Abstract
There are a high number of female students in the United States due to a fully funded Saudi Government scholarship. There was a 21% increase in the number of international students from Saudi Arabia. There were approximately 54,000 Saudi students in the United States, mainly sponsored by the Saudi government scholarship program that has been running for 11 years. Saudi Arabia was ranked position 4 in the world by the number of its students studying in USA (Iie.org, 2014).
The number of international students at learning institutions and universities in the United States amplified by 8% to a record high of 886,052 students in the 2013/14 educational year, endorsing once again that the United States relics as the last stop of choice for higher education. The United States has more of the world’s 4.5 million internationally mobile college and university students than any other nation in the world, with nearly double the amount hosted by the United Kingdom, the second chief host nation.
The number of conferred doctoral degrees for females in America has increased by almost ten percent between 2009 and 2013, eclipsing male students for the first time (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). Compared to their male counterparts, female graduate students report higher levels of stress. Many of these female graduate students have added the role of student to an already existing set of care taking and other life roles
The current study look at academic, social, discipline-related challenges Saudi female students encounter at American universities and explores Saudi students’ surviving approaches to face their challenges. As the student coming from different cultural background from those existing philosophies of their higher education institutions, therefore, Saudi female students face a number of numerous challenges. The ethical challenges are one of the most frequently apparent among these problems. Enhancing on this relationship between the cultural beliefs of the high number of Saudi women students enrolled in many universities in the United States of America. The occurrence of this growing female student group in United States of America campuses has substantial consequences for student matters professionals, university professors, and school administrators.
The Progress of Saudi Female Doctoral Students in Urban Universities: Challenges and Difficulties
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Introduction
Growing demand for university education has strengthened and enlarged the worth of a college degree both to the individual graduate and to the overall country. In 1946 America congress came up with the law called the Fulbright Act that made studying in the United States of America easier for both local and international students. Due to the rate at which Saudi Arabia is developing the government saw the need to take some its female’s student abroad for further studies. At the end of 2013, it was specified that nearly 88,000Saudi students in several disciplines were learning in more than 52 countries globally, concentrated chiefly in Britain, Egypt, Malaysia, America, Australia, and Germany, with 53,919 of these students being in the United States of America (Iie.org, 2014). Gender distribution among primary fields of education at the master’s level is alike to the undergraduate level.The number of international students registered in U.S. higher education improved by 8% to 886,052 students in 2013/14, with 66,408 more students than last year registered in colleges and universities across the America (Iie.org, 2014).
Women exemplify the bulk of students in all areas, excluding in the shared disciplines of arithmetic, computer and information sciences (36 %); architecture, engineering and correlated skills (30 %); and in business, administration and public management (47 %). Masters’ Degrees and the implication of this amount and type of funding is clear, since it can be presumed that from these Masters’ students come the future PhD students, and as these people will have studied in English, it is in Saudi Arabia’s interests to allow them to build on that expertise and remain in overseas universities for their doctorates (Iie.org, 2014). It is, therefore, important that the Saudi Arabian government remains convinced of the value in funding students for PhDs abroad, and this is a good reason in itself for showing the planned study. As the indication is that the United States of America is a major recipient of much of this scholastic funding, it is significant for United States of America institutions to safeguard value for money (Iie.org, 2014).Saudi Arabia is the fourth leading place of origin for students coming to the United States for the 4th year in a row, and is by a wide margin the first among. Middle Eastern countries in terms of sending students to the U.S., with 6.1% of total international students.
Leading Countries of Origin for International Students at U.S. Universities
Rank and Country of Origin | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | Percent of Total |
Percent Change |
World Total | 819,644 | 886,052 | 100 | +8.1 |
1. China | 235,597 | 274,439 | 31 | +16.5 |
2. India | 96,754 | 102,673 | 11.6 | +6.1 |
3. South Korea | 70,627 | 68,047 | 7.7 | -3.7 |
4. Saudi Arabia | 44,566 | 53,919 | 6.1 | +21 |
5. Canada | 27,357 | 28,304 | 3.2 | +3.5 |
6. Taiwan | 21,867 | 21,266 | 2.4 | -2.7 |
Source:Iie.org, 2014.
Undoubtedly, there is a substantial Saudi investment in the United States of America learning product, but if Saudi Arabian students meet difficulties to their current study while they are here, the result would seem to be that they are not attaining their full potential, and thus, part of the investment in their Higher Learning is being lost. Therefore, it can be seen that Saudi Arabia has a past of sending university students overseas and has, therefore, been dedicated to developing its human capital. The education and personal issues that the international scholars face while studying in the united States have been highly studied by a number of researchers but this has been done more to the foreign students from middle East(Shaw,2010). One of the several challenges for intercontinental students had to do with educational language socialization. As a discourse public, each school discipline seems to signify particular ways of talking about the subject with which members’ converse, discuss issues, and so on. It is not part of this discourse community. Another challenge is how students deal with their own culture shock in this new setting. Though culture shock is probably every period somebody changes one’s cultural atmosphere, the influence varies from individual to individual and the experience can alter one’s awareness of predicted outcomes (Shaw, 2010). The aim of this study is to discover what Saudi female students challenges are and how extensive they might be amongst the population of students coming from the Gulf region especially Saudi Arabia to study in America. Improving the quality of university education by offering more interactive and appealing learning practices is reliable with enhanced school performance, understanding acquisition and skills advancement. In brief, a high-quality education experience yields more engaged and creative students, who, upon completion, become Saudi upcoming attorneys, medics, teachers, philosophers, researchers, administrators, leaders, and innovators. There is, therefore, honest reasoning for carrying out the study. Moreover, as the researcher gives the perspective of position of a funded PhD student, and at a university where there are substantial numbers of female Saudi Arabian PhD students, an excellent study population is both accessible and willing to take part in the nature of the research is such as to deliver recommendations to develop the experience for parallel students in the future. The literature is not rich in clarifications of PhD students’ aptitude to manage PhD courses, and so, this study will make an influence, precisely in respect of female Saudi Arabian students, more commonly conceivably in relation to scholars from a comparable cultural background in Middle East, and perhaps to students from other developing countries (Shaw, 2010). Female Saudi students are suffering situations dissimilar from other international students due to typical economic, academic, emotional, social, ethnic, spiritual, and administrative factors (Miller, 2002). The study will use the qualitative methodology of data collection and analysis. The racial construct was shown to have numerous ensuing aspects comprising: transition, educational life, and social life. University care systems were studied to establish a replicable model that can be accepted to ease the ethnic modification of these students. Being a developing country, one of Saudi Arabia primary concern has been the development of human capital as a way to accomplish the government’s enlightenment program. This apprehension for the country’s human development has been apparent in its attempts to teach and train Saudi Arabia nationals in overseas institutions. Research on the progress of Saudi female students in America was prompted in 1950s when there were a high number of international students who went to pursue further studies in America (Miller, 2002).
In the 2013/14 academic year, 53,919students from Saudi Arabia were learning in the United States (up 21% from the previous year), after 9 successive years of growths. Saudi Arabia is the fourth foremost place of origin for students going to the United States for the 4th year in a row, and is by an extensive edge the leading among Middle Eastern nations in relation of sending students to the U.S., with 6.1% of overall international students (Iie.org, 2014).Many of Saudi Arabian scholars in the America study at the undergraduate level. In 2013/14, their analysis was as follows: 49.9% undergraduate; 20.6% graduate students; 28.1% other; 1.4% Elective Practical Training (Iie.org, 2014).
Saudi students coming to the United States has increased as shown by the table below;
Source: Iie.org, 2014
Justification for the Study
As the number of women who earn doctoral degrees increases, research suggests that female doctoral students struggle with their well-being, including managing role conflict due to multiple roles, developing coping skills, and maintaining social support. The goal of the study is to illuminate different aspects of women’s well-being that can add increased understandings related to student stress levels, academic achievement, and personal life fulfillment. Research has primarily paid attention to the reasons why international students pursue education in America and the challenges that these students have regulating to new life in America. Moreover, there are thwarting cultural issues that arise for the female students as they pursue their education (Miller, 2002). As previously shown, it is because Saudi Arabia is a nation that is still evolving its Higher Education system, that the administration is taking large numbers of scholars, comprising several postgraduate students, to the United States of America. In this relation, the Saudi Arabia government assigns more than 3,000 grants for education in America every year. There are scholarships worth more than $160 million to American universities and colleges in fees, given that these subsidies carry over to subsequent years, such that in 2011, there were more than 8,000 Saudi Arabian students registered in U.S.A universities (Maslen, 2011). Furthermore, in an evolving private sector economy, Saudi families are now starting to invest in schooling at all levels for their children abroad. Precisely, in respect of Ph.D. education, the Saudi government spends immensely in financing students in Ph.D. programs abroad. Regardless of the documented significant e of international students’ contribution to higher learning in the United States, insufficient studies explored the modification course of female Saudi Arabian foreign students, who land in the country with numerous imminent encounters, such as assertiveness towards religion, linguistic, study conducts, outfit code, and food, all of which necessitate modifications. For these motives, these students face many changes and problems in adapting to institutions and universities in the United States. Facilitation of students and the adjustment of the Gulf region international students to university life have become progressively significant apprehension of administrators in modern years due to the probable influence of adjustment difficulties on student attrition. Therefore, in order to link the gaps that occur in the literature works, this study pursues to comprehend the lived involvements of female Saudi Arabian international university students.
The main objective of this research are to describe the experiences of female Saudi Arabian international university students who are learning in the United States, and to study about the experiences of these students as they study at institutions of higher education in the America. In particular one purpose of this research is to help comprehend what educational and individual challenges female Saudi Arabian international college students go through and how they face these challenges while studying in the United States.
Problem statement
In the last one decade, a high number of female Saudi students have pursued further studies in America. Due to the terrorist attacks I America especially the 9/11 there was a quarter decreases in the number of Saudi Arabian international going to America (Iie.org, 2014). Despite there being advantages of pursuing your education in America students female Saudi students are faced with a lot of challenges upon arrival in urban universities. They find an entirely different culture from that in their home nation. In addition, they also experience language problems as they all speak Arabic as their initial language. This causes difficulties in steering in the education system and everyday living experiences. Presently little study has been done to look at these challenges faced by Saudi international Female students in Urban universities. Although there is a great deal of literature on women’s leadership and learning, and on the experiences of graduate students and international students at university, there is a paucity of research on graduate student leadership in student organizations and even less on the experiences of women(Iie.org, 2014).
Hypothesis
Doctoral female Saudi Arabian international students experience personal, academic, financial, health and communication problems while studying and living in the United States of America.
Research questions
I. What is the progress of Saudi Arabian International female student in urban universities in America?
II. What are the challenges and problems faced by the Saudi Arabian International female student in urban universities in America?
III. What are the coping mechanisms for the challenges faced by the female students?
Research objectives
I. To determine progress of Saudi Arabian International female student in urban universities in America.
II. To find out the challenges and problems faced by the Saudi Arabian International female student in urban universities in America.
III. To determine the coping mechanisms for the challenges faced by the female students.
Theoretical Background
In recent decades women undertaking doctoral studies have expanded, diversified, heterogeneous and more internationalized. In the new age, networking among institutions, students, scholars and diverse industries is increasing immensely. In the developed countries universities women outnumber men in PhD education, while in developing countries females are underrepresented (Tjomsland, 2009). Therefore most of the nations are sending their women abroad for higher education e.g. Saudi Arabia. Most of the challenges faced by women can be explained well by the liberal feminist theory as explained by Kolmar &Bartkowski (2010). The theory is subjugated by a set of socialization paradigm considers that the social organizations is just by nature and that all nonconformities from anticipated conditions comprising education inequality areas are a result to incorrect socialization, absence of material about the challenges and problems facing women and the absence of adequate laws to deal with them. Taking women to have the highest level of education especially PhD in international universities is one way to empower them.
Literature review
In the academia field that has been dominated by men for a longer period of time, women still face numerous problems in finding their place despite the fact that achieving equality in gender has been the main aim for several decades in academia (Valian, 2004; Rees, 2001). Despite the fact that as many women as men currently enroll in post graduate programs, the academia world is still dominated by men because the men hold positions with higher salaries, higher status, greater power (Monroe et al, 2008). For example, Monroe et al (2008)indicated that in united states although the percentage of women enrolling in graduate programs for the past two decades has been above 50%, for the PhD’s awarded, women account for only about 44%, in all higher education institutions only 38% of full-time faculty, and 14% of the tenure-track and tenured faculty in ‘’top’’ departments. generally, male form 80% of the tenured professors (Monroe et al, 2008).these figures are also similar in new Zealand, Australia and in united kingdom( white, 2004; Thanacoody et al, 2006; Ramsay, 2000; Nerad & cerny, 1998; Johnson et al, 2000;)
Many researchers have attempted explaining the reasons why females have a higher likelihood compared to men leaving the path of achieving senior academic positions (Quinn, 2011; Menges and Exum, 1983, Levinson et al, 1991; Dabney & Tai, 2013). overall, the researchers are in agreement that the positioning of females in academia are influenced by several exposures originating (1) work and academic environments, (that is the work schedule flexibility, a number of other similar women in the environment, an organizational culture that support equality and availability of top women role models in the organization) (Kinman & Jones, 2008),(2)the overall environment, that is the societal exceptions of sex roles (Menges &Exum, 1983), and lastly (3)gender-specific and individual factors(that is the family background, capacity to take risks, tolerance to stress) (Kundu and Rani, 2007). It is therefore these organizational, structural and individual factors that explains how inequality manifests after establishment in academia, yet it is not solely these factors, but also women’s experiences of these factors that might shed light on the phenomenon of inequality in academia.
The paper further argue that it is of great significance to understand female PhD students wellbeing at the point in the academic career of a female where it appears inequality is less apparent compared to the further academic hierarchy steps, to shed some light on the academic career of women development. In summary, the paper questions the direct effect of different exposures on the academic development of women, rather than concluding that it is through understanding of streaming experiences from these exposures and manifested in the gender-biased experiences that are subjective of well-being, that one can fully understand the career path of females in academia
Despite the fact that many authors and researchers have addressed the issues of PhD student’s wellbeing (Stubb, Pyhältö & Lonka, 2011; Haynes et al, 2012), most of the literatures has been concentrates on the attributes that are isolated instead of taking a perspective that is more holistic that considers numerous factors shaping well-being and simultaneously interact with each other. Therefore, the literature review of this paper provides a rationale for application of holistic perspective that is experience-based to the female PhD student’s well-being.
Challenges faced by female doctoral students
The research on the academic staff wellbeing, of which natural the PhD students are part has indicated that their wellbeing is shaped usually by self-assessment and self-perception (Flaxman et al, 2012; Beckman et al, 2010), physical and mental health (Flaxman et al, 2012; Beckman et al, 2010), and supporting structures like work, social and academic environments (Kinman &jones, 2008;Beckman et al, 2010).
Among the academic staff, doctoral students is a special category for several reasons. As a doctoral student, life is often characterised by frequent evaluations, constant peer pressure, high workload, low status, financial difficulties, paper deadlines, active participation in the environmental of scholars including the conferences, and pressure to publish(Tammy & Maysa, 2009; Kurtz-Costes et al, 2006). According to Holligan (2005), entering PhD studentship often is associated with a switch from the practical profession to the somewhat new obscure academia world. While the issues generally could be attributed to students of PhD, Doyle & Hind (1998) argued that they represent a particular occupational subcategory in which the well-being experiences might be attributed to several very specific, contextual factors that are related to PhD studies.
Motivated by the findings of the recent research which indicated that the rate of attrition for the enrolled women in PhD programmes are higher than that of men (Marschke, 2007;Mansfield et al, 2010; Castro et al, 2011),many researchers have started laying particular emphasis to understand the reasons behind the results. This paper narrowing its focus on the progress of Saudi Female Doctoral Students in Urban Universities was also influenced by the studies (Roothman et al, 2003) indicating that well-being experiences differ between the genders.
The active researchers in the gender oriented stream in their studies have found out that the female doctoral students face many difficulties in coping with their doctoral studies. This is triggered by lack of experiences or with experiences of different support systems( Hayness et al, 2012; Damrosch, 2000), difficulty navigating the culture and climate of the organization (Rhode, 2003), or difficulties balancing the roles of work and family, and financial matters in addition to other obligations(Moyer et al, 1999).furthermore, Lee (2008) pointed out that mentor-supervisor relationship that is unsatisfactory and lack of guidance are some of the additional obstacles that might lead to no completed or prolonged doctoral studies (Castro et al, 2011).part time studies instead of full time (white, 2003), late enrolment to a postgraduate study (Chesterman, 2001), feeling of marginalization (Thanacoody et al, 2006), child care responsibility (Jackson, 2008), and having a life situation that is complex (Hill & McGregor, 1998) are other some other reasons for high rates of attritions, according to the literatures among the female PhD students.
However, Doyle and Hind (1998) argued that it might be futile to look at isolated well-being attributes, since it is the attributes interrelations of female PhD student life that could give explanation to the experienced issues by women during and after their academia doctoral studies. Therefore, while the identified aspects offer an insight of what the female PhD students have to struggle with, more exploration of their progress during their studies might explain the complexity of interactions and influences of the attributes of their wellbeing studied previously in isolation to each other. This paper’s purpose, therefore, is to explore the progress of Saudi Female Doctoral Students in Urban Universities.
The challenge that international female students face
For the past three decades, Leong (1984) identified three primary challenges facing international students of which females are included and they include academic difficulties, health issues and personal concerns. Years later, Adler (1986) in his study identified culture shock as the fourth challenge to the international students.
Academic Difficulties
International female students’ educational matters have been deliberated by scholars in five principal groupings: discussing English language skill, performance in class, dwindling to meet educational mentors’ expectations, lacking admission to support amenities, and comprehending the American educational system (Shaw, 2010). The adjustment of Saudi students in the United States is considerably associated with their self-perceived language capability. Lack of English language abilities is likely to influence international students’ educational and social performances, which, in turn, may affect their emotional change to a new culture.
In addition, to female international students facing problems with English language, academic problems such as performance in curriculums and studying in English appeared as the most challenging characteristic the students encountered while learning in the United States. Saudi Arabia international students faced academic difficulties such as failing to reach academic advisors’ study expectations and experiencing English language problems. Saudi Arabia international students experienced many difficulties adjusting to university student life in the United States related to lack of access to support from United States institutions. In addition, Saudi Arabian female international graduate training assistants experienced separation from their students since they did not comprehend the graduate philosophy of an American university (Maslen, 2011).
Personal Concerns
Personal difficulties linked to such distresses as nostalgia, solitude, social upkeep networks, cultural discrimination, social relationships, living preparations, immigration guidelines, and financial matters also causes international students trauma (Liang &Fassinger, 2008). The resilient analyst of inadequate adjustment for international students was their level of nostalgia. They are less satisfied and solitary than their American colleagues. According to Wan (2001), social provision was considerably adversely correlated with acculturative trauma. Also, international female students felt that White American students were frequently hostile, sidelining, or discriminating toward them. The addition of the graduate student role to other life roles of females is the most difficult for those who are parents, while some of the participants state that the relatively relaxed pace of graduate school is a pleasant change from the demanding routine of the work world. Participants who were parents of young children found that stress of trying to be successful as both a mother and a student contributed to dissatisfaction in both roles. However, some see the diverse roles as a way to keep a balanced personal and academic life. They are able to separate their parent roles from being a researcher and, thus, provide an outlet outside of themselves in which to explore. This dichotomy illustrates the amount of diverse issues that every graduate student faces and that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the problems facing our graduate students (Wan, 2001).
Furthermore, another individual challenge that the Saudi female students’ experiences related to prejudgment and racism. Saudi and Arabian Gulf student experienced social-personal difficulties alike to those of other international students, except that the Saudi female students, as Arab Muslims, also go through discrimination due to contradictory look and culture that many non-Arab international scholars do not have to go through. In addition, Saudi female students encounter some type of discrimination for example, punitive remarks regarding their cultural upbringing and they experience being victimized against, mainly with respect to the scores they attain in contrast to American students (Wan, 2001).
Health Issues
Another challenge international female students experience while learning in the United States includes health concerns such as despair, headaches, sleep difficulties, illnesses, physical well-being, and emotional distress (Wang & Mallinckrodt, 2006). In an interaction with 199 international scholars from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, who were learning in the United States, Rahman and Rollock established that advanced level of depressing indications was anticipated by higher apparent prejudice faced in the United States. Female college students studying in the United States and are less acculturated to Western habits are more likely to certify depressive signs. In addition, these international students possibly will experience headaches, pustules, sleep disorders, loss of hungriness, and gastrointestinal complications. Wang and Mallinckrodt’s findings indicated that high attachment concern and high evasion were strong forecasters for psychological suffering and sociocultural change difficulty in Saudi international students.
Culture Shock
According to Stewart (2003), culture shock is state of being censored off from the social indications and identified configurations with which one is familiar with and existing or working over an lengthy period of time in a location that is vague, taking your own values that you had beforehand reflected principles brought into query. In addition, it is frequently put into situations in that you are anticipated to function with supreme ability and speed but where the guidelines have not been conclusively clarified. On the other hand, Culture shock is the nervousness that comes from losing all our accustomed signs and codes of social interaction International students not only experience problems linked with being students, but they also meet difficulties associated with culture shock. International students face culture shock over differences in dialectal, communication style, foodstuff, and the way of life. Culture shock is evident emotionally or physiologically due to stress. Female international students need to acculturate in order to adapt and study in the America. According to Adler (1986), the acculturation process has four stages that Adler suggested international students go through namely;
I. the Honeymoon Period, where the student feels like a visitor.
II. Depression phase, where the student is overcome by personal insufficiency in the new culture.
III. Self-rule phase, where the student comprehends both good and bad facets in the host culture.
IV. Biculturalism phase, where the student is relaxed in the host culture as back home.
Studies have found that cultural adjustment is related to the degree to which the host and home nation cultures differ from each other. These studies propose that international students who come from values very dissimilar from that in the United States e.g., Saudi Arabia may have a tougher time changing to the societies, way of life, and civilizations of the United States than international students from cultures closer to the United States e.g., Canada. As the research in will indicate, scholars have recognized the challenges international students, especially girls, have faced. Since many international students maintain the mutual values from their home nations, it is imperative to place individual and academic objectives in the setting of their families and nations of origin. The cultural characteristics of Saudi Arabia that can influence people from that nation who are learning for international students in the United States will now be reflected to offer cultural background for Saudi Arabian international university students learning in the United States.
The Culture of Saudi Arabia
According to Long &Maisel (2010), over the past few decades, Saudi Arabia has undergone collision between custom and modernization to a pronounced level. Saudi Arabia has accomplished to uphold a balance between conventional Islamic ethics, ideals, cultural rules, and rapid modern improvements. The population of Saudi Arabia is nearly 27 million and is rising by about 3.7% a year. Long and Maisel termed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a nation of startling differences, a huge island and a lesser population; an unproductive desert topography located over great oil prosperity; a traditional Islamic society experiencing rapid transformation; a closed culture that is often in the news (p. 1). While an attentiveness of the Kingdom’s differences is appreciated, the roles of faith, family, linguistic, sex, finances, learning, government, and land and individuals will be debated in the next segment to offer an experience for understanding the personal and academic involvements Female Saudi Arabian international university students may face in United States bodies of higher learning. These findings may have implications for higher education professionals and may contribute to the literature on cross-cultural education and international students’ adjustment issues.
On the other hand, Graduate students utilize a variety of coping strategies to deal with the demands of their graduate programs. For female students, these strategies include healthy habits, like talking to friends, receiving therapy, and aromatherapies, and negative habits, like eating comfort foods. Additionally, older female graduate students use strategies including
exercising and reducing course loads, while parents of young children may sacrifice aspects of
their student role. In order for graduate students to manage the multiple roles they play, they may use strategies aimed at redefining their structural roles, redefining their personal roles, or enhancing their time management skills. Many universities offer resources to provide these strategies or teach students to use them, and female students are more likely to express interest in these resources than their male counterparts. Doctoral programs that emphasize a balance between social and academic lives of students ensure better departmental integration of students. Further, graduate students with a support group or network of colleagues tend to perform better academically, experience less emotional and physical distress, withdraw less often from confusing or tension-producing situations, and agonize from less severe bodily and psychiatric sickness that socially inaccessible individuals undergo. Characteristics associated with a positive graduate experience included a high level of administrative, social, and financial support provided by the student’s department, a democratic supervisory structure, mentoring, and positive experiences when utilizing counseling services. A positive advisor relationship in which the student feels comfortable and able to approach her advisor is a key component to doctoral persistence. Graduate students who develop more relationships with their faculty members as professional colleagues are more likely to be involved in their doctoral program, more likely to develop professionally, and more likely to progress through their program. Feminism/feminist adult education and research are basically about improving women’s conditions, encouraging them to think critically about oppression and domination and to see themselves as agents of change in their own lives and the society (Szekely, 2008).
Conflict between motherhood and academic roles
There is minimal research that examines post graduate student mothers specific experiences. This section will review two studies; a research by Pare (2009) which examined student mother’s experiences, and the second by Lynch (2008) which examined how graduate students in United States who are mothers combined the two identities of a student and of a mother.
The aim of the research of Pare (2009) “Lived Experiences of US student Mothers” was to understand the experiences of 24 student mothers, of which 10 were at the post graduate level. The participants included in the study were mothers aged 18-30 years, who are enrolled in a graduate or post graduate program on at least part time basis, and were the primary caretakers or either one or even more dependants below the age of 5 years.
The participants were interviewed either over the telephone, in person and through short survey. The interview which was in semi-structured asked questions about the feelings of the participants being a mother, the feelings of the family on her decision to study, why she was a mother, whether the family life interferes with the schedule of studying, whether they offer help, how she spends her time daily, the networks she has on campus, how she juggles well study and motherhood, and support questions. Other questions covered her role as a student. From the interview, Pare (2009) came to three major themes (1) how women experience and think about their role as mothers, (2) how women experience and think about their roles as students, and (3) the social support they needed or were receiving.
From the Pare’s (2009) study, the women revealed that the mother’s role in their lives was of primary importance. Pare (2009) observed that these women did not challenge the social expectations of motherhood and the mother’s role subsumed all other identities and roles of the participants. Pare revealed that the mother had embraced “New momism,” a term by Douglas and Michale (2004) which required mothers to give their whole intellectual, emotional, psychological and physical beings to the motherhood riles. All the study participants considered motherhood as their main social role, while other roles as wife, worker and student as secondary. This outcome contrasted the research by Este’s (2011) which indicated that the parent-students blended their two roles to create a new identity of parent-student. Pare (2009) found out that al the participant mothers had already made a conscious decision to give priority to motherhood, because they feared they could quickly ruin their children, whereas university in the same way could not be ruined. This was an observation which led Pare to make a conclusion that social construction of motherhood that encompassed the notion that “bad children are raised by bad mothers” and “good children are raised by good mothers” may have an influence to their decisions.
According to Pare (2009), the women experienced spill-over in their responsibilities as student and mother, which required them to make a compromise and prioritise daily. The graduate students experienced more conflict of mother-student role compared to the undergraduates, possibly because of the graduates’ programs intensity. 21 of the women participants believed that not every mother is capable of managing both roles of a student and a mother because of the intrinsic difficulties. The reason for those was that the first priority of a woman is motherhood and hence could interfere with education or paid work. The conclusion of Pare (2009) was that her study participants considered motherhood core to their identities, and that “good mothering” was interfered by studying especially on the case of the married mothers. Moreover to the unmarried mothers studying enabled them to be “good mothers” because by getting a degree it would allow them in future to provide for their children. Therefore, the role of student was only significant when it became an extension or was bolstered on good mothering.
Lynch (2008) in her study “Doctoral Student Mothers in the United States” examined post graduate student mothers in U.S.A. the study was intended to further understand about rates of attrition among this group of doctoral students, and it was based on an interview with 30 participants who are graduate student mothers at five different universities and are enrolled in doctoral programs. The participants had an average of 2 children with average age of 4 years and were interviewed. Lynch (2008) examined how private and public mind-sets concerning the meanings of “mother” and “graduate student” can jeopardise educational attainment of women and impact on their advancement in academia. The results of the interview were presented in two groups; “socio-cultural identities” and “structural environments.”
The “structural Environment” section encompassed the major mismatch areas between “mother” status and the position within academia; childcare and financial support. Among the participants, the most common complaint was insufficient financial aid about their university. It was seen that financial aid was better suited for the childless and single students, and this was specifically evident when many women changed to part-time enrolment after giving birth, and found out that they were unable to access opportunities of funding because of their changed enrolment status. Every participant in the study indicated that affordable childcare was a matter of great concern, and were in agreement that there was “no real support” offered by the American higher education system. Moreover, the participants paid for the childcare expenses and reported being told that costs of childcare were not recoverable by any fellowship or grant application.
The section of “socio-cultural identities” encompassed two inherent socio-cultural practices in re construction of the identity of “mother/student”; identity support and identity practices. Lynch’s (2008) study significantly revealed how student mothers who are graduates avoided the role conflict and ensured they are successful in both of the roles. They employed two strategies; “academic invisibility” and “maternal invisibility” depending on the situation. Maternal invisibility means the mothers hiding from the public view their maternal status, by allowing themselves to appear like ordinary students and preserving the graduate students’ cultural norm who is committed to her studies 100%. On the other hand, academic invisibility is where the women appeared to be mothers full time, thereby preserving the good mother notion was committed to her children 100%. At the university, Lynch (2008) argued that maternal role of the graduate student mothers was downplayed, and outside the university they downplayed their student role. Lynch (2008) suggested that by understanding the manner in which motherhood and graduate student in dominant American culture were conceptualised, explained their behaviour. particularly at the graduate level, good students were judged by their career path devotion and judgement on the good mothers were done on their devotion to children; hence every role demanded maximum commitment and this resulted to inherent conflict for the women who pursues both (Lynch, 2008).
Research Methodology
The aim of the proposed study is to explore the academic and socialization challenges and difficulties faced by female students from the Saudi Arabia across different U.S. universities. The study corresponds into a grouping of comparative study because of its two native and non-native populations existing in U.S. universities. Comparative research has confirmed to be a proficient approach for attaining understanding of social truths. Making comparisons among nations, cultural groups and/or time-frames allow investigators to differentiate between universal and specific occurrences (Creswell, 2013).Comparative research also makes a proof of identity of the influence of environmental issues on individual morals, feelings, and conducts. For these reasons, predictably comparative research conquers a high position on the international research program. Because of logical principles in existentialism and quantum theory, qualitative research approaches will be used since of the perfect, unbridgeable difference between quantitative and qualitative study in world interpretation and paradigm. While quantitative research has a scientific world assessment, qualitative study has a naturalistic/subjective world understanding (Creswell, 2013).
The interview is considered as a qualitative instrument, the facts from which will be inferred by the researcher according to the core themes of the learning. The gathering of both types of data within the complete empirical component of the study will permit for an element of triangulation. Triangulation’ is the arrangement of research approaches in order to explore the same research problem using diverse methods, and this permits for the rationality of the deductions reached to be reinforced. The concept can be drawn back to Campbell and Fiske in 1959 who called it as a technique that can establish how a hypothesis can last when considered from diverse approaches of testing; and later, they called it as an idea related with orienteering, whereby bearings are taken from two standards in order to trace oneself at their connection. The end intention of triangulation is, consequently, to raise confidence in the results.
Qualitative research is revelatory and informative. Qualitative research is deemed as most suitable as it tends to pay attention on exploring the depth rather than breadth of the matters at a hand. It discards the impression of measuring an occurrence by counting, and in its place uses interpretive methods to get to the core of the meaning, relatively than the regularity of societal phenomena. The important thing here is the allusion to social since this kind of research distinguishes the necessity to interpret information from the viewpoint of those who are form the study population. It is a method to the study of the public world that pursues to define and analyze the philosophy and conduct of people and their groups from the point of view of those being considered. It is argued that qualitative data offer rich understandings into real-life circumstances and are more able than quantitative statistics to make sense of conduct within its wider background (Creswell, 2013). Positivists have appraised qualitative tactics to investigation as non-scientific, and therefore, it is proposed that a number of settings should be met when steering qualitative study, these being: Understanding the framework in terms of connected theory, epistemological obligation of the study, and sociocultural setting of data gathering; precision, transparency and consistency – in terms of investigator engagement with the research, wholeness of data gathering and examination, cautious description of the research procedure and intellectual consistency of the arguments offered through the analysis; and Effect and significance – in terms of material and value of the work relative to previous theory and the particular matters being explored.
The proposed study will apply a multiple case study strategy. Case studies are survey of a bounded arrangement of a case or multiple cases over time and done with detail, in complexity information collection encompassing several sources of data rich in perspective.Primary sources are information that are openly collected and acquired for the first time by the investigator for the aim of the study problem at hand. There are various procedures that can be employed in gathering the primary information such as questionnaires, consultations and observations Brown, (2010). In this research, the collection of fundamental data is exemplified in a questionnaire study with students from Saudi Arabia in American universities already recognized as forming the survey sample, and in a small meeting exercise with some officials from the Saudi Embassy in America. The questionnaire is intended a quantitative instrument, targeting to secure evidence that can be treated statistically and from which positive, numerical results can be gained. Since the preferred research approach is a study and the key data collection technique is a questionnaire, most of essential facts of the survey will be collected from the literature review and used in organizing questions for the interview.
Interview
In general, semi-structured interviews will be used. They will allow the researcher to begin with guiding questions but follow leads and probe areas that arise during the interview (Brown, 2010). In this study, semistructured interviews will be conducted in personal offices or library study rooms on the university campus. These spaces provided quiet places to meet and were free from distractions and interruptions. It will be appropriatefor researchers to conduct the interviews: one interviewing and other one taking notes. In order to digitally record the interviews permission will be sought from the authorities and the interviews will last about 30 minutes. Also, the conducting research team member will transcribe interviews in verbatim within two week of the interview. The guiding questions will be developed based on the research purpose and the research literature in the area (Brown, 2010). Interview questions will be designed to gather the participants’ explanations, descriptions, and examples of their challenges.
Each interview will end with questioning whether there is anything else to add or whether there were any questions or comments. In addition, face-to-face interviews offer the researcher with the opportunity to use the research questions to guide the direction of the interview and to ensure participants clearly comprehend the wording and the objectives of each question. This was necessary for the reason that language and cultural barriers could have come in the way of communicating data and statistics. To avoid any language and/or cultural barriers, interpreter services will be sought to students during the interview process. This is a social research and it should never injure the people being studied. In the oncoming research the ethical issues involved protecting confidentiality and privacy of the participants and addressing potential harm that could have arisen during the process. The participants will be given the option to choose the premises where the interview will be take place. Attention will be made to ensure that respondents will be made aware of their confidentiality and privacy rights. Participants will sign a consent form to that shoes the response gathered will be used for data analysis and record my conversation during the process of the interview will be kept private. On the other hand service providers in these universities will be selected according to their roles that include Head of international student support unit, coordinator of international student services, head of university counseling service, associate director for international students, international student coordinator and psychologist. The service providers will be contacted by phone and the aims or purpose of the study communicated to them.
In respect of secondary sources of data, these include the review of academic journals’ articles, textbooks, documents, published statistics, and dissertations and theses. It is sensible to use secondary data if it exists because it’s hard to conduct a research study in isolation from what has already been done and because it may shed light on, or complete, the primary data collected. For this study, the researcher collected secondary data from different sources that she considered reliable and credible. This will involve a range of textbooks, journal articles, and some previous studies related to the problems affecting overseas students. This secondary data gave the researcher a broad understanding of the topic under investigation. It will also be used in expressing and understanding the study problem better and help the researcher in suggesting the applied research procedure.
Data Analysis
The data analysis procedure will be conducted by using Moustakas’ method as described by Creswell (2013) as shown by the following diagram;
To begin the Moustakas methodology, the researcher attempts to produce distance between one’s individual experiences with the occurrence and the experiences of the participants. The researcher will start to get important informationfrom different female participant’s experiences while studying and living in the United States. Data from the questioner will be grouped intoimportantreports and sentences that gave personal voice to the identified concept. This process is commonly known as horizontalization. Then the researcher will make a list to group more general ideas from the importantreports, sentences, or quotes of the participants (Creswell, 2013). Thereafter, the researcher will make a description in larger components of information that describes the experiences of female students studying and staying in United Stated States. The textural reportwill contain precise examples that completely demonstrate the experiences of the contributors.
It is within this stage that the researcher will explore all possible implications and differing viewpoints that eventually focused into the structural description. Using reflection and analysis, an arrangement of the textural and structural descriptions will be made to form an elementary description that spoke to the generalprinciple of how female Saudi Arabian international university students face studying and living in the United States.
Conclusion
. These experiences of female Saudi Arabian students will be shared in the present study may offer higher education authorities with understandings into some of the challenges faced by Saudi Arabian international university students studying in the United States. In addition, these findings will deliver possible guidelines for outreach informative efforts and sustenance facilities for female Saudi Arabian international students in the United States. To recognize their experiences, it is worthwhile to understand the cultural background from which Saudi Arabian students come to the United States. It is also significant to understand the range of views students experience prior to essentially studying in the United States. Gender dutiesprospects within Saudi Arabian culture are predominantlyrelevant. Additionally, the concerns and experiences prior to and while actually studying in the United States related to disputes of security, discrimination, self-confidence, English language problems, free living challenges, and missing their culture and family life (nostalgia) are important as well. These concerns may be vital to include as part of placement sessions for new Saudi Arabian students arriving in the United States for studies. Key to keep in mind, however, is the widerframework that many of the challenges participants may convey experiencing while learning in the United States, i.e., concerns about security, discrimination, homesickness, confidence, English language challenges, independent living problems, may relate to many international students from different countries around the world.
In addition, many domestic students entering higher education institutions may also experience similar challenges connected to traversing university life and education, living on their own for the first time and missing their families. The universality of certain of these experiences appearsobvious in university students’ experience of change to joining institutions of higher education(Brown, 2010). The universality of several of these experiences may also be significant for higher educational professionals to appreciate. The sources of support to be recognized by participants in this study included peer interactions, family relationships, and faith. Female Saudi Arabian students bring individual strengths in terms of their flexibility and strong inspiration to succeed. These personal strengths, in addition to the integrity and faithfulness these students give to their families, are very important to appreciate. The possible impact studying in the United States may have on the students is also necessary for higher education professionals to understand. In addition, the importance of the Saudi Arabian government and culture to Saudi students seems critical to be aware of, since they view themselves as student representatives in the United States. It is essential to have athoughtful and appreciation of the implication of cultural prospects, peer and family relationships, and the influence of parting from traditional cultural foundations of support while learning in the United States.
While all graduate students play multiple roles, it becomes more important to understand the demands and pressures of female doctoral students as women enter graduate degree programs at higher rates and continue to earn more of the conferred doctoral degrees. Some women will place a higher priority on the role of student and allow their doctoral program to become their world at that time. Other women will continue to place equal or greater priority on their other life roles and allow their doctoral program to be one aspect of their world at that time. The decision on how well-being is being operationalized in one’s life or how best to develop and maintain well-being will impact females’ experiences not only while in graduate school but also when they transition to the work force and possibly face additional stressors and threats to their well-being.
Prior to this study, the literature about international students lacked information about female Saudis. This study is one of the few that emphasis on Saudi students; thus, it seals a gap by contributing the Saudi voice to the literature. Of the literature about female Saudi students, this study is distinctive in that it surveys their problems and challenges. Previous studies paid attention on problems and barriers to success of male Saudi Arabia students. In addition, it is one of the few written by a non-Saudi researcher. This study adds significant information about what is known about Female Saudi international learners, which is an underrepresented group in the literature about international students.
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