The significant increase of Japanese students studying in the United States suggests an increase in interactions with Americans. However, it does not mean that Japanese are aware of intercultural communication. They may experience stress in their interactions and their acculturative process because of cultural differences. They also may try to cope with the stress in their own way. Their stress and coping strategies may affect their academic performance, which is the most important aspect in their student life. The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is any relationship among communication stressors, coping strategies, perceived academic self-efficacy, self-statement of grade point average (GPA), and biodemographic variables. The questionnaire was handed to 100 Japanese university students studying in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.

The use of consultation as a means of delivering educational instruction to students with disabilities in the general physical education setting is becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States and is most frequently operationalized in a triadic model. In this model the adapted physical educator serves as the consultant, the general physical educator serves as the consultee, and the student serves as the target, or the one who receives the intervention. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to answer the following questions. What are adapted physical education specialists' perceptions about consultation as a delivery model for individuals with disabilities? How do adapted physical education specialists define an effective consultation model for adapted physical education? How do adapted physical education specialists define their role in the consultation process? Six adapted physical education specialists participated in this study. Analysis included two in-depth individual interviews, a one-day field observation with each participant, researcher notes, and a final focus group including, definition, situational context factors, effectiveness, skills, training, consultation model preferences and roles. It was apparent from these participants that consultation interactions on behalf of students with disabilities varied greatly based on the multidimensional and dynamic nature of the educational environment. Results showed that the use of consultation was more prevalent with middle and high school students. It was also found that adapted physical education (APE) consultation could be presented on a continuum from proximal to distal, dependent on the degree of interaction between the APE specialist, the general education teacher and the student. The effectiveness of consultation was dependent upon the general education teacher's attitude, the APE specialist's skills, and the degree of administrative support. Finally, five roles of the APE consultant were delineated from the participants' descriptions of their job-related interactions. These roles were; advocate, educator, courier, supporter/helper, and resource coordinator. / Graduation date: 1999

Five student-researchers and the author engaged in a continually-evolving, student-driven qualitative research study. Despite significant disadvantages, including navigating a. foreign culture without speaking the language, these invulnerable learners succeeded. Ultimately of greatest interest to the six were an analysis of their collective knowledge and experiences, and their individual transformation over the course of the study. The findings are organized around emergent themes and their evidence. Themes participants identified include resilience, the Mexican family, teachers and education, Mexican pride, and misconceptions about Mexicans. Resilience: A combination of personal resources (e.g., resilience) and environmental resources helped student participants to feel cared about, supported, and significant in school. Schools, as external mediators, were critical environmental resources in alleviating negative effects of student participants' stress. Family: Families, especially participants' parents, were their greatest source of motivation, inspiration, and support. The five student participants' concluded that the best means of promoting the ability to avoid problems is to instill in children early on a strong, non-negotiable value system. Teachers and Education: Participants and their families viewed education, and related necessary sacrifices, as key to success in this country. Academic frustrations included often-unchallenging curricula, isolation in the English as a Second Language program, and being treated as "less than" by teachers and peers. Pride in Being Mexican: The five expressed strong pride in being Mexican, and chose to demonstrate this through showing the dominant culture that Mexicans are capable, intelligent, hard-working people. Participants were also committed to serving as role models and counselors to those struggling as they had. Misconceptions about Mexicans: Interdependence, generosity, altruism, and camaraderie are attributes highly valued among most Mexican individuals. Misconceptions about Mexicans abound and are exacerbated by the American media. / Graduation date: 2000

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 22, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Albert T. Azinger (chair), Amee D. Atkins, Dianne C. Gardner, Beth Hatt-Echeverria. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-141) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-91).

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Speech Communication, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 68 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-65).

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-04, page: 1954. Adviser: Sally W. Vernon. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-135).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Instructional Systems, Leadership and Workforce Development. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis addresses academic underachievement by ethnic minorities, a persistent sociological problem, in the context of low-income South Asian students in Hong Kong. South Asians have deep roots in the history of Hong Kong; however lower income groups among them find few opportunities for upward social mobility. Students from this community attend ‘designated’ local public schools, which do not seem to offer them a challenging academic environment. Hence, these students generally show poorer levels of academic performance and higher levels of dropout rates compared to the majority Chinese students. Most of them also do not go to university and seem to make poor career choices. Existing research on this issue has explored the impact of factors such as limited school choices, segregation in designated schools, poor quality of education, Chinese language requirement, and stereotypes associated with the South Asian community, suggesting that the disadvantaged position of South Asian students is a consequence of their ‘non-Chinese status’ as it denies them the privileges enjoyed by the mainstream population. However, prior research has generally overlooked the role of South Asian parents in their children’s academic life. This thesis addresses this ‘research gap’ by exploring low-income South Asian parents’ understanding of the educational opportunities available in Hong Kong and their attitudes towards children’s education and future. A qualitative study within the social constructionist paradigm is used, to examine the ways in which low-income South Asian parents understand and respond to the education system in Hong Kong. Grounded theory approach is used to collect and interpret the data obtained from seventy one interviews with South Asian students, their parents, teachers and social workers. Using ‘constant comparative’ and ‘inductive’ methods, three sensitizing concepts are identified - ‘parental involvement’, ‘ethnic identity’ and ‘folk theory of making it’; and these are used as the theoretical foundation for the data analysis process. In addition, four conceptual categories are developed - ‘educational perspectives’, ‘limited support’, ‘beyond control’, and ‘ensuring future success’, which define the process of adaptation of the South Asian parents to the education system in Hong Kong. Data shows that the low socioeconomic status and strong ethnic identity of South Asian parents has a major impact on their educational expectations for their children and their adaptation pattern reflects ‘resistance’ against marginalization in the local education system. This study highlights the ‘instrumental’ view of education wherein South Asian parents do not conform to standard achivement ideology of Hong Kong society. Instead, they seem to withdraw from high academic expectations and upward social mobility, which further widens the existing social and economic gap between them and other groups, especially the majority Chinese group. In this process, their ethnic identity is reinforced with a focus on strong ties with their home countries; hence, most of them consider themselves only as ‘economic stakeholders’ in Hong Kong society. These findings emphasize the immediate need for the provision of quality education for ethnic minority groups and concerned attitude from the educators and citizenship education / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy