is on ‘the everyday’ and the ways in which students negotiate their encounters between South Korea and Auckland. In theoretical terms the thesis is situated at the border between the study of transnationalism and the study of cities. It identifies the ways that the transnational mobility and activity of students alongside others is involved in the changing spaces of Auckland’s urban landscape. These changed spaces include physical, economic, sensory and perceptual landscapes of the city. In addition the thesis also illustrates the concurrent production, maintenance and resistance of pre-existing and new identities; the often difficult, highly structured and uneven landscape that emerges as a result of the interaction between individuals and groups who consider each-other ‘foreign’; and the way that these types of interactions in contemporary cities are facilitated by but also maintain and produce increasing transnationalism. The thesis concludes by illustrating the fundamental role that cities play in the practice of international education and the resulting importance of international education to the everyday realities of contemporary cities like Auckland. / University of Auckland; ASIA:NZ Foundation and NZ Asian Studies Society; Building Research Capability in the Social Sciences Network (BRCSS); Royal Society of New Zealand

This thesis examines aspects of emergent transnational mobility within the experience of students advancing their education at tertiary institutions, private training establishments and language schools. In particular it focuses on the everyday practices and experiences of one group of international students from South Korea during their time in Auckland, New Zealand. The context for the research is that over the last decade the growth of international students and the institutions associated with their movement and education have begun to have significant economic, social and cultural implications in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland. Here, the rapid increase in the number and proportion of students from three East-Asian nations (China, South Korea and Japan) has contributed to profound changes in the socio-cultural geographies of Auckland’s central city. The aim of this study is to interrogate the everyday urban encounters of South Korean international students as a means to more deeply understand the phenomenon of crossing borders to learn. I employ a multi-method and multi-sited research approach that draws on both orthodox and emergent techniques within human geography and related social sciences. Through these methods I focus on the individual and collective practices and experiences of these students as key actors in the developments associated with international education. At all times the focus is on ‘the everyday’ and the ways in which students negotiate their encounters between South Korea and Auckland. In theoretical terms the thesis is situated at the border between the study of transnationalism and the study of cities. It identifies the ways that the transnational mobility and activity of students alongside others is involved in the changing spaces of Auckland’s urban landscape. These changed spaces include physical, economic, sensory and perceptual landscapes of the city. In addition the thesis also illustrates the concurrent production, maintenance and resistance of pre-existing and new identities; the often difficult, highly structured and uneven landscape that emerges as a result of the interaction between individuals and groups who consider each-other ‘foreign’; and the way that these types of interactions in contemporary cities are facilitated by but also maintain and produce increasing transnationalism. The thesis concludes by illustrating the fundamental role that cities play in the practice of international education and the resulting importance of international education to the everyday realities of contemporary cities like Auckland. / University of Auckland; ASIA:NZ Foundation and NZ Asian Studies Society; Building Research Capability in the Social Sciences Network (BRCSS); Royal Society of New Zealand

This thesis examines aspects of emergent transnational mobility within the experience of students advancing their education at tertiary institutions, private training establishments and language schools. In particular it focuses on the everyday practices and experiences of one group of international students from South Korea during their time in Auckland, New Zealand. The context for the research is that over the last decade the growth of international students and the institutions associated with their movement and education have begun to have significant economic, social and cultural implications in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland. Here, the rapid increase in the number and proportion of students from three East-Asian nations (China, South Korea and Japan) has contributed to profound changes in the socio-cultural geographies of Auckland’s central city. The aim of this study is to interrogate the everyday urban encounters of South Korean international students as a means to more deeply understand the phenomenon of crossing borders to learn. I employ a multi-method and multi-sited research approach that draws on both orthodox and emergent techniques within human geography and related social sciences. Through these methods I focus on the individual and collective practices and experiences of these students as key actors in the developments associated with international education. At all times the focus is on ‘the everyday’ and the ways in which students negotiate their encounters between South Korea and Auckland. In theoretical terms the thesis is situated at the border between the study of transnationalism and the study of cities. It identifies the ways that the transnational mobility and activity of students alongside others is involved in the changing spaces of Auckland’s urban landscape. These changed spaces include physical, economic, sensory and perceptual landscapes of the city. In addition the thesis also illustrates the concurrent production, maintenance and resistance of pre-existing and new identities; the often difficult, highly structured and uneven landscape that emerges as a result of the interaction between individuals and groups who consider each-other ‘foreign’; and the way that these types of interactions in contemporary cities are facilitated by but also maintain and produce increasing transnationalism. The thesis concludes by illustrating the fundamental role that cities play in the practice of international education and the resulting importance of international education to the everyday realities of contemporary cities like Auckland. / University of Auckland; ASIA:NZ Foundation and NZ Asian Studies Society; Building Research Capability in the Social Sciences Network (BRCSS); Royal Society of New Zealand