Female International Students Research Articles

Smoking and attitudes towards its cessation among native and international dental students in Lithuania

BackgroundDental professionals are uniquely positioned to discourage smoking among their patients. However, little is known about the role of cultural background and attitudes towards smoking in the education of these professionals. Our study aimed to compare native Lithuanian and international dental students’ smoking habits, knowledge about the harmfulness of smoking and attitudes towards smoking cessation.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of smoking and its cessation among dental students at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (Kaunas, Lithuania) in 2012. All Lithuanian and international dental students in each year of dental school were invited to participate in the survey during a compulsory practical class or seminar. Altogether 606 students participated in the survey with a response rate of 84.2%. Explanatory factorial analysis (EFA), multivariate Discriminant Analysis (DA) and Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) served for the statistical analyses.ResultsThe percentages of occasional/current regular smokers were 41.1% and 55.7% (p = 0.068) among Lithuanian and international male students, and 22.7% and 22.9% (p = 0.776) among Lithuanian and international female students, respectively. The international dental students had a deeper knowledge of the harmfulness/addictiveness of smoking and held more positive attitudes towards smoking cessation among their patients than did the native Lithuanian dental students.ConclusionsThe findings of the study underscored the need to properly incorporate tobacco cessation training into the curriculum of dental education. However, consideration of the cultural background of dental students in building up their capacity and competence for intervening against smoking is essential.

Students' perceptions of their information literacy skills: the confidence gap between male and female international graduate students

In the 2015 Summer Session I, the information literacy team combined two instruments, the Information Literacy Assessment (ILA) and the Students' Perceptions of Their Information Literacy Skills Questionnaire (SPIL-Q), into one survey and distributed it to the college's international graduate students through a Google Form. It was distributed to 932 international graduate students, and 172 valid respondents completed the survey. The purpose of this research was to compare the confidence gap in information literacy skills between men and women, particularly in international graduate students. Data collected illustrated that female international business students (n=70) tended to be slightly more confident than their male counterparts (n=102) regarding their perceived information literacy skills as evidenced by their SPIL-Q average score across all six IL topics, 3.78, vs. male student's average score of 3.58.

International female students’ experiences of navigating the Canadian health care system in a small town setting

This pilot study explored the international female (IF) students’ (n = 17) lived experiences of health care accessibility while studying in a small town in Canada. Analysis guided by a phenomenological method resulted in three major themes – (1) after arriving to attend university, IF students experienced challenges in staying healthy, such as learning how Canadian medical insurance works and how to access medical help, (2) IF students developed a support system over time, consisting of their university’s student advisors, host families and friends and (3) as IF students became familiar with living in Canada, they developed self-directed care strategies such as taking care of each other if they became sick. They also became comfortable reaching out through social media to ask questions and connect with others who were also new to Canada. Recommendations included providing (1) alternative times for IF students to access medical care on campus, (2) a fund where IF students could borrow the upfront costs to see a doctor and (3) health care knowledge dissemination through various media throughout the school year. The outcomes of this study are generally encouraging and may assist IF students to make effective health care decisions while in Canada resulting in a less stressful academic experience.

Asian-Indian Female International Students: A Photovoice Study of Health and Adaptation to the Immigration Experience

The purpose of this study was to explore the health related perspectives of female Asian-Indian international students enrolled in a mid-size public university in the United States. Using the biocultural model of human adaptation and photovoice methodology, we conducted a two-phase qualitative exploratory study whereby participants were interviewed, then asked to take photographs reflecting their physical or mental health. Their photographs and related narratives provided insights into the students’ health related beliefs and coping behaviors as they adapted to a new physical and social environment. The knowledge gained from this study provides health care professionals, counselors, and educators insights that might be helpful in providing culturally sensitive care and services to Asian Indian women living in the United States for the purposes of higher education.

International Students and Gender-Based Violence

Headlines such as "Man Jailed for Train Station Attack on Indian Student," "Fatal Stabbing Hits Indian Student Hopes," and "Indian Student Bashings on the Rise in Sydney" highlight violent crimes against male international students by strangers in public spaces. The media reports run contrary to the perceptions of our interviewees who suggest that violence against female international students by known perpetrators in private spaces is common. We argue that intersecting inequalities relating to gender, race, and class are often compounded by the status of "international student." Discussions focus on various forms of gender-based violence and gender violence education and support programs in Australia and the United States.

외국인 유학생과 국내 대학생의 구강건강관리실태에 따른 주관적 구강상태인식도와 구강건강영향지수(OHIP)의 관계

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the subjective oral status perception and OHIP according to the oral health managementamong international and domestic university students. Methods: self-reported questionnaire was completed by 176 domestic and 175 international university students in Daegu and Gyeongbuk from August 25 to November 1, 2014. The informed consent was received after explanation of the purpose of the study by the researcher. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, toothbrushing behavior, oral health management, subjective oral status perception. and oral health impact profile (OHIP). The subjective oral status perception and OHIP was measured by Likert 5 point scale. Results: The international students tended to have higher subjective oral status perception when they had longer stay with the roommate in Korea. The female international students tended to have higher OHIP than the male students. The domestic students with lower grades and roommates showed higher OHIP. The international students had a poorer practice of oral health management than domestic students. The overall mean of subjective oral status perception was 3.13 in domestic students, and 3.09 and 3.22 in international students. The overall mean of OHIP was 4.21 in domestic students and 4.25 and 4.16 in the international students, Conclusions: International students had a higher subjective oral status perception than domestic students, but their wrong oral health management lowered their quality of life. It is necessary to provide the oral health management for the international students continuously.

Sustaining the Pipeline: Experiences of International Female Engineers in U.S. Graduate Programs

AbstractBackgroundResearch regarding international female engineering graduate students tends to be aggregated with that about the experiences of international students in the United States or as the struggles of female engineers in engineering disciplines. Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the unique experiences of international female students in U.S. engineering graduate programs.Purpose/HypothesisThis study examined the theoretical intersections of sustainability and liminality in the experiences of international female graduate students in U.S. engineering programs. The study explored the tensions and challenges faced by international female engineering students in navigating engineering graduate programs.Design/MethodUsing qualitative detailed interviews and focus groups conducted with 49 participants, I explored the ways international female engineering students understood the tensions they experienced and developed strategies of persistence in responding to their liminal status within the engineering graduate programs.ResultsThree themes on the practices of sustainability in navigating liminality emerged from the data: constructing inclusion, challenging invisibility, and reengineering professional efficacy. The themes reflect the everyday strategies of survival the students participate in amid the challenging environment of the academic organizations.ConclusionsInternational female engineers in U.S. graduate engineering programs exist in liminal spaces where their identities are continually being challenged. Through reconstructing inclusion, challenging their invisibility, and reengineering professional efficacy, they transform these liminal spaces to their advantage and persist in their struggles with the challenges they experience.

Identity and belonging: Saudi female international students and their use of social networking sites

Abstract This article explores the ways in which Saudi female international students (SFIS) in Australia use social networking sites (SNS) to help them form social networks and present their online identity. Based on themes derived from five in-depth interviews, findings suggest that SFIS use SNS in a way that helps them foster a sense of belonging and connectivity regardless of their location. Currently SFIS use Facebook mainly to keep in touch with friends and family that are both local and international; gain knowledge of the various social and political events happening around them; and have ‘fun’. Similar to findings in the literature on social media use by students, SFIS form distinct virtual social networks made up not only of their conational Saudi friends, but also international Saudi as well as Australian and international friends whom they have face to face contact within Australia. As their main purpose of using SNS was to keep in touch with friends, SFIS reported using their real and accurate identity to make it easy for friends to find them. However, when it comes to the online sharing of personal photos SFIS showed a negative attitude towards posting their personal photos due to cultural considerations. Overall, findings of the study align with the literature in which SNS such as Facebook are instrumental for SFIS in maintaining a strong sense of connectivity and bonding while they are temporarily out of their home country.

Perceptions of International Female Students toward E-Learning in Resolving High Education and Family Role Strain

It is a common phenomenon for many mature female international students enrolled in high education overseas to experience strain from managing conflicting roles of student and family, and difficulties of cross-cultural adjustment. The purpose of this study is to examine perceptions and behavioral intentions of international female students toward e-learning as a tool for resolving overseas high education and family strain from a technology acceptance standpoint. To achieve this goal, Davis's (1989) technology acceptance model is used as the study's conceptual framework, to investigate perceived usefulness, ease of use and behavioral intentions toward e-learning. The research draws on face-to-face interviews with 21 female international students enrolled in classroom-taught degree programs at a university in Wuhan, China. The data is analyzed through coding and transcribing. The findings reveal that given its convenience, e-learning is generally perceived as practical in balancing study with family as well as feasible in saving time, money, and energy. However, key concerns were raised over the issues of poor and costly Internet connectivity in developing countries, as well as perceived negative reputation, lack of face-to-face interaction, and lack of motivation in online environment. Important issues and recommendations are raised for consideration when promoting e-learning program. This study emphasizes the need to revisit gender supporting policies and effective marketing to re-position the prevailing image of e-learning as a reputable and reliable education delivery method.

Ensuring Rights: Improving Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services for Female International Students in Australia

Drawing on the research and advocacy work being conducted by the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH), a national community-based organization in Victoria, Australia, the paper analyzes female international students’ experiences with accessing sexual and reproductive health information and services. Accessibility of sexual and reproductive health services is one of a number of areas identified by MCWH in which international students experience unequal treatment. The limitations of international students’ mandatory health insurance is of particular concern because it appears to conflict with Australia’s human rights obligations to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination and to ensure appropriate services in connection with pregnancy. Given the social, cultural and economic benefits international students bring to the country in which they choose to study, state action on equitable health access for international students is urgently called for.

When bad food happens to good intentions: female students' food dilemmas

Female students' food dilemmas are explored with a special focus on reasons why unhealthy food consumption happens in spite of the students' good intentions to eat healthy diets. The study takes a qualitative approach based on 11 in-depth interviews and 5 focus groups with Danish and international female students. Theoretically, the article draws on existing literature on food and student food consumption and on Warde's food consumption antinomies. The female students in this study find that they are well-informed about nutrition, and several of them express that they are experienced cooks from home. However, what they themselves define as ‘bad’ food sneaks into their diets, because of lack of time and energy, pressure from their studies and food cravings, along with more liberal rules in social situations. Until now, student food has been explored almost exclusively through quantitative methods, focusing on students as passive and vulnerable. Through qualitative methods, this article invites readers to view female students as complex and empowered food consumers entangled in food dilemmas. Their concerns about healthy eating are significant. They hold a critical view of their parents' food practices, and sometimes even act as role models for family and peers.

Perception of Physical Activity Participation of Chinese Female Graduate Students: A Case Study

Purpose: Chinese female international students (CFIS) have been identified as one of the least physically active groups in the United States. In an effort to better understand this situation, this study's purpose was to examine CFIS in American higher education in terms of the meaning they assigned to physical activity and facilitators and barriers they experienced with regard to physical activity participation. Method: Twenty CFIS from a university in the Northwest region of the United States were recruited and interviewed. All of the interviews were conducted in Mandarin Chinese and translated and transcribed into English. The 1-on-1 semistructured interviews lasted between 45 min and 60 min each. Data were analyzed by NVivo8. Results: In terms of meaning, physical activity provided the participants with a break from their academic work, allowed them some alone time, and taught them a process for accomplishing other things in their lives. Major facilitators included social influences, ample available resources, their changing perceptions of femininity, and the need to improve or maintain health. Barriers included a lack of time, low self-efficacy, limited social support, cultural barriers, and a lack of “how-to” information. Conclusions: Understanding the physical activity experiences of CFIS is an important step in the process of promoting their long-term health and well-being. It may behoove universities with growing Chinese international student populations to add more cross-cultural content into their curriculums and fitness programs, increase awareness of cultural differences on campus, and increase accessibility to information in an effort to remove physical activity participation barriers experienced by CFIS.

Enriched or latent cosmopolitanism? Identity negotiations of female international students from Japan in the US

Drawing from a qualitative study with 13 female international students from Japan to the United States, this article examines ways in which studying abroad has impacted the students' social and ethnic identities. Findings indicate that while the students did experience social marginalization, they did actively resist it and individually and collectively tried to find ways to integrate in their new social context. Furthermore, and while the students' discussions expressed a strong ethnic identity upon relocation, they did not plan to go back to their native country upon graduation. The discussion centres on the theoretical contributions of this work and attempts to identify directions for institutions of higher education that enroll international students.

Understanding Change in Romantic Relationship Expectations of International Female Students from Turkey

In the light of grounded theory, the authors explored change in romantic relationship expectations of international students. Twelve female graduate students from Turkey were interviewed and several themes were identified explaining the presence and absence of change in participants’ attitudes toward romantic relationships. The findings are discussed in relation to acculturation and direction for future research is presented.

Exploration of Dominican International Students' Experiences

Research demonstrates that the experience of international students on U.S. university campuses is replete with cultural, social, relational, work-related, and linguistic challenges (e.g., Reynolds & Constantine, 2007). This study explored the experiences of international students from the Dominican Republic as they adjusted to campus life at two public U.S. universities where they were awarded scholarships. Phenomenological methodology was utilized to explore Dominican students’ lived experiences and hear their voices both individually and collectively. Focus groups served as a method through which male and female international students recollected their lived experiences. The thematic insights generated through the study are used to provide recommendations for university administrators committed to enhancing the international student experience.

Perceptions of female Muslim students who veil: campus religious climate

This article is based on a small qualitative case study that examined the perceptions of undergraduate Muslim American and Muslim international female students regarding the campus religious climate in a predominantly Christian four‐year research university. Specifically, it seeks to understand the opportunities and challenges of female Muslim students who veil on campus during their college years. Due to the small sample size, findings should be taken as indicative rather than definitive. Findings indicate that despite the fact that female Muslim students who veil perceive the campus religious climate welcoming to a certain extent, they still experience feelings of mild exclusion and marginalization. The findings indicate that the perceptions related to campus religious climate for Muslim American and Muslim International students are similar. This study reveals that religiously diverse students, specifically Muslim veiled women, share some of the same experience as culturally and ethnically diverse students. There is much that higher education institutions can do to provide support to this population of students such as accumulating knowledge regarding the needs of these students so the institutions are equipped to provide support and able to assist these students in finishing their degree programmes.

Africa(n)-focused research: Two case studies from Lesotho

This article presents two research projects undertaken by two female international students studying for a master's degree at the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development (CHESD) at the University of the Free State. Both projects followed a community-focused approach. The case studies reflect upon issues of research in neighbouring countries such as Lesotho and remind us that education should not be treated as a commodity especially in instances where international students are concerned, but should contribute in the development of their countries. This is in harmony with the stringent requirements and objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to eradicate poverty; to place African countries on a path of sustainable growth and development; as well as to accelerate the empowerment of women. In this regard South Africa's higher education institutions are contributing to the enhancement of human capabilities and thus to the overall social development. Through the projects of the students enrolled in the CHESD, higher education is directly achieving some of NEPAD's objectives. These research projects should be seen as scaffolds to anchor other researchers and stakeholders who may wish to undertake further research in the specific fields or who desire to initiate other development-orientated research projects in Lesotho.

Intimate Relationships of Female International Students

Five female international students studying at a western Canadian university were interviewed about their experiences of being in a difficult intimate heterosexual relationship. An in‐depth interpretive analysis revealed that, according to the participants, these relational struggles influenced their adjustment to the host culture. Implications for counselors and future research are discussed.Se entrevistó a cinco alumnas que cursan estudios en una universidad canadiense sobre sus experiencias personales en una relación íntima heterosexual complicada. Un análisis interpretativo en profundidad reveló que, según las participantes, estas dificultades en sus relaciones influyeron en su ajuste a la cultura anfitriona. También se discuten las implicaciones para consejeros e investigaciones futuras.

Likelihood to Sexually Harass

We tested hypotheses regarding the association of national culture with the likelihood to sexually harass by comparing samples of male and female international students. Our hypotheses were derived from implications of Hofstede's cross cultural dimension of power distance in light of the developing sexual harassment literature in an international context. One hundred and seventy eight American, Indian, and Chinese male and female students were administered the Likelihood to Sexually Harass (LSH) survey. Based on the results, most of our hypotheses were supported, although there was one unanticipated finding regarding female subjects. Our findings indicated that while males scored significantly higher than females on the LSH scale, nationality had a strong and independent effect on the LSH scores. Chinese and Indian males scored significantly higher on the LSH than American males. Chinese females scored significantly higher on the LSH instrument than American females. Hofstede's power distance dimension appears to capture an important aspect of national culture that shapes the perceptions and behaviors of both males and females in their proclivity to sexually exploit others with less power. Results and the limitations of the study as well as the future need to conduct sexual harassment research on diverse populations from different countries are discussed.

Exploring Theories of Patriarchy: A Perspective from Contemporary Bangladesh

n 1984 I visited Bangladesh to begin research on female garment workers. The image that remains deeply embedded in my consciousness is the dramatic change that characterized the streets of Dacca since I had left the country only eighteen months earlier. Perhaps most striking were the number of women who now walked along the road, often in groups of six or more, especially after a shift change at the recently opened garment factories that dotted the streets throughout the city. The image of women dressed in cotton saris leaving work in the early evening was in stark contrast to my earlier experience when I was one of only a few, if any, women walking quickly along these same roads. It also was a change from the time when I was the only woman in a government or commercial office, or in some of the smaller fresh produce or fish markets, unchaperoned by either an older or younger male companion. At first I could hardly make sense of this now strange and different place that had been my home for five years. Was I mistaken? Did I remember incorrectly? Did I get caught by the Western image of Bangladesh and Bangladeshi women dominated by purdah (female seclusion), only to confront the everyday lives of young women struggling to make a living? How was I to understand this apparently fantastic change in the course of a mere eighteen months? I have been challenged ever since to make sense of this dramatic reorganization of women's lives. Certain facts were self-evident: a growing number of garment factories were now part of the city, Dacca was an internationally recognized export-processing enclave, and thousands of women