The cross-cultural learning process of international doctoral students: A case study in library and information science education.

摘要

In their capacity to implement activities related to the processes of information creation, organization, and dissemination, LIS professionals can nurture positive intercultural and global interactions, and thereby play a role in promoting world peace and international good will. This research draws upon one case of LIS international doctoral students in the United States, in order to understand their experiences and document their perspectives, and identify ways to extend internationalization in the discipline. Internationalization in the United States is broadly conceived in terms of processes incorporating issues and elements that have origins or references other than the United States.;The research develops a model of the cross-cultural learning process of international doctoral students and provides a consolidated, in-depth, and comprehensive look at their experiences that extends prior anecdotal and survey-based efforts. Semi-structured interviews along with informal discussions, analysis of electronic interactions, and observations drawn from personal experiences as a participant-researcher, identify significant cross-cultural learning experiences of twenty-one international doctoral students in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.;This dissertation presents the cross-cultural learning process of case-participants in terms of the following eight non-hierarchical phases: (Phase 0) Post-admission before the first semester starts; (Phase 1) Program initiation; (Phase 2) "Gathering" experiences; (Phase 3) "Triggers" realization of differences; (Phase 4) Dyslexic state of existence; (Phase 5) Conditioned awareness comparison-contrast to "home"; (Phase 6) "De-conditioning" of expectations based on the past; (Phase 7) Enlightened adaptation.;These phases represent significant of LIS international doctoral students in terms of cognitive (thoughts), affective (feelings), and physical (actions) aspects. Mapping participants' concerns and challenges during their cross-cultural learning phases is used to identify interventions at the level of individual student, faculty, doctoral student community, program, and discipline that together provide a practical application to the research. Proposed interventions need to be holistically applied in conjunction with each other to promote mutual "two-way" learning that develops deep symbiotic connections between improvements in effectiveness of student learning and growth of the discipline to further internationalization.