Transforming Perspectives Through Virtual Exchange: A US-Egypt Partnership Part 1

Adjustment to Chinese Culture and Mental Health Issues among Foreign Students on Chinese University Campuses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Collaborative Ethnographic Study

Foreign students in China may have difficulty adjusting to Chinese culture and may experience mental health problems related to acculturation, interpersonal issues, and social communication within the context of campus life. Therefore, this study attempts to apply a collaborative ethnography approach to explore the adjustment to Chinese culture and mental health issues among foreign students on Chinese campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic. We spent 16 months exploring the feelings and perceptions of 82 foreign international undergraduate students at six Chinese higher education institutions regarding their adjustment to Chinese culture and gathered their suggestions about how to address the mental health issues experienced by foreign learners in China. The results show that international students tend to have a limited understanding of Chinese culture and rely on very few channels for information-in particular, the Internet, teachers' lectures, and daily life-which can easily result in mental health problems and thoughts of marginalization.In addition, the results showed that international students' mental health problems are subjectively positively correlated with their own personality, cultural intelligence, and cultural identification ability and objectively related to their cultural distance and all aspects of the educational work of international students. It is suggested that Chinese higher education institutions should strengthen their attention to the mental health of international students in China and promote international students' cross-cultural adaptation abilities and understanding of Chinese culture.

Global health-based virtual exchange to improve intercultural competency in students: Long-lasting impacts and areas for improvement

Introduction

As public health expands its role in global settings, the need to develop intercultural competency for public health students also grows. One initiative being applied to promote global awareness is the use of virtual exchange (VE) programs. VE programs promote collaborative online international learning (COIL) and allow students from different countries to connect and work together on projects related to their field of study; however, there is little research around the long-term impacts of these programs.

Methods

Undergraduate pre-health students from the United States who participated in a VE program a year prior were interviewed about their experiences engaging with undergraduate medical students in Egypt. They were asked if the experience impacted their current behaviors, skills, or knowledge, and what improvements could be made to the program. Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) served as the theoretical framework, grounding interview instrument development and directed content analysis procedures. Researchers also engaged in inductive analysis to capture other salient themes.

Results

Ten students were interviewed with a majority engaging in either of the two final stages of Mezirow's TLT: "building of self-confidence and self-competence" (60%) and "reintegration" (50%). Other salient themes found were intercultural interactions, VE appreciation, and VE improvements. When describing their experience in one word, students overwhelmingly provided words with positive connotations (80%), with the negative responses being explained by the structure and presentation of the VE.

Discussion

Students were able to apply lessons they learned during the VE within a 1-year follow-up period. This is beneficial, as health professionals require intercultural competency to promote and provide improved health outcomes. Results from this study indicate the need for structure when conducting a VE, addressing the need to increase the number of direct interactions and thereby promoting more intercultural exchanges. Likewise, the interviews demonstrated that changes in course instruction need to be implemented gradually to allow for students to adjust to unfamiliar teaching methods.

Transforming Perspectives Through Virtual Exchange: A US-Egypt Partnership Part 2

Collaborative online international learning programs, such as virtual exchange, that utilize telecollaborative activities have been integrated into more classrooms within the higher education setting. These programs provide students exposure to international cultures, perspectives, and ideas is no longer considered "value added", but a prerequisite to entering many workforces. These programmatic objectives compliment Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory, that substantiates two major elements of transformative learning are critical reflection and dialectical discourse. This study presents the second half of a qualitative inquiry into the prominent themes that arose during a virtual exchange that was conducted in March 2021 between students in the United States (US) enrolled in a global public health course and Egyptian microbiology students. This study sought to expand upon the Transformative Learning Theory through inductive analysis procedures to offer a modernized adaptation of the theoretical framework within international learning environments. Student responses enrolled in an undergraduate global public health course were collected and analyzed by two coders using inductive/open coding to identify salient codes. These codes were then summarized into categories and subsequently defined. Resulting themes include Connectedness, Openness, Acquisition of Knowledge and Skills, Communication, Cultural Identity, Anticipation of Options for New Roles, Relationships, and Actions, and Absence of Change. Several themes have corresponding categories and subcategories. Adult learning environments such as the modern college classroom have changed with the introduction and reliance upon online learning domains, as well as the diversification of higher education student demographics, accentuating the need to inductively analyze student learning processes and outcomes. In doing so, our findings provide a modernized adaptation of the Transformative Learning Theory that allows for adult learning theorists, researchers, and scholars to integrate tenets of transformative learning more appropriately. As such, this provides an opportunity for educators to coalesce the identified mechanisms (e.g., openness, cultural background, anticipation of roles and relationships) to bolster student's willingness and ability to engage in transformative critical reflections. By capitalizing on students' innate characteristics, such as open-mindedness predispositions and cultural background, educators are able to augment transformative learning strategies through tailored assignments and course activities.