Challenges Of The Re-Entry Experiences Of Returning Saudi International Students After Studying Abroad

Authors

  • Naif Daifullah Z Alsulami Umm Al-Qura University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i4.2833

Keywords:

International education, re-entry experience, returning home, studying abroad, Saudi international students

Abstract

This research aims to describe the challenges of Saudis' re-entry experiences returning to Saudi Arabia after studying abroad. The total number of participants in the research was 21, consisting of 13 male and eight female participants returning from studying in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. With semi-structured individual interviews, the overall findings of this study showed that the returnees experienced some socio-cultural challenges that eventually dissipated over time and few educational challenges related to their work field. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are provided.  

References

Adler, N. (1981). Re-entry: Managing cross-cultural transitions. Group and Organization Management, 6(3), 341-356.

Alhazmi, A., & Nyland, B. (2015). Contextualization of Saudi international students’ experience in facing the challenge of moving to mixed gender environments. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 5(2), 87-97.

Alhazmi, A. A. (2015). What it looks like to be in a mixed gender society: The essence of transitioning experience from gender segregated environment to mixed gender environment. Journal of Foreign Languages, 3(1), 49-57.

Alika, H., & Ohanaka, B. (2013). The role of counselling and parental encouragement on re-entry of adolescents into secondary schools in Abia state, Nigeria. Research in Education, 89(3), 61-69.

Allison, P., Davis-Berman, J., & Berman, D. (2012). Changes in latitude, changes in attitude: Analysis of the effects of reverse culture shock – A study of students returning from youth expeditions. Leisure Studies, 31(4), 487-503.

Arthur, N. (2003). Preparing international students for the re-entry transition. Canadian Journal of Counselling, 37(3), 173-185.

Boyatzis, R. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Brown, B. (2010). Social hostility and the “dropout” syndrome: Leadership assisting youths’ re‐entry into school? Educational Review, 62(1), 53-67.

Butcher, A. (2002). A grief observed: Grief experiences of East Asian international students returning to their countries of origin. Journal of Studies in International Education, 6(4), 354-368.

Casinader, N. a. (2014). Culture, transnational education and thinking: Case studies in global schooling. New York: Routledge

Chamove, A., & Soeterik, S. (2006). Grief in returning sojourners. Journal of Social Sciences, 13(3), 215-220.

Christofi, V., & Thompson, C. L. (2007). You cannot go home again: A phenomenological investigation of returning to the sojourn country after studying abroad. Journal of Counseling & Development, 85(1), 53-63.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Darlaston-Jones, D. (2007). Making connections: The relationship between epistemology research methods. The Australian Community Psychologist, 19(1), 19-26.

Dettweiler, U., Unlu, A., Lauterbach, G., Legl, A., Simon, P., & Kugelmann, C. (2015). Alien at home: Adjustment strategies of students returning from a six-month oversea's educational programme. International. Journal of. Intercultural Relations, 44, 72-87.

Dickey, W., & Klingele, C. (2004). Promoting public safety: A problem-oriented approach to prisoner re-entry. Prisoner re-entry and community policing: Strategies for enhancing public safety. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.

Flick, U. (2006). An introduction to qualitative research (3rd Ed.). London: Sage Publications.

Gill, S. (2010). The homecoming: An investigation into the effect that studying overseas had on Chinese postgraduates' life and work on their return to China. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 40(3), 359-376.

Guest, G., MacQueen, K. M., & Namey, E. E. (2012). Applied thematic analysis. London: Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage Publications.

Gray, K. (2014). There’s no place like home: Or is there? Study abroad re-entry. Western Oregon University. Honours Senior Theses/Projects. Paper 8.

Hadis, B. F. (2005). Why are they better students when they come back? Determinants of academic focusing gains in the study abroad experience. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 11, 57-70.

Hattery, A., & Smith, E. (2010). Prisoner re-entry and social capital: The long road to reintegration. Lexington Books.

Jandova, P. (2014). Reverse culture shock: Czech students returning home from the United States. Place: Masarykova University, Pedagogical faculty.

Johnson, B. (2014). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches (5th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Kartoshkina, Y. (2015). Bitter-sweet re-entry after studying abroad. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 44, 35-45.

Larson, D. (2006). Here we go again: How a family’s cross-cultural and repatriation adjustment relates to the employee’s receptivity to future international assignments. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 71(2), 46-57.

La Vigne, N. (2010). Prisoner re-entry and community policing: Strategies for enhancing public safety. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute, Justice Policy Centre.

MacDonald, S., & Arthur, N. (2004). Employees’ perception of repatriation. The Canadian Journal of Career Development, 2(1), 3-11.

Miller, J., & Glassner, B. (1997). The ‘inside’ and the ‘outside’: Finding realities in interviews. Qualitative research, 99-112.

Ministry of Education, S. A. (2018). The original website. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.sa/en/Pages/default.aspx

Musita, R., Ogange, B., & Lugendo, D. (2018). A second chance to dream: Initiating ODeL in secondary school re-entry programs for young adult secondary school dropouts the case of Mumias District, Western Kenya. Distance Education, 39(1), 122-133.

Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Pedlar, A., Arai, S., Yuen, F., & Fortune, D. (2018). Community re-entry: Uncertain futures for women leaving prison. London: Routledge.

Pitts, M. J. (2016). Sojourner re-entry: A grounded elaboration of the integrative theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation. Communication Monographs, 83(4), 419-445.

Pritchard, R. (2011). Re-entry trauma: Asian re-integration after study in the West. Journal of Studies in International Education, 15(1), 93-111.

Stake, R. E. (2005). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Szkudlarek, B. (2010). Re-entry-A review of the literature. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34(1), 1-21.

Van Geel, A. (2016). Separate or together? Women-only public spaces and participation of Saudi women in the public domain in Saudi Arabia. Contemporary Islam, 10(3), 357-378.

Walling, S., Eriksson, C., Meese, K., Ciovica, A., Gorton, D., & Foy, D. (2006). Cultural identity and re-entry in short-term student missionaries. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 34(2), 153-164.

Welsh, A. (2015). Long term effects of reverse culture shock in study abroad. In C. Cartwright, M. Sobre-Denton, & M. Vande Berg (Eds.) ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Westwood, M., Lawrence, W., & Paul, D. (1986). Preparing for re-entry: A program for the sojourning student. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 9(3), 221-230.

Wielkiewicz, R. M., & Turkowski, L. W. (2010). Re-entry issues upon returning from study abroad programs. Journal of College Student Development, 51(6), 649-664.

Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th Ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Young, G. E. (2014). Re-entry: Supporting students in the final stage of study abroad. New Directions for Student Services, 2014(146), 59-67.

Downloads

Published

2021-09-25

Issue

Section

Empirical Article

How to Cite

Challenges Of The Re-Entry Experiences Of Returning Saudi International Students After Studying Abroad. (2021). Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 13(4), 101-117. https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i4.2833