Browsing by Author "Alfarhan, kawthar"

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INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENT CHALLENGES AND SELF-EFFICACY WHEN STUDYING IN THE UNITED STATES
(Northern Illinois University, 2024) Alfarhan, kawthar; Tonks, Stephen
This study examined challenges international graduate students face in the United States regarding English language skills, cultural adaptation, and impacts on their academic self-efficacy. Ten international students from different countries were interviewed using a qualitative research method. The interviews explored international graduate students’ experiences after completing at least one year at the university. Specific focus areas included difficulties faced with English proficiency and cultural adaptation, how students described their self-efficacy in managing these challenges, the impacts on their academic performance, and strategies to support their self-efficacy. The findings showed that self-efficacy as well as encouragement from peers and faculty helped international graduate students at a Midwest U.S. university to persist through obstacles in their new environment. Students’ beliefs in their abilities help them academically challenge and adapt. This study concludes that supporting international students’ self-efficacy is key to their persistence and success. This study’s findings raise awareness of difficulties affecting international students’ self-efficacy in foreign countries. The results also highlight professors’ vital role in influencing academic confidence, as they can positively or negatively impact international students’ self-efficacy. Future research should focus on instructors’ influence on self-efficacy in new academic environments, specifically exploring motivations for studying abroad. Additional research could also examine environmental and cultural impacts, effects of living abroad on education, and university support systems for international students.
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