Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 Peer-Reviewed Article ISSN: 2162-3104 Print/ ISSN: 2166-3750 Online Volume 7, Issue 2 (2017), pp. 367-394 © Journal of International Students http://jistudents.org/ Higher Education Institutions and International Students’ Hindrances: A Case of Students From the African Portuguese-Speaking Countries at Two European Portuguese Universities Susana Ambrósio University of Aveiro, Portugal João Filipe Marques University of Algarve, Portugal Lucília Santos University of Aveiro, Portugal Catarina Doutor University of Algarve, Portugal ABSTRACT We present a study to comprehend if the support given by higher education institution (HEI) to international students coming from the Portuguese- Speaking African Countries meets their academic and social hindrances. Our starting point was a set of semi-structured interviews focused on the perspectives of these students, their Professors and Course Directors as well as on the perspectives of HEI’ staff. Despite findings indicate a positive institutional support, it seems there is still much to do in order to do it properly with these students. These different perspectives will allow us to reflect on the impact that those actions/resources have on the path of students from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries and to systematize suggestions to enhance their experiences in HE. Keywords: International students’ hindrances; Portuguese-Speaking African Countries; Higher Education Institutions; Institutional support. - 367 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 A research project on non-traditional students (NTS) has been carried out in two Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEI), University of Aveiro (UA) and University of Algarve (UAlg). The pertinence of this project, which started in May 2013, comes from the absence (to our knowledge) of systematized research on NTS in Higher Education (HE) in Portugal. The project is composed of four research lines, which relate to four different groups of NTS: (a) Mature students, (b) Students with disabilities, (c) Portuguese-Speaking African Countries’ students and (d) Post-secondary technological specialization courses’ students. The third line of research concerning students from the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries, which is the focus of the present article, will allow a detailed analysis on questions such as: who are these students, what are their hindrances, how do they deal with them and how do they experience their adjustment in HE in Portugal, particularly at the Universities of Aveiro and Algarve? Also, the research project will allow a better understanding of the university’ role in the integration of students that come from African Countries, and to draw some suggestions at institutional level in order to make their transitions more successful. According to the Portuguese Law and its terminology, students from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries are considered foreign students instead of international students (Decree-Law 36/2014, of March 10). In fact, these students are not ‘estudantes internacionais’ (international students) strictu sensu due the fact that they come to Portugal under special protocols for cooperation in the field of higher education (Decree-Law 393- A / 99 of October 2) signed between Portugal and their countries of origin. Nevertheless, since these students clearly fall within the definition of international students that is provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), whether for scientific perspectives (Ferro, 2010; Mourato, 2011) and/or for an easier understanding and international comparison (Duque, 2012), we prefer to maintain the designation of ‘international students’. Thus, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) (2009) and OECD (2008), an international student is one who has left his or her country, or territory of origin, and moved to another country for the specific purpose of studying. Moreover, UIS and OECD, in collaboration with Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), state that international students have to gather certain characteristics such as not have a permanent residence in the country where they pursue their studies and having obtained the entry qualification to their current level of study in another country (OECD, 2008; UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2009). The literature underlines that studying abroad implies many challenges and adjustments (Coates & Dickinson, 2012). International - 368 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 students face unique challenges (Poyrazli & Grahame, 2007) that are common all over the world and in different contexts and realities since they have to adjust to a new country and culture (Casa-Nova, 2005; Ferro, 2010; Sovic, 2008), a new education system (Casa-Nova, 2005) and, most of the time, to deal with a new language (Andrade, Evans, & Hartshorn, 2014; Mourato, 2011; Semedo, 2010). Many students experience hindrances in their integration, either academically or socially (Rienties, Beausaert, Grohnert, Niemantsverdriet, & Kommers, 2012), such as homesickness (Duque, 2012; Furnham & Bochner, 1986; Pacheco, 1996) or discrimination and prejudice (Ferro, 2010; Poyrazli & Lopez, 2007). It seems to be generally accepted that international students have to have institutional support right from the beginning of their stay, since they are far away from their cultural, social and linguistic environment and have additional tendency to experience more difficulties than home students (Sovic, 2008). In this sense, HEI have the responsibility to provide the adequate support and enhance international students experience in the host institution (Akanwa, 2015). The study presented in this article focuses on the experience of international students coming from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries, i.e., students from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Saint Tome and Principe, in two Portuguese HEI (UA and UAlg). Its central aim is to comprehend if the support given by the HEI to these students meets their hindrances at academic and social levels. To achieve this goal, we worked out an exploratory data collection of qualitative nature through semi-structured interviews. These interviews focused mainly on the perspectives of the students, their Professors and Course Directors as well as on the perspectives of the HEI’ staff members. In more detail, we intend to: (a) describe the main hindrances experienced by these students at UA and UAlg; (b) identify the support structures and the actions promoted by both HEI in order to facilitate the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries’ students adjustment in the host university; and (c) present some suggestions made by the students and their Professors concerning the institutional support. These different perspectives will allow us to reflect on the impact that those actions/resources have on the path of the students coming from the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries and to systematize suggestions to enhance their experiences in HE. LITERATURE REVIEW International Students and Their Hindrances Among other skills, students develop in HE their ability to think reflectively and critically, to develop their value structures and moral sensibilities, their self-identity and their sense of career identity and - 369 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 vocational competence (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). On the other hand, students are expected to make new friends, to have new social networks with new rules of sociability, to have new hobbies and, at the same time, to cope with new financial demands. University students usually face new eating habits, and new diseases, as well as new places to live, new mobility routines and new climates. However, some students are unprepared and/or struggle to deal with all these changes that come with this new-found reality. Balancing the new social life with the new academic life, besides all the environment changes, may not be that easy, particularly to international students, since they face unique challenges: the adjustment to a new country and culture, a new education system and, most of the time, to deal with a new language (Coates & Dickinson, 2012). There are many studies which findings indicate the correlation between homesickness and adjustment issues in international students. Homesickness is defined as a state of distress experienced by those who have left their homes and find themselves in a new environment, causing related mental and physical health problems (Furnham & Bochner, 1986; Van Tilburg, Vingerhoets, & Van Heck, 1996). It is seen as a negative emotional state, related to the separation from home and close persons, as well as to difficulties in adjusting to the new place and it is characterized by obsessive thoughts about home and negative thoughts about the new environment (Fisher, 1989; Stroebe, Schut, & Nauta, 2015). Accordingly, the levels of homesickness seem to be higher in international students than in home students (Poyrazli & Lopez, 2007) and also when international students had left their family (wives and children) in their home countries (Lewthwaite, 1996). Another hindrance experienced by international students that appears as the biggest obstacle to their adjustment are the language barriers (Sawir, Marginson, Forbes-Mewett, Nyland, & Ramia, 2012; Smith & Khawaja, 2011). Several studies highlight the difficulties that international students go through regarding communication in the host language, namely English. These difficulties, at an academic level, could be related with understanding the lectures, taking notes, reading academic literature and understanding the informal host language of home students and university’s staff (Lewthwaite, 1996; Poyrazli, 2003; Yeh & Inose, 2003). Therefore, the host language proficiency held by international students plays a crucial role for them to successfully complete their studies in a foreign language- speaking learning environment (Andrade et al., 2014; Kwon, 2009; Poyrazli & Grahame, 2007; Poyrazli & Kavanaugh, 2006). Language proficiency is important not only for academic purposes, but also for the social adjustment of international students (Akanwa, 2015; Andrade, 2006), namely with home students (Peacock & Harrison, 2009; Sherry, Thomas, & Chui, 2010) - 370 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 and locals (Daroesman, Looi, & Butler, 2005; O’Reilly, Ryan, & Hickey, 2010; Sawir et al., 2012). Social support is another hindrance international students endure. Several studies indicate that social support may arise from various sources, including family, peers (host students and co-nationals), faculty staff or locals and could enhance the well-being of these students (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001). Social support is also seen as an important predictor in the psychological adaptation during cross-cultural transitions (Brisset, Safdar, Lewis, & Sabatier, 2010; Kenyon, Frohard-Dourlent, & Roth, 2012; Ward & Rana-Deuba, 2000). Studies’ findings indicate that students with higher levels of social support experience lower levels of acculturative stress (Poyrazli, Kavanaugh, Baker, & Al-Timini, 2004; Yeh & Inose, 2003) and experience less risk of depressive feelings (Dao, Lee, & Chang, 2007; Sumer, Poyrazli, & Grahame, 2008). Social interactions with home students are another adjusting issue concerning international students (Andrade & Evans, 2009; Ward et al., 2001). Friendships with home students are considered vital for international students since they allow practicing the host language, learning the host culture and feeling accepted (Andrade et al., 2014; Gu, 2011; Ruble & Zhang, 2013; Ryan, 2005; Zhou, Jindal-Snape, Topping, & Todman, 2008). However, some studies indicate that home students are not disposed to make the effort to make friends with international students, particularly if the conversation turns to be difficult (Ryan, 2005) and rather prefer to work and develop friendship with other home students (Peacock & Harrison, 2009). These conclusions are underlined by the findings of Poyrazli and Grahame (2007) which seem to indicate that international students’ social interactions, mainly with U.S. students, are not very frequent. Nevertheless, Trice (2004) findings indicate that the frequency of interaction between international and home students, in this case U.S. students, is extremely variable according to the home country of the international students. Her findings conclude that coming from Western Europe and having good English proficiency has a positive impact in the frequency of social interaction that international students have with U.S. students. Perceived prejudice and discrimination practice, often related with ethnicity and the students’ home countries, affects the adjustment of international students enrolled in host universities, as indicated in some studies (Constantine, Anderson, Berkel, Cadwell, & Utsey, 2005; Sodowsky & Plake, 1992), which conclude that international students reported higher levels of discrimination than home students (Poyrazli & Lopez, 2007). Additionally, research findings stress that international students also experience different forms of discrimination and prejudice outside the university’s campus (Poyrazli & Grahame, 2007), often related to language proficiency barriers (Sawir et al., 2012). - 371 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 The international Students From Portuguese-Speaking African Countries The Portuguese-Speaking African Countries are former Portuguese colonies: Angola, Cape Verde, Saint Tome and Principe, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. This five countries share the inherited language and some cultural traits of a common history from the colonial relation with Portugal together with their sovereign interests today. Portuguese-Speaking African Countries’ HE still has some disadvantaged situation or even does not exist, which contributes to the large number of students deciding to proceed their studies abroad, namely in Portugal (Faria & Costa, 2012). Since 1975 (terminus of the Portuguese colonization) Portuguese universities host students from these new countries whose number never stopped increasing since then (Faria, 2009; Semedo, 2010). Most students from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries choose Portugal due to the shared Portuguese language, historical issues and previous connections with Portugal and Portuguese relatives or friends, the prestige of the Portuguese HEI or because of the guarantee that they can enroll in the Portuguese universities due to cooperation agreements (Costa, 2012; Elimbi, 2012; Faria, 2009; Gusmão, 2011; Jardim, 2013; Mourato, 2011; Palma, 2004; Pessoa, 2004). Some students from Portuguese- Speaking African Countries choose Portugal also due to good references from former students from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries in Portugal (Ferro, 2010). As international students, those from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries experience some hindrances. According to the literature, on one hand they are seen, by home students and universities staff, as ‘regular’ Portuguese students since they ‘share’ the same language, the Portuguese (Ferro, 2010), so it is assumed that students from these countries know the Portuguese culture and language (Casa-Nova, 2005). On the other hand, the literature review also reveals that these students’ difficulties in their academic and social life in Portugal are mostly shared with other international students. Pereira and Motta (2005) state that students from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries face the first hindrance when they arrive in Portugal since, due to bureaucratic issues related to their visa, they start the school year much later than their peers. This late arrival influences these students’ adjustment to the new academic and social environment (Pereira & Motta, 2005). Some studies also indicate that they experience feelings of nostalgia and homesickness (Pacheco, 1996; Duque, 2012) and also seem to have difficulty in finding accommodation (Figueiredo, 2005; Pacheco, 1996; Pereira & Motta, 2005; Rocha, 2012). Although Portuguese is the official language of these students’ home countries, most of them rarely use it in their everyday life. On a daily - 372 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 basis, they tend to use their mother languages, such as Creoles. And if they use Portuguese, it is a Portuguese variation, different from European Portuguese. In this sense, the major hindrance faced by these international students is the language barrier, as it affects both academic and social life (Brito, 2009; Ferro, 2010; Mourato, 2011; Pacheco, 1996; Pereira & Motta, 2005; Semedo, 2010). Among the hindrances experienced by these students, financial issues are also on the top difficulties. Some studies’ findings indicate that, most of the time, scholarships are received very late (up to 5-8 months after the student’ arrival in Portugal) and that the amount of the scholarships from their home countries is insufficient to cover accommodation costs, food, clothing, educational materials and university fees in Portugal (Duque, 2012; Ferro, 2012; Figueiredo, 2005; Jardim, 2013; Pacheco, 1996; Pereira & Motta, 2005). Most of these students experience difficulties regarding the teaching and learning processes. To begin with, the Portuguese education system is very different from what exists in their home countries (Casa-Nova, 2005). These differences originate that they lack some important prior learning, which adds to the difficulty of dealing with the new academic demands (Brito, 2009; Casa-Nova, 2005; Ferro, 2010; Jardim, 2013; Mourato, 2011; Pereira & Motta; 2005; Santos, Lamares & Fernandes, 2012). The shortage of important basic knowledge, namely in mathematics, originates feelings of frustration and affects academic performance and achievement, underlining the importance of prior learning in academic performance (McKenzie, Gow, & Schweitzer, 2004; McKenzie & Schweitzer, 2001). Likewise, also the Portuguese methods of teaching and learning are very different from those that students from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries are used to (Ferro, 2010). Differences take place not only at the curriculum level and extension but also, for instance, in what concerns the methodologies used, often supported in on-line resources not available in their home countries, or the emphasis in experimental work usually accomplished in cooperative and collaborative team work. On top of these differences, some studies conclude that these students also have some difficulties to become members of the work groups during classes, as they experience some prejudice and discrimination among peers (Ferro, 2010; Marques, 2010; Mourato, 2011; Pereira & Motta, 2005). The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Supporting International Students Nowadays, every HEI has an International Office. It is widely recognized that international students are an asset to HEI, namely at academic, social and financial levels. HEI should be able to identify potential problems and solutions regarding international students, since they - 373 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 gather or should gather different perspectives (institutional, staff, home students and international students’ perspectives) and, in this sense, they should promote joint work of different departments and services in order to provide appropriate support to these students. It is important that international students have institutional support right from the beginning of their stay and that this support meets their diverse academic and social needs to allow them to achieve an easier adjustment to university and to decrease the potential negative situations and feelings (Akanwa, 2015; Sovic, 2008). However, despite the fact that HEI are ever more sensitive to international students’ difficulties, there are still many issues to solve. In the literature there are some studies focusing on the institutional support to international students with findings that reveal that there is still much to be done. The majority of the studies emphasize the students’ perspectives defending, for instance, that the main focus of the research regarding international students should not be on the students’ ability to adjust but rather on their feelings related to satisfaction with their academic program, academic appointment and their nonacademic social relationships (Perrucci & Hu, 1995). Moreover, it is argued that HEI should offer specific programs to international students (Akanwa, 2015; Suzuki, 2002), namely to provide a variety of programs of English as a second language for international students, taking into account each students’ needs (Akanwa, 2015; Andrade et al., 2014; Li, Chen, & Duanmu, 2010; Mamiseishvili, 2012; Perrucci & Hu, 1995; Sawir et al., 2012; Suzuki, 2002). These programs may include on-site English language programs to help students improve their levels of English proficiency prior to their arrival (Andrade, 2011) or a careful screening to determine if English language support is needed. A process should also be implemented that allows HEI to track both the success of these students and to what extent students who need this language support actually do receive it (Andrade et al., 2014). HEI should also promote the relationships between home and international students, by organizing social gatherings, picnics, and other group activities (Perrucci & Hu, 1995; Ruble & Zhang, 2013), since it is understood that this kind of activities increase the interactions between the two groups, benefits both parts (Ruble & Zhang, 2013) and may strengthen several of the positive predictors of satisfaction (Perrucci & Hu, 1995). The literature suggestions concerning the HEI’s International offices emphasizes its role in the organization of more welcoming sociocultural events at the beginning of the academic years (Li et al., 2010) as well as its crucial role keeping international students informed about their new academic life (Akanwa, 2015). HEI are also invited to reinforce the close collaboration between their different structures so that supporting international students becomes a joint responsibility of an extended HEI community, including faculties and academic advisors (Mamiseishvili, 2012). HEI must provide - 374 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 workshops, retreats and other activities concerning diversity and multiculturalism (Suzuki, 2002) in order to promote a better understanding of international students’ specific needs (Akanwa, 2015). Regarding the teaching and learning processes, the importance of a Tutor figure is underlined, since it is understood that Tutors’ advices may reduce students’ stress and improve their confidence to carry on their studies (Li et al., 2010). It is also proposed that HEI, namely their Professors, could incorporate more cooperative learning activities into their classes in order to meet the academic and social needs of international students (Akanwa, 2015; Mamiseishvili, 2012; Rienties, Nanclares, Jindal-Snape, & Alcott, 2013). In the case of Portugal and its students coming from Portuguese- Speaking African Countries, the literature seems unanimous denouncing the common sense idea that there are no cultural and social differences between them and their Portuguese colleagues because, allegedly, they know the Portuguese language and culture (Casa-Nova, 2005). As a result, and in accordance with Casa-Nova (2005), there has been some negligence from HEI regarding the socio-cultural specificities of these students. In this sense, there’s a need that the universities develop and implement strategies to improve the reception and the integration of the students from the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries. In order to improve their adjustment, some studies mention the importance of actions such as: rethinking the welcome programs (Santos et al., 2012), implementation of tutorial programs (Rocha, 2012; Santos et al., 2012) and improving the social support, namely financial support (Mourato, 2011; Santos et al., 2012). RESEARCH METHOD The study is a part of a broader research project, which main goal is to make recommendations in order to steer institutional change and, therefore, enhance nontraditional students’ support system within Portuguese HEI. It focuses on two Portuguese HEI: University of Aveiro (UA) and University of Algarve (UAlg) and comprises the data analysis from the academic year 2013/2014. Setting Located in the southern part of Portugal, the UAlg is a young public university. Founded in 1979, the UAlg arose from the merging of two preexisting institutions – the University of Algarve and the Polytechnic Institute of Faro – which makes it somewhat different from most universities given that faculties and schools of both systems co-exist, a common characteristic with UA. In the academic year of 2015/2016, there are 7,332 - 375 - Journal of International Students, 7(2) 2017 students enrolled in graduate and post-graduate programs (3 Faculties, 4 Polytechnic schools and 1 Department). According to institutional data, in the academic year of 2013/2014 there were 129 students from the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries attending the UAlg, in Bachelors (n = 91) and Masters’ degrees (n = 38). Regarding the nationality of these students, the majority were from Cape Verde (n = 78), Angola (n = 21), Mozambique (n = 12), Guinea-Bissau (n = 12) and, lastly, Saint Tome and Principe (n = 6). Concerning the masters’ degrees with more students from the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries they are Biology, Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering. In relation to degrees, the most chosen by these students are Civil Engineering and Marine Biology. The UA, located in the center of Portugal, near the Atlantic Ocean, is a public university founded in 1973. The UA soon became one of the most dynamic and innovative universities in the country with around 15.000 enrolled students in graduate and post-graduate programs, having a unique model of governance (16 Departments, four Polytechnic Schools and various training centers). The UA has an International Cooperation for Development policy, which supports several cooperation agreements in the Education field between the University and the governments of the five Portuguese- Speaking African Countries. According to the institutional data, in the academic year of 2013/2014 there were 248 students from the Portuguese- Speaking African Countries attending the UA, most of them in Bachelors and Masters’ degrees (n = 185). Regarding the nationality of these bachelors and masters’ students, the majority are from Cape Verde (n = 68) and Mozambique (n = 54). There were 36 students from Saint Tome and Principe, 18 students from Angola and only nine from Guinea-Bissau. The three degrees with more students from the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries are Management, Meteorology, Oceanography and Geophysics and Public Administration. Regarding the masters’ degree, the three most chosen by these students are Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Accounting and Public Administration and Management. In short, there were 185 students from Portuguese-Speaking African Countries enrolled at UA and other 129 at UAlg, in a total of 314, attending bachelor and master degrees. PhD students, students attending specializations courses and technological specialization courses are not included in this study. From those 314 students, 146 were from Cape Verde, 66 from Mozambique, 42 from Saint Tome and Principe, 39 from Angola and 21 students were from Guinea-Bissau. A qualitative approach was taken for this study. As Bogdan and Biklen (1991) said, a qualitative research allows researchers to understand different perspectives of the same reality, since qualitative methods give - 376 -