Acculturation Stressors and Academic Adjustment among Nepalese Students in South Korean Higher Education Institutions

International students are steadily increasing in South Korean higher education institutions. How well international students are adjusted academically and the relationship between acculturation stressors and academic adjustment has not yet been determined. This study aimed to fill this research gap by examining the relationship between acculturation stressors and academic adjustment among Nepalese international students in South Korean higher education institutions. The sample of the study consisted of Nepalese students who enrolled in 36 universities in South Korea. Students’ background characteristics and acculturation stressors were selected to examine the association between acculturation stressors and academic adjustment. Pearson correlation and hierarchical multiple regression were utilized. The results from the Pearson correlation revealed the negative correlation of perceived discrimination (r = −0.23, p < 0.01), perceived hate/rejection (r = −0.18, p < 0.05), perceived fear (r = −0.24, p < 0.01), and perceived cultural shock (r = −0.17, p < 0.05) with academic adjustment. Further, the hierarchical regression model revealed that perceived fear (β = −0.220, p < 0.05) had a negative association with academic adjustment. Addressing acculturation stressors among international students is essential to facilitate a positive academic environment. Mainly, perceived fear has negatively affected students’ academic adjustment. Based on these findings, tailored programs must be developed to curtail international students’ perceived fear.

Internationalization of higher education in Korea: policy trends toward the pursuit of the SDGs

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the policy trends for the internationalization of higher education in Korea, and suggest a future direction toward the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a case study of Korea focusing on its internationalization in higher education. In order to analyze the government policy trends and institutional strategies for internationalization, the relevant literature and documents were analyzed.FindingsThe government policy for the internationalization of higher education in Korea has consisted of three stages: first, controlled outbound mobility; second, a major shift and focus on inbound mobility, recently along with intraregional cooperation for both directions of mobility in Asia and third, the beginning of efforts toward the pursuit of the SDGs, which needs to be expanded and systematized further.Originality/valueThis paper shows presents the comprehensive review of internationalization policies in Korean higher education, including the recent programs and changes at both the governmental and institutional levels. There has been a notable lack of discussion on the SDGs in relation to the internationalization of Korean higher education, which is addressed in this paper.

The perceptions of translanguaging through English as a lingua franca among international students in Korean higher education

This article explores how translanguaging is perceived by a group of international students at a Korean university where not only different first languages (L1) and English (L2) are involved in the students’ daily lives but also the local language (L3) holds an important role in the community. Using ethnographic methods, four participants from Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia and South Africa were regularly observed and interviewed in-depth during one academic semester. The findings reveal that the participants had conflicting views towards translanguaging pertaining to their underlying ideologies, that is, whether they considered it as a struggle to use a language or as something natural, fun and cosmopolitan. However, it has been confirmed from this study that whether the participants were positive or negative about translanguaging, it inevitably happened in their daily lives which tells us that the multilingual phenomenon in the field of ELF is worth researching further.

Acculturation stressors and academic adjustment among Nepalese students in South Korean higher education institutions

IntroductionInternational students are steadily increasing in South Korean higher education institutions. How well international students in South Korea are adjusted academically and the relationship between acculturation stressors and academic adjustment has not yet been determined. The study aimed to fill this research gap by examining the relationship between acculturation stressors and academic adjustment among Nepalese international students in South Korean higher education institutions.MethodsThe sample of the study consisted of Nepalese international students who enrolled in 36 universities in South Korea. Students’ background characteristics and acculturation stressors (e.g., discrimination, homesickness, hate/rejection, fear, cultural shock, and guilt) were selected to assess the association of these characteristics and stressors with academic adjustment. Pearson correlation and hierarchical multiple regression were utilized to examine the association between acculturation stressors and academic adjustment.ResultsThe results from the Pearson correlation revealed the negative correlation of perceived discrimination (r = -.23, p< 0.01), perceived hate/rejection (r = -.18, p< 0.05), perceived fear (r = -.24, p< 0.01), and perceived cultural shock (r = -.17, p< 0.05) with academic adjustment. Further, the hierarchical regression model revealed that marital status (β = .223, p <.01) had a positive association with academic adjustment, whereas perceived fear (β = -.206, p <.05) had a negative association with academic adjustment even after including students’ background characteristics and other acculturation stressors.ConclusionAddressing acculturation stressors among international students in higher education institutions is essential to facilitate positive academic adjustment. Mainly, perceived fear has negatively affected students’ academic adjustment. Based on these findings, tailored programs must be developed to curtail students’ perceived fear in order to enhance their academic performance in South Korean higher education institutions.