Metasynthesis Regarding the Sociocultural Adaptation of International University

Authors

Astrid Vanessa Sarmiento Quiñones, Universidad de ConcepciónFollow
Claudio Enrique Bustos, Universidad de ConcepciónFollow
María Victoria Pérez, Universidad de ConcepciónFollow
Diana Lucía Peralta, Universidad de ConcepciónFollow
Natalia Zañartu, Universidad de ConcepciónFollow
Jorge Iván Vergara del Solar, Universidad de ConcepciónFollow

Abstract

This study centers on the sociocultural adaptation experience of international students in academic life and daily life. Responses to the guiding question of what differences and similarities are discernible in the sociocultural adaptation processes that international university students experience in the university versus outside university in the receiving society. It presents a metasynthesis of 12 empirical studies that apply qualitative methodologies to the study of international university students’ sociocultural adaptation, which were published in scientific journals indexed in Ebscohost, WOS and Scopus from January 2012 to March 2019. The metasynthesis results indicate that sociocultural adaption involves: (1) situations of shock that arise in the two environments of academic and daily life with specific challenges proper to each one, and (2) the deployment of varying intrapersonal and social resources in each context. Academic and daily life can be considered as necessarily linked to sociocultural adaptation given the compensatory function observed in relational dynamics of students as they move between the two settings. The emphasis of the research on presenting sociocultural adaptation as a primarily negative process, the theoretical implications of separating academic life from daily life, and the relevance of exploring the role of social networks in students’ daily life are discussed.

Keywords

international students, metasynthesis, review, sociocultural adaptation, university

Author Bio(s)

Astrid Vanessa Sarmiento Quiñones is a psychologist from Universidad Antonio Nariño, Cali, Colombia, and holds a doctorate degree in psychology from Universidad de Concepción. She is professor at Departamento de Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Chile. Please direct correspondence to astrid.sarmiento@outlook.com.

Claudio Bustos Navarrete is a psychologist and holds a master’s in psychology, master’s in applied statistics, and a doctorate degree in psychology from Universidad de Concepción. He is professor at Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Please direct correspondence to clbustos@gmail.com.

María Victoria Pérez is a psychologist by Universidad de Chile and obtained her doctorate degree in Psychology by Universidad de Oviedo, España. She is titular professor at Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Concepción. Please direct correspondence to marperez@udec.cl.

Diana Lucía Peralta has a degree in primary education by Universidad del Atlántico de Barranquilla, and a master’s in education from the Universidad Simón Bolivar de Barranquilla. Currently, she is pursuing a master's degree in educational management and leadership, Universidad de Concepción. Please direct correspondence to peraltadianalucia@gmail.com.

Natalia Zañartu Canihuante is a psychologist from the Universidad de la Frontera and obtained her doctorate degree in psychology from Universidad de Concepción. She is a postdoctoral fellow at Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Please direct correspondence to nzanartu@gmail.com.

Jorge Iván Vergara del Solar is an anthropologist by Universidad Austral de Chile. Have a master in sociology by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a doctoral degree in sociology by Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. He is titular professor at Departamento de Antropología, Universidad de Concepción. Please direct correspondence to jorgeivergara@udec.cl.

Acknowledgements

Funding: This work was funded by the National Agency for Research and Development, ANID/ Scholarship National Doctoral Grant [21160306]. Funding: This work was partially funded by the National Agency for Research and Development, ANID/FONDECYT 1201681, Teaching/Learning Methodologies of Research Practices in Psychology in Latin America and Spain. Acknowledgement: English translation by Elizabeth Ann Medina.

Publication Date

5-9-2021

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4623

Recommended APA Citation

Quiñones, A. S., Bustos, C. E., Pérez, M. V., Peralta, D. L., Zañartu, N., & Vergara del Solar, J. I. (2021). Metasynthesis Regarding the Sociocultural Adaptation of International University. The Qualitative Report, 26(5), 1567-1600. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4623

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4087-4090