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The Impact of On-campus Employment on Chinese Undergraduate Students in the U.S.

Su, Mengwei,
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1521118514191313

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Higher Education (Education).
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.
Laura Harrison (Committee Chair)
Peter Mather (Committee Member)
Gordon Brooks (Committee Member)
Lijing Yang (Committee Member)
251 p.
English As A Second Language; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration
Chinese international students; ESL learning; identity development; integration; on-campus employment

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Su, , M. (2018). The Impact of On-campus Employment on Chinese Undergraduate Students in the U.S. [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1521118514191313

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Su, , Mengwei. The Impact of On-campus Employment on Chinese Undergraduate Students in the U.S. . 2018. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1521118514191313.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Su, , Mengwei. "The Impact of On-campus Employment on Chinese Undergraduate Students in the U.S. ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1521118514191313

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1521118514191313
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© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.