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This study aims to investigate international students’ cultural adjustment, academic satisfaction and turnover intentions using ecological systems perspective and explores factors that affect academic success and turnover by exploring three stages: arrival, adjustment and adaptation.

The sample consists of 208 international students enrolled at a mid-Western university in the USA. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and mediational analyses were used to test hypotheses.

Findings indicate that self-efficacy, as a pre-sojourn characteristic, affects adjustment variables inclusive of cultural adjustment, affecting academic satisfaction and turnover intentions. Adjustment variables (coping, cultural adjustment and organizational support) mediated relationships between self-efficacy and turnover intentions.

The proposed model moves the research forward by examining an ecological systems framework describing how individual, social, academic, cultural and institutional factors function in supporting international students’ transitions. Results may be generalizable to other large US universities with varying dynamics and resources available (or not) for international students.

Given the challenges international students face in the USA in adapting to both new culture and academic setting, it is imperative to identify what elements of their transition and academic environment predict academic success. This is one of the first studies testing the propositions derived from Schartner and Young’s (2016) model.

This article intends to explore the Sub-Saharan African students' perceptions on their cross-cultural adaptation to the Moroccan society by probing into their adaptive strategies adopted in order to overcome day-to-day challenges as well as factors impeding their adaptation processes. To this end, three central research questions are advanced: (1) what are the factors that influence Sub-Saharan students' cross-cultural adaptation to the Moroccan society? (2) How do Sub-Saharan students perceive the role of host communication competence, host interpersonal relationship, ethnic proximity, host receptivity and personality type in facilitating or hindering their adaptation? And (3) how do they undergo their cross-cultural adaptation to the Moroccan society?

The main aim of this article is to explore African Sub-Saharan students' perceptions on their adaptation to Moroccan society as well as factors affecting their adaptive experiences. Due to the complex nature of this research, opting for mixed-methods research, the combination of both qualitative and quantitative, would best serve the objective of this study. For this purpose, qualitative methods (interviews) are used to collect non-numerical data about factors that facilitate or hinder the cross-cultural adaptation of Sub-Saharan students in Morocco in the first phase, and then quantitative methods (questionnaires) are used to collect numerical data about their perceptions of their adaptation in the Moroccan society in the second phase.

The results of the present study revealed that a large number of Sub-Saran African students are well adapted to the Moroccan culture, but with discrepant degrees. Their adaptation is mainly influenced by an array of intersected factors. Firstly, the participants showed that the more they were aware of the Moroccan culture and language, the more likely they would be able to function properly and effectively in different social settings. Secondly, it was found that establishing social ties with the host members was perceived as significant for easing their adaptation due to the cultural, emotional and academic support these ties provided. Thirdly, host receptivity was perceived as an important factor that facilitated the students' cross-cultural adaptation. With the case of some participants, host receptivity, however, hindered their adaptation because they were subject to different types of discriminatory and racist behaviours by some Moroccans. Lastly, intercultural personality traits displayed in flexibility, prior cross-cultural move and intercultural empathy were found to contribute to the students' overall functional fitness in the

This is the first research to tackle the issue of Sub-Saharan African students' cultural adaptation in Morocco.

This paper examines the cross-cultural internship teaching experience of a mainland Chinese student of a Master's program on adult education in a Macao university.

Using autobiography, the data were collected from the teaching journals, biographical notes, and deep reflections of the student teacher, tracking the whole process of cross-cultural internship teaching. The data were analyzed in a grounded way, by scrutinizing the process to overcome the difficulties and challenges encountered in the two-month internship teaching period.

Three key themes were identified: (a) constructing relationship with mentor teacher as the key condition; (b) classroom interaction as an important influencing factor; (c) professional identity as the result of the learning-to-teach process. Furthermore, this paper reveals an adaptation process during the internship, where the student teacher went through three phases, namely, novice anxiety, adjustment, and ability acquisition.

This paper’s analysis on the internship teaching experience reflecting practical issues in the process has extended the literature of academic adaptation in internship learning of non-local students. Based on this cross-cultural student case under the unique mainland China-Macao cross-border context, some suggestions are provided for university policy makers and educators in Macao.

The phenomenon of student mobility in higher education is influenced by several factors, including the infrastructure provided by institutions in different countries as student support services. These student support services play a pivotal role in fostering students’ adaptability within a new environment, thereby significantly impacting their academic performance and social integration. The study focuses on international students in Uganda and investigates how student support services (as part of institutional infrastructure) support students’ adaptability. Based on Leask’s conceptual model of internationalisation, the study reveals that the presence of such services is essential; in addition, the need to provide newly arriving students with orientation is crucial for them to effectively navigate their surroundings. Offices dedicated to international students are also instrumental in facilitating the students’ orientation and settling-in process and they enhance their overall experience. By recognising the significance of both student support services and orientation, education institutions can create a more conducive and supportive environment for international students, ultimately enriching their academic journey and social interactions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how four international students at a Danish university cope with their study-related and everyday information needs, behaviorally as well as affectively, and how their information seeking blends with their cross-cultural adaptation.

Each of the four participants contributed ten diaries and took part in three interviews during the first semester of their stay.

International students’ information needs and seeking behavior are shaped by their host university but also by cross-cultural, personal and situational issues. While the cross-cultural issues set international students apart from domestic students, the personal and situational issues create individual differences that call for more individually tailored support. The studied international students lacked information about both study-related and everyday issues. These two types of issues were intertwined and experienced as equally stressful. However, study-related information needs were more important, whereas everyday information needs were more difficult to resolve. In addition, participants tended to feel on their own when it came to finding needed information, but studying abroad also had elements of personal growth in meeting life’s challenges.

More participants are needed to investigate how international students’ information seeking evolves over time.

This study contributes detailed information about international students’ study-related and everyday information seeking during their first semester abroad. The study has implications for everyday-life studies of international students’ information behavior and the international classroom in general.

The purpose of this paper is to explore employment perception of students as a relevant indicator of higher education quality, using blended multi-criteria decision-making methods.

The differential impact of these variables was analyzed in this paper taking a sample of 641 students and six higher education lecturers identified as experts on young vocational careers. The traditional study of student behavior and perceptions of employability does not incorporate the uncertainty associated with multi-criteria decision processes and is therefore less adapted to the human reasoning process. This research applies traditional techniques together with fuzzy techniques capable of managing more effectively the uncertainty associated with student actions and behaviors.

This research shows that it is important to consider previous work experience, academic achievement and soft skills developed during education experiences. In this way, this research shows the lecturers how to adapt their pedagogical practices according to students' perceptions of employability and assess their students' perceptions of employability. In addition, lecturers will be able to incorporate the uncertainty associated with decision-making processes to optimize employability perception.

Higher education-related research on uncertainty environments as multi-criteria decision problems is still in early stages. The incorporation of the uncertainty associated with decision-making processes to this field allows to optimize employability perception thanks to its adaptation to real human behavior in the adoption of decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and understand academic English language-related challenges in listening and speaking faced by English as a foreign language (EFL) international Master students enrolled in various taught Master programs in a Malaysian university from the viewpoint/lens of 16 lecturers teaching the students.

This qualitative research relied upon 16 in-depth one-to-one interview sessions with 16 lecturers teaching the taught Master programs at a higher education (HE) institution in Malaysia for data collection. Data collected were coded and categorized according to themes via qualitative analysis software, NVivo.

It was found that academic English language-related challenges in listening and speaking from the viewpoint of the 16 lecturers are such as lack of discipline content knowledge to communicate, lack of confidence in communicating orally, difficulty in understanding lectures and other oral activities in the classroom, and coping with differences in learning culture.

This study suggests policies and programs to equip lecturers and university administrators to overcome the challenges faced by the students in their academic English language practices especially in listening and speaking to ensure meaningful academic adaptation in the current context.

The uniqueness of this study is that it is a retrospection of the lecturers teaching EFL and English as a second language (ESL) international Master students in taught Master programs in a Southeast Asian country. The focus of the retrospection is on academic English language-related challenges in listening and speaking faced by EFL international Master students who are currently pursuing their Master education at a HE institution in Malaysia.

This chapter presents a synopsis of teaching students with disabilities and the qualities of schools that can enable effective teaching of all students, including those who have disabilities. A review of legal mandates that teachers must understand are outlined and serve as a framework encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration. This chapter seeks to inform the reader of the role of special educators and related professionals, including families, to improve school outcomes for students with disabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ramifications of accelerated two-year degrees for student mental health. Since it was legislated in early 2019 in the UK, there has been limited debate in academia and among policymakers about the potential viability and risks of the compressed degree programmes.

The paper is based on an analysis of various academic and practitioner viewpoints as well as theoretical perspectives.

The paper found a mixed reception of the compressed degree programme among the academic and practitioner communities. In addition to apprehensions about the quality of education, there are concerns raised about the impact of the pressure deriving from the workload of the accelerated degree. The authors’ assessment considers a potential increase in stress and other more acute state of mental health degradation among students, especially international students, as well as students with families.

This policy analysis paper makes a significant contribution to the debate on the issue of two-year degrees that has not attracted academic scrutiny commensurate with its importance. The authors conclude that two-year degrees will have far-reaching ramifications, locally and internationally as the UK continues to push for its widening participation agenda as well as maintain its position as one of the top three destinations for international students. The authors suggest that wider discussions with stakeholder and some impact studies are needed before the accelerated degrees are further popularised in universities.

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an integral part of hospitality curriculums in Australia. Experiencing stress during WIL is expected, as students try to balance work and other responsibilities. Previous studies have usually examined the negative impact of stress on individuals. By referring to relevant theories, this paper argues the positive impact of stress and reports on a study which aimed to investigate whether stress – experienced by students during WIL – leads to resilience and well-being.

Hospitality students from different backgrounds enrolled at a tertiary institution completed an online survey. This study uses structural equation modelling (SEM), to test the proposed links between stress, resilience and well-being.

The study results show that “academic pressure” (mean score = 3.57) is the most common stressor identified by hospitality students. This was followed by stress caused by “time pressure” (mean score = 3.01). Model testing reveals that experiencing “career development concerns” has a statistically significant association with resilience. Moreover, there is a strong link (β = 0.624) between resilience and well-being.

This study makes a contribution by proposing positive outcomes related to stress during WIL. A handful of studies have looked at similar concepts. However, this paper uses statistical techniques to measure and analyse relationships between different variables. By running an SEM, the authors were able to test a linear causal relationship which identifies stressors leading to a significant impact on resilience. Similarly, the strength of relationship between resilience and well-being is also empirically tested.