Advances in technology have made globalization and internationalization a reality in the world. National borders are becoming more permeable and migration of goods, services, and health care workers takes place more readily. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have become competitors and vendors in the global knowledge economy and are expected to develop job seekers that are responsible and engaged global citizens and employees. Offering study abroad programmes is one of the ways that HEIs achieve this goal. It is estimated that in 2010, 4.7 million people studied abroad (OECD, 2012:360), and it is anticipated that this number will grow to 15 million by the year 2025 (Altbach & Knight, 2006:9). South Africa is emerging as a regional hub for study and research in sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO: 2012b). Many organizations that train nurses are internationalizing their curriculum which effectively means that Schools of Nursing are seeking placement for students to study, gain insight into other cultures and practices, and to gain clinical experience in other countries. Students, the customers of the Higher Education Institutions, often pay large sums of money to undertake these study abroad programmes and therefore expect good quality learning experiences in return. The aim of this qualitative, contextual, exploratory, and descriptive study was to explore and describe the expectations and experiences of international nursing students and faculty members at a Higher Educational Institution in South Africa in order to develop standards that will enable HEIs to optimize the experiences of short-term study abroad nursing students. An in-depth contextual investigation was conducted on globalization and internationalization, as well as the higher education and health systems of three countries to understand the context of the study abroad programmes. Qualitative data was gathered from students and faculty members using focus groups and individual interviews to establish their expectations and experiences of the programme. Thematic synthesis was carried out on the contextual data and the qualitative data. Thereafter, thematic synthesis analysis was conducted using both sets of results to develop standards that can be used to optimize the experience of short-term study abroad nursing students at a HEI. A total of 35 standards were developed around the following main themes: the objectives of study abroad programmes should be stated clearly before arrival and include the expectations of the global, national, and local communities, the higher education institution and the staff and students; study abroad programmes should be managed in an ethical manner and in an enabling environment, as part of their strategic goals and plans of a HEI; students should be exposed to a variety of experiences and differences between the sending and hosting countries during their study abroad programmes; Standards to Facilitate Optimal Experiences of Short-term Study Abroad Nursing Students at a HEI; study abroad programmes should be evaluated at different intervals and levels to ensure quality of the programmes and to ensure that the objectives/outcomes are met. A limitation of the study was the sampling of the clinical mentors which did not include representatives from the overseas universities. It is recommended that the standards that were developed in this study be introduced and tested in HEIs and that more research be conducted on different levels and groups with regard to study abroad programmes in future.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sociocultural factors in the occurrence of pathological eating attitudes and behaviours by determining the relationship between acculturation to Canada, as a Western culture , and eating attitudes and behaviours in a nonclinical sample of female Chinese and Caucasian university students. In addition , as an exploratory goal any possible relationship between acculuturative stress and eating attitudes and behaviours was also explored. One hundred female Caucasian and 131 female Chinese undergraduate students were recruited from the University of British Columbia. Each subject was asked to complete a Demographic Questionnaire as well as the 26 item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT; Garner, Olmsted, Bohr, & Garfinkel, 1982). Additionally , the Chinese subjects were asked to complete the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA; Suinn, Rickard-Figueroa, Lew, & Vigil, 1987) and the 24 item SAFE Acculturative Stress Scale (SAFE; Mean, Padilla, & Maldonado, 1987). / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Literature reviews (Casas, 1984, 1985; Ponterotto, 1988) on the status of racial/ethnic minority research indicate that one of the problems in coming to definite conclusions about the effectiveness of counseling with the culturally different is the lack of research accounting for heterogeneity within ethnic groups. This study investigates ethnic identity as a possible variable tapping into intra-group variability with persons of Chinese origin currently living in Canada. Specifically, Atkinson, Morten & Sue (1979)'s model of ethnic identity development is examined in relation to its validity with this ethnic group. Atkinson et al.'s (1979) Minority Identity Development model postulates five stages minority persons experience in trying to discern and appreciate themselves based on their culture of origin, the mainstream culture and the relationship and meaning between the two. These stages are Conformity, Dissonance, Resistance and Immersion, Introspection and Synergetic Articulation and Awareness. Based on the model, 81 items were generated, translated and administered to 44 participants via Q-Sort Methodology. Also, relevant demographic information was collected. Factor analysis and qualitative analysis for Q-Methodology as suggested by Talbott (1971) generated four factors. The emerging factors reflected the Conformity, Dissonance, Resistance and Immersion, and Synergetic Articulation and Awareness Stages. Thus, based on the partial support for the five-stage model among persons of Chinese origin; a four-stage model was generated. The analysis of results suggests the following conclusions: (1) heterogeneity within ethnic groups must be accounted for it is accounted for within the mainstream culture; (2) ethno-cultural identity emerges as a viable construct (variable) tapping into intra-group differences; (3) Q-Methodology appears as a culturally non-intrusive method; and (4) ethno-cultural identity may mediate the counseling process. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study was designed to elicit Indo-Canadian women immigrants' experience of childbearing. Health care professionals do not know enough about the childbearing experiences of this cultural group. This may lead to conflicts and discrepancies of viewpoints between clients and professionals which may result in nurses providing care that is not perceived as relevant by the individual. This study was directed by the following questions: What are Indo-Canadian women's beliefs about childbearing? What are their perceptions of their traditional practices, in their ethnic community, surrounding childbearing? What are the western health care resources utilized by the women during childbearing? How are these western health care resources perceived by the women? Phenomenology, a qualitative research methodology, was used in this study. Data were collected through a series of indepth interviews with eight women. The initial audiotaped interviews were guided by the research questions and addressed the women's perceptions of their childbearing experiences. The data were comprised of the accounts given by the women in these interviews. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously throughout the study. Analytic material was thus used to focus and clarify the ongoing construction of accounts. The women described very different childbearing experiences. Dissimilarities in the phenomena under investigation were more evident than similarities and were attributed to the concept of acculturation. Two themes emerged from the data: the subjects' relationships with their families and the subjects' relationships with health care professionals. Each theme affected and was affected by the concept of acculturation. Influencing factors within the two themes were respect, authority, lack of knowledge and, in the case of the family, shyness. Perceived discrimination was an influencing factor in the subjects' relationships with post-partum hospital nurses. This study concluded that dissimilarities in the childbearing experiences of Indo-Canadian immigrant women are attributable to the process of acculturation; and that the women's childbearing experiences are located within a broader context of meanings associated with the reproductive cycle. The subjects' relationships with their families and with health care professionals are significant aspects of their childbearing experiences and are influenced by authority, respect, lack of knowledge and shyness. Discrimination is perceived by the women in relation to the post-partum hospital nurses. These conclusions have implications for nursing practice, research and education. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

The objectives of this study were to investigate the cultural differences in test-wiseness between Chinese and Canadian students; to study the impact of test-wiseness on British Columbia Grade 12 provincial examination results among Chinese students in British Columbia; and to examine the relationship of test-wiseness, and four correlates (verbal ability, achievement motivation, length of residency in Canada, multiple choice experience) among the Chinese students. The Test of Test-wiseness and Student Survey questionnaire were administered to 41 Grade 12 foreign Chinese students who wrote the provincial examinations in January 1990. Completed test data were compared with the same data from Canadian and Chinese immigrant students who wrote the provincial examination in June 1989. The data were analyzed by a linear regression model. The results indicated that ethnicity accounted for a significant amount of variance in test-wiseness. Foreign Chinese students were significantly less test-wise than both Canadian and Chinese immigrant students. Foreign Chinese students scored significantly lower than the other two groups in absurd-options, different-options, stem-options link and guessing subtests in the Test of Test-wiseness. The results also showed that test-wiseness did not account for a significant amount of variance in provincial examination scores (English 12 and Algebra 12). The four correlates together accounted for very little variance in test-wiseness. None of them significantly correlated with test-wiseness, except that length of residency in Canada correlated positively with test-wiseness. Finally, the three ethnic groups showed no significant differences in achievement motivation but foreign Chinese students scored significantly lower than Chinese immigrant students who scored in turn lower than Canadian students in verbal ability. The findings imply that language plays a crucial part in test-taking situations. With inadequate English language skills, foreign Chinese students were unable to satisfactorily comprehend the test questions, and hence their test performance were very close to what would be expected from random guessing. It is suggested that these students require examination coaching skills as well as improvement in English language skills. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study introduces a different kind of collaborative research whereby two researchers co-design and co-conduct the research and draw their own conclusions from the shared data. The data, gathered using qualitative tools such as surveys, questionnaires, and interviews, was further enriched as a result of having two individuals from different backgrounds interpreting the data. The data collected from 14 university students who were once identified as ESL students in British Columbia, Canada, were transcribed then analyzed using NUD*IST qualitative computer software. The focus was on their perceptions of ESL programs, immigration process, and socio-cultural factors that contributed to their academic and social integration success. Participants' own words centered mostly on their relationships with families, friends, and ESL teachers as major factors contributing to their success. ESL programs served as their safety nets as the majority suggested that their journey into social and academic mainstreams had undesirable effects on their experiences. Three major factors were identified as having both helped and hindered their adaptation and integration into Canadian school and society: family influence, bicultural identities, and segregation. Results from this study suggest a number of theoretical and practical implications. First, this study need to be replicated in different contexts using a longitudinal approach to document how immigrant ESL students construct their experiences within and outside of school overtime. Secondly, research need to aim at understanding the tension between students' home and school cultures and encourage involvement and collaboration between ESL students, parents, and teachers. In addition, examining how ESL students interact with their mainstream counterparts may provide helpful guidelines for schools to foster an environment whereby unity and support exist between the two groups. This study concludes with both researchers' reflection on each other's thesis. This step led to a critical reexamination of their interpretation. Differences and similarities emerged from this process. The similarities both researchers shared provided a greater degree of validity and reliability to this project. On the other hand, the differences that emerged served to enrich the data by providing two perspectives to the same problem. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

The primary purpose of this study was to test the attribution theory of motivation cross-culturally by comparing performance and attribution patterns on inductive rule learning in two different cultures (Canadian & Korean) within the framework of collectivism vs. individualism. Two hypotheses were formed: 1) Korean and Canadian students would show differences in attribution patterns following success or failure outcome due to different cultural emphasis. 2) Given the effort attribution of failure, Korean students would perform more accurately on the reasoning task than Canadian students, and given higher ability attribution of success, Canadian students may perform better or at least equally as well as Korean students. A Total of 120 grade seven students (60 Canadian and 60 Korean) from a middle-class community from Korea and Canada participated in the computerized experimental tasks. The research design involved two culture groups (Canadian and Korean) and three outcome feedback (control, failure, and success), as independent variables, and the number of instances, response rate and accuracy on the inductive reasoning tasks as dependent variables. Findings of this study indicate that Canadian culture may not be defined as more individualistic than Korean culture. The study results did not provide a clear cut distinction of collectivistic vs. individualistic cultures between Korean and Canadian cultures. In terms of attribution patterns, both culture groups showed similar patterns, but different from Weiner's theory of motivation, not only effort but also ability attribution influenced positively the accuracy of performance on the subsequent task upon receiving failure feedback. Given failure feedback, Korean grade seven students performed better, while Canadian counterparts' performance level on the subsequent task deteriorated with failure feedback. Further research on cross-cultural study of attribution theory has been suggested along with educational implications. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate the joint effects of culture and attribution of outcome feedback on reasoning performance. This study attempted to address four major research questions: (a) Do Canadian and Chinese students have different cultural values and causal attribution patterns? (b) Do pre-experimental individual differences in causal attribution patterns lead to differences in Canadian and Chinese students' inductive reasoning performance? (c) Does attribution of outcome feedback affect Canadian and Chinese students' inductive reasoning performance? (d) Do Canadian and Chinese students conduct deductive reasoning differently as a function of outcome feedback and reasoning task contents? A total of 120 college students (60 Canadian and 60 Chinese) performed three phases of computerized experimental tasks. The research design involved 2 types of culture groups (Canadian and Chinese) under 3 conditions of outcome feedback (success, failure, and control) as two independent variables. The dependent variables observed were the number of instances used or correct responses made and response time, when possible. In terms of culture differences, Canadian students appear to be distinct and articulate about the matters of socio-cultural values, while Chinese students are relatively less distinct and articulate. When making attribution for other people's success, both Canadian and Chinese students held internal factors (i. e., good effort and high ability) as responsible. When accounting for other people's failure, Canadian students picked controllable factors (i.e., lack of effort), while Chinese students picked both controllable and uncontrollable factors (i.e., largely lack of effort and occasionally difficult task) as the reasons. However, following the success outcome feedback about their own reasoning performance, Canadian students emphasized mostly high ability and, occasionally, effort as the reasons, while Chinese students picked mostly good luck and, occasionally, high ability. Given the failure outcome feedback about their own task performance, Canadian students attributed to lack of effort and bad luck as causes, while Chinese students exclusively picked lack of effort as the explanation. Chinese subjects' inductive and deductive reasoning performances remained relatively unswayed by success or failure outcome feedback, whereas Canadian subjects' reasoning performance remained good only when success feedback was received. When failure feedback was provided, Canadian subjects' reasoning performances deteriorated and remained poor throughout the experiment. While Chinese students' reasoning performance is not predictable from their low-ability attribution of other people's failure outcome, Canadian students' reasoning performance is highly predictable; that is, the more they attributed others' failure to low ability, the faster they completed the culture-fair inductive reasoning task. On the other hand, when making attribution based on their own experience, given success feedback, Canadian students attributed their performance to their high ability. Given failure feedback, Canadian students attributed their performance to their lack of effort, with improved performance commensurable to their verbal causal attribution. The present findings indicate that Canadian and Chinese college students showed differences in causal attribution patterns, depending on when they explain others' success/failure experiences or their own, and further that upon receipt of failure outcome feedback, Canadian students' reasoning performance deteriorated, while Chinese students' performance remained insensitive to success or failure outcome feedback. Further fine-grained analyses of such causal attribution patterns interacting with outcome feedbacks and cognitive performance needs some more careful studies. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this work is to explore the roles of education and language in the creation of Japanese cultural identity. Education means first "schooling," but it also expands to include all cultural learning. In the attempt to unravel the inter-relationships of abstract concepts such as education, culture, identity, language and Japan, our understandings are necessarily influenced by our own education. Attempts by the educated elite of one culture to understand other cultures constitutes an intellectual conflict of interest that questions academic conventions, such as objectivity. In this work, I interweave expository and narrative chapters in an attempt to create a new "methodology" or "approach" to the study of culture, which I call cultural hermeneutics. The autobiographical chapters present an ongoing self-reflection upon my developing understanding of Japan. I have studied and taught in Japan for many years, and my increasing familiarity with things Japanese has gradually moved me beyond the boundaries of previous identities, and into spaces that once separated me from Japanese culture, involving me in the formation of new hybrid cultural identities. After an introductory chapter, the dissertation is split into three parts. The first part deals with the challenges of cultural hermeneutics as a methodology. The second part examines how the languages of Japan and foreign language education in Japan influence the formation of Japanese cultural identities. The third part explores how ideological debates, such as those about education, nationalism and internationalization, play a role in forming cultural identities. I conclude that identities are constantly contested by voices from both within and without the "imagined communities" of cultures. This contest is in progress even before we come to study "Culture." Because change is inherent to living cultures, and because lived experience is so abundant and complex, the knowledge we inherit about cultures is always incomplete, and full of prejudice and misunderstandings. We can never arrive at final understandings of cultures, not even our own. Nevertheless, it is important to continue conversations about cultures because they can lead us to form deepened understandings, and because these conversations ultimately contribute to greater self-understanding. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

How should we understand the lived experiences of students in an English language program at a community college? This study seeks to explore and discuss the experiences of international students as they discover and constitute cultural identities in places between languages and cultures. It suggests a link between the vibrancy of these lived experiences and an English language education program which understands the value of the lived curriculum. The text includes the narratives of three international students and the interpreting of those conversations by the researcher. Also participating in the study are the voices of teachers and the voices of writers of theory, with the researcher working in the middle, experiencing at the same time a discovering and constituting of his own cultural identity. Building on the work of postcolonial scholars of cultural theory and anthropology, the study suggests a different kind of inter-national classroom and community, one which has implications for teachers as inter-national educators. In doing so, the thesis attempts to respond to "calls for attention to international dimensions of curriculum study" (Pinar 1995) and suggests an approach to creating a different kind of theoretical and conceptual frame for language education. It is hoped that the research will open doors to new questions and avenues of study and will help in furthering our understanding of curriculum. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate