Impact of Educational Cultural Shock on International Students in the UK

DISSERTATION

Executive summary:
This is the report that focuses on education system at UK and analyzing the factors that affect the
international students and their lives at UK during their education period. The report initiates
with the discussion of the education system at UK through literature review that includes the
major issues of cultural shock the international students in UK face. The report provides the
overall analysis of the perspective of the students and interview has been conducted to identify
the same. It has been analyzed that cultural as well as academic shock faced by the students
result in poor academic performances by them.
Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Research Aims.................................................................................................................................5
Research Questions..........................................................................................................................6
Mode of Research............................................................................................................................6
Research Purpose.............................................................................................................................7
Literature Review............................................................................................................................7
Cultural Shock: Overview...........................................................................................................7
Theoretical Framework................................................................................................................8
Educational Cultural Shock: Real Case Scenario in the UK.......................................................9
Problems in educational acculturation in UK..............................................................................9
Literature Gap................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Research methods:.........................................................................................................................12
Ethics:............................................................................................................................................15
Participants:...................................................................................................................................15
Findings:........................................................................................................................................16
Discussion:.....................................................................................................................................24
Limitations.....................................................................................................................................33
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................33
References:....................................................................................................................................35

Appendix:......................................................................................................................................40

Introduction
Education, being a necessity for a higher quality of life and financial stability, with time
the need for attaining higher education has been felt by people across the world. However, not all
countries have the infrastructure to provide quality and productive education to people, which
can help in increasing their long-term welfare (Tuckman 1970). To attain such education and for
increasing their knowledge, people from all corners of the world, often migrate to several
countries which facilitates such educational activities. One of such countries, with highly
prestigious universities and a career-oriented knowledge dispersion framework is that of the
United Kingdom.
Over the years, considerable number of people migrates from all parts of the world to the
United Kingdom for the purpose of pursuing education and for gaining knowledge which can
help them in prospering immensely in their career growth. The inflow of international students
has been even more facilitated by the global occurrences like that of Globalization and improved
and cost effective international travelling, which has made the world more integrated and
inclusive, thereby making these countries more accessible to international students, especially
from the developing countries, which often lacks such educational facilities (Schweisfurth and
Gu 2009).
Figure 1: Number of international students in UK in 2015-2016

(Source: Ukcisa.org.uk, 2018)
As can be seen from the above figure, a considerably high number of students from all
parts of the world come to the UK in pursuit of higher education and a succeeding prospective
career. The overall framework of higher studies and the percentages of the total population of the
students in the UK falling under the different cohorts and classifications of the degrees can be
seen from the following figure, which in turn helps in understanding the educational
demographics of the country (Naidoo 2007).
Figure 2: Higher education students in the UK by level of study
(Source: Hesa.ac.uk, 2018)
As can be clearly seen from the above figure, the highest share of the students in the UK
belongs to the first-degree full time group. Of the total population of students pursuing higher
education in the UK, as per the data findings of Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), in
the academic year 2015-2016, around 81% were found to be having their origin in the UK only,
while 6% were found to have their origin in the rest of the European Union. The remaining 14%

of the student’s population came from the rest of the world, which is quite a considerable
number.
The total student population in the country can be broadly classified into undergraduate
and postgraduate students. While nearly 40% of the post graduate student population of the
country came from outside the UK, the percentage for the undergraduate students was seen to be
considerably low (13.5%). The total undergraduate population of the UK, who came from
outside the same, can be seen to have their origin in different parts of the world, which is shown,
along with the percentages in the following figure:
Figure 3: Undergraduate students (Non-UK domicile) by their region of domicile
(Source: Hesa.ac.uk, 2018)
From the above figure it is evident that the highest number of international undergraduate
students who migrated to the UK, in search of better educational and career prospects, came
from the Asian countries, especially from India and China. They had been followed by the
students from the rest of the EU countries (34.5%).

However, in the recent period several negative trends have also been observed regarding
the migration of international students to that of the UK. Over the last few years while the
number of Chinese students has been continuously increasing in the UK, the number of Indian
students has fallen considerably (by 44% in the last few years). Places like Wales and Northern
Ireland have also seen a huge fall in the inflow of the number of students from outside the EU
(11% and 7% respectively).
These dynamics in the inflow of students in the country, puts forward the need to study
the reasons and the features of studying in the UK, which not only influences the overall staying
in the country by the students but also have considerable impact on their academic performances.
This in turn acts as an indicator of the increase or decrease in the inflow of the students from all
parts of the world to this region. One of the primary elements which is expected to have
considerable implications on the academic performances of the international students in the UK
is the educational cultural shocks and the stark differences in the curriculums and way of
studying (Morrison et al. 2005). This can be even more prominent in the UK given that a
considerable number of international students come from the Asian countries and other non-UK
regions whose cultural patterns are strikingly different from the same.
Research Aims
As discussed above, due to the different cultural backgrounds and educational habits of
the international students coming from different corners of the world, often the educational
culture and practices in the UK becomes extremely unfamiliar for such students which gives rise
to adjustment issues, thereby affecting the academic performances of such students. This
becomes even more apparent for the undergraduate students, as they are more vulnerable and
naïve due to younger age.
Keeping this into consideration the research aims to study the effect of the educational
cultural dynamics on the academic life and performances of the international students coming to
the UK for higher studies. The study aims to highlight:
 The perception of the international undergraduate students regarding the problems faced
by them in adjusting to the academic cultural framework of the UK