Factors of Stress among International Students in University of South Essay

Factors of Stress among International Students in University of South - Essay Example The universities in Western countries like UK, Australia, USA or Canada are considered as a hub of providing state of the art facilities to its students and educate them in a manner that they become more competitive in the employment arena as compared to students seeking education in their local national universities (Poyrazil et al., 2011). This is because of the low standards followed by local national universities or macroeconomic factors that have a direct impact on educational institutions weakening the education system. For this reason, Western universities attract thousands of international students who are looking for sophisticated knowledge management mechanisms and technologically driven education delivery systems. The international students’ population in the USA, UK, and Australia has increased greatly in the last two decades due to strength in purchasing power in emerging economies across the globe (Yan & Berliner, 2011). The trend of growth or an increase in the number of enrolment of international students in foreign universities reflects that the number of students is likely to continue to grow in the coming years (Eustace, 2007). It is evident that international students complete their studies in foreign countries with ease however, they still they need to cope up with challenges such as language barriers, cultural differences, and financial obstacles etc. These factors contribute to the overall feeling of being lost or left out that international students face when they move to another country for seeking education. In addition to these factors, another major hurdle is the lack of confidence amongst the international students, which stems from the differences in social interaction norms followed by the local students and international students (Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994). On the whole, these stressors might become so severe that they start to affect international students’ academic and personal lives, which in return affect their e fforts to become part of the new cultural settings that they are not familiar with. As a result, the happiness level of being in a foreign country and alone reduces which contributes to the reduction in the morale and results in sadness or disappointment (Yeh & Inose, 2003). Considering this background, the current research work focuses on understanding whether or not international students experience stress en route to completing their studies in foreign countries.