Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Learning to Become Lifelong Global Citizens

Soveacha Ros
Northern Illinois University, soveacha2002@yahoo.com

Abstract
This study examines transition practices of four international male graduate students from
Cambodia pursuing social science degrees at Northern Illinois University (NIU). An
interview guide was designed and grounded in three questions: (1) How do informants
describe their academic and social experiences during their first year at NIU?; (2) What
adaptation resources do they have at their disposal (i.e. on NIU campus, in DeKalb and
neighbouring communities, social networks in Cambodia and America)? How do these
resources help them to adjust; (3) How do they view themselves as international students
at NIU? And, how does this view play a role in their adaptation process?
The analysis is drawn upon four individual in-depth interviews. Two informants have
been at NIU since August 2006 referred to as Senior 1 and Senior 2. The other two
participants have been at NIU since August 2007and are referred to as Junior 1 and
Junior 2.
Excerpts of critical markers accumulated from interviews are employed to emphasize key
themes in the data. Implications for teaching and learning in multicultural education
context and literature dealing with similar groups of students from South East Asia are
also discussed.
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