THE CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF JAPANESE COLLEGE STUDENTS IN A STUDY ABROAD ...

235 Pages·2009·13.11 MB·English

THE CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF JAPANESE COLLEGE STUDENTS
IN A STUDY ABROAD CONTEXT: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY
by
MEGUMI SEGAWA
B.Ed., Kobe University, 1992
MA, University of British Columbia, 1994
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHJLOSOPHY
in
FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
(Centre for Studies in Curriculum and Instruction)
We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
JULY 1998
©Megumi Segawa, 1998
In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced
degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it
freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive
copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my
department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or
publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written
permission.
Department of ErcLotC cc~f~c<
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada
DE-6 (2/88)
ABSTRACT
Using ethnographic methods, namely in-depth interviews and participant-observation, I examined the
everyday experiences of fifteen female Japanese students during a nine-month study abroad. I attempted to
investigate (1) the nature of cultural learning in the participants of this study during their sojourn and
(2) how different social networks in the sojourn context affected the processes of their cultural learning and
adaptation to the host environment. I employed models of cross-cultural adaptation based on a perspective
of cultural learning / social skill acquisition as a theoretical framework. During the firstf ew months in
Canada, students without previous international sojourn experiences seemed to be physically and
emotionally vulnerable. Some students experienced emotional upheaval which was consistent with
previously published accounts of the characteristics of the sojourner adaptation process. A close
association of the Japanese within their group throughout their sojourn resulted in the formation of an
ethnic enclave in the dormitory community. This provided a support network for most of the Japanese
students, but at the same time, caused interpersonal conflicts in the group. The strong group solidarity also
negatively affected the relationship between the Japanese students and their Canadian peers in the
dormitory. The Japanese students in this study not only had to adapt to the socio-cultural characteristics of
the host environment, but also to the norms and values of their own group which reflected their cultural
heritage. Although they encountered a number of challenges while in Canada, the process of overcoming
difficulties and absorbing new experiences enabled them to grow personally and intellectually. Towards
the end of their sojourn and after returning to Japan, the students recognised positive changes in their
attitude and behaviour which they attributed to the different experiences they had through their study
abroad. While several findings of the study indicated that the participants' adaptation to the new cultural
setting reflected theoretical propositions in the cross-cultural adaptation literature, the study also showed
how the unique nature of the students' sojourn environment had a significant impact on their adaptation
process.
Table of Contents
Abstract ii
Table of Contents iii
Acknowledgements vi
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
Background and Rationale of the Present Study 1
Japanese Young Adults and Study Abroad 3
Relevance of my Personal Experience to the Present Study 5
The Research Questions and the Organization of the Thesis 8
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 10
Definitions of Key Concepts 10
Culture 10
Sojourner....: 12
Sojourner Adaptation 13
Experience 14
Student Sojourner and Study Abroad Experience 15
Historical Overview of Cross-Cultural Adaptation Research 19
Culture Shock 19
Models of Cross-Cultural Adjustment 21
Cultural Learning and Social Skills Acquisition Model of Adaptation 22
An Alternative Approach to Cross-Cultural Adaptation:
Cross-Cultural Communication Theory 23
Outcomes of Cross-Cultural Adaptation Process 25
The Sojourner's Adaptive Predisposition 26
The Social Climate of the Host Society 27
The Sojourner's Communication Network 27
Host communication competence (HCC) 27
The sojourner's interpersonal communication 28
Educational Theories and Study Abroad Experiences 30
Adaptation as a Learning Process: Perspective Transformation Theory 30
Primary Concepts of Multicultural Education and
Effective Study Abroad Programs 35
Cultural Pluralism 35
Cultural Learning 38
The Curriculum and Study Abroad Experience 42
Conclusion 47
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE 50
Methodological Orientation 50
The Positivist Quantitative Research Paradigm 50
The Naturalist Qualitative Research Paradigm 51
Symbolic Interactionism 52
Ethnographic Inquiry 55
iii
Researcher's Biography and the Fieldwork 57
Fieldwork Roles 59
Researcher's Subjectivity: the Notion of Reflexivity 61
Procedure of the Study 63
The Nature of the Research Setting 64
Physical Environment of the Research Setting 64
Description of "Pacific Rim Education Abroad (PREA)" Program 65
Academic Course Work 65
Extra-Curricular Activity 67
Dormitory Life 69
Participants of the Study 70
The Development of an Active Membership Researcher Self 79
Seeking Entry 79
Researcher as Instrument and Participant: My Evolving Relationship with
the Student Participants 80
Ethical Issues Related to the Present Study 87
Methods of Data Collection 90
Duration of Data Collection 90
Data Collection Techniques 91
Interviews 91
Participant-observation 93
Artefact Collection 94
Reflexive Journals 95
Data Analysis Procedure 95
Data analysis Strategies 95
Ethnographic Validity and Reliability 97
Conclusion 101
CHAPTER 4 THE 'PREA' EXPERIENCE 103
Preparations for the Study Abroad 103
An Encounter With the New Environment 104
Settling Down and Coping With the New Environment 110
Christmas Homestay 119
Back to the Dormitory Life 125
Farewell to a Familiar Environment 133
Back to Reality 139
CHAPTER 5 FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEARNING IN STUDY ABROAD 146
Reflections on Academic Learning Experiences 146
Course Work 146
Language Development 149
Everyday Learning Experiences 153
Involvement with the Local Church Community 153
Canadian Society and Culture 156
About Friends and Families in Japan 158
The Japanese Students in the Group 161
Personal Changes during Study Abroad 162
CHAPTER 6 ANALYSIS OF THE FINDINGS 169
Study Abroad as a Cultural Adaptation / Learning Process 169
Purposes for Studying Abroad 169
Cross-Cultural Transition and Stressful Experiences 170
Patterns of Adaptation Process 173
Key Factors in the PREA Students' Cross-Cultural Adaptation Processes 177
Outcomes of Studying Abroad for the PREA Students 183
Education through Study Abroad Programs 185
A Return to the Major Questions of the Study 186
Recommendations to the Practitioners of Study Abroad Programs 188
Ethnographic Research as Learning Experience 194
Methodological Contributions of the Present Study 196
Limitation of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research Projects 197
References 199
Appendix A The Time Schedules of the PREA program (Term 1 & Term 2) 207
Appendix B Sample Questions for Individual Interviews (No. 1 & No. 6) 208
Appendix C Friendship Questionnaire 210
Appendix D Japanese Interview Transcripts for Direct Quotes 213
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The completion of this thesis means the end of my sojourn in Canada. I will soon return to Japan
with new values and knowledge acquired during the past six years of my life in Canada. As I worked on
this thesis, I sometimes thought about my own sojourn experience as well as my up coming re-entry
experience into Japanese society. Throughout my graduate work at the University of British Columbia, I
have met many individuals who helped me go through the long and challenging journey.
I would like to thank Dr. Rita Irwin who helped me create my first ethnographic account using
experiences of the young Japanese women whom I came to know closely through my fieldwork. Thank you
very much for your support and encouragement. I always felt energised after meeting with you at your
office. I would like to thank Dr. Jack Kehoe who was my M.A. thesis supervisor and my Ph.D. program
advisor. Without his guidance and encouragement upon the completion of my M.A. program, I would not
be writing this dissertation today. Thank you very much! I hope you will have many happy retirement
days. I would also like to thank Dr. Shauna Butterwick who introduced me to the qualitative research
paradigm. Shauna, I enjoyed your course very much and I have appreciated your continuous support and
advice throughout my fieldwork. Without your encouragement, I might have given up my fieldwork due to
the continuous challenges of handling many different roles in my research setting.
People involved in the study abroad program in this research, especially the fifteen students
highlighted in the case study, have to be acknowledged. Without their support, I could not have completed
this study. I would also like to thank my colleagues at the University of British Columbia for their advice
and support. I also appreciate my close friends in Canada, Japan, and elsewhere for their continuous
encouragement throughout my graduate work.
Finally, I thank my parents, Akitoshi and Toshiko Segawa, for their love, support and
understanding, and my husband, Ulrich Reinhardt, who was always there for me whenever I needed him.
vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background and Rationale of the Present Study
In this dissertation, I describe and analyse a study abroad program in order to explore how
participants of the program manage their transition to a new environment. Specifically, I attempt to gain a
comprehensive understanding of the dynamic interactions between students and their living context and
how those dynamics affect students' perceptions of their cross-cultural experiences. I focus on the life
world of the student sojourners as I investigate a study abroad program from their perspective. In addition,
I draw on my analysis of the implementation of the curriculum to examine how students negotiate conflicts
between their individual wishes and the goals set by the practitioners of the program.
Modern transportation and communication technology enables people to travel and make direct
contact with members of many different societies. With increased ease of travel comes a rapid growth in
the number of international students around the world. For instance, secondary school students may stay
with host families to learn about every day life in a different country (Hansel, 1993), while post secondary
students may enrol in a host university to enhance their knowledge about specialised fields or obtain a
foreign degree (Kauffmann, Martin, Weaver, & Weaver, 1992). Even though these students could learn
about different cultures in their home countries, only the study abroad program enables them to gain first
hand experience of another culture and leam about different worldviews held by members of the culture.
While the structures and content of university exchange programs may vary depending on the
organisers' intentions and the participants' demographic characteristics, a common underlying objective
seems to be to provide students with an opportunity for personal growth and intellectual development
(Abrams, 1960 in Klineberg, 1981a; Kauffmann, et al., 1992). Similarly, participants of international
student exchange programs attend a foreign university not only to gain academic knowledge, but also to
embrace the challenge of adapting to different beliefs and expectations in a foreign academic culture. Face-
to-face interaction with people in a new environment also allows them to establish new friendships and to
reflect on tacit influences received from their own culture.
1
With the increasing incidence of study abroad, social scientists have begun to examine the impacts
of academic sojourn experience on foreign students, especially the process of adaptation to the host
countries. For example, Japanese educational researchers began research on cross-cultural adaptation and
re-adaptation in the 1970s when educators in Japan faced challenges with the integration of overseas
returnees into the regular education system (Uehara, 1987). While college students form the largest part of
the Japanese overseas student population, only a few studies have dealt with college age students' cross-
cultural experiences (see e.g., Kassebaum, 1990; Segawa, 1992; Uehara, 1987). Some of these studies are
short-term projects in which researchers employ quantitative techniques to identify negative factors
involved in the process of cross-cultural adaptation. The external conditions contributing to the particular
adaptation experience have not been fully examined. From the psychologist perspective, it may be
important to highlight difficulties Japanese students may encounter in foreign countries. However, as an
educator in an international student exchange, I believe that it is also necessary to understand the
interaction between students and their living conditions which generate specific challenges upon their
adaptation to the particular environment.
To date, the existing studies of Japanese college students' cross-cultural adaptation experiences
have not examined the relationship between the adaptation processes and students' learning experiences.
With their learning / growth model, Furnham and Bochner (1982) argue that cross-cultural experience is a
learning process in which sojourners acquire new sets of social and cultural skills shared by members of
their host societies. According to Kim (1995, 1991, 1988), human beings are naturally driven to adapt to a
given environment and as a result, foreign students will acquire an ability to cope with daily life in their
host societies. Criticising the learning / growth model's lack of consideration on ways in which sojourners
take part in cultural learning, Taylor (1994 b) proposes an intercultural competency learning model based
on Mezirow's (1991, 1990) transformational learning theory. He contends it is essential to understand the
actual learning process embedded in the cross-cultural adaptation process in order to develop effective
education programs designed to help sojourners obtain fruitful intercultural experiences.
2
Considering the general scarcity of the cross-cultural adaptation research focusing on the foreign
students' learning experience in their specific sojourn context, in the present study, I examined everyday
experiences of Japanese students participating in a study abroad program. In particular, I investigated how
they engaged in cultural learning and reflected on their sojourn experiences while trying to adapt to their
sojourn context. My aim was to gain insights into students' experiences in their new environment through
a close examination of how the students perceived their everyday learning experiences. The study also
investigated applicability of selected theories on cross-cultural adaptation and cultural learning to a
particular group of students. Ethnographic methods were employed to investigate the students' everyday
lives in their natural living context and to explore their understanding and interpretation of their experiences
during the sojourn. The ethnographic account of this study may encourage other foreign students to reflect
on their own experiences of study abroad and contemplate the meanings of their experiences. Similarly, the
findings of the study may encourage teachers working with international student exchange programs to
speculate how their students make sense of their sojourn experiences as well as their adaptation processes
to the new environment. Moreover, the study findings may help curriculum designers of study abroad
programs develop education programs which foster both the learners' academic knowledge and their
capabilities to adapt to different socio-cultural environments.
Japanese Young Adults and Study Abroad
Following the devastation of World War II Japan secured steady yet dramatic economic growth.
An increased standard of living in an average household allowed more people to make overseas trips or
send their children to educational sojourns abroad. Recent statistics show that the annual number of
Japanese who go to study abroad has increased approximately eight times from 1983 to 1993 (ICS
Kokusai Bunka Kyoiku Senta, 1994). The proportion of female students and younger students has
increased in recent years. Nearly 5000 university and college students have studied abroad in 1990, three
times more than the estimated figure in 1985 (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture quoted in Kato,
1992). The most popular destination among Japanese students is the United States where in 1990
3