Category: Academic Challenges

Senior High School is the last two years of the K to 12 program that DepEd implemented back in 2012. It is between Junior High School and College, it is not as easy as Junior High School and it is similar to college but easier from it. It helps the students to have background knowledge of their preferred career paths and to be ready once you enter college. But for others, senior high school is not necessary. For them, it is just a waste of time because instead of being a college already, you need to take senior high school time. It has different tracks to choose, such as Academic track, Technical Vocational Livelihood track, Sports Track, and Arts and Design track. Accounting, Business and Management Strand (ABM) is a strand that belongs to Academic track that students can take aside from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), General Academic Strand (GAS), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS). After taking Senior High School, it is the time that you will receive your High School Diploma.

Being a student is fun, there is a lot of new things that you will learn, you will meet new people, and you will be able to explore. But despite those things, there are also hardships and struggles that you might face along the way. Taking ABM will be difficult. ABM Strand focuses on the concepts of management and accounting. Students who want to become an Accountant or in the field of Business, ABM is the strand for you. It can help students increase their skills and widen their knowledge to be ready in College Life. For example, making a business plan, advertising, and the basics of preparing journals, ledger, financial statements (Accounting). It is like an orientation for those students who will take Accountancy or any business related courses after their Senior High School. With the help of this, it will be easier for the students when they start college because they have studied the basic things that they need to know unlike before when there is no program like these, after Highschool, students enter college without knowing the basic things that should know.

Calculator, journal, and worksheet are the must have for an ABM Student. These things are not just things, these are very important things because these are the most used for almost every day especially when there are activities. You might confuse why the calculator is needed. It is a must have because even if it is basic math you still need a calculator because it is basic math with large numbers. In terms of attitude and skills, it needs a lot of effort and deep analysis. It does not require you to be good at Mathematics but still, love math even if it is different to understand, even if it is boring sometimes and difficult to understand, even if there is so many formulas and equations to remember. It will challenge your analytical skills in analyzing transactions that are very complicated and hard to understand. Numerical, leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills are the skills that can help to become entrepreneurs or an individual that will manage a company. It also requires you to have creativeness and logical skills. Creativeness because in marketing you need to have a unique strategy and plan to promote products and to encourage the people to patronize your product. And Logical skills because there are questions that the answer is there, just have common sense. Having those things will really help you a lot to pass those problems.

Along the way, you will conquer some challenges. At first, you might think to give up but it is just in the beginning maybe because you are adjusting with the subjects and the things that the professors ask you to do but when the time comes when you adapt with the environment, it will be slightly easier unlike in the beginning. According to a research study, ABM students encounter difficulties in learning Mathematics. This study seeks to investigate, know and research why ABM students encounter difficulties in learning Mathematics and what are the factors affecting it. It shows that there are student’s factor and teacher’s factor. In Student’s factor, students experiencing pressure towards the subject that is why they find it hard to learn Mathematics. In the teacher’s factor, the teacher may not have a teaching style that is why the students cannot catch up. These factors affect so much in students. It leads them to have a hard time coping and understanding the lessons and as result, the students tend to get low grades. One of the struggles is having difficulty in time management. There is a lot of activities, tasks, and assignments that the professors will give. You need to know what you should do first and also when you are going to study. Procrastinating is not advisable to do. Do not waste your time. If you have time, do it and do not wait for tomorrow so that you will not problem it anymore. Decision making is a challenge to students because they need to look into it deeper. They must know how to make good and intelligent decisions in order to become a good entrepreneur.

ABM is not an easy strand. Actually, there is no easy strand, it is also difficult and hard. There is a lot of reason why it is a tough strand. The lessons are one of those reasons. It is arduous, but it depends how on students will handle it. The combination of perseverance and patience is the best. As I have said, it needs to exert a lot of effort, so if the students do not have perseverance in terms of reading and analyzing transactions, it may be hard for the students to conquer this strand. Just know your priorities and have focus, you can make it. Patience is also essential in studying some lessons because there are things that you will not learn easily. It might be tough and rough but with perseverance and patience, you will overcome those challenges and hardships. Also, despite those hardships, it is very beneficial because those activities can really improve your skills as a student. You will learn what is your purpose as an ABM student and you will also know what are your own weaknesses are and how to overcome it. According to a student who took up ABM strand, in ABM you will learn a lot of things, You will be Mathematics friendly, you are free to express everything, you will meet more friends, you can explore Mathematics, you may learn how to manage a business, you can improve your business-minded ability, you may know how to be a successful accountant, you can learn how to effectively manage your own management, your efforts are not worthless and most especially in ABM you will not just be better but you will the best.

Having hard times is just normal for a student. You will encounter many struggles in studying. Those challenges are just challenging your capacities as a student. While taking ABM strand you might have sleepless nights because of the requirements that you need to pass, you might have headaches because of the mathematical problems that you are repeatedly solving, and you might think to give because of the stress that you might feel. You can do something about that. These sufferings can help you to be a better person and these can give you learnings that can help when you enter college. Reading those things might get you afraid to take this strand, please do not. Every hardship there will be a result of success as an exchange. If it is your dream, do not give up, remember nothing is impossible. Enjoy everything that you do. Do not let your fears take your dreams. Believe in yourself that you can do it. You can do what you think you cannot. So, are you going to take the ABM strand? In every decision, you made always seek God’s Guidance. Rizal one’s stated that “Children are the nation’s future”. Do not be discouraged with the difficult things you experience but let it be your inspiration to overcome it.

Students face a variety of academic challenges in universities. University is harder than and very different from high school, thus many students find it hard to cope and find balance. Students are required to put in more effort than usual in order to understand and chow the course. The magnitude of academic difficulty is high, so focus and discipline are essential. In this essay I will be discussing the sociological imagination and the problems of university students in African countries.

‘Sociological Imagination’ was invented by C. Wright Mills (1916-1962), an American sociologist. Sociological imagination is the ability to interlink your personal life problems with that of the society. “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both” (Mills, 1959: 3). Sociological imagination connects the two poles of social understating and examination, which are the individual and society. With sociological imagination people can discern the basic issues that affect their lives. And the individuals can deal with their matters, which might improve both their own situation and that of society. The sociological imagination enables one to look at an issue not with a personal perspective (lacking personally) but social perspective. This helps individuals to realize their personal troubles relate to social issues.

Take this example, you come from a poor background and you go to school on an empty stomach. Your school doesn’t have a feeding scheme and this affect your studies because you can’t concentrate in class, you don’t have the necessary stationery, you’ve been failing tests and you starting to doubt your own future. This creates personal problems for you. Now let’s take you and most of your classmates failed the term because of being poor. You all now share the same issue considered as a social problem. Poverty is a social issue. This problem is no longer seen as your personal issue, you are not blamed for this condition, it is a product of social strife.

Personal problem occurs within the characters of the individual and within the range of his or her immediate relations with others; they have to do with one’s self and within those limited areas of social life of which one is directly and personally aware. A problem is something bad that you have to deal with privately. Being robbed is a personal problem because you lose your belongings and that could raise your stress levels which can affect your health. Social issue has to do with matters that transcend these local environments of the individual and the range of her inner life. They have to do with the organization of many such milieu into the institutions of a historical society as a whole, with the ways which various milieu overlap and interpenetrate to form the largest structure of social and historical life. An issue is a public matter: some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened. Issues are connected with difficult decisions, and involve crisis in institutional arrangements.

A young adult in my neighborhood went to The University of Johannesburg (DFC) to study Business Management in 2015. While his mom who is paying for his fees thought he was studying he was going wild in night clubs every week, skipping lectures and never submitting assessments. When they asked about the first semester results, he kept on stalling them until they forgot; he failed the first semester and the second one as well. The following year her sisters took it upon themselves to go to the institution and do a follow up because according to them the results never came out. What they got is a very scary record and he had to drop out. He had a n alcohol addiction, a very bad one.

This was created by the society because before varsity, he wasn’t like this. Peer pressure and bad influence led to change in his behavior. So, this is a personal problem as his life is breaking down, he lost his family’s trust and has to deal with himself as a human being, it’s also a social issue because alcoholism is one of our problems as a country, a rate of university dropouts has increased as well as unemployment.

An examination was done to explore the pervasiveness of substance abuse and misuse of substance use among understudies at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban, South Africa. The examination used a cross-sectional review structure and gathered information from an advantageous example of 515 understudies. The investigation found that alcohol is as the most widely recognized substance utilize. Despite the fact that life time alcohol usage (68%) and use inside the previous three months (57%) was high, 17.5% of the students were found to be extensively engaged in alcohol consumption. Male students were more in danger for unsafe substance use, and altogether extraordinary on cannabis use from female students. White and Colored students were additionally observed to be unsafe alcohol clients. The student’s general Psychological capital (PsyCap) was high, however scores were low in self-adequacy. Male students PsyCap were significantly higher than of female students.

One of every seven grown-ups confess to being gorge drinkers, yet business analysis state the issue is probably going to be much more terrible. In view of affirmations in a study of 20 00 adults, UCT analysts state 4.8 billion mixed beverages were expended in 2014/15. Yet, in the equivalent period, the South African Income Administration gathered extract obligations on four-fold the number of beverages. Furthermore, an assessment in 2017 found that just 14.6% of alcohol utilization was represented in confirmations amid the National Income Dynamics Study.

Students ought to be made mindful of the negative outcomes of substance on their wellbeing and prosperity and intercessions should be coordinated at upgrading strength and commitment in more wellbeing advancing ways of life through supportive environments and skills building opportunities. Campaigns around responsible alcohol consumptions should be run more often and alcohol age should be increased to an age where people are really responsible.

The sociological imagination makes us to see the general in the particular and it helps people and sociologists acknowledge general patterns in the behavior of specific individuals. One can think of the sociological perspective as one’s own personal choice and how society plays a role in shaping individuals’ lives (Macionis, Gerber, 2010). So, we are nothing without the sociological imagination. In order to understand any problem, you must look at it with an objective view so that you can see the external factors causing it.

The United Kingdom’s universities are the second most popular choice for higher education in the world for students from overseas. Furthermore, the interesting fact is that 15% of the student population in the United Kingdom, mostly in England are international students (Al-Quhen, KY, 2012). Purpose of this essay is to provide international students perceptions of their educational experiences at English university. University of Central Lancashire is well-known as a very friendly place for international students from all over the world. By qualitative and quantitative data, this essay is to examine different kind of issues: language, social, cultural, such as other manner or behaviors represents in the same situations. Main point is to present cultural clashes between international students at University of Central Lancashire. Questions in this essay are what are the intentions, purpose and what guidance students from different countries use to study at UCLan and issues they face on daily basis both in a way of study and live.

There is a need of encouragement at a very high level to decide to study abroad. Hypothetically it seems like there is a purpose of facing cultural clashes within the English culture. However, when look inside the University of Central Lancashire must develop their decision making, strategies and change their way of living in a way to deal with more than English origin students. UCLan is very helpful at the beginning of this journey. Staff responsible for international students made their best and still develop to make student’s life easier. The website is a repository of knowledge about how to prepare yourself to study in Preston. Many different forms of communication, airport information and collection and other forms of help are extremely helpful. Students at university level tend to show and highlight their experiences from their perspective of studying and dealing with cultural clashes between different nationalities.

Nowadays there is a lot of opportunities of international placements all around the world available for a wider and still growing number of people. The aim of this essay is to define as well as explore challenges that international students face by studying at UCLan and in the United Kingdom.

How Do International Students Cooperate and What Are They Challenges?

According Michael Byram’s (1997) model of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) there is 5 factors of development to achieve a satisfactory level in intercultural communication, skills of interpreting and relating, knowledge, critical cultural awareness, attitudes (savoir être) and /skills of discovery and interaction. Each of them answers the question ‘what?’ and expand by giving an example of development those skills.

Language Barriers (Idioms, Slang, Local Dialect)

One of the biggest challenges for international students is language. Even though English seems to be an international language. People who are non-native speakers, no matter of years of learning the language, still face many issues associated with it. For many international students who have achieved the language criteria to study in the UK are not prepared for living and dealing with every-day life as well as communication with other non-native speakers. Fluency in English does not affect the academic achievement of international students. Furthermore, it is significantly associated with both academic success and psychological adaptation (Poyrazili, 2003). It may be the most important factor in achieving positive learning outcomes for international students. Lack of language communication skills can lead to confusion, misunderstandings, anxiety and stress associated with participation in presentations and other performances. It can cause the alienation from the side of the students. Also, according to students at UCLan need to probably for the first time in their lives have a contact with Northern English accents and dialects which are not taught at school.

Social and Cultural Adjustment

Many international students talk about mixed emotions in the beginning of their transition as well as recognizing unique and exciting opportunities to mix with those of different nationalities. In order to address some of these negative feelings and enhance the positive, Bartram (2008) suggests that students should be offered counselling and mental support. Not all the international students will actively seek out such support, which means that the university needs to promote these services and encourage them to participate. Essential part of the first weeks is to turn down the anxiety in those students which can smoothly turn into confidence. University of Central Lancashire provide by themselves but also advertise many other events where international students can adjust themselves and find their place at English university.

Study Help

Every country represents their own educational system. Grading system at UCLan can be confusing for international students. Project groups with a mix of students from different backgrounds is a good way to face new terms as a group. Also, there is a platform where students ask other students with help of search of level of studies, area of studies and countries, so nobody is left on their own. This is a great opportunity to find an academic support from experienced students. However, University of Central Lancashire provided a ‘Buddy program’ for Korean students in the 2018/2019 academic year. From all the above, not only international students but every student has the academic advisor on the campus. They can always set an appointment when is needed in their office hours and they keep a contact with each of their students.

Social Networks

The UCLan Facebook community is a place where students can expect all information’s from university. It can also help make friends with other people from same or different course or subject area not necessarily form the same country.

Indian community at UCLan. created the ‘Indian society’ group on Facebook and organize many events to help people from India by sharing experiences to get to know more of Preston and its culture. Apart from the Indian society, Students Union at UCLan are successfully run the Chinese society group. They are holding events such as Chinese New Year Gala, Second Hand Market, matches of LOL, CSSA Welcome Party, singing competition etc. They provide a membership card which contain a discount for shops and restaurants, also lower enters for all the events they organize.

Blogpreston.co.uk provides the latest news from Preston and UCLan campus. It was founded by Ed Walker in 2008. There are many different articles and different way of finding information to gain interest of a wider range of people. This is also another way of helping international students dig into the new society.

Culture Shock

Term ‘culture shock’ is an issue highlighted through many authors and is described via Brown and Holloway (2008) as anxiety from losing acquainted signs and symbols of social sex which is tough to assess. It is a duration of mourning for one’s own cultural context that’s also associated with the idea of ‘homesickness’. There is no set time period over which college students enjoy culture shock and it need to be referred to that each student adjusts at a special pace (Brown and Holloway, 2008; Wang et al., 2012). It is a natural human reaction when changing places from familiar to unfamiliar one. What is important is not to avoid and reject thought of having a culture shock, on the contrary once faced will benefit in the future. There are four main stages of culture shock: initial euphoria/ the honeymoon stage, irritation and hostility/ the negotiation stage, gradual understanding/ the adjustment stage and adaptation or biculturalism. Each stage’s time depends on personal adjustment. However, sometimes it appears as a study abroad depression (Go Overseas, 2020). Culture shock is strong component that appears in student’s life when they decide to study overseas. University of Central Lancashire provides many forms of support and one of them is the place called ‘Oasis’. University tries to take care of mental wellness of international students by providing place to meditate, pray and clear student’s mind from anxieties.

Cultural Differences

As already mentioned and supported via the work of Brown and Holloway (2008), students come to the United Kingdom to be able to enhance their cultural awareness and there is a possibility to cross cultural differences in the getting to know the environment. Many students are labelled because of their cultural background. According to Hofstede’s 6 cultural dimensions, every country has their own certain values and beliefs and live in a very different ways than others. It is not easy to adjust to the country which is from two opposite sides of any of 6 dimensions presented by Hofstede, which are: power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long vs. short term orientation, indulgence vs. restraint (Mindtools, 2020).

Hofstede points out that these factors affect multicultural communication and it is useful to apply them in real life. As a result, people may avoid wrong judgment by lack of knowledge about other’s culture.

Those establishments with international students need to end up familiar with specific values. The wish is to discover cultural diversity on the way of studies. However, there may be a want to adapt swiftly to the new culture. This can project a few students’ progress in becoming unbiased thinkers and agents for change. The combination of struggles of academic and daily life in time of pressure during the transition is a typical student’s experience. Successful transition requires deep knowledge and support to gain enough skills to deal with cultural differences at UCLan and any other university in the world.

Conclusion

To sum up all the above, Byram’s model of intercultural competence is a very useful tool to use in practice for students who decided to study overseas. Also, to understand properly term ‘intercultural awareness’, Hofstede’s makes it clear that every country has its own individual insights about life and their values.

All in all, international students will doubtlessly have many issues and stresses to deal with whilst coming to study inside the United Kingdom. This essay identified main issues that international students are dealing with while study abroad. There are many positive reasons for choosing to an overseas country, however, with an assistance from the foreign student, domestic student and the university. All events provided by university can help them to broaden an international graduate that could make a distinction in their country once they return from overseas experience. It can benefit in their future lives as a proven skill in intercultural awareness and communication within many different nations. Nevertheless, to be able to understand other people from different countries, nationalities, backgrounds, religions, certain values and beliefs are crucial to explore all of them layers. Even if it is not possible to achieve at full, it is essential to be aware of many issues according to intercultural communication existence. There is therefore a need to cooperate to provide high-quality reinforcement, which will encourage large numbers of students within the United Kingdom, England and in this case especially at University of Central Lancashire.

References

1. Al-Quhen, KY (2012). Cultural Diversity in University Requirements and Among International Students at Al al-Bay University in Jordan. European Journal of Social Science 28(4): 489–501.
2. Anderson, L. E. (1994). A New Look at an Old Construct: Cross-Cultural Adaptation. International Journal of Intercultural Relationships, 18, pp. 293–328.
3. Anon, (2020). Strategies for the Improvement of International Students’ Academic and Cultural Experiences of Studying in the UK.ResearchGate. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238726630_Strategies_for_the_Improvement_of_International_Students’_Academic_and_Cultural_Experiences_of_Studying_in_the_UK?enrichId=rgreq-4df7eab5df70f50ed536eda075d72dae-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzODcyNjYzMDtBUzoyNjg0NDMyMTU3MjQ1NTBAMTQ0MTAxMzI1ODQ5OQ==&el=1_x_3&_esc=publicationCoverPdf [Accessed 4 Jan. 2020].
4. Barron, P., and N. D’Annunzio-Green. 2009. ‘’A Smooth Transition? Education and Social Expectations of Direct Entry Students’. Active Learning in Higher Education 10 (1): 7_25.
5. Becoming Intercultural: An Integrative Theory of Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation. (2001). Choice Reviews Online, 39(01), pp.39-0378-39-0378.
6. Berger, P. L. and Luckmann, T. (1966) The Social Construction of Reality (Harmondsworth, Penguin).
7. Beven, J. P. 2007. ‘Bridging Diversity to Achieve Engagement: ’The Sentence is Right’ Game Show Rip Off’. Teaching and Learning Forum 2007.
8. Blog Preston. (2020). Chance to Explore the History of Preston’s University. [online] Available at: https://www.blogpreston.co.uk/category/preston-news/uclan-2/page/13/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2020].
9. Brown, L, Holloway, I (2008) The Initial Stage of the International Sojourn: Excitement or Culture Shock? British Journal of Guidance & Counselling 36(1): 33–49.
10. Burslem, D. A. (2004) Preface, in: International Students in UK Universities and Chinese learner: Cultural, Psychological and Contextual Influences (pp. 85–106). Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre and Australian Council of Educational Research.
11. Byram (Eds.). Language and Culture (pp. 84–97). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
12. Byram, M. and Feng, A. (2006). Living and Studying Abroad. Clevedon [England]: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
13. Campbell, A (2010) Developing Generic Skills and Attributes of International Students: The Irrelevance of the Australian University Experience. Journal of Higher Education, Policy and Management 32(5): 487–497.
14. Coleman, J. A. (2004) Study Abroad, in: M. Byram (Ed).
15. Routledge Encyclopaedia of Language Teaching and Learning, pp. 582–584 (London, Routledge).
16. Emerald.com. (2020). International Students’ Motivations for Studying in UK HE: Insights into the Choice and Decision Making of African Students| Emerald Insight. [online] Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09513540710780000/full/html [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020].
17. Gibson, S. (2015). Constructions of ‘the Polish’ in Northern England: Findings From a Qualitative Interview Study, Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 10.5964/jspp.v3i2.414, 3, 2, (43-62).
18. Go Overseas. (2020). How to Deal with Culture Shock while Studying Abroad. [online] Available at: https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-culture-shock-while-studying-abroad [Accessed 1 Jan. 2020].
19. ‘Graduate Students’. Journal of College Student Development 43: 634_642.
20. Hofstede, G. (1986) Cultural Differences in Teaching and Learning. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10, pp. 301–320.
21. Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s Consequences, 2nd ed (Thousand Oaks, Sage).
22. Jin, L., and Cortazzi, M. (1998). The Culture the Learner Brings: A Bridge or a Barrier. In M. Byram and M. Fleming (Eds.), Intercultural learning in intercultural perspective (pp. 98–118). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and culture. Oxford, OX: Oxford University Press.
23. Jones, S. (2020). Arrival into the UK | International Students |University of Central Lancashire. [online] UCLan – University of Central Lancashire. Available at: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/study_here/undergraduate/applicants/arrival-uk.php [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020].
24. Mindtools.com. (2020). Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: – Understanding Different Countries. [online] Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm [Accessed 2 Jan. 2020].
25. Oberg, K. 1954. ‘Culture Shock’. Panel discussion at the Midwest regional meeting of the Institute of International Education in Chicago, November 28.
26. Poyrazli, S., C. Arbona, A. Nora, R. McPherson, and T. Nelson. 1999. ‘Relation Between Assertiveness, Academic Self-efficacy, and Psychological Adjustment Among International.
27. Poyrazili, S (2003) Ethnic Identity and Psychosocial Adjustment Among International Students. Psychological Reports 92(2): 512–514.
28. Quan, R., Smailes, J. and Fraser, W. (2013). The Transition Experiences of Direct Entrants from Overseas Higher Education Partners into UK Universities. Teaching in Higher Education, 18(4), pp.414-426.
29. SAGE Journals. (2020). Providing a Positive Learning Experience for International Students Studying at UK Universities: A Literature Review – Sue Lillyman, Clare Bennett, 2014. [online] Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1475240914529859 [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020].
30. Suryadinata, L. (2011). Migration, Indigenization, and Interaction. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific. Universitiesuk.ac.uk, (2016). Universities UK – Patterns and trends in UK higher education 2014. [online] Available at: http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/ [Accessed 31 Dec. 2019].
31. Teachingenglishmf.weebly.com. (2020). [online] Available at: https://teachingenglishmf.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/3/4/10340840/byram_icc_model.pdf [Accessed 2 Jan. 2020].
32. University of Central Lancashire Students’ Union. (2020). Chinese Society – CSSA @ University of Central Lancashire Students’ Union. [online] Available at: https://www.uclansu.co.uk/groups/chinese-society-cssa [Accessed 6 Jan. 2020].
33. https://www.uclan.ac.uk/schools/humanities-language-global-studies/iksu/buddy-programme.php
34. https://www.uclan.ac.uk/study_here/ask-a-student.php

The number of international students enrolled in Western English-speaking universities has significantly increased in the last 10 years, and is a trend expected to continue. There are 125, 392 international students studying in New Zealand, and New Zealand Education (2018) suggest a consistent growth of this number. In Australia, it is predicted that the number of international students will rise to over 800,000 by 2018, and will increase ‘sevenfold’ by 2025 (Ryan & Carroll, 2005). In Australia, 80% of international students are those with non-native English-speaking backgrounds, particularly from Asian countries (IDP, 2005). The increasing number of English language learners presents challenges for not only these students, but also the schooling systems. However, it is not only language barriers holding these students back, and this essay aims to outline the key cross-cultural barriers facing these NESB students in their academic studies. The following essay aims to identify these barriers in NESB student life, and to determine the primary patterns in research in order to have a broader understanding of why the above statistics occur. It will also offer implications on how to overcome these barriers, from the perspective of the institutions and all students. 10 academic studies were evaluated to identify repeating patterns in the area of NESB student communication barriers. It appeared that many components of student life contribute to the difficulties NESB students face, namely learning styles, course guidance, international student support, discrimination, class communication and social support.

Course Guidance and International Student Support

Wolf and Phung (2019) found that support services, particularly tutoring and social interaction programs helpful, but recommended more speaking opportunities and ‘life support’ for future students. Burk and Wyatt-Smith (1996) found similar views in that non-native English speakers needed very explicit directions and much more guidance than English-speaking students. Burk and Wyatt-Smith’s 1996 study revealed that many participants did not attend Orientation Day because they were at work commitments and reluctant to take time off, many who now regret missing out on being shown how to access books, journals, and other resources. Burk and Wyatt-Smith (1992) found that many students refused to see ESL councilors for help with assignments, as they felt as graduate students, they were responsible for overcoming their own English language weaknesses. In this study, several participants knew psychological counselling services were available, however not one student had sought this assistance. Although institutional services and facilities (such as learning support, health services, and vocational guidance) were found to be rated as good or excellent, students appeared relatively uninformed of these services (Ward & Masgoret, 2004). In relation to this, Treloar (2000) found common themes emerging from focus group discussions, including issues with course structure, group learning, assessment, support, and proficiency with mainstream Australian English. The study found that participants felt that examination questions had little relationship to the course, and a major absence of guidelines and direction during examination preparation (Treloar et al., 2000). Additionally, these participants raised concerns of the unstandardized nature of the assessor’s activities such as oral assessments ‘blatantly unfair’ (Treloar et al., 2000). The students perceived program support for international students as disappointing, with some participants strengthening this perception that ‘all they want is our money’ (Treloar et al., 2000). Mullins, Quintrel and Hancock (2006) also found that students were provided with inadequate information about course material, a critical point which can have undesirable consequences for student fulfilment and achievement. Mullins, Quintrel and Hancock (2006) reported that course content was a noteworthy area of concern with NESB students, predominantly regarding the examination procedure. Most students did not have a strong understanding of the criteria staff were using in exam work, and what was or wasn’t satisfactory (Mullins, Quintrel & Hancock, 2006). Furthermore, they found that students were not concerned with their own shortcomings, but the inadequacies in the teaching, services, facilities and social setting (Mullins, Quintrel & Hancock, 2006). It was recommended that staff needed to try to clarify more visibly, be inspiring, and comprehend the education system differences (Jones, Roberson & Line, 1999). Long (2008) identified several opinions on institutional offerings, including several NESB students enrolling in smaller classes, which significantly helped them to focus and allows for more personal attention and interaction with teachers.

Communication in the Classroom

Marlina (2009) found that NESB students see tutorial and lecture participation as both enjoyable and educationally beneficial, indicating that if they were to feel comfortable participating, they would do so. The participants in Marlina’s 2009 study made a point in arguing that they do not just ‘sit there’, but actively listen, think, process and link with prior knowledge before expressing their opinion. Marina (2009) concluded that NESB students were more likely to participate if their teacher is ‘enthusiastic, motivating, and accepting’, while less likely where peers and teachers exhibit stereotypical ‘passive behavior’. When teachers are perceived as showing preference towards English-speaking Australian students, sending non-verbal messages that students are ‘unintelligent’, or teaching in an authoritarian way, NESB students interpret this as disrespectful and are more likely to withdraw (Marlina, 2009). Long (2008) identified a number of key issues in the area of improving outcomes for NESB students. Collaboration was a major issue where the research suggests that mainstream English teachers should endeavor to seek advice from professionally trained ESL teachers when they feel a student is struggling to meet class expectations (Long, 2008). Staff also found this to be acceptable as they felt it was a major issue that could support both teachers and students (Long, 2008). Burk and Wyatt-Smith (1996) also found that students had complications speaking English during tutorials and lectures, affirming a major problem with the American English taught to them being very dissimilar to the Australian colloquialism. Mullins, Quintrel and Hancock (2006) found that contribution in tutorials and seminars were a strong apprehension for various students, with seventeen percent demonstrating these problems were serious. Singh (2019) found challenges in academic speaking practices, lack of self-assurance in communicating orally, and lack of English language proficiency as major indications of the success of NESB students. Predominantly, it was acknowledged that many students can proficiently communicate orally but choose not to speak up until they are prompted or stimulated to, in which typically results in admirable communication (Singh, 2019). A key aspect contributing to this is the difficulties these students have in relation to their local peers (Mullins, Quintrel & Hancock, 2006). Burns (1991) found similar results where NESB students had extreme trouble in joining discussion, due to not only inadequate English, but cultural values relating to questioning authority figures. A lecturer in Singh’s 2019 study stressed that her colleagues are more animated and use more technical and specialist lexis associated to their field. Moreover, this participant described fast speaking and the use of words less commonly used in ‘normal’ discussions which affected the readiness of student classroom interaction (Singh, 2019). A momentous finding in Long’s 2008 study was delivery of content in that teachers needed to develop an awareness of the impact of selective choice of vocabulary, writing, and delivery of instructions on the understanding by NESB students. Also apparent was the benefit of using legible handwriting in lectures and in marking student work (Long, 2008).

Learning Styles

In Singh’s 2019 student, 13 lecturers raised the issue of difference in learning culture as crucial to the academic success of NESB students. In their 1996 study, Burk and Wyatt-Smith found that writing was perceived by all NESB participants to be their greatest difficulty. Burk and Wyatt-Smith (1996) found that on the 31 participants, only a few reported a fairly strong sense of conflict between the learning styles at home and in their host country. Although there were few remarks concerning approaches to knowledge and academic authority, a number of Asian students perceived lecturers not having time for appointments, or that they preferred help from equivalent students (Burk & Wyatt-Smith, 1996). Poyrazli and Isaiah (2018) found unfamiliarity with the U.S. college system a key causative factor in the success of NESB students, affirming that the large classes, grading system, education style and class arrangement among the topmost influences. Wolf and Phung (2019) summarized the key findings from their quantitative and qualitative analyses, stating that most complications found in NESB learning stemmed from the linguistic strains of the writing and listening tasks, and the participants unfamiliarity with the academic writing style. Gil and Katsara (1999) found that a high percentage of NESB students didn’t collect any material on the education system of their host country, or even their own program of study.

Social Support

Wehbe (2013) describes the common complications facing English learners in an academic environment. He identifies culture shock as a cause of anxiety originating from language challenges, social isolation, identity confusion, weather and food differences, accommodation, homesickness, role and status change, and a new education system. Poyrazli and Isaiah (2018) found that cultural differences led to impediments on social interactions both in and out of the classroom, including making friends, language barriers, understanding accents and prejudice and discrimination. The social support systems within ethnic and racial groups fulfil a profusion of constructive roles, including coming together to authenticate and share experiences, providing a sense of belonging, and a sense of self-worth (Smith, 1991; Tajfel, 1981 & Turner, 1984). In their 2018 study, Poyrazli and Isaiah found that several students had difficulty making friends with their new American peers, leading to interactions being between people from their own countries.

Discrimination

In Poyrazli and Isaiah’s 2018 study, one student reflected their experience of discrimination as high because he was from the Middle East: “Maybe because of the politics that’s going on right now, but when you meet someone, ‘where are you from?’ the second they know you’re from the Middle East or you’re international, some people are interested, some start asking questions, and some people just take step back and get quiet… That was a bit of a cultural shock to me because back home in Syria, we have Christians, we have Muslims, we have people who come from out of town, we all talk together and hang out together. Here it was different”. Of high concern to NESB students was contact and developing relationships with New Zealanders. One in four students said they had no communications with New Zealanders in social surroundings, and over a third stated they had no New Zealand friends (Ward & Masgoret, 2004). Though it can be claimed that NESB students have a habit of being exclusive, seventy percent of these students advised they wanted more New Zealand friends, and findings established that amplified contact with New Zealanders positively impact academic, social, and psychological outcomes for NESB students (Ward & Masgoret, 2004). The previous paragraph explains why international students tend to form ‘alliances’ with one another. Treloar et al. (2000) found that NESB participants experienced serious levels of racism, professed to be a major determining factor of how alienated they felt. Participants reported that this racism dropped confidence, reduced participation, and contributed to feelings of isolation (Treloar et al., 2000). Mullins, Quintrel and Hancock (2006) found that ten percent of international students specified prejudice and racism was a serious problem, and fifty two percent indicated it was a minor problem, also finding that international students rated fair treatment of international students as poor.

Conclusion and Implementations

This literature review highlights the barriers facing NESB students in the English-speaking classroom. The results call for recommendations for higher education institutes to improve the educational experience of NESB students. Communication in the classroom and course guidance are leading barriers among the literature, and discrimination, learning styles, social support and financial barriers a mentioned in a significant proportion of the literature. The major gap in the literature is in the small sample size or participants, where quantified data could contribute immensely. Particularly, the use of summary statistics is influential in gaining support for international student studies, which can result in more support of the reader. In the future, it is recommended that both qualitative and quantitative data research are employed in such studies. It is also recommended that further research be done on strategies to overcome the barriers for NESB students, that can be applicable to both the student and the teacher. With the ever-increasing number of international students worldwide, particularly NESB in Western universities, this topic demands attention.

Bibliography

1. Akram Meri, P. M. (2003). Meeting the Challenges of Cultural Diversity in the Academic Setting. Nurse Education in Practice, 5-22.
2. Boehm, G. M. (1995). Aboriginal Canadian University Students: A Comparison of Students Who Withdrew and Tudents Who Continue. Australian Journal of Adult and Community Education, 141-156.
3. Burns, R. B. (1991). Study and Stress Amoung First Year Overseas Students in an Australian University. Higher Research Education and Development, 61-77.
4. Carla Treloar, N. M.-A. (2000). Factors Affecting Progress of Australian and Internaitonal Students in a Problem-Based Learning Medical Course. Medical Education, 708-715.
5. Christopher Sonn, B. B. (2000). Encounters with the Dominant Culture: Voice of Indigenous Students in Mainsteam Higher Education. Australian Psychologist, 128-135.
6. Gerry Mullins, N. Q. (1995). The Experiences of International and Local Students at Three Australian Universities. Higher Education Research and Development, 201-231.
7. Gorman, D. D. (1999). Cultural Disadvantage of Nursing Students. International Education.
8. Katsara, M. G. (1999). The Experiences of Spanish and Greek Students in Adapting to UK Higher Education: The Creation of New Support Strategies.
9. Masgoret, C. W.-M. (2004). The Experiences of Internaitonal Students in New Zealand.
10. Susan Jones, M. R. (1999). Teaching and Valuing the Voices of International Students in Universities. HERDSA Annual International COnference, Melbourne 12-15 July.
11. U.S. Department of Commerce. (2004). Language Use and English Speaking Ability: 2000. U.S. Department of Commerce.
12. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). National Assessment of Educational Progress: The Nations Report Card. U.S. Department of Education.
13. White, G. J. (1994). Differences Between Values of Australian Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Students. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 394-408.

This module has helped me gain both academic and personal skills that would prepare me to undertake real business scenarios I may face in my career. My reflective statement aims to show my journey so far by detailing my experiences, stating what skills I have and need to develop and what I aim to have achieved by the end of this module, course, and my time spent at university. Within the first weeks of the course, I set out ‘SMART Targets’ (Doran, 1981) which focus on setting ‘smart, measurable achievable, realistic, and time-based goals. (Day and Tosey, 2011) I set these (see Appendix Week 1 and 2) as I wanted to improve my performance throughout the module and these set SMART Targets I set for the 12 Weeks included: finish any work set three days before the deadline, do two hours of extra reading a week surrounding the module and not getting behind on logging my reflections each week.

Referring back to these targets when tasks were set throughout the past months improved my self-awareness as I focused on my ‘emotions, personality traits,…goals, perceptions’ (Morin, 2011). My emotional intelligence developed due to logging reflections each week which pushed me to discuss how I felt. An example of my emotional intelligence improving was when selecting a project manager. Knowing there was going to be a teamwork setting, I previously evaluated how I perform in a team. Normally putting myself forward for the lead role, I decided not to. Being aware of myself, I know my personality can come across as ‘bossy’ or ‘dominating’ and I wanted to see how I did if I took a different role. ‘Emotional intelligence influences an employee’s ability or inability to perform their job by managing their emotions…Having this social awareness affects a person’s capacity to manage workplace demands…’ (Davis, 2019) Both experiences taught me that it is essential to be self-aware and develop emotional intelligence when undertaking tasks as you can affect judgment, what is best for the task, the success level of the outcome, and working environment.

In most jobs working within a team occurs regularly. There were two group projects handed out. Project 1 (see appendix Week 3) had us present during Week 7 then I reflected on it using Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle which splits the reflection into six stages of ‘exploring an experience’ (Gibbs, 1988) (see Appendix Week 7). The reflection under ‘feelings’ is significant as it acknowledges how I felt about the presentation. As well, the evaluation and conclusion section as I identified where the project went wrong, what could of be done better, and how I would do it again which was good preparation for Project 2. (see Appendix Week 9). Project 2 was presented in Week 11, I reflected using a method similar to ‘5W1H problem solving’ (Kipling, 1902) (Jinks, 2019) where there was a set of questions that helped to focus on different parts of the reflection. I felt there were noticeable differences in how I worked, how the team worked, and what we achieved in our presentations in Week 7 vs Week 11. In Project 1 I wasn’t confident because of how we worked, and what we produced, and communication levels were low. However, in Project 2, although we had less time and a bigger task, what we produced was better due to improved communication. (see Appendix Week 7 and 11) My biggest challenge with teamwork was adjusting to online teams as never had done teamwork online. If we worked on another project, I believe having more group meetings would have helped us more. The teamwork I did within this module taught me that when you face challenges you need different perspectives for solutions.

Employees are often handed tasks that suit their abilities which helps achieve ‘maximum efficiency’ (Taylor, 1909). We undertook similar methods and selected a project manager and I got assigned a deputy which helped decide on individual tasks. (see Appendix Week 5) We discussed what we each were best at and our team leader delegated tasks. We didn’t follow the method strictly but increasing efficiency worked. We followed Taylor’s principles on ‘cooperation’, ‘harmony’, and ‘mental revolution’ (Kaur, Gupta, Dhand, and Gobindgarh, 2020), the idea of being equals and working as one. In Project 2 we used an approach that included more organization than we did in Project 1. Taking inspiration from the ‘Waterfall Model’ (Royce, 1970), a method where ‘each phase must be completed fully before the next phase can begin’ (Abouabdellah, Hassani and Idrissi, 2018), we clarified our process with The Study Skills Handbook. Going from section to section, the phases are: ‘preparation, research, analysis, writing up, and fine-tuning’ (Cottrell, 2019). I felt this was successful for our team as we got our second project done more efficiently even though we had a smaller timeframe to complete it (see Appendix Week 5 and Week 9). I felt more confident in what we produced, and what we had accomplished than I did in Project 1. (see Appendix 11)

Resilience is valued in every aspect of life, career, or personal. Essential for growth, it helps with motivation and reaching goals and has been shown that ‘workers with high resilience have better outcomes in difficult work environment’. (Shatté, Perlman, Smith, and Lynch, 2017) My resilience has developed over the 12 weeks due to both workshop challenges and personal challenges. I felt disappointed after Project 1, questioning myself and my ability but those feelings turned into motivation (see Appendix Week 8 and 9) when discussions about Project 2 started. I knew that I wanted to do better to prove to my tutor, my team but especially myself. I referred back to my reflection logs from Project 1 and identified what I could improve on for Project 2. As seen in my week 5 appendix, I went through a personal set back and it is very easy for personal challenges to affect your motivation. When reflecting on both instances of resilience I decided to add another set of SMART Targets for when I reviewed my action plan after the 12 weeks

For me to be able to put the skills developed through my experiences in this module so far into practice I have created an action plan. By using ‘mini-targets as well as deadlines’ (Cottrell, 2010) I can develop the skills I gained further and it provides a guide to follow as I enter semester two of this module. Action plans are valuable to implement as they assist organizational skills and teamwork, focus on goals, can change to new challenges I may encounter, and adapt as my skills develop.

I. Introduction

Stress is a positive or negative feeling that people experiences on how they will react to situations in their lives whether physically and emotionally. Stress is more about our ability to deal with change than it is about whether that change makes us feel better or awful. Change happens constantly, and stress is in the broad part of what we feel when we are responding to it. According to Han Selye founder of the stress theory, two kinds of stresses is good stress and bad stress. Eustress or also called as good stress gives challenges that people are motivated to work hard and meet their goals. On the other hand, Distress or bad stress results in a stressful situation that leads to a negative health outcome. There are different kinds of people who experience stress with a different reason why they are experiencing it. Students are normally the ones who always experiences academic stress. Men and women have various responses to stress, in both physically and mentally. They attempt to manage stress in very different ways and perceive their ability to do so and the things that stand in their way in markedly different ways. How do men and women handle stress in education?

II. Sections

Stress is an inevitable phenomenon in each aspects of students’ life. It’s typically an emotional imbalance that might be due to many reasons such as exams, assignments, papers and projects, competitive nature in field of study, money issues, distressed regarding future job prospects. Students are typically cope with pressures associated with earn related to marks and to urge a degree is incredibly high.

Academic stress to students includes mental trouble in regards to foreseen academic challenges or disappointment or even the fear of the probability of academic failure. Students also experienced academic stress emerging from both their own desires to exceed expectations just as expectations emerging from their teachers and parents. Student experiences stress because of their exams. Some student who experiences this kind of stress normally undergoes an extreme depression and some commits suicide. Because of the burden that they feel inside of them, they do such things that they did not expect that they could do it.

Recently, Mazumdar, et al. (2012), reported that the different side effects, which lead to stress, for the most part, found in more numbers of females compared with males. Garrett (2001) revealed 5 major provenances among the female that severally are failing in their exams, the pressure of exams, to be rejected by somebody, the break up in their relationship and eventually money issues. Two distressing issues among females are money related and academic issues (Richlin- Klonsky & Hoe, 2003). Kai-Wen (2009) findings advised that in contrast to the female students, the most downside of male is the family problems; the stress of higher grades students related to the mental (emotional) and physical factor; while those of students who take an advance are increasingly distressing in the said issues above.

Calaguas (2011) claimed that the significant difference between the female and male student is because of their view of the subject, lecturers, academic program, and classroom their attitude toward the stressors, but did not significantly differ between enrolment or admission perception, their classmate, and the stressors’ financial issues. If we compare the mentioned points with the male students in the terms of their scores, male students are more stressful than females. While, female students scored higher, this identified with educators, expectations, finances, and classrooms (Calaguas, 2011). Therefore, there is a wide disparity between male and female students toward academic stress. The stressors’ factor, for example, the subjects, the instructors, conditions of academic places like their classes, and the desire for both groups can be connected with this phenomenon.

III. Conclusion

Stress is an inescapable phenomenon in each aspects of students’ life. Stress is more about our ability to deal with change than it is about whether that change makes us feel better or awful. Change happens constantly, and stress is in the broad part of what we feel when we are responding to it. Academic stress to students includes mental trouble in regards to foreseen academic challenges or disappointment or even the fear of the probability of academic failure. The factors that are contributed to the stress are the management of time, communication with lecturers, high standards of parents, student-teacher quantitative relation, distraction in unfavorable surroundings such as class, and expectations of lecturers and etc. The stress levels are completely different between male and female students .Stress effects on the female a lot of more in educational career.it had been also interesting to focus on that important distinction within the perception male and female students relating to the stressors. These various perceptions will be attributed to the male and female perspective.

Abstract

This paper includes my self-reflection with five of the concepts that were covered in class. It also answers the following questions for each of the concepts I’ve covered: Were there personal or professional challenges that contributed to my academic challenges? How could the concepts that I learned in this course benefited me in overcoming a past challenge? How will the concepts that I learned in this course help me overcome any current or future academic challenges? This paper goes into detail about my academic career along with some research articles.

General Studies Self-Reflection Assessment

Throughout this fall semester at Indiana University Northwest, I can honestly say that I’ve progressed the most. This semester felt different to me than any of my previous semesters. I transferred last minute from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis last minute before the fall semester began. The sole purpose behind this last-minute decision was my overall lack of success at the school. I wanted to get myself back on track to succeeding positively like I was used to, especially in high school. I decided that coming back home and getting my head right was the best option. Professor Ballard helped me enroll in courses that would help me get started, one of those courses being GNST-G203. I never really had a specific expectation when I enrolled into this course, and I never really knew what an impact it would actually have on me. Throughout the time span of this course, our small but ambitious class, overcame many barriers that we all possessed with the topics we covered. These topics all covered important ways to progress throughout life personally, academically, and socially. I’m thankful that I ended up taking this course because I ended up incorporating many of these things into my own life. When off the discussion of the specific topic, Professor Ballard was always there to provide real-life examples and awesome advice about stuff that we are going to encounter within our lives: personally, academically, and again, socially. These examples and advice really meant a lot to me when I put them inside of my own life. A majority of the concepts that I know now would have helped me immensely during my courses down in Indianapolis.

When away at school, I never felt as if I belonged. This wasn’t something specifically about my academics, mostly social and eventually lead me to diminish within my academics. I consider this a personal challenge that eventually led to my academic challenge. The topic of belongingness was something we focused on in the beginning of the semester. Belongingness is something that is critical for anyone. There are times when I would just completely struggle with creating the sense of belonging and never knew where to start. I was always shy and outspoken, so this held me back from trying to belong. In an article I found online on the topic of belonging, it states, “College students’ sense of belonging matters because it is related to their academic success and emotional wellbeing” (“Sense of Belonging,” n.d.). I was able to relate to this because I lacked the belongingness, which is something that is important to an individual’s success and wellbeing, as stated. Socially, I didn’t know where I belonged. I would typically just attend class and do some exploring alone around campus. Academically, I rarely participated or spoke up in class. This often made me upset, and it really began to affect me mentally and academically. There are many people in the world that often endure this same feeling and situation, as provided in Appendix A. Taking this course and learning about the ways to belong has now helped me in the present. I’ve began to participate more and even interact with others around campus. I believe that my outcome from IUPUI would be completely different if I had this concept from this course.

Another concept that we discussed was fixed mindset. An academic situation that relates to this concept was my overall view on assignments. This was mostly a personal challenge that contributed to my academic challenge. I dealt a lot with both of these mindsets when it came to my situation. When I began away at school, I constantly kept the same fixed mindset about almost everything that I encountered. I’m not sure why I felt the need to limit myself with this specific mindset. This fixed mindset made me think that I had a max capacity to what I could learn. Having a fixed mindset just comes with negative effects, as shown in the chart under Appendix B. An article I found called Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset: Your Success Hinges on It, included a lot that relatable information. To begin, the article starts off by asking you, what exactly is a mindset? I really feel that was important for anyone that is really trying to understand what their mindset is. As discussed in class, a mindset is basically a simple idea that has a very great effect on a person’s life. It’s the attitude that you adopt towards any of your abilities, intelligence, and your potential. I lacked a strong mindset that was mostly fixed, and rarely included any growth. When you have a fixed mindset, you essentially believe your attributes are fixed and unchanging (“Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset,” n.d.). This mindset came across me once my grades began to fall. I had this thought that I already tried all I could do, even though I didn’t. I lived with this fixed mindset for the longest time and never knew I even had it until this course. Having the discussion about this in class is what made me realize that my mind was stuck during that period of college.

Growth mindset was something that I really didn’t begin to have until the end of Spring 2018 semester to the Fall 2018 semester. This course most definitely progressed me from moving out of a fixed and into a growth mindset. When you have a growth mindset, you tend to see your levels of intelligence, skill, talent, and success with more capacity to grow (“Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset,” n.d.). I realized that I don’t have a limit on how much I can learn and possess. In an article about growth mindset it states, “Students with a growth mindset understand they can get smarter through hard work, the use of effective strategies, and help from others when needed” (“Growth Mindset,” n.d.). I’ve really improved my growth mindset, especially at IUN, because I no longer have those negative fixed thoughts. This has helped me work hard and get the help and resources I need to fix any complications I come across. I believe that if I knew this concept and more of the information we discussed now, I would have been able to easily maintain my grades and overall be happier when I was away. This statement applies for the concept of fixed mindset as well.

Another important concept we discussed was goal setting. This really wasn’t a challenge for me, I just never really practiced it. I never created goals because my mindset was stuck in failure. Within our discussion of goal setting, we went deeper into S.M.A.R.T. goals. The acronym S.M.A.R.T. helps develop a plan to make your declared goal attainable. The best thing about this is that you can use it for anything in your life. In an article discussion S.M.A.R.T. goals, they state, “The S.M.A.R.T. system can work for the following: a new job, losing weight, personal growth, and even starting a business” (“What are SMART Goals?” n.d.). I’ve incorporated goal setting into almost everything in my academics now. When I have assignments due, I create goals to make sure I complete everything on time. I’ve grown within in this concept a lot since my first year of college. As the article I found stated, it works for pretty much anything and I was able to even incorporate it into my workplace. I constantly create attainable goals for myself and make a plan to make sure these goals are always met. It’s helped me advance a lot mentally and physically.

The final concept we covered that I would like to talk about and relate to is attitude. This topic really stuck with me because attitude is the reasoning for 75% of the decisions I make in my life. I base certain decisions off of the way my attitude is. For example, once I established an unlikely attitude, I stopped going to class and doing homework. My attitude was a big contributor to my academic crash during my first semester of college. When I think about anything involved with college, I always keep my attitude as positive as I can. When I do this, I usually receive a positive result out of it anyways. Overall, I’ve been really trying hard to work on keeping a positive attitude for any situation, not just academics. I’ve come to find out that keeping a strong positive attitude helps you achieve so much more. It’s like the light at the end of the tunnel. Awarding and celebrating achievements are something we often talked about in class. In an article about attitude it states, “You can help create good self-esteem for yourself and those around you by celebrating life’s accomplishments” (“Creating a Positive Attitude.” 2016). This is just one step to keeping and maintaining a positive attitude.

Appendix A

Chart Describing the Sense of Belonging Within Students

Appendix B

Chart Describing the Negative Effects of Fixed Mindset Along with Positives of Growth

References

1. Creating a Positive Attitude Towards School. (2016, June 01). Retrieved December 9, 2018, from https://www.seacoastcareerschools.edu/creating-a-positive-attitude-towards-school/#.XA2H8hNKi-w
2. Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset: Your Success Hinges on It. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2018, from https://careersinpsychology.org/fixed-vs-growth-mindset-success/
3. Growth Mindset. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2018, from http://mindsetscholarsnetwork.org/learning-mindsets/growth-mindset/#
4. Sense of Belonging in the College Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2018, from https://ucat.osu.edu/bookshelf/teaching-topics/shaping-a-positive-learning-environment/sense-of-belonging-in-the-college-classroom/
5. What Are SMART Goals? (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2018, from https://fairygodboss.com/articles/what-are-smart-goals

Abstract:

Research is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Our research is used to find out the problems faced by MUET students. Once their problems are identified, we can find ways and means to solve those problems as much as possible. Thus the students as primary group will be benefitted from the result of this study .our research comprises 13 students of different departments most of them are unsatisfied.

Introduction

According to Wikipedia “Research comprises ‘creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.’

New researches advancement or modified the prior one. Research whether it is about science and technology or social attribute will contribute new opportunities and ways to solve the problems. Research is not confined to science and technology only. There are vast areas of research in other disciplines such as languages, literature, history and sociology. Whatever might be the subject, research has to be an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviors and theories. Applying the outcome of research for the refinement of knowledge in other subjects, or in enhancing the quality of human life also becomes a kind of research and development.

Research is done with the help of study, experiment, observation, analysis, comparison and reasoning. Research is in fact ubiquitous. For example, we know that cigarette smoking is injurious to health; heroine is addictive; cow dung is a useful source of biogas; malaria is due to the virus protozoan plasmodium; AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is due to the virus HIV (Human Immune Deficiency Virus). How did we know all these? We became aware of all these information only through research. More precisely, it seeks predictions of events, explanations, relationships and theories for them.

Methods

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in different departments of Mehran University Jamshoro. Study population were masters and postgraduate students in their 2 years disciplinary studies from different discipline.

The researcher introduced himself to the students explaining the purpose and procedure followed while filling their questionnaire. They were assured so that they would not feel any hesitation to answer freely. Questionnaire with 4 point Likert scale used to collect information from the Masters Students and lab supervisors at their classes and labs. Students/supervisors Tick on the appropriate Questionnaire and wrote their comments into the open-ended questions. The questionnaire was collected by researcher and thanked them for their cooperation. There were 13 students from different departments mostly from metallurgy and materials.

Results

Result of the academic challenges faced by Master Students in their research are in the Table 1 as follows:

Table 1 shows result of 13 students on their point of view

Statement

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Proper feasibility of working

2

8

3

13

Freedom of working

3

9

1

13

Availability of material in market for project

8

5

13

Availability of material in department for project

4

6

3

13

Financial support of institute in research

1

7

5

13

Financial stability

4

8

1

13

Help of prior(BE) education in project

2

7

4

13

Technical support of teacher in project/research

2

9

2

13

Availability of equipment

9

4

13

Operating condition of equipment

6

7

13

Discussion

Majority of students were lab supervisors therefore they don’t feel any difficulty within their work few of them were students they were uncomfortable and the shyness felt by researcher on students face while ticking the questionnaire (help of prior (BE) education) it shows that they were unfamiliar to the prior knowledge

Most of projects comprises on materials science titles and application described as follows:

Synthesis and characterization of graphene oxide with copper oxide nanoparticles composite used for energy storage (super-conductor), Fabrication of SOFC materials used for renewable energy can be produced through SOFC at low cost and zero emission, hydrophobic coating using Nano-silica extracted from rice husk used economical coatings for coating creating hydrophobic surface self-cleaning windows and corrosion protection etc. synthesis of shape memory alloys used in actuator, sensors etc. Synthesis of adsorbent composites can clean water and cost efficient etc. encapsulation of nanofibers can control drug release, effect of carbon nanotubes on the ablation properties of carbon fiber epoxy matrix composites used in erosion resistance, development of Tundish flux for (LCAK) steels

Conclusion

The present study revealed lack of knowledge, lack of experimental work due to unavailability of expert instructor and machines (equipment), lack of funding, lack of regular meeting to the teacher or supervisor, lack of resources within institutes and markets and at the last lack of research work. The recommendation is that there should be biostatics for students, provision of adequate fund for academic thesis work. Arrangement of research facilities resources in all institutes, and introduction of checklist and meeting schedule used by both students and lab supervisors

References

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research (10 %) http://courseblog-brm.blogspot.com/ (5 %)
2. Department of metallurgy and materials engineering
3. Department of mining engineering
4. Department of industrials engineering

My name is Susan Saranya Jacob and I am a 9th grader from the Plymouth- Canton Educational Park. I am interested in this program because I want the rigorous, academic challenges that come with it. I am currently enrolled in the International Bachelorette (IB) program at my high school, but I do not feel like the academy or my school has what it takes to prepare me for college.

Growing up my family traveled all around the world. When I was in fifth grade my dad’s job moved my family to China, living there we had so many great experiences. Over the course of two years, we traveled to multiple countries that I never thought I would ever see. None of that would have happened if my dad did not have such a successful career. One day I want to be able to travel the world with my own family, without wealth being an impediment.

By attending the ECA program I hope to build a strong foundation for my future. Beyond college, I hope to find a stable job in the field I want to pursue. I hope to enjoy my job without working for years to pay off student debt. Statistics show that over 44 million Americans collectively hold nearly $1.5 trillion in student debt. ECA will give me and so many others the opportunity to graduate high school with college credit and, hopefully, a debt-free future.

So far it may seem as if money is my only motive to apply to the program, but that is not true. Starting my freshman year at Plymouth high school I always felt like something was missing. My classes were not challenging, my teachers were not optimal, and I felt like the environment itself could not support my social or educational needs. That’s when my best-friend Sydney Davis and her sister Symone told me about the program, and it sounded like the perfect fit for me! From what I have heard, ECA provides an amazing support system and an exceptionally guided transition to college courses.

The thought of college came faster than I expected. In my mind, college was a place where I would constantly be working and rarely have time for myself. I understand that I am not yet done with high school, in fact, I have barely started. I not only want to prepare for my future, I also want to make worth fighting for. After all of those years in college, I want to find a career that allows me to help people and leave my mark on the world.

Christiano Ronaldo once said “I learned all about life with a ball at my feet”, I never fully understood what he meant until this year. I have been playing soccer for about four years now and I love everything about it. The game has never failed to teach me something new. Through the years, and multiple different teams, I have learned the importance of social skills and teamwork. I would be nervous but excited to have the opportunity to try out for a team in a different school district.

Leaving my home school behind would be hard especially after making some truly great connections. Joining ECA would almost feel like skipping high school, there is a lot that I would miss about Plymouth Canton Schools but I know that it will be worth it. I have heard so many great things about ECA and what it has to offer, It would be an honor to be accepted into the program.

Learning challenges faced by students in higher education is seen as a significant issue according to Chan Yuen Fook. The study indicates that undergraduates, postgraduates and instructors take a qualitative approach to gather information on the challenges faced in university. This paper summarizes the key challenges that students come across during their studies. Interviews, questionnaires and document analysis used to try to understand the key challenges faced. These challenges consisted of cognitive challenge, becoming an active learner, coping with reading materials, instructional problems, language barriers, time management, and burden of assignments as well as culture differences.

The article suggests that universities want to maintain high levels of learning and teaching for students. According to D’Andea and Gosling (cited in Chan Yuan Fook 2015) a set of objectives are listed to help focus on helping on providing excellent education. Some of the goals look at active learning, deep learning, and problem based learning and several more. These goals help students set a focus on their academic studies in the end.

According to Angelo (cited in Chan Yuen Fook 2015) a study was proposed to help identify learning challenges faced by students. He emphasized that teaching goals would lead to high order thinking skills as well as personal developments, allowing students to focus on essential skills required for their education. Guzman (2006) implied the kind of teachers required to teach students successfully through the word ‘empowered’. He suggested a criteria to help students learn better. However, the author also implied that formative assessments helped address learning challenges faced by students in higher education. This in turn would help provide better education in higher learning institutions.

The challenges faced by students is taken on through a qualitative method. The study proposed of open-ended questions through interview questions and document analysis. This was sampled through 181 students from undergraduate as well as postgraduates and instructors. The information collected was verified through senior professors from that university. The confidentially of the interviews were taken into great consideration as the interview scripts would be discarded at the end of the study.

Cognitive challenge is that the most important challenge faced by most of the scholars in instruction. A complete of thirty-two students highlighted the difficulty of psychological feature challenge in their learning. It can often be understood that students psychological feature level ought to be developed at a better level after they enter university. Once students area unit in university, they have to suppose critical and write academically.

During the interviews, one student conjointly distinguished that students do not seem to be able to move in some courses that are technically oriented like ‘Educational Assessment and Psychological Measurement’. Hence, being attentive to the instructor’s lecture is a lot of meaning than simply discussing general problems. Only seventeen students from the one hundred ninety respondents expressed that addressing reading materials could be a challenge to several undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Even though two respondents in the questionnaires solely expressed culture variations, it is a major issue among international students. International students were having issues to catch up with certain topics that were distinctive to the United States culture. In their home country, normally, the instructors were a lot active in the classroom and the students expected by the lecturer to concentrate and take notes. Asking question considered rude according to some cultures and not respecting the teacher. Two of the instructors interviewed mentioned they had to call the students name to keep them active in the classroom discussion otherwise, they prefer not to speak.

In conclusion, the findings showed that the students were involved regarding instructional issues in their classes. Apparently, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) also foster constant passion of excellent teaching in their university to deal with learning challenges among the students in higher education. The university has compiled the collective voices of their professional lecturers and explicit express the principles that inform the teaching of those excellent lecturers. The total framework indicates the emphasis on the interaction of teaching and learning to deal with learning problems. The CUHK identified that feedback is just helpful if the teacher reflects upon it and makes use of the information to boost teaching and therefore the curriculum. The findings in CUHK advocate that students should not only know how to answer questions, however conjointly the way to raise ask.