Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Rethinking Education Across Borders pp 193–207Cite as

International Student Well-Being and the Influence of Politics

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

Political developments play a central role in shaping international education experiences, and the mental health of international students. This chapter systematically explores how political developments in home and host nations often influence international student experiences in ways which affect students’ well-being; while also considering the role of economic changes and technological advancements, from a psychological perspective. Specifically, Pacheco discusses how twenty-first-century geopolitics, technological advancements, and economic trends can act as manipulators of international student stress across three specific domains: transitional stress (i.e. adjustment, rejection), social stress (i.e. support networks, identity) and life stress (i.e. financial, familial, emotional distress). The dynamics of geopolitics in home and host environments are also explored, as each context may present unique challenges and barriers to the positive mental health of international students. Drawing attention to the well-established knowledge concerning international student well-being, and highlighting a lack of knowledge where the experiences of individuals sojourning from regions experiencing political conflict are concerned, Pacheco ultimately argues it is necessary to consider the impact both macro level and micro level political shifts have on international students’ mental health, as this population is dually susceptible to stress but is often overlooked. As context to this argument, this chapter also places a special emphasis on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as this region not only harbours the fast-growing outwardly mobile student population but also currently faces the greatest proportion of political unrest.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abunab, H. Y., Dator, W. L. T., Salvador, J. T., & Lacanaria, M. G. C. (2017). Solitude, religious and cultural uniqueness in a Foreign environment: Adjustments as an Arab student. Journal of Religion and Health, 56(5), 1701–1718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, A., Marcelin, L. H., Schmitz, S., Hausmann, V., & Shultz, J. M. (2012). Earthquake impact on Miami Haitian Americans: The role of family/social connectedness. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 17(4), 337–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azevedo, F., Jost, J. T., & Rothmund, T. (2017). “Making America Great Again”: System justification in the U.S. Presidential Election of 2016. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 3(3), 231–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bache, I., & Scott, K. (2018). Wellbeing in politics and policy. In The politics of wellbeing (pp. 1–22). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, S. (2018, August 26). Thousands of Saudi Arabian students have to leave Canada because their governments are fighting, so they’re frantically selling their furniture and cars. Business Insider UK. Retrieved from http://uk.businessinsider.com/saudi-students-sell-cars-furniture-forced-to-leave-canada-feud-2018-8?r=US&IR=T.

  • BBC News. (2016, July 28). Turkey coup attempt: More than 130 media outlets shut. BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36910556.

  • Belford, N. (2017). International students from Melbourne describing their cross-cultural transitions experiences: Culture shock, social interaction, and friendship development. Journal of International Students, 7(3), 499–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benjamin, S. (2008). Occupancy Urbanism: Radicalizing politics and economy beyond policy and programs. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 32(3), 719–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (2006). Acculturative stress. In Handbook of multicultural perspectives on stress and coping (pp. 287–298). Boston, MA: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhui, K. (2016). Brexit, social division and discrimination: Impacts on mortality and mental illness? The British Journal of Psychiatry, 209(2), 181–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J., & Brown, L. (2013). The international student sojourn, identity conflict and threats to well-being. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 41(4), 395–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L., Brown, J., & Richards, B. (2014). Media representations of Islam and international Muslim student well-being. International Journal of Educational Research, 69, 50–58. ht.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canadian Press. (2018, August 08). Students scramble for info after Saudi Arabia pulls Canadian scholarships. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/08/07/canadian-universities-saudi-arabia_a_23497871/.

  • Chai, P. P. M., Krägeloh, C. U., Shepherd, D., & Billington, R. (2012). Stress and quality of life in international and domestic university students: Cultural differences in the use of religious coping. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 15(3), 265–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y., & Ross, H. (2015). Creating a Home away from Home: Chinese undergraduate student enclaves in US higher education. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 44(3), 155–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collinson, P., & Davies, R. (2018, August 12). Q&A: Why is the Turkish lira in freefall and should we worry?. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/12/qa-why-is-the-turkish-lira-in-freefall-and-should-we-worry.

  • Doran, P., & Hodgett, S. (2018). Societal Wellbeing: Catalyst for systems and Social Change in Northern Ireland? In The politics of wellbeing (pp. 169–194). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A. (2010). Culture shock: Literature review, personal statement and relevance for the south pacific. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 4(2), 87–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, T. M., Krägeloh, C. U., & Henning, M. A. (2014). Religious coping, stress, and quality of life of Muslim university students in New Zealand. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 17(4), 327–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaulee, U. (2018). Headbump or headway?: American students’ engagement with their international peers on campus. In Global perspectives on international student experiences in higher education (pp. 192–209). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomes, C., Berry, M., Alzougool, B., & Chang, S. (2014). Home away from home: International students and their identity-based social networks in Australia. Journal of International Students, 4(1), 2–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heald, A., Vida, B., & Bhugra, D. (2018). Brexit, the leave campaign, and mental health of ethnic minority communities [Report]. The Lancet Psychiatry (Vol. 5).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heeb, G. (2018, May 23). The Turkish lira is in ‘complete freefall’ amid concerns of Erdogan’s influence on its central bank. Business Insider UK. Retrieved from http://uk.businessinsider.com/turkish-lira-freefall-amid-concern-of-erdogans-central-bank-influence-2018.

  • Huber, L. P. (2016). “Make America great again!”: Donald Trump, racist nativism and the virulent adherence to white supremacy amid U.S. demographic change [Report]. Charleston L. Rev (Vol. 10).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hui, W., & Want, H. (2003). China’s new order: Society, politics, and economy in transition. Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefdahl-Davis, E. M., & Perrone-McGovern, K. M. (2015). The cultural adjustment of Saudi women international students: A qualitative examination. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46(3), 406–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leong, F. T. L., & Tolliver, D. (2008). Towards an understanding of occupational stress among asian Americans. Multicultural Perspectives on Stress and Coping, 39, 535–553.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., & Chen, W. (2014). Facebook or Renren? A comparative study of social networking site use and social capital among Chinese international students in the United States. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 116–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J.-H., Peng, W., Kim, M., Kim, S. Y., & Larose, R. (2011). Social networking and adjustments among international students. New Media & Society, 14(3), 421–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Louie, E. (2002). The psychology of culture shock. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 26, 602–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood, H. (2014). An analysis of acculturative stress, sociocultural adaptation, and satisfaction among international students at a non-metropolitan University. Journal of International Students, 8(1), 284–307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, C. (2018, August 13). Why the lira went into freefall. Arab News. Retrieved from http://www.arabnews.com/node/1355916.

  • Misra, R., Crist, M., & Burant, C. J. (2003). Relationships among life stress, social support, academic stressors, and reactions to stressors of international students in the United States. International Journal of Stress Management, 10(2), 137–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oberg, K. (2006). Cultural shock: Adjustment to new cultural environments (Reprint). Curare, 29(2), 142–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oropeza, B. A. C., Fitzgibbon, M., & Baron, A. J. (1991). Managing mental health crises of Foreign college students. Journal of Counseling & Development, 69(3), 280–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, N., Song, H., & Min Lee, K. (2014). Social networking sites and other media use, acculturation stress, and psychological well-being among East Asian college students in the United States. Computers in Human Behavior, 36, 138–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrigo, B. (2018, August 6). Saudi Arabia is pulling thousands of students from Canada in escalating dispute over human rights. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/5358711/saudi-arabia-students-canada-human-rights/.

  • Presbitero, A. (2016). Culture shock and reverse culture shock: The moderating role of cultural intelligence in international students’ adaptation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 53, 28–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, J.-M. (2016). Copper‘s crisis and its reciprocal impact on global politics and economy. In Europe in Trouble (pp. 167–178).

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sandhu, D. S., & Asrabadi, B. R. (1994). Development of an acculturative stress scale for international students: Preliminary findings. Psychological Reports, 75(1), 435–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sezer, S. (2016, August 30). Turkey’s post-coup purges shake higher education. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-education-idUSKCN1152DN.

  • Sherry, M., Thomas, P., & Chui, W. H. (2010). International students: A vulnerable student population. Higher Education, 60(1), 33–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tummala-Narra, P., & Claudius, M. (2013). A qualitative examination of Muslim graduate international students’ experiences in the United States. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 2(2), 132–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2009). Trends in global higher education: Tracking an academic revolution.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2017). Inbound internationally mobile students by continent of origin [Data Set].

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanian, J. (2016, July 15). Turkey blocks Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube amid military coup. Fortune. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2016/07/15/turkey-facebook-twitter-youtube-military-coup/.

  • Volkan, V. D. (2009). Large-group identity: ‘Us and them’ polarizations in the international arena.Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 14(1), 4–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C., Bochner, S., & Furnham, A. (2005). The psychology of culture shock (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, J. C. (2016, July 16). Social media may have been blocked during Turkey coup attempt. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/15/turkey-blocking-social-facebook-twitter-youtube.

  • Yackley, A. J., & Tattersall, N. (2016, July, 16). Death toll rises to 265 in failed Turkey coup: Official. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-casualties/death-toll-rises-to-265-in-failed-turkey-coup-official-idUSKCN0ZW132.

  • Yazdani, A., Zadeh, Z. F., & Shafi, K. (2016). Potentially traumatic events as predictors of Vicarious Trauma in adolescents. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 31(2), 531–548.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeung, P. (2016, July 19). Turkey ‘suspends 15,000 state education employees’ after attempted coup. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-coup-attempt-education-employees-suspended-president-erdogan-a7144681.html.

  • Zhou, Y., Jindal-Snape, D., Topping, K., & Todman, J. (2008). Theoretical models of culture shock and adaptation in international students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 33(1), 63–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Emily-Marie Pacheco

Authors
  1. Emily-Marie Pacheco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emily-Marie Pacheco .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Uttam Gaulee

  2. Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Shyam Sharma

  3. Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Krishna Bista

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Pacheco, EM. (2020). International Student Well-Being and the Influence of Politics. In: Gaulee, U., Sharma, S., Bista, K. (eds) Rethinking Education Across Borders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2399-1_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2399-1_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-2398-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-2399-1

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation