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December 2019 © Aurore Coco Avolonto, 2019 THE CHOICE OF ACCULTURATION STRATEGIES: INTERCULTURAL ADAPTATION OF FRENCH INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN FRANCOPHONE COUNTRIES IN ONTARIO AURORE COCO AVOLONTO A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO December 2019 © Aurore Coco Avolonto, 2019 ABSTRACT According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2019), the number of foreign students studying in Canadian public colleges and universities rose 16.25% in 2018 for an overall increase of 73% in the five years since 2014. The number of international students aspiring to obtain a degree in Canadian higher education institutions has been increasingly growing. Yet, attending post-secondary institutions in a culture different from one’s own may result in challenges of cross-cultural adaptations. Black-African international students are not different in this regard. Based on a mixed methods research, the study draws from Berry’s (1997) fourfold acculturation theory, Kim’s (1988) integrative communication theory and LaFramboise et al. (1993) bicultural competence model to investigate the international students from Sub-Saharan African francophone countries choice of acculturation strategies as well as their overall intercultural adaptation in bilingual post-secondary institutions in Ontario. Results from the quantitative analysis revealed assimilation as preferred acculturation mode while qualitative analysis identified both integration and separation as preferred strategies. The participants reported support from academic staff but also a significant lack of information, and difficulties adapting to the teaching style. ii RÉSUMÉ Selon Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada ([IRCC], 2019), le nombre d’étudiants étrangers qui étudient dans les collèges et universités publics du Canada a augmenté de 16,25 % en 2018, ce qui représente une augmentation globale de 73 % depuis 2014. Les étudiants étrangers qui aspirent à obtenir un diplôme dans les établissements d’enseignement supérieur du Canada sont de plus en plus nombreux; cependant, faire des études postsecondaires dans une culture différente de la leur peut représenter pour les étudiants des défis d’adaptation culturelle énormes. Les étudiants internationaux africains, en particulier les étudiants noirs africains, ne sont pas différents à cet égard. Basée sur une méthode de recherche mixte, cette étude s’inspire de la théorie des quatre modalités d’acculturation de Berry (1997), de la théorie de la communication intégrative de Kim (1988) ainsi que du modèle de compétence biculturelle de LaFramboise et al. (1993) pour analyser comment les étudiants internationaux des pays francophones d’Afrique sub-saharienne choisissent leurs modes d’acculturation dans les établissements postsecondaires bilingues de l’Ontario. L’étude s’est aussi penchée sur leur adaptation interculturelle globale dans leur nouveau cadre éducationnel. D’une part, les résultats de l’analyse quantitative montrent que les participants ont un penchant pour l’assimilation alors que l’analyse qualitative indique que l’intégration et la séparation sont les deux modes d’acculturation préférés des participants. D’autre part, les participants ont rapporté qu’ils ont bénéficié du soutien du personnel universitaire dans leur processus d’acculturation. Mais ils ont aussi dénoncé un manque important d’information et des difficultés à s’adapter au nouveau style d’enseignement. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my primary supervisor Dr. Stéphanie Walsh Matthews: many, many thanks for the countless hours you have spent going over my writing and offering valuable suggestions, always pushing me forward. I am extremely fortunate to have had the chance to work with you. Thank you so much for your wisdom, guidance and patience. Merci! I thank you, Dr. Jamin Pelkey, especially for helping me set-up the lab for my group discussions and also for your advice and your support. Thank you, Dr. Francis Garon for your insightful comments and enthusiasm at every possible occasion. Thank you, Dr. Mark Hayward for your contributions. I thank you all for your dedication to my project, it is greatly appreciated. Special acknowledgement and thanks must go to my family, my husband Aimé, and children Femi, Bola and Kajoke for their support as well as tolerance of an often physically present, but absent wife and mother when I was deep in my readings, data analysis and coding. I appreciate and love you to the moon and back! Merci beaucoup! I would like to thank the 32 participants who gave their thoughtful insights into the international students’ acculturation experience. Without their willingness to share their stories this research on international students from Sub-Saharan African francophone countries would never have been completed and subsequently evaluated. Many thanks to the Executive Council of the Glendon African Network (2018–2019) for sending the information through the association’s group list. Thank you to Marissa Elloh, Marie Richard Lohento and Fatou Camara for coordinating the group discussions. Thank you, Marius Anagonou, for your assistance. Merci! At last, I am forever grateful for all the people who believed in me, encouraged, supported and cheered me on from the very beginning of my master’s studies and the realization of this thesis. iv TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. ii RÉSUMÉ .................................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENT ........................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 International Education Landscape in Canada ................................................................... 3 1.2 This Study ........................................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................................................... 18 2.1 The Concept of Culture.................................................................................................... 20 2.2 The Concept of Acculturation.......................................................................................... 25 2.3 International Students’ Acculturation Process ................................................................. 30 2.4 Black African International Student Adaptation ............................................................. 32 2.5 Acculturative Stress ......................................................................................................... 34 2.6 The Coping Mechanisms of International Students ......................................................... 41 Chapter 3: Theoretical Ground ................................................................................................. 50 3.1 Berry’s Bidimensional Model of Acculturation .............................................................. 51 3.2 Kim’s Integrative Communication Theory ...................................................................... 54 3.3 LaFramboise, Coleman, and Gerton, Bicultural Competence ......................................... 58 Chapter 4: Method and Procedure ............................................................................................ 63 4.1 Research Question and Hypothesis.................................................................................. 63 4.2 Method ............................................................................................................................. 66 4.3 Data Collection ................................................................................................................ 69 4.4 Measures .......................................................................................................................... 72 4.5 Quantitative Analysis Results .......................................................................................... 80 4.6 Testing Hypothesises ....................................................................................................... 82 4.7 Qualitative Analysis ......................................................................................................... 87 4.8 Findings ........................................................................................................................... 89 Chapter 5: General Discussion ............................................................................................... 116 5.1 Translation and Transcription: Pre-Discussion Special Note ........................................ 116 v 5.2 General Discussion ........................................................................................................ 117 Chapter 6: Conclusion ...........................................................................................................
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