<p> This dissertation presents the details of a study that explored the experiences of <i>roninsei</i>&mdash;Japanese students who are preparing to re-attempt the university entrance examination. Though an influential population later in life, its defining educational experience has rarely been researched. The questions this study sought to answer were akin to &lsquo;what themes characterize the <i>roninsei</i> experience,&rsquo; &lsquo;how is that experience understood as having changed those who undergo it,&rsquo; and &lsquo;how do intervening time and space affect the way former <i> roninsei</i> understand their experiences.&rsquo; </p><p> To address these questions, the study employed a mixture of methods and sources, triangulating its findings with a combination of literature review findings, phenomenological interviews with former <i>roninsei</i>, and thematically-focused content analysis of social networking service-sourced data composed by current <i>roninsei</i>. It employed a hermeneutic approach to all the data it collected. </p><p> The study found that the <i>roninsei</i> experience produces several maturational outcomes and that, while it is characterized by hardship, it comes to be highly valued by those who have undergone it. </p><p> This study contributes to the understanding of this under-researched, yet consequential population. Its findings implicate both strengths and weaknesses of the current system and, in so doing, have the capacity to influence how the current wave of educational reforms is understood and implemented.</p><p>

<p> This qualitative study explored the experiences of African American collegiate women during a service learning program to the non-traditional study abroad location of Indonesia. The Integrated Model of College Choice, Human Capital Theory, and Experiential Learning Theory formulated the conceptual model and theoretical framework undergirding this research endeavor. The literature review comprised a discussion of non-traditional study abroad locations, study abroad trends of underrepresented groups, navigation of the study abroad decision process, and service learning as a study abroad option. Four research questions explored participants&rsquo; descriptions of the experience, social and cultural challenges encountered, changes and learning outcomes achieved, and recommendations for improvement. The findings from individual interviews, a focus group, and a document review yielded four emergent themes, including the development of transnational competence, personal growth and transformation, service learning programmatic considerations, and diversity perspectives. </p><p> Conclusions of this study indicated that transnational competence was developed by interacting and communicating through a language barrier and gaining exposure to different social and cultural norms, living conditions, religious beliefs, and educational system. Adaptability, flexibility, empathy, respect, and appreciation were achieved learning outcomes and contributed to the development of a global skill set helping students navigate cross-cultural dynamics. </p><p> Students&rsquo; articulation of preparedness, a broadened worldview, and the desire for future international endeavors demonstrated that a short-term service learning study abroad opportunity yielded transnational competence. Students&rsquo; experiences of diversity abroad highlighted the relative absence of African American collegiate women from the study abroad landscape in a non-traditional location. The higher education apparatus has a role in reversing the trend of low African American college student participation in study abroad by addressing programmatic considerations, including the provision of more information, improved program planning, and the availability of financing. Creating an institutional culture in which international education is a strategic priority, expectation, and norm can develop students&rsquo; transnational competence and positions African American students more competitively for academic and professional success in a globalized world.</p>

<p> A fast-growing number of international students is entering the U.S. higher education system, making our college campuses more multicultural and multinational in recent years. This phenomenon represents a new mission for American colleges and universities&mdash;to promote global citizenship and a new 21^st-century worldview. </p><p> The increase of Chinese international students not only brings in revenue for the American higher education system but also enhances the diversity of the student body. Many institutions assert that, by having more international students on campus, they can bring awareness of global competitiveness and promote a 21^st-century worldview to their students. </p><p> To achieve the educational goal of bringing multicultural diversity and global awareness to U.S. campuses, interaction among domestic and international students is a fundamental factor in making this globalization phenomenon beneficial for all students. However, it is commonly observed that Chinese international students and U.S. domestic students often encounter difficulty in cross-group interaction. </p><p> This study investigates the interaction patterns among U.S. domestic students and Chinese international students at two four-year universities with large numbers of Chinese international students. These two institutions, one public and one private, each hosts more than 4,500 international students, with more than 10% of their total student population from overseas and more than 40% of them from China. The objective of this research is to highlight the importance of cross-cultural and cross-national friendship by understanding students&rsquo; interaction patterns and identifying both friendship initiators as well as barriers. </p><p> The research uncovers the social distance and stereotypes between the two groups as the common barriers to friendship. Conversely, the initiators of friendship are the shared experience and equal status between the Chinese international students and domestic students. Institutions should prepare the way for global interconnectedness by promoting inclusive, world-ready classrooms; implementing a campus climate that explicitly welcomes international participants; and advocating the concept of cross-national <i>global friendship</i> as a part of 21st-century education.</p>

<p> This study is designed to answer one main research question: How could tertiary education quality be redefined and measured through the education production function model in developing countries. The study will use Indonesia as the target country to carry out research activities. Quality of tertiary education has been one of the most frequently discussed topics in relevant fields in academia and human development. As enrollment continuously increases and education systems expand in many developing countries, quality becomes their biggest concern. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide stakeholders a different and more practical approach to reevaluate tertiary education quality through quantifiable variables and to measure quality through educational input, equity and equality, labor market relevance, and system assurance factors. </p><p> Human capital theory serves as the guiding theoretical framework for this dissertation. The education production function model is the foundation for quality redefinition. Within the four quantifiable variables, benefit incidence analysis is used to measure equity and equality, economic rate of return is used to measure labor market relevance of the tertiary education system, and returns to investment is used to evaluate how education outputs yield from inputs. The study is designed to have an umbrella structure, with tertiary education quality being at the top of the skeleton and educational input, equity and equality, labor market relevance, and system assurance being the four supporting pillars.</p><p> With the redefinition of tertiary education quality, four main research questions will be answered respectively. Educational input in Indonesia has been improving in the past decade; however, it is still behind compared to peer ASEAN countries and countries with similar economic profiles. Indonesia's tertiary education access inequality is mainly caused by socioeconomic differences. The labor market absorbs a majority of tertiary graduates and yields much higher returns at the tertiary level, and it has been responding very positively toward the continuously expanding graduating class. The quality assurance system suffers from shortstaffing, low financial support, low capacity, and weak government support. At its current accrediting pace, Indonesia's tertiary education institutions will not be able to improve as fast as they are willing to.</p>