1. The Impact of On-Campus Employment on Chinese Undergraduate Students in the U.S.
- Author
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Su, Mengwei
- Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of part-time, on-campus employment on Chinese international undergraduate students' integration and development on American campuses. In doing so, I focused on exploring how Chinese undergraduate students learn English, make friends with the domestic students, shape identities in the workplace, and at the same time, how they balance study and work. Gaining a deep understanding in those areas could help determine whether on-campus employment could be utilized as an effective means to enhance Chinese undergraduate students' learning outcomes and overall satisfaction with their overseas educational experiences. In this study, I adopted a qualitative research methodology and used phenomenological inquiry to collect detailed information from a sample of 12 Chinese undergraduate students who had at least one semester's relevant work experience on campus. I conducted an approximately 30-minute, one-on-one, semi-structured interview with each participant in our native language, Chinese. I also used techniques such as member checks, adequate engagement in data collection, researchers' reflexivity, peer review, thick descriptions, and maximum variation to increase the validity of the research findings. Findings resulted from thematic analysis of the rich in vivo data are in accordance with the hypothesis of the study that taking on-campus employment improves Chinese undergraduate students' overseas educational experiences. Participants reported that they had improved ESL learning, exposed to more intercultural contacts, and built new personal identities in the workplace. I, therefore, made policy recommendations on supervising Chinese international student employees to university administrators, and suggested a guideline of optimum maximum work time for future student workers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
- Published
- 2018