Date of Award

8-1-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology

Abstract

This study aimed at identifying learning and teaching strategies that can promote the process of acculturation for Korean students in institutions of higher education in the United States. In particular, the study attempted to pinpoint ways in which these students and their instructors can become aware of and resist educational tendencies and approaches that promote hegemony and devalue cultural perspectives and experiences as well as construct meaning within the context of a worldview that is influenced by both Korean and U.S. cultures. It was hoped that the identification of these skills and strategies would aid both students and instructors in developing the ability to become successful border crossers, as defined by Giroux‟s (2005) border pedagogy, as well as culturally enlightened citizens of the global community. The study was qualitative in nature and consisted of a series of interviews with six South Korean students (three undergraduate and three graduate) enrolled in a mid-sized institution of higher education in the U.S. Midwest, six U.S. faculty members at the same university who had had Korean students in their courses, and four faculty members from Korea who were teaching at the university. A review of the literature included an examination of Positivism and its role in U.S. education, border pedagogy, particularly as it relates to international education and the process of acculturation, processes of cross-cultural adaptation, studies that have been conducted about South Korean students at U.S. institutions of higher education, historical influences on Korean higher education, and teaching and learning strategies common in South Korean universities.

Share

COinS