Exploring the reasons for student ethnic groupings: The case of Chinese students at the University of Windsor (Ontario).

This study was designed to explore the reasons of the common phenomenon that Mainland Chinese international students on a Canadian university campus are always seen staying within their own culturally homogenous circles with very limited communication with other students from different cultural backgrounds. A qualitative research approach was employed to ascertain the reasons for this phenomenon. Ten Chinese international students from Mainland China studying at the University of Windsor participated in this study. They were interviewed in Mandarin individually over a period of seven weeks, each interview being taped, translated and transcribed. The findings derived from this study include language difficulties, cultural divergence, evaluation criteria, understanding of institutional administration and corresponding response, and the inertia of dependence on compatriot groups. This study adds to existing literature on Chinese international students\u27 sojourn experiences on Canadian university campuses. A portion of the findings of this study lends support to the findings of some previous research on the sojourn life of Chinese international students in Canada. A considerable portion of the findings, however, disputes the conclusions of some existing research on related issues. Some unexpected themes were also generalized through data analysis. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2006 .J54. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-01, page: 0040. Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2006