Since 2006, the enrollment of African students in Chinese universities has been increasing steadily. A majority of the students have been recruited through the China Scholarship Council. Cast against that background of growth in the number of African students in Chinese universities, it is important that their educational experience in a country whose cultural landscape and political orientation are significantly different from those of their homelands be examined for evidence on their overall well-being. A total of 110 students from 32 African countries enrolled in six public Chinese universities responded to a questionnaire on their satisfaction with and adjustment and adaptation to their new cultural and academic environments. Results indicated that the students’ over-expectation of China and natural factors, particularly China’s weather as a barrier to adjustment, had negative associations with their overall satisfaction and with their adaptation to their environment. A broad network of friends, prior cross-cultural experience, and prior knowledge of cultural differences had positive associations with satisfaction and adaptation. The implications of these results for developing campus programs for acculturating the students, as well as other international students in Chinese universities, are presented.
AdlerPS (1975) The transitional experience: an alternative view of culture shock. Journal of Humanistic Psychology15(4): 13–23.
2.
AndrewsL (2011) The China-Africa Parallax: A Ryan and Gillian Mystery. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
3.
AnshanL (2005) African studies in China in the twentieth century: a historiographical survey. African Studies Review48(1): 59–87.
4.
BadaraccoJLJr (1991) The Knowledge Link: How Firms Compete through Strategic Alliances. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
5.
BaohuaYWatkinsD (2006) Relationships among motivation, cross-cultural adaptation and Chinese language achievement. An investigation of international students studying Chinese in the universities of PRC. Paper presented at the Asia-Pacific educational research association conference, Hong Kong, 28–30 November.
6.
BarrattMFHubaME (1994) Factors related to international undergraduate student adjustment in an American community. College Student Journal28(4): 422–436.
7.
BasuAKAmesRG (1970) Cross-cultural contact and attitude formation. Sociology and Social Research55(1): 5–16.
8.
BochnerS (1972) Problems in culture learning. In: BochnerSWicksPP (eds) Overseas Students in Australia. Sydney, NSW, Australia: The New South Wales University Press, pp. 65–81.
9.
CarlsonJBurnBUseemJ. (1990) Study Abroad: The Experience of American Undergraduates. New York: Greenwood Press.
10.
CastroVS (2003) Acculturation and Psychological Adaptation. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
11.
ChapdelaineRFAlexitchLR (2004) Social skill difficulty: model of culture shock for international graduate students. Journal of College Students Development45(2): 167–184.
12.
ChavajayPSkowronekJ (2008) Aspects of acculturation stress among international students attending a university in the USA. Psychological Reports103(3): 827–835.
13.
ChenRT-HBennettSMatonK (2008) The adaptation of Chinese international students to online flexible learning: two case studies. Distance Education29(3): 307–323.
14.
CheruFObiC (eds) (2010) The Rise of China and India in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Critical Interventions. London: Zed Books.
15.
China Scholarship Council (2006) China Scholarship Council annual report 2006. Available at: http://en.csc.edu.cn/
16.
China Scholarship Council (2007) China Scholarship Council annual report 2007. Available at: http://en.csc.edu.cn/
17.
China Scholarship Council (2008) China Scholarship Council annual report 2008. Available at: http://en.csc.edu.cn/
18.
China Scholarship Council (2009) China Scholarship Council annual report 2009. Available at: http://en.csc.edu.cn/
19.
ChristensenTJ (2015) The China Challenge: Shaping the New Choices of a Rising Power. New York: WW Norton.
CranoSLCranoWD (1993) A measure of adjustment strain in international students. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology24(3): 267–283.
22.
CyranoskiD (2010) China boosts African research links. Nature464(7288): 477.
23.
DikötterF (1992) The Discourse of Race in Modern China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
24.
EideI (1970) Students as Links between Cultures. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
25.
FosterVButterfieldWChenC. (2009) Building Bridges: China’s Growing Role as Infrastructure Financier for Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
26.
FriedmanTL (2005) The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishers.
27.
FurnhamA (1988) The adjustment of sojourners. In: KimYYGudykunstWB (eds) Cross-Cultural Adaptation: Current Approaches. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE, pp. 42–61.
28.
FurukawaT (1997) Cultural distance and its relationship to psychological adjustment of international exchange students. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences51(3): 87–91.
29.
GannonMJPoonJML (1997) Effects of alternative instructional approaches on cross-cultural training outcomes. International Journal of Intercultural Relations21(4): 429–446.
30.
GudykunstWBKimYY (2003) Communicating with Strangers: An Approach to Intercultural Communication, 4th edn.New York: McGraw-Hill.
31.
HallET (1976) Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor/Doubleday.
32.
HamboyanHBryanAK (1995) International students: culture shock can affect the health of students from abroad. Canadian Family Physician41: 1713–1716.
33.
HashimIH (2003) Cultural and gender differences in perceptions of stressors and coping skills: a study of Western and African college students in China. School Psychology International24(2): 182–203.
34.
HashimIHZhiliangY (2003) Cultural and gender differences in perceiving stressors: a cross-cultural investigation of African and Western students in Chinese colleges. Stress and Health19(4): 217–225.
35.
HofstedeG (1979) Value systems in forty countries. In: EckenbergerLLonnerWPootingaY (eds) Cross-Cultural Contributions to Psychology. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger, pp. 25–38.
36.
HofstedeG (1983) Dimensions of national cultures in fifty countries and three regions. In: DeregowskiJDzuirawieeSAmisR (eds) Explications in Cross-Cultural Psychology. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger, pp. 335–355.
37.
HofstedeG (2001) Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations across Nations, 2nd edn.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
38.
HofstedeGBondMH (1987) The Confucius connection: from cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics16(4): 4–21.
39.
HvistendahlM (2008) China moves up to fifth as importer of students. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 19September, vol. A1, pp. A21–A22.
40.
Institute of International Education (2010) Global destinations for international students at the post-secondary (tertiary) level, 2001 and 2009. Available at: http://www.atlas.iienetwork.org/?p=48027
41.
KaganHCohenJ (1990) Cultural adjustment of international students. Psychological Science1(2): 133–137.
42.
KimYY (1988) Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation: An Integrative Theory. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
43.
KimYY (2005) Adapting to a new culture: an integrative communication theory. In: GudykunstW (ed.) Theorizing about Intercultural Communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 375–400.
44.
KluckhohnFStrodtbeckF (1961) Variations in Value Orientations. New York: Row, Peterson.
45.
LaFromboiseTColemanHGertonJ (1993) Psychological impact of biculturalism: evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin114(3): 395–412.
46.
LeeJ-SKoeskeGFSalesE (2004) Social support buffering of acculturative stress: a study of mental health symptoms among Korean international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations28(5): 399–414.
47.
LiuJJ (2010) Assessing students’ language proficiency: a new model of study abroad program in China. Journal of Studies in International Education14(5): 528–544.
48.
McLuhanM (1962) The Gutenberg Galaxy. Toronto, ON, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
49.
MarginsonS (2010) Higher education in the global knowledge economy. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences2(5): 6962–6980.
50.
MartinJNBradfordLRohrlichB (1995) Comparing pre-departure expectations and post-sojourn reports: A longitudinal study of US students abroad. International Journal of Intercultural Relations19(1): 87–10.
51.
MichelSBeuretM (2009) China Safari: On the Trail of Beijing’s Expansion in Africa. New York: Nation Books.
52.
MigliettaATartagliaS (2009) The influence of length of stay, linguistic competence, and media exposure in immigrants’ adaptation. Cross Cultural Research43(1): 46–61.
53.
MisraRCastilloLG (2004) Academic stress among college students: comparison of American and international students. International Journal of Stress Management11(2): 132–148.
54.
MongeP (1998) 1998 ICA presidential address: communication structures and processes in globalization. Journal of Communication48(4): 142–153.
55.
MorrisRT (1960) The Two-Way Mirror: National Status in Foreign Students’ Adjustment. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
56.
NaiduS (2007) The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC): what does the future hold?China Report43(3): 283–296.
57.
PaigeMR (1990) International students: cross-cultural psychological perspectives. In: BrislinRW (ed.) Applied Cross-Cultural Psychology. London: SAGE, pp. 161–185.
58.
PanJ-YWongDFKJoubertL. (2007) Acculturative stressor and meaning of life as predictors of negative affect in acculturation: a cross-cultural comparative study between Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry41(9): 740–750.
59.
ParsonsT (1951) The Social System. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
60.
RandallMNakaKYamamotoK. (1998) Assessment of psychological stressors and maladjustment among foreign students of the University of Ryukyus. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences52: 289–298.
61.
RientiesBNanclaresNHJindal-SnapeDAlcottP (2012) The role of cultural background and team divisions in developing social learning relations in the classroom. Journal of Studies in International Education17(4): 332–353.
62.
RogersJWardC (1993) Expectation-experience discrepancies and psychological adjustment during cross-cultural reentry. International Journal of Intercultural Relations17(2): 185–196.
63.
SautmanB (1994) Anti-black racism in post-Mao China. The China Quarterly138: 413–437.
64.
SewellWHDavidsenOM (1961) Scandinavian Students on an American Campus. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
65.
SpenceM (2011) The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
66.
StraubhaarJD (2007) World Television: From Global to Local. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
67.
SullivanMJ (1994) The 1988-89 Nanjing anti-African protests: racial nationalism or national racism?The China Quarterly138: 438–457.
68.
TaylorI (2009) China’s New Role in Africa. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
69.
TurnerY (2006) Chinese students in a UK business school: hearing the student voice in reflective teaching and learning practice. Higher Education Quarterly60(1): 27–51.
70.
VoletSERenshawPD (1996) Chinese students at an Australian university: adaptability and continuity. In: WatkinsDABiggsJB (eds) The Chinese Learner: Cultural, Psychological, and Contextual Influences. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The Australian Council for Educational Research, pp. 205–220.
71.
WardC (1996) Acculturation. In: LandisDBhagatRS (eds) Handbook of Intercultural Training, 2nd edn.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 124–147.
72.
WardC (2001) The A, B, Cs of acculturation. In: MatsumotoD (ed.) Handbook of Culture and Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 411–446.
73.
WardCKennedyA (1992) Locus of control, mood disturbance and social difficulty during cross-cultural transitions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations16(2): 175–194.
74.
WardCKennedyA (1993) Acculturation and cross-cultural adaptation of British residents in Hong Kong. The Journal of Social Psychology133(3): 395–397.
75.
WardCRana-DeubaA (1999) Acculturation and adaptation revisited. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology30(4): 422–441.
76.
WardCSearleW (1991) The impact of value discrepancies and cultural identity on psychological and sociocultural adjustment of sojourners. International Journal of Intercultural Relations15(2): 209–225.
77.
WeiMHeppnerPPMallenMJ. (2007) Acculturative stress, perfectionism, years in the United States, and depression among Chinese international students. Journal of Counseling Psychology54(4):385–394.
78.
YanKBerlinerDC (2009) Chinese international students’ academic stressors in the United States. College Student Journal43: 939–960.
79.
YangBTeraokaMEichenfieldGA. (1994) Meaningful relationships between Asian international and U.S. college students: a descriptive study. College Student Journal28(1): 108–115.
80.
YingY-W (2005) Variation in acculturative stressors over time: a study of Taiwanese students in the United States. International Journal of Intercultural Relations29(1): 59–71.
81.
YuB (2010) Learning Chinese abroad: the role of language attitudes and motivation in the adaptation of international students in China. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development31(3): 301–321.
82.
YuanG (1989) In China, black isn’t beautiful. The New York Times, 25January, p. A23.
83.
ZhaoS (2015) China in Africa: Strategic Motives and Economic Interests. New York: Routledge.
84.
ZimmermanS (1995) Perceptions of intercultural communication competence and international student adaptation to an American campus. Communication Education44(4): 321–335.
