What is it about?
The widely cited U-curve hypothesis is not supported by the research data. Methodological issues, different internal and external factors, cultural expectations, individual responses or attitudes, and global developments are discussed as aspects associated with the improper application of the U-curve hypothesis.
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Why is it important?
This research uses a qualitative interview approach, along with a quantitative monthly self-evaluation and a visually graphical evaluation (a special and original research design), for data collection and analysis. It discovers that the U-curve model does not represent the experience of most international postgraduate students and adjustment is a complex set of experiences influenced in various ways by different internal and external factors, different cultural expectations, and the student’s adaptation, negotiation, and resistance to social norms in the host context.
Perspectives
The U-curve model was first proposed by Lysgaard in 1955, and was based on a research context relevant to that era. However, information dissemination, transportation, technology, and internationalization have continued to improve so studying abroad and sojourners’ adjustment may mean something other than what it did previously. It is therefore important for researchers to review the hypothesis and continue to investigate the associated issues based on the different research context of the present day.
Dr YU-YI GRACE CHIEN
University of Exeter
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: After six decades: Applying the U-curve hypothesis to the adjustment of international postgraduate students, Journal of Research in International Education, March 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1475240916639398.
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