The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning experience of Chinese hospitality students in a 4-year program at a U.S. institution in order to bridge the gap between Chinese and American education. This study could challenge traditional education and produce more culturally savvy and diverse graduates, in a field as personal and interactive as Hospitality Management, it could also help American students who want to study, work or teach in China, as they would be knowledgeable of the cultural and educational differences. This study used a qualitative approach. The researcher conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Chinese hospitality students in a 4-year program at a U.S. institution based on the research questions presented regarding the perceived differences in learning experiences of Chinese Hospitality students. Findings of this study could have implications for the hospitality industry and more importantly the way hospitality education is being taught in a 4-year program at a U.S. institution.

The need for preparing our youth to live in an interdependent world on this finite planet has become urgent since the beginning of the nuclear age at the end of World War II. There is a need to extend the loyalty of the citizen tor the nation-state to human needs seen from a global view. The involvement of the United States in the international community already is extensive because of its predominant power. This involvement is not reflected in our education, either from the amount of time devoted to social studies in our schools or in the emphasis on international relations in that curriculum. To achieve the global view which our changing society demands it is suggested that some unifying concepts be chosen which cross the various social science disciplines namely, the concepts of change (both violent and non-violent), conflict, authority or power, order, freedom and responsibility. These concepts enable the teacher, using a problem-solving approach, to raise questions which make values explicit, and provide flexibility in subject matter and range of student ability. In a global context, the following specific goals would be encouraged: overcome ethnocentrism, recognize the diversity of faces that the U.S. presents to the world, seek a transnational view based on human rights, emphasize the problem rather than the institution, and seek foreign points of view in source materials. During the 1960s there have been 80me innovations in both subject matter and method in teaching social studies, ranging from entire school systems to single schools and classes, and there are a number of new curricula materials coming out of projects funded by both government and private sources. This thesis has l.dent1tied a number of these with the idea that the teacher who is interested in presenting a global orientation now has a growing number of tools to choose from. He need not wait to construct a new curriculum but can supplement and reorient his approach in his own classroom. However, this implies that the teacher baa a global view already. Opportunities for foreign studies are becoming widespread and, hopefully, more and more teachers will feel they are an essential part of their preparation. Unfortunately, there is very little course preparation for the global view at the college level, where the largest proportion of teachers will develop.-or not develop--an international awareness. The community at the state or local level can often be of considerable help in encouraging this kind of experience for its teachers. It is probable that the more activist role of today’s student has been a factor in the trend toward using the inquiry, or discovery, method in the classroom. Certainly, this method has the advantage, for a global view, of using concepts which' can present controversial subject matter in an open-ended way. It uses the techniques of a scientific approach and enables the social studies to introduce more social science findings of current global concern. Discussion of values becomes an essential element. Such discussion begins with the student's experience, and by exposing him to a clash of personal beliefs there is evidence that motivation is increased and a possible shift in attitudes occurs. The teacher who aims to teach from a global viewpoint will need help, both in keeping abreast of the current curricula and in having available the most recent findings of social science and educational research which could affect the attitudes of his students. In particular, the area of conflict studies has potential for resolving international problems. The teacher, thus, has a key role in preparing future citizens to meet the changes of a global society.

The purpose of this study of the epistemology of John Amos Comenius was to discover and make clear the philosophical basis for his pedagogical ideas. It was encouraged by Dr. Dagmar Capkova of the Comenius Institute in Prague who pointed to a limitation of Comenian studies in United States schools, i.e., the study of his ideas apart from their philosophical basis.

The Confucius Institute has recently become more prevalent in political discussions and news headlines. Questions regarding its operations, influence from the Chinese government, and programing are common topics in news reports about the institution. The rise of China in the global economy has caused demand for language and culture education and the Confucius Institute has attempted to fill this demand. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to investigate the perceptions of K-12 school and higher education employees that work closely with a Confucius Institute program in the state of Tennessee by exploring issues that have been presented in current research and reports, and to identify alignment and misalignment of these perceptions between higher education and K-12 settings in Tennessee. The study surveyed 42 higher education personnel and 58 K-12 personnel from Tennessee educational institutions that work with Confucius Institute programing. The survey consisted of 18 items that centered around 10 research questions. Quantitative data for six of the research questions were analyzed using a one sample t-test. A 5 point Likert-type scale was used to measure responses with a 3 point neutrality rating. Two research questions data were analyzed utilizing an independent samples t-test and two research questions were ranking questions that were coded in a point system to understand current perceptions. The results indicated that personnel interacting with Confucius Institute programing in the state of Tennessee generally found it to be positive regarding adhering to academic freedom principles, local control principles, media perception, and meeting the needs of the local institution or school. Higher education personnel listed political environment, alignment with institutional or school needs, educational benefit to students, and national media coverage as challenges facing the Confucius Institute. K-12 participants listed Chinese teacher turnover, Chinese teacher training, and alignment with institutional or school needs as challenges. Higher education personnel listed educational benefit to students, programing quality, Chinese teacher training, and resources as benefits connected to Confucius Institute programing. K-12 participants listed educational benefit to students, alignment with institutional or school needs, curriculum, and programing quality as benefits.

The predictive reliability of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as a predictor of academic success of international students at Belmont University, a small Baptist university, was examined. Data were collected and examined on 168 international students. They were profiled by gender, language background, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score, grade point average achieved, and major area of study. No significant correlation was found between TOEFL scores and academic achievement as measured by CPA. However, significant correlation was found between major field of study, TOEFL ranges, and gender in relationship to academic success. TOEFL scores were also correlated with GPA for each specific academic major. A higher correlation was found for the humanities (r = .26, p < .05), and undecided students (r = .38, p < .05), than for business (r = .08, p < .05). A t-test showed that students with TOEFL scores below 500 attained significant lower grades (GPA means = 2.44) than students with scores above 500 (GPA means = 2.72). Closer examination of GPA means for subjects in the TOEFL score ranges above 500 indicate that the higher the TOEFL score range the higher the mean GPA.

While globalization, internationalization, and marketing in higher education were intensifying with an inexorable veracity, little was known about the strength of factors and the dynamics by which those factors that affect international students’ mobility operated. Previous studies used different and overlapping theoretical models, and findings were inconsistent and, in some cases, contradictory. The objective of the present study was to investigate what influenced international students’ choices to study at a comprehensive college in southern California, as well as, explore and propose a new combined conceptual model that could explain international students’ cross-national mobility. A two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods design was employed. The first phase was quantitative, where data on 52 observed variables was collected from 618 international students. Findings suggested that international students were motivated to leave their home countries most strongly by their desires for personal fulfillment. It was also found that the quality of the United States education, as well as, the college reputation of quality, were the most important variables that affected students’ destination choices. Findings from Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) advanced a four-factor solution that consisted of Quality, Affordability, Access and Peace. Comparisons between population groups within the sample using Multivariate Analysis of Variance found that consideration of Access was more important to non-degree students. Conversely, Peace was more important to undergraduate and graduate students. Moreover, Peace was more important for Middle Eastern students, while Affordability and Access were more important for Asian students. Finally, Quality was more important to male international students. The quantitative phase of the study was followed by a qualitative one that employed transcendental phenomenological procedures. In-depth interviews with 11 international students were conducted. Qualitative findings supported and explained quantitative ones. Furthermore, two additional common sources of influence emerged, Becoming Somebody and Moving from the Familiar to the Unfamiliar. These, together with the four-factor domains identified by EFA, helped conceptualize the international student mobility model proposed in this study.

This study aims to investigate the foreign language anxieties Japanese international students at American universities have and the relationship between these anxieties and length of stay in the U.S. 151 Japanese international students answered a modified version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) followed by demographic questions. The findings from the questionnaire were analyzed through SPSS 21 software. Results indicated a statistically significant relationship between students’ level of anxieties and the length of stay in the U.S. Implications for teachers and government officials in Japan, as well as for teachers and university administrators in the U.S., are discussed.

As climate change persists full bore, economists continue to estimate the cost effectiveness of various climate mitigation strategies. Minimal research has considered fertility-reducing policies, such as women's education (WE) and family planning (FP), as competitive emissions abatement strategies. Both WE and FP can mitigate climate change in two ways: they reduce emissions by lowering population growth, and reduce damages by reducing the number of vulnerable persons, especially when implemented in African countries. Previous research focuses exclusively on the former and neglects the latter entirely. By including the full scope of climate benefits from fertility reduction, it is clear that both WE and FP are highly cost-competitive with other climate mitigation strategies. Additionally, WE and FP are highly valued for social and ethical reasons, but are currently underfunded. Recognizing them as viable climate mitigation strategies could help garner the additional funding that is demanded in the literature. It is long overdue that WE and FP receive international funding on the basis of climate change mitigation, in addition to the fund they already receive for humanitarian reasons.

In the broad field of education, studies have been done to understand the ways in which adult learning, development, and transformation are fostered in travel contexts. Such studies mainly used the experiential learning and transformational learning theoretical frameworks to look at participants’ lived learning experiences from travel. However, there is a void when one searches for studies that examine the intersection of self-directed learning and travel. This study used self-directed learning theory to explore the essence of learning from foreign travel experiences. The aim of this study was to understand the role of self-directed learning as a learning process that adults use to design and pursue learning and personal enrichment experiences in foreign travel contexts. This was about understanding the ways in which adults find joy in travel through creating their own learning environments. Qualitative interviews were gathered from participants who wished to share their experiences and conclusions were reported following a phenomenological framework. Today, becoming a self-directed learner is more important and prevalent than ever. Especially with the improved ease of use with technology to find and/or create learning opportunities and the availability of a multitude of travel options, information and experience-seekers have today a variety of ways to satisfy their hunger for personal enrichment. In an age when more adult learners are taking learning experiences into their own hands and looking to explore the foreign destinations that they might have only read about in books, or searched for online, it is important for travel-related providers and academic thought-leaders to understand the self-directed learning process as it relates to adult learners in foreign travel contexts. The findings of this study show that Knowles’ self-directed learning theory can be an applicable and advantageous learning framework to be utilized during foreign travel experiences and that traveling with learning goals and strategies enhances such experiences. My personal goal with this project was to give readers a better understanding of how self-directed individuals learn through travel and an applicable construct with which to do so.

This study took place at Florida International University (FIU), a large public research university in Miami, Florida and one of largest Hispanic serving institutions in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore the motivations of non-Japanese undergraduate students for taking a beginners’ Japanese language course. In-depth one-hour semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants before the fall semester of 2014 (Phase I) and 10 after the semester (Phase II). Two major themes emerged from the inductive analysis of the data: attraction to Japanese culture and utility of using the Japanese language. Sub-themes for attraction to Japanese culture were anime and manga, martial arts and various types of games. Sub-themes for utility of using the Japanese language were study abroad and employment which both require residing in Japan. In particular to Phase II, three other themes emerged: a sense of community, openness to others, and investment of time. The findings were analyzed through the lens of L2 motivational-self system. L2 is a foreign language that is not the native language of the speaker. The L2 motivational self-system supports the idea that the images of a possible future-self as a successful learner in L2 acquisition which directs a language learner to have motivating behavior The researcher saw significant changes in participants’ motivational level during qualitative comparative analysis of Phase I and II, especially for those who had and/or gained possible future L2 ideal-self during L2 learning experience. The findings might be used by policy makers or curriculum developers for Japanese language education to refine, enhance or strengthen the competency-goals for Japanese instructions. Moreover, the findings suggested that by creating a personally relevant and inspiring vision of possible-future ideal L2 self, the students will be inherently motivated, which then allows the instructors to be more productive and effective in their teaching.