Investigating Intercultural Sensitivity in Saudi Arabian Women in The United States: Making Sense of Lived Experiences
Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation
Authors Hertenstein, Kathleen Foley
Citation Hertenstein, Kathleen Foley. (2020). Investigating Intercultural Sensitivity in Saudi Arabian Women in The United States: Making Sense of Lived Experiences (Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA).
Publisher The University of Arizona.
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Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/648657 1
INVESTIGATING INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY IN SAUDI ARABIAN WOMEN IN
THE UNITED STATES:
MAKING SENSE OF LIVED EXPERIENCES
by
Kathleen Hertenstein
______
Copyright © Kathleen Hertenstein 2020
A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the
DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING, LEARNING AND SOCIOCULTURAL STUDIES
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
In the Graduate College
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
2020
2
3
Acknowledgements
Although there are more individuals to thank than could possibly fit in this section, I would like to thank my dissertation committee, and especially my advisor, Dr. Perry Gilmore, for all her support and wisdom. Dr. Gilmore’s encouragement was the spark I needed, and I will forever be grateful. This dissertation is about women listening to other women and about women helping other women, so it is very befitting that Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Mary Carol Combs guided me through the process. I also wish to thank Dr. Nick Ferdinandt, who tirelessly helped me with revisions and questions and who believed in me enough to give my first position as an ESL teacher. Lastly, I want to thank all the women in my study for graciously sharing their experiences with me and allowing me into their lives. Shukraan!
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Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to my mother Catherine Grafft Foley, and to my father,
Donald F. Foley. And to my siblings, Shannon Foley Beirne and Brendan Patrick Foley. Thank you all for your support and unconditional love. Thank you for believing in me. Even though our dad (Da Papa) is no longer physically with us, his presence is felt in our lives and our children’s lives. During this process, I often felt a little extra “help” when I was up late at night, and everyone was asleep. I never felt alone. Thanks, Dad. This dissertation is also dedicated to my daughter, Hannah Foley Hertenstein, and to my son, Tyler Donald Hertenstein. Thank you both for your encouragement and help during this process. Thanks for being responsible for yourselves when you needed to be, for forgiving me when I was working too much, and for making me feel that you were proud of me. Lastly, I dedicate this dissertation to my husband
Mark Alan Hertenstein. Whose love and support helped to make one of my dreams possible.
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Table of Contents
List of Tables……………………………………………………………….….…..….…...9
List of Figures……..………………………………………………………………… .…..10
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………11
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study: A Paradigm Shift…………………………….……13
A Brief History and Context: The Beginning of a Kingdom………...…………..,22
Design of the Study……………………………………………………………….31
Research Questions……………… ……………………………………………... 33
Organization………………………………………….……………………....…...34
Key Terms………………………………………………………………..……….35
Assumptions…………………………………………………………………...…36
Summary…………………………………………………………………………38
Chapter 2: Literature Review……….……………………………………………………40
Introduction………………………………………………………………………40
Theoretical Frameworks………...…..……………………………………...……40
Symbolic Interactionism: Meaning Making…………………...... 40
Intercultural Epistemology and Paradigmatic Confusion………………..44
Models for Intercultural Competence……………………………………………45
Developmental Stages: Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks………………54
Conceptual Focus: Constructivist Communication……………………………...55
Ethnocentric Stages……………………………………………………...56 6
Ethnorelative Stages……………………………………………………..57
Intercultural Competence Assessment Tools for Understanding….….…………59
Lack of Literature on Saudi Females Studying in the United States….....64
Behavior and Roles………………………………………………………67
Summary…………………………………………………………………………68
Chapter 3: Methodology…………………………………………………………………71
Purpose, Significance, and Goals………………………………………………..71
Research Design and Rationale………………………………………….74
Grounded Theory: Shaping Interview Questions………………………..74
A Constructivist Lens……………………………………………………75
Scope, Delimitations, and Limitations…………………………………………..76
Dual Roles: From Etic to Emic………………………………………….77
My Positionality and Participation as a Researcher……………………….…….78
Research Participants………………………………………….…………………81
Participation and Selection………………………………………………82
Background Information: Front Stage…………………………………...82
Amira…………………………………………………………….83
Hana……………………………………………………………...83
Atefah……………………………………………….……………83
Naima…………………………………………………………….83
Elham…………………………………………………………….84
Fatima…………………………………………………………....84 7
Nawra…………………………………………………………….84
Zaida……………………………………………………………..85
Jameelah…………………………………………………………85
Asha…………………………….………………………………..85
Aleena…………………………………………………….……...85
Laila…………………...…………………………………………86
Amal…………………………………………………...…………86
Dahab………………………..……………………….…………..86
Data Collection…………………………………………………………………..87
Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………….89
Research Timeline…………………………………………….………….91
Summary…………………………………………………………………………92
Chapter 4: Findings…………………..…………………………………………………..94
Interview Data………..…………………………………………………….….....96
1. Five Thematic Aspects of Life………………………………….……..96
Theme 1: Restructuring Daily Life………………...... 96
Theme 2: Re-establishing roles as woman ………………………98
Theme 3: Reconceiving aspects of life in theU.S./K.S.A………..100
Theme 4: Redefining Self as Student………..…………....……...102
Theme 5: Realizing Self-Accomplishments……………….….….105
2. Back Stage Ethnographic Insights……………………………….…….107
Identity, Third Space, and a "Trans-temporal Model"………..….107 8
The Center and Cultural Experiences………………..…………..114
Survey Data………………………………………………………………..…….128
1.Results of the DMIS Scale……………………………………..………128
2.Results of the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey…………………….…..130
3.The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity………………..131
Summary…………………..…………………………………………….….…...135
Chapter 5: Conclusion, Discussion, and Recommendations …………………………..137
Overview………………………………………………………………………..137
Summary of Findings…………………………………………………………...140
Conclusion……………...………………………………………………………144
Pedagogical Implications..……………………………………………………...148
Recommendations.…………………………………………………….………..149
Final Reflections………………………………………………………………..153
Appendix A: Interview Questions……………………………………………………...155
Appendix B: Intercultural/Cultural Sensitivity Survey……………………………...…156
Appendix C: Individual Score of ISS…………………………………………………..158
Appendix D: Interviews : Transcripts………………………………….………………164
References…………………………………………….……………………..…………205
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List of Tables
Table 1. Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS).…18
Table 2. Research Participants……………………………….…………………….…….81
Table 3. Summary statistics of Intercultural Sensitivity Survey scores………….…...... 130
Table 4. DMIS & ISS results by participant………………………..……………….….132
Table 5. Age and DMIS score per participant.…………………………………………133
Table 6. Highest year of education completed and DMIS score per participant……….134
Table 7. Length of stay in the U.S. in years & DMIS score per participant…………....134
Table 8. Average DMIS score of participants by marital status………………………..135
Table 9. Ethnorelative Side of Bennett’s Scale……………………....………………..143
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List of Figures
Figure 1. Five Thematic Aspects of Life.……………….……………………………96
Figure 2. Trans-Temporal Model……………………………………………………113
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Abstract
Globalization affects our careers and education, and now more than ever interacting effectively with people from other cultures is of the utmost importance. In today’s classroom, cultivating intercultural sensitivity has become a necessity due to the pervasiveness of intercultural misunderstandings and misinformation in society. To that end, this dissertation aims to provide 1) a conceptualization of intercultural sensitivity, 2) a delineation of the components of intercultural sensitivity, 3) an understanding of the role intercultural sensitivity plays in training for educators, students, and citizens, and 4) a critique of the findings and further recommendations.
Using Milton Bennett’s Developmental Stages of Intercultural Sensitivity (1986,1993,
2004, 2013) as a conceptual and theoretical framework and Chen and Starosta’s (2000) ISS survey, I asked eleven female Saudi students at the tertiary level how they perceived themselves regarding their developmental stage of intercultural sensitivity. In addition to the scale and survey, I conducted a three-part interview (Seidman, 2006) to gather data pertaining to the participants’ lived experiences. In viewing identity through a constructivist lens, I examined my dual roles: etic and emic (Pike,1967) and conducted a micro-analysis using symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969) as a way to shed new light on the participants lived experience as sojourners in the U.S.
The results of this dissertation are intended to inform students, teachers, administrators, and communities on intercultural sensitivity and the intercultural experiences of sojourners, or 12
students who study abroad, at the tertiary level. I found that respondents’ interpretations of their lived experiences strongly influenced their identity construction and that intercultural sensitivity
“bridges the gap” between teacher and student, allowing a more interactive and inclusive classroom.
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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study: A Paradigm Shift
“… our relationship with learners demands that we respect them and demands equally that we be aware of the concrete conditions of their world, the conditions that shape them. To try to know the reality that our students live is a task that the educational practice imposes on us: Without this, we have no access to the way they think, so only with great difficulty can we perceive what and how they know” Paulo Freire
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahamata Ghandi
Over the past decade, technology has been bringing the world closer together and as more
International students embark on their journeys to U.S. classrooms, it has become imperative to develop and foster intercultural sensitivity on our college campuses. Intercultural sensitivity is concerned mostly with attitudes, emotions, and respect for others (Bennett, 2013). It is the practice of having a positive feeling for other cultures and wanting to learn how to interact. Chen and Starosta (1996) define intercultural sensitivity as an individuals’ “active desire to motivate themselves to understand, appreciate, and accept difference among cultures” (p. 231).
The topic of “integration” has been greatly researched and the perceived benefits have been widely documented, (Alexitch & Chapdelaine, 2004;Ward, 2001) with research showing that intercultural students who spend time with locals adjust more quickly and experience less culture shock. It has been argued that international students who obtain host friendships learn social norms and skills and therefore experience less cultural shock (Alexitch & Chapdelaine,
2004). Although having friends from one’s own ethnic background offers a great deal of support, research shows that international students who make friends with their U.S. counterparts are 14
more likely to earn better grades and have higher retention rates compared to those that do not have local friends (Lulat & Altbach, 1985; Perrucci & Hu, 1995;Westwood & Barker, 1990).
Intercultural interaction is beneficial for domestic students as it teaches how to work in a multi- cultural society (Trice, 2003; Volet & Ang, 1998). Many studies have claimed that intercultural interaction many reduce discrimination and increase tolerance for different cultures
(Bochner,1965; Gudykunst, 1989; Hurtado, 2001). Lee (2006) found that domestic students with international student friends were more open minded than those without international student friends.
This is an exciting time for educators and administrators in and out of intercultural studies as the prediction is that international students will continue to sojourn to American campuses to earn degrees, they can use back home. According to the current Institute of
International Education (IIE) report, one million international students attended college in the
2018-2019 academic year in the U.S (IIE, 2019). International students bring diversity to campus classrooms and can offer a wealth of knowledge about their cultures. International students are also important financially to universities as international tuition is set at a higher rate than domestic students (both in and out of state). Therefore, from an administrative point of view it is also an important time to begin contemplating intercultural sensitivity and interacting effectively with people from other cultures.
It behooves educators to learn as much as they can about the populations they teach.
Although the enrollment of international students has gone down in recent years, intercultural education is cyclical. According to Kanno and Cromley (2012), 19,000 Saudi females were studying at U.S. universities compared to only 800 in 2004. Today, the Institute of International 15
Education (IIE) reports 37,000 Saudi students (both male and female) studying in the U.S. and one million international students total for the 2018-2019 school year. The Center (a pseudonym) is an intensive English school for students preparing for the university and other endeavors that has consistently enrolled Saudi female students. Currently, the highest percentage of women at the Center are Saudi. Understanding as much as possible about a student population can help with retention of students and help to possibly diminish misunderstandings.
While there had been a rise in international student membership, after 2016 there has been an unfortunate increase in the distribution of white supremacists’ fliers and pamphlets on
U.S. campuses (see figure 1). These fliers depict international students as a “drain” on the U.S. and accuse African American students of causing crime. According to the Anti-Defamation
League:
Three hundred and thirty-three items were distributed from Sept 2018 to May
2019. The numbers of propaganda show a record increase for the spring session
with 166 incidents on 122 campuses across 33 states and the District of Columbia.
For the complete academic year, California had the most incidents with 58,
followed by Kentucky with 22 and Oklahoma with 19 (ADL, 2019).
This hate propaganda focuses on anyone who is considered a “foreigner” or a “non- white” and impedes education. It can have lasting psychological effects (Williams, Metzger,
Leins, & DeLapp, 2018). According to the Chronicle of Higher Education , nearly 280 hate crimes were reported in 2017 to the FBI by campus police. The number of hate crimes increased from 257 in 2016 and 194 in 2015. (Bauman, 2018). Williams et al. (2018) propose that acts of racism can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTDS) and recommends that the effects of 16
racism should be added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
Experiencing racial slurs can discourage students from returning to our campuses, cities, or states, but more importantly, they can incite hatred and perpetuate hostile or exclusive environments. The U.S. Department of Education first reported a trend in the increase of hate crimes on college campuses in 2016 (Bauman, 2018). There have been three reports of hate crimes on the university campus where I teach and where my students attend classes to date
(U.S. Department of Ed, 2017).
It is also an extremely exciting time for Saudi women. Currently, Saudi Arabia is experiencing a radical paradigm shift in social and economic opportunities for women. The participants I interviewed expressed a positive outlook on their futures. In fact, to quote Hana one of the participants in the study, “It’s the year of the woman.” She said this as she explained the new freedoms women now have in Saudi Arabia. The ban on driving in Saudi Arabia was lifted in 2018 and then the following year, the guardianship law was ended. With these laws no longer in place, women can travel by themselves locally or otherwise without a mahram , or male guardian. This pivotal moment is an excellent time to dialogue especially because little has been written about Saudi women studying in the United States at the tertiary level.
Elham added, “They say we are the Vision 2030.” Vision 2030 is a master plan, enacted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to address health and economic disparities. Although Mohammed Bin Salman has suggested great change and opportunities for Saudi people, he has also been criticized for many other actions. This dissertation addresses Intercultural Sensitivity (IS) and consequently will not focus on political issues. As we know, no one culture exists in a vacuum. 17
One of the objectives of Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 is to increase opportunities for women. An example of this is a proposed increase in women in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent (“Saudi Vision 2030”). Consequently, more careers and degrees will be accessible for Saudi women educated in the United States and in Saudi Arabia. The King
Abdullah Scholarship, which provides money for students pursuing studies in the U.S., is proposed to extend to at least the year 2020, which would mean Saudi students are projected to be studying in the U.S. for the next four to six years depending on the time needed to graduate.
The changes in Saudi Arabia are purported to benefit women and open new career possibilities.
This turn of events implies that there will be an emergence of a new family dynamic comprised of a working mother. All the participants explained to me that they want to work when they return to Saudi Arabia.
Vision 2030 could be a step forward for the Islamic Feminism movement. In basic terms, equal opportunities for men and women (all people) is the western definition of feminism .
Similarly, excluding the aspect of religion, Islamic feminism “ derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur’an, seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence” (Badran, 2008). Margot Badran coined the term Islamic feminism and believes that
Islamists (political or radical) have distorted Islam by depicting women in an oppressed and patriarchal society. Badran (2008) believes that this is the image that world has been given and consequently perceives Islam to be. She explains that this movement toward a more egalitarian system for families and societies and support for Muslim family law reform, is the essence of
Islamic feminism (2008). Islamic feminists (not all) uphold the notion of separation of state and religion because a secular state usually guarantees freedom from religion, but secular does not suggest anti-religion (2008). 18
As a teacher reacher, influenced by Dell Hymes’ (1972) ethnography of communication,
I employ the communicative approach to teaching in my ESL (and non-ESL) classrooms. I recognize that two of the most significant objectives in the classroom are to ensure my students learn their L2 (second language) and to prepare them for the university. Using an ethnographic approach, according to Michael Agar (1994) is like moving from “[a] life of Being…into a life of Becoming” (p. 28). In the context of social theory, the ethnography of communication can be directed in a specific cultural setting or on a global scale of human communication (Saville-
Troike, 2003). It is an epistemological endeavor for both students/participants and teachers/researchers because cultural meaning is constructed and reconstructed and interpreted in myriad of ways. It is also important that students feel “comfortable” in the classroom and the only wat to achieve this is to lower the Affective Filter (Krashen, 1982). A high Affective Filter is caused by such things as high anxiety, low self-confidence, or low motivation. In order to lower the Affective Filter , I create a “safe” space where we recognize that we all make mistakes, and where we can laugh at ourselves but not at others. I also employ aspects of Krashen’s theory for the Communicative approach in where the teacher is primarily a facilitator and should seek to minimize talking time (1985),
Table 1. Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS).
Ethnocentric Ethnocentric Ethnocentric Ethno- Ethno- Ethno- relative relative relative Denial Defense Minimization Acceptance Adaptation Integration
In addition to the ethnographic approach, I also selected a two survey approaches to include in my research. The first survey method I chose was Bennett’s Developmental Model of 19
Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) because it “measures” what stage each participant self-identifies and is easily explained and understood. The model is not static and shows that intercultural sensitivity changes over time. It follows the tenants of Communication Theory and sits well with the micro-theory symbolic interactionism. The first three stages are on the ethnocentric (one’s view is the only viewpoint) side of the scale, and the last three are considered ethno-relative
(cultures can only be understood relative to each other). The stages are denial, defense, minimization, acceptance, adaptation, and integration. The DMIS is a methodological tool that can measure progress in intercultural development. It is also a conceptual model that can also act as a theoretical framework as it assumes 1) intercultural sensitivity is a phenomenological process, and 2) intercultural sensitivity can be fostered by allowing opportunities for knowledge and growth.
In addition to the DMIS, I employed the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (Chen &
Starosta, 2000). The survey is compatible with the model because the survey is a proven way to
“measure” where the participants feel they are in relation to cultural sensitivity. For example, the survey is comprised of five items 1) respect for cultural differences, 2) interaction enjoyment, 3) interaction confidence, 4) interaction engagement, and 5) interaction attentiveness. Chen and
Starosta (1996) define intercultural sensitivity as the participants’ “active desire to motivate themselves to understand, appreciate, and accept difference among cultures (p. 231).
Opening dialogues and discussing what we think are “taboo” topics can bridge the communication gap. These discussions can be done in a “safe” place with the established rules of conduct, much like my ESL classroom operates. Focusing on communication within the 20
classroom is imperative as this approach is “student based” where the focus is on the students and not on the teacher.
Our identities come from a lifetime of experiences. Each experience shapes who we are and who we become. While the participants have been in the U. S., they have obtained new roles and new statuses. There is a status to being Saudi because most people in the U.S. assume that every Saudi has a great deal of money. They have also been given master roles by their society.
Our concept of who we are is shaped by our own ideas of who we believe ourselves to be, but it is also shaped by our perception of how others view us. This is often applied to societies or groups; for example, if an individual only knows one story, he/she tends to stay with that story unless they have had an experience that changes the narrative. For symbolic interactionism, changing the narrative is the theory in action.
Although our behavioral choices are constrained by context, histories, and social structures, they are not determined by them. In symbolic interactionism we choose one course or
“line of action” over another. Individuals and society are in constant flux as is our interpretations of each moment as it shifts and rearranges itself. When students communicate, they are more apt to have meaningful learning. Taking aspects of the communicative approach and integrating meaning learning techniques allow for more in-depth conversations. Meaningful learning coincides with the viewpoint that learning is knowledge construction as students try to reflect and make sense of their experiences (Mayer, 1999). Some ways to reflect on learning that I have used are portfolios, journals, and reading logs. In this constructivist learning environment, students participate in active cognitive processing by mentally organizing information coming in as well as integrating past knowledge (Mayer, 1999). Although lessons are structured, there is an 21
organic process to them as the students guide the class content by the questions they have.
Through scaffolding, we work towards the next goals of the class. We use creative ideas: scavenger hunts on campus, interviewing university members in teams to discover what types of jobs people do on campus, picture dictionaries, or picture journals. This contrasts with rote learning in which students are just adding information to their memories (Mayer, 1999).
The functions of communication are causally related to an individual’s purpose and needs
(Hymes,1972). These include such categories of functions as expressive ( conveying emotions or feelings ), directive (requesting or demanding), referential (true or false propositional content), poetic (aesthetic), phatic (empathy and solidarity), and metalinguistic (reference to language itself). This list is not surprisingly like Searle’s (1977) class of illocutionary acts
(representatives , directives , commissives , expressives , declarations ).There are distinct differences in perspectives which distinguish the fields of ethnography of communication and speech act theory (Saville-Troike, 2003). As a teacher researcher and participant observer, I am adopting the more contextual and culturally sensitive ethnographic approach, observing the participants in a range of natural settings including inside and outside of classes, on campus, and in quiet, informal and relaxed atmospheres. I am also employing ethnographic interviewing as a main method of data collection.
In combination with the overarching communicative approaches, I draw from Howard
Gardner’s (1983) Theory of Multiple Intelligences and often implement these practices.
Gardner’s theory argues that students learn in diverse ways and benefit from multiple teaching styles because they have multiple intelligences or ways of learning: linguistic intelligence , logical-mathematical intelligence , spatial intelligence , musical intelligence , bodily-kinesthetic 22
intelligence, naturalistic intelligence , interpersonal intelligence , and intrapersonal intelligence
(1983). There are free tests online to help students figure out what type of learners they are. If educators are prepared with the knowledge that students have a variety of ways of learning, a plethora of opportunities will present themselves in the classroom. All these skills promote communication in their own way. Communicative approaches promote real-world learning in the form of conversations, discussions, and scenarios with the foci on real world experiences, therefore practice really is the goal. The communicative approach and the meaningful learning approach allow students to ask questions and be curious about each other’s cultures, promoting intercultural sensitivity, intercultural awareness, and intercultural communication.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived identity of female Saudi students at the tertiary level in the U.S., the cultural and personal challenges they face, and to gain a better understanding of intercultural sensitivity as the participants self-identity on Bennett’s DMIS
Scale and Chen and Starosta’s ISS Survey. As a teacher researcher, to best interpret participant responses and gain a greater understanding, it is appropriate to look at a brief background of the participants’ culture, traditions, religion, and history. The sections that follow will describe: a background history of the Saudi Arabia; the design of the study; the purpose; the research questions; the organization of the chapter; key terms; assumptions; and finally, a summary of this chapter.
A Brief History and Context: The Beginning of a Kingdom
To understand the participants’ history and experiences in Saudi Arabia, as teacher- researcher, I will present a brief background history and context. During the 18 th century, except 23
for Mecca (also some spelled Meccah) and Medina, the two holy cities, Arabia was isolated from the rest of the world and was under Ottoman rule (Elliot-House, 2012). Mecca and Medina are fundamental to the entire religion of Islam; visiting Mecca (Haj) is one of the five pillars of the
Islamic faith that states that in order to fulfill a commitment to Islam, followers must attend at least once in their lifetime if they have the means to do so (Hussain, 2012).
Also, during this time, Abdel Wahab revitalized the faith (Elliot-House, 2012). Abdel
Wahab and Muhammad ben Saud joined to establish a united force among warring Bedouin tribes and to instill the strict orthodoxy of the Islam of the past. In doing so, they established what is now known as Saudi Arabia (Elliot-House, 2012). Abedel Wahab taught that belonging to the umma (the believers) was the most crucial aspect of life, and anyone who did not follow the Quran was hafir, or nonbeliever. Tribal law was entirely under the control of God’s law
(Elliot-House, 2012). One religion was established (Islamic Wahhabism) and the Saud family thus declared that it would be the only ruling family (Al Saud).
The death of Muhammad ben Saud is significant in Saudi history because without him the foundation weakened, and the Ottomans were gaining control while Egyptian forces were forcing Wahabi expansion out of the region (Al Munajjed, 1997). Eventually, Abdel Aziz ben
Saud, the exiled son of Muhammad ben Saud, returned from Kuwait to take over Riyadh and established the Saud dynasty (Al Munajjed, 1997). With each tribe he conquered, he gained their loyalty and took a new wife, thus mixing many tribes within the Saud dynasty (Al Munajjed,
1997). By 1926, he captured Mecca, Medinah, and Hijaz and by 1932, Abdel Aziz became the
King of Saudi Arabia (Al Munajjed, 1997). Although King Saud had substantial military forces 24
and political security, the state was making extraordinarily little income, mostly through trade and charging pilgrims to visit Mecca (Elliot-House, 2012).
Oil was being discovered in surrounding countries (Iran and Iraq), and King Saud had a vision that Saudi Arabia would too have oil. In 1933, he hired a company from California to look for oil, and oil was eventually discovered in 1938 (Elliot-House, 2012). The company from
California was the prototype to ARAMCO (Arabian American Oil Company). ARAMCO is the current oil company in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
The rapid increase in wealth and economic evolution led to the building of schools, universities, houses, as well as the establishment of state-of-the-art communication systems (Al
Munajjed, 1997). Girls were educated in small groups called Kuttabs that studied the Quran and needlework but remained illiterate and did not attend an academic school (Al Munajjed, 1997).
The first class for girls opened in 1960 in Riyadh, and by the 70's girls were attending public schools (Al Munajjed, 1997). Segregated after the age of six, boys and girls attend separate classes for the rest of their education (Elliot-House, 2012).
During the 70s, along with the educational and economic boom, came the idea of openness and a more moderate following of Islam (AlMuhaini, 2017). Another phenomenon was the hiring of foreign workers to do domestic work. This was highly significant because having a domestic worker in a household signified the man of the house could financially take care of his wife and family. However, it also meant that the household duties of the wife were no longer needed (Al Munajjed, 1997).
The year 1979 marks a complete change in Saudi society resulting from the attack on the holy mosque in Mecca in 1979 by Juhayman al Uteybi (Elliot-House, 2013). Juhayman al 25
Uteybi, a radical Muslim cleric with a group of devoted followers, used firearms to trap worshippers in the holy mosque. His purpose was to alert the Al Saud family that he and his group of followers did not agree with, "excessive tolerance of infidel innovations…women newscasters on television, cinemas, and [even] tolerance of Shias" (who at that time were not worthy of being called Muslim, according to Uteybi) (Elliot House, 2013 pg. 21). In the end,
1,000 people lost their lives, and Juhayman al Uteybi and his group were executed (Al Munajjed,
1997). This was the first organized uprising against the Royal family, and its outcome was monumental. In response to this attack and the takeover of the mosque, women announcers were no longer to be on television, all cinemas were shut down, and all women were forced to wear the veil (Al Munajjed, 1997).
The dramatic growth in oil revenues in the 70’s and 80’s allowed Saudi Arabia to build more schools and by 2014, 99 percent of Saudi girls were enrolled in full primary school. King
Saud University, Saudi Arabia’s first university, was established in Riyadh in 1957. In 1967,
King Abdul-Aziz University was established in Jeddah. After the first year of operations, women could enroll (Al Munajjed, 1997). In the 1960’s there were less than 100 female students, but by
1997, there were 140,000 female students in Saudi universities. Today, women represent over
50% of the university population in Saudi Arabia and education is the most popular field of study for women (Rugh, 2002).
In 2005, King Abdullah Al Saud released the King Abdullah Scholarship Program
(KASP) for men and women. This scholarship, designed to send Saudi students to the best universities in the world, seeks to prepare Saudis to be global competitors in science and labor markets (Ministry of Higher Education, 2013). 26
In 2012, there was a 30.3 percent growth in the percentage of Saudi women studying abroad compared to 2011 at every degree level (Ministry of Higher Education, 2013). By 2013
Saudi women students represented 54 percent of the total percentage of Saudi students studying abroad; 29.5 percent were in bachelor’s degree programs, 44 percent were in master’s degree programs, 8.0 percent were in doctoral programs, and 2 percent were in a fellowship program.
(Ministry of Higher Education, 2013). Although the number of new international students decreased for the third straight year, 0.9 percent decline in new international enrollments in
2018-19 was smaller than declines of 6.6 and 3.3 percent reported the two years prior. (“Open
Doors” Report, 2018). As of 2018-2019, most female students at our Center are from Saudi
Arabia.
Despite the large number of Saudi women attending and graduating from higher education institutions, in 2011, the rate of women in the Saudi workforce was only 15 percent, whereas the rate of men was 85 percent (Saeed, 2014). As of 2019, the percentage of women working is up to 23 percent which is low compared to the global average (48 percent) but is it an improvement. In addition to the challenge of securing a future job, many Saudi women have family obligations. Many women come to the U.S. for their first-year classes already married with children or having their first child away from home. With this scholarship, they are required to maintain a minimum GPA and are faced with limited time to graduate to maintain scholarships. Traditionally, husbands carry the financial burden while women are the childcare givers and responsible for the household chores and meals (Altorki, 1986). This has been the case in Saudi Arabi as well as in the United States. 27
The women in my study are from distinct regions with distinct regional cultures. There are eight distinct regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: the southern province of Asir, the eastern province of El Hasa, the western province of Hejaz, the central province of Nejd, the southeastern province of Rubal Khali province, the northern province of Hejaz, the central province of Rub al Khali and the northern province of Shammar (AlMuhaini, 2017). Within those regions are distinct cities that all have their own unique features.
Vision 2030 is a transformational plan that has been put forth by the Saudi Arabian royal family with several areas targeted for improvement: the economy, education, employment, environment, health, and general well-being of the country and its citizens. Two noteworthy goals are the mention of equal opportunities for women and the increase of women in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent (“Saudi Vision 2030”). Section 2.1.3 of the plan states:
Saudi women are yet another great asset. With over 50 percent of our university
graduates being female, we will continue to develop their talents, invest in their
production capabilities and enable them to strengthen their future and contribute
to the development of our society and economy (AlMuhaini, 2017).
Vision 2030 is the plan King Salman presented to the kingdom but is being carried out by his son, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Crown Prince is also the Minister of
Defense and only thirty-four years old. He, along with Vision 2030, is being championed by the youth of Saudi Arabia. The year 2018 has demonstrated dramatic changes. For example,
Mohammed bin Salman recently stated, "We are returning to what we were before -- a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and the world. We will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas. We will destroy them today" (AlMuhaini, 2017). 28
Mohammed bin Salman has enacted significant change. For example, the guardian laws have been lifted which means women are free to move about without a guardian or mahram .
Women were able to drive in 2018 and can now enter soccer stadiums. There are even female
Uber drivers. Also, cinemas have reopened. Mohammed bin Salman has detained princes that he feels have abused their positions by spending copious amounts of the royal family’s money. He also detained clerics who want to maintain a strict interpretation of the Quran. Mohammed bin
Salman, or MBS, is appealing to most of the Saudi youths because he represents a change, opportunities, and new way of life.
Just as I asked the participants to share their stories, I too must share mine. Prior to teaching English As a Second Language (ESL), I had taught mostly American children born or naturalized in the United States. I realized a need for expansion on intercultural experiences and intercultural education in the public school system. I wanted first-hand knowledge of other cultures for myself and for my students, so I arranged three international trips. On the first trip, I took eighth-graders to England, on the second trip, I took seniors to England, Italy, Greece, and
Turkey and on the third trip, I took seniors to Spain, France, and England. I knew that these experiences would benefit my students and myself, although I truly did not understand at that time how significant those experiences were until I started working at the Center (to remain anonymous). Now after working at the Center for thirteen years, I know that taking trips are quite beneficial in learning about other cultures, however, learning about other cultures can happen at “home.” I feel privileged to have met many people from around the world who have shared their cultures with me and in the process, have taught me extensively. I have realized that teaching is a learning and reflexive process, and every day is a learning experience when you work with international students or any type of students. As an instructor, I have often been in 29
the role of a researcher to find innovative teaching practices. There is no singular approach to teaching. It is a combination of methods mixed with an open mind and heart. Simply put, we cannot have prejudices or ethnocentric ideologies and be good instructors.
I remember the first time I had a Saudi female student in my class who was entirely dressed in a black abaya 1 and niqab 2. I was completely taken aback and made an audible sound. I was so embarrassed by my behavior and felt my face turn red. Instead of letting me suffer in my ignorance, she smiled and made me feel instantly comfortable. Before the class had ended, we were working in groups, and she asked me to look at her phone. I looked and it was a picture of her smiling with long curly black hair. I felt so included and honored by that one simple gesture.
This incident inspired me to learn more, so I began researching all I could about Saudi
Arabia. My new student gave me a book about her city, Medina, and consequently I learned there are two holy cities: Mecca and Medina. Just as before with my public school students, I had the urge to experience a new culture in person. At that time, I did not have a way to get to
Saudi Arabia, so I went to Dubai and presented at the TESOL (Techers of English to Speakers of
Other Languages) ARABIA Conference. Although this conference was in the UAE (United Arab
Emirates), many of my students had been to Dubai, so we would now have a point of reference for conversations.
Remarkably, there has been little written about Saudi women studying at the university level. Much of the literature focuses on educational experiences in Saudi Arabia or is in the form of dissertations. Consequently, there is an absence of data that expresses the opinions and
1 An abaya is a long black dress worn on the outside of clothing. 2 A niqab is a face covering that only shows the eyes. 30
feelings of Saudi female students as they navigate their academic and personal lives in the U.S. at the university level. The Saudi women in the classes at the Center were open to sharing about their culture. They were also willing to talk to me. In general, they spent time with me outside of class just chatting or having Arabic coffee.
Because I have been teaching for many years at the Center, I have gained a certain amount of trust and respect from the participants, so they knew me or knew of me and understood that I was doing research to gain insight into their lives. Although I have the status of instructor, one aspect of our Center is informality. For example, students refer to their professors by their first names, and instructors and students attend events during school and in their free time. The reason for this is to encourage the students to feel more relaxed so they will be more apt to practice English.
One of my goals as an interviewer was to move from the etic to the emic (Pike, 1967). In its simplest form the etic is an outsider’s viewpoint whereas an emic viewpoint is that of an insider. With this research population, we have the commonality of all being women. My ascribed status set consists of being “white,” female, and middle-aged. My achieved status set is that of a mother of two, an ESL teacher, a wife, and a PhD candidate. I hoped that because there were so many changes taking place in their worlds, in Saudi Arabia as well as the U.S., that the participants would be eager to discuss what was taking place and how those events might impact their futures.
Since that first day when a female Saudi Arabian student walked into my classroom, I felt compelled to research her culture and began reading books on the history of Saudi Arabia. I did this because of my lack of knowledge, and I needed a starting point to be able to relate to my 31
students. I have made many intercultural mistakes along the way, but making mistakes is truly part of the process. I traveled to a Dubai to gain a better understanding of Arabic culture. I made mock interview questions to aid in the development of research questions, and then interviewed a classmate from Saudi Arabia. I asked her opinion in regard to the questions that I had chosen. As
I gathered more data from the literature, I discovered there was little written about the emotions, meanings, and experiences from the viewpoint of Saudi women. I hoped that because there were so many changes taking place in their worlds (in Saudi Arabia as well as the U. S) that the participants would be eager to discuss how and what was taking place.
Design of the Study
Drawing from the data collected from observations, interviews and focus groups, this study examined the perceived identity of the participants and where they see themselves on
Bennett’s scale and the Chen & Starosta’s ISS survey. Bennett’s model (DMIS) is a theoretical phenomenological framework that has six stages. Bennett (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) argues that intercultural sensitivity is related to sojourners’ (i.e. international students who study abroad) ability to transform themselves from the denial stage to the integration stage. The participants also took the Chen and Starosta (2000) intercultural sensitivity survey.
Using grounded theory, as one approach of analysis, I conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews (Agar, 1994). Grounded theory is “grounded in data systematically gathered and analyzed” (Strauss & Corbin, 1994). Each interview and focus group session were recorded and transcribed. Influenced by Charmaz’s (2014) grounded constructivist approach, I wrote memos as I collected data and looked for patterns establishing codes as I analyzed what the participants 32
had to say. Following her guidelines to find emerging data, I began with a line-by-line analysis to look for patterns (2014). I scoured the interviews for actions and began marking gerunds 3 in my notes. Charmaz suggests looking for actions in interviews, often expressed in the form of gerunds (2014). For example, I recognized the idea of redefining as I was reading and listening to the transcripts. I began listing gerunds and analyzing patterns in those. I recognized five themes as gerunds. I repeatedly heard the participants discuss life here and all the new responsibilities that they had and all the changes that they had had to make since they have arrived. I identified the theme of restructuring daily life . Their daily routines have completely changed. I also noted a pattern with the topic of education. These experiences were positive and negative but also dramatically different from the educational system back home. I labeled this theme as redefining role as student .
One highly challenging aspect of the participants lives is that they had to re-establish their roles as a woman . For example, a daughter’s relationship might be different in the U.S. from what it is in Saudi Arabia. Some of the women got married just before they came to the
U.S., so they now have the new role of wife. Four of the participants have children and are now mothers in a country that is new to them. The participants must also re-establish their roles as a friend in the U.S. Some of them now have male friends which was not allowed at home. Others have made friends from other cultures.
Ultimately, I identified five themes, one of which was recognizing accomplishments . The participants explained their achievements and new hurdles that they had gone through. Another theme that I identified was the idea of reconceiving life in the U.S. and in Saudi Arabia. Some of
3 A gerund is an action word (verb) denoted with an “ing” ending. 33
the participants had misapprehensions about the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. I began analyzing these themes and looking for deeper meanings within the interviews. I compared the results from the
ISS and looked for correlations in the interviews. I gathered the results of the DMIS and graphed them to see if there was a correlation with any of the variables. I then looked at the scores from the ISS and the DMIS for correlations. I triangulated the data. The intent in research is to use two or more aspects of research to strengthen the design to increase the ability to interpret the findings (Campbell & Fiske, 1959; Denzin, 1970; Polit & Hungler, 1995). I looked for similarities across the data sets: interviews, focus groups, memos, the survey, my interview notes, and scale. This comprised my data.
Research Questions
The goals of this study were to explore the lived experiences of Saudi Arabian females in higher education in the United States. Specific goals of the study are 1) to investigate the cultural and personal challenges the women face and how those challenges affect their daily lives, 2) to use the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) and the
Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (2000) as analytical and teaching tools, and 3) to gain a better understanding of intercultural sensitivity in order to bridge the communication gap between teacher and student.
The research questions that my study sought to answer are:
1. What does it mean to be a Saudi woman living and studying in the U.S? What are the
cultural and personal challenges for Saudi women as students in U.S. university settings? 34
2. What variables affect intercultural sensitivity?
3. What side of Bennett’s Scale do participants see themselves on: the ethnocentric side or
on the ethno-relative side of the scale? And do the participants feel they have shifted on
the scale since living in the U.S.?
Organization
This dissertation provides an overview of issues relating to Saudi women as they live and study in the United States. It is divided into five sections. Chapter 1 provides the introduction to the study, a brief history of Saudi Arabia, the purpose and significance, the design of the study, the research questions, the organization of the study, key definitions, assumptions, the scope and delimitations, the limitations, the significance of the study, and a summary. Chapter 2 presents the theoretical frameworks, and literature review. The literature review is comprised of the models for intercultural competence, the developmental stages of intercultural sensitivity, the theoretical and conceptual focus, the assessment tools for intercultural sensitivity, a gap in the literature and an outline of identity construction. Chapter 3 describes the research methods, the research design and rationale, a methodological overview and theoretical and conceptual framework for intercultural sensitivity, a list of the participants with background information, sampling procedures, data collection, reflection on my positionality as a researcher, a data analysis plan, and a summary of the chapter. Chapter 4 details the findings from one-on-one interviews, presents a Back Stage/emic view, contains findings from focus groups, presents the results of the ISS survey and DMIS Scale and a summary of the chapter. Chapter 5 begins with 35
an overview, details the findings of the study, interpretations, recommendations, and presents a conclusion.
Key Terms
Cross-cultural:
In the field of intercultural communication, the focus is on the communicative interaction between members of two or more cultural groups (Bennett, 1993).
Ethnocentric:
Represented on the left side of Bennett’s scale for the stages of denial, defense, and minimization. Defined as “assuming that the worldview of one’s own culture is central to all reality” (Bennett, 1993 p. 30).
Ethnorelative:
“The assumption that cultures can only be understood within a cultural context. Represented by cultures can only be understood relative to one another and that behavior can only be understood within a cultural context. There is no good or bad just different” (Bennett, 1998, p.46)
Intercultural awareness:
“The cognitive aspect of intercultural communication. It refers to the understanding of cultural conventions that affect how people live and culture conventions that affect how people think and behave” (Chen &Starosta, 1997 p. 9).
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Intercultural learning:
“Acquiring increased awareness of subjective cultural context (world view), including one’s own, and developing greater ability to interact sensitively and competently across cultural contexts as both an immediate and long-term effect of exchange” (Bennett, 2013 p. 113).
Intercultural communication:
According to Chen & Starosta, intercultural communication (IC) is shown through the behavioral aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication in interactions with others (1997).
Intercultural sensitivity
The term intercultural development is used to mean “the ability to discriminate cultural difference and to experience those differences in communication across cultures” (Bennett, 2013.
P. 12. Bennett explains that intercultural competence is the ability “to embody and enact intercultural sensitivity” (2013, p. 12). Intercultural Sensitivity is “An individual’s ability to develop a positive emotion toward understanding and appreciating cultural differences that promotes an appropriate and effective behavior in intercultural communication” (Chen &
Starosta, 1997 p.5). Where “sensitivity” refers to a complicated understanding of cultural difference and “competence” refers to the ability to enact that sensitivity in another cultural setting in an appropriate way (i.e. behavior) (Bennet & Castiglioni, 2004).
Assumptions
Intercultural experiences educate and profoundly change people. They also help to promote lifelong friends/relationships/partners from other cultures. All parties are affected: both 37
the host and the sojourner (Fantini, 2020) and upon return, sojourners do things that benefit others. Introducing Bennett’s DMIS to the participants could possibly be a positive experience, as being informed about cultural sensitivity can aid participants in their endeavors in the United
States. Introducing participants to the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (Chen and Starosta, 2000) can help students realize their intercultural sensitivity skills. The DMIS and the ISS encourage cultural awareness of others and of the self. They are both good starting places to begin as an interviewer.
The interview process is one of the best ways to find out about another person's reality.
Listening to others’ stories is an essential process in collaborating and learning. As data is being collected, expressing life stories can lead participants to reflect on their lives and who they have grown to be. Telling stories can also be cathartic as the speaker may be able to work through problems or something that is bothering them. Participant’s actual words add a richness to the data.
I assumed the participants in my study would score on the ethno-relative side of
Bennett’s Scale and on Chen & Starosta’s survey because 1) I assumed they wanted to come to the U.S. to experience other cultures, and 2) I had enough ethnographic data to suggest that the participants were curious and wanted to learn about other cultures as well as teach others about their culture. I assumed that the better we know our students, the better we can serve them and help them traverse the U.S. educational system and that being exposed to the ideologies of intercultural education can aid students in adjusting to their new environments.
I anticipated a correlation between length of stay and intercultural sensitivity because the more experiences a person has with other cultures, the more apt he/she/they will be to move 38
toward adaptation. Adaptation to a new environment is achieved through communication (Kim,
2001, 2012, 2015). Adaptation does not mean assimilation.
Summary
The history of Saudi Arabia, in this case, or the history of any student group is appropriate and important to study to learn more about our student populations. It is especially interesting to study Saudi Arabia because of all the changes that have been enacted by
Mohammed Bin Salman. The Saudi sojourners in this study view Vision 2030 as promising to bring about great opportunities for themselves and all Saudis. Vision 2030 could be a step forward for the Islamic Feminism movement.
There is a lack of research on female Saudi women and their lived experience at the tertiary level in the U.S. Much of the literature focuses on educational experiences in Saudi
Arabia. Consequently, there is an absence of data that expresses the opinions and feelings of
Saudi female students as they navigate their academic and personal lives in the U.S. at the university level. Using Seidman’s three-part interview process and Charmaz’s guidelines for collecting data, I used grounded theory as a theoretical framework.
Although the concepts of intercultural awareness, intercultural sensitivity, and intercultural communication often overlap theoretically, each have distinct features. Chen and
Starosta (1996) define intercultural sensitivity as individuals’ “active desire to motivate themselves to understand, appreciate, and accept difference among cultures” (p. 231). The focus of this study is the lived experiences of Saudi women studying at the university and where they 39
self-identify as their level of intercultural sensitivity on the DMIS scale by Milton Bennett (1986,
1993, 2004, 2013) and on the ISS survey by Chen and Starosta (2000).
Unfortunately, U.S. universities have reported that racist fliers and hate crimes are on the rise. There have been three reports of hate crimes on the university campus where I teach and where my students attend classes to date (U.S. Department of Ed, 2017). An open dialogue with administrators, teachers, students, and the community would be a starting point for intercultural training.
40
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Introduction
Researchers suggest that intercultural sensitivity is quintessential for people who live and work in a multicultural society. Intercultural sensitivity means being aware that cultural differences and similarities exist and have substantive effects on values, learning, and behavior.
Intercultural sensitivity begins with being curious, understanding all humans are unique, and realizing experiences, beliefs, and values affect their perceptions. Milton Bennett’s Six Stage
Model is a theoretical and conceptual framework that supports the theory that Intercultural
Sensitivity is phenomenological and can be learned and taught. Putting the focus on symbolic interactionism, researchers can illicit experiences and feelings as they listen to participants “tell stories” from their lives.
Theoretical Frameworks
Symbolic Interactionism: Meaning Making
People have their own ideas, thoughts, and symbols in society that comprise our own perspective on what is “actual reality”. There is not just one set of realities that we accept because reality is subject to change. All our ideas of our individual reality are based on our experiences and interactions with one another. Symbolic interactionism can inform this study as a guideline for analysis because the study focuses on the participants’ daily lives, shared symbols and meanings, experiences, and interactions with others. 41
Inspired by George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) the founder of symbolic interactionism, Herbert
Blumer coined the phrase social interactionism . Mead argued that the development of a person was a social process. Blumer outlined the theory’s basic concepts:
Humans interact with things based on those meanings ascribed to them; the ascribed
meanings come from our interactions with others and society; the meanings are
understood by a person when dealing with things; researchers are able to use a micro-
level theory that focuses on the relationships of individuals within a society and proposes
that people are active in shaping their social world instead of simply being acted upon
(Herman & Reynolds, 1994).
The theory focuses on how individuals behave or act and states that experience shapes how we behave over time. Furthermore, it also states that we interact with the world to give meaning to shared experiences in our daily lives. The meaning we give to symbols and to reality are subject to change over time. The more experiences an individual has in society, the more one grows to comprehend the main principles of that society (Chamberlain-Salaun, Mills, & Usher,
2013).
The assumptions of this theory are 1) human actions depend on the meaning of the object,
2) we give meaning to things based on our experiences and social interactions, and 3) the meaning of symbols is subject to change over time (Blumer, 1969). Blumer argues that meaning is a result of interactions and is comprised of ideas, places, and events. And meaning allows people to produce some of the facts forming the sensory world. These meanings assigned are subject to change over time (Blumer, 1969). 42
Although our behavioral choices are constrained by context, histories, and social structures, they are not determined by them. In symbolic interactionism we choose one course or
“line of action” over another. Individuals and society are in constant flux as is our interpretations of each moment as it shifts and rearranges itself.
In our social structure we establish relationships among people. These relationships establish a certain expectation of everyone involved, depending on the social setting. Social status is part of identity and represents the position that a person occupies in a society or social group. For example, the status of a “teacher” defines how a teacher should relate to his/her students. Status not only refers to occupation it also includes gender, race, sexual orientation, and all social statues like being a mother, a child, or a citizen. All the statuses held by one person make up that person’s status set (Blumer, 1969). Knowing a person’s status set can tell us a great deal about a person because status sets are in a hierarchy with some statuses having more “value” in society than others.
A status can be either ascribed by society (a person has no choice) or achieved (earned).
For example, race is an ascribed status as is the status of being middle-aged (Blumer, 1969). An example of achieved status could be earning a degree while living in another country. Some statuses are more important than others. A master status is the status that most likely others use to identify an individual (Blumer, 1969). This status can be either achieved or ascribed and can be perceived as negative or positive. This status does not need to be important to the individual who holds it, it just needs to be significant to other people and the primary way of locating individuals on the social hierarchy. 43
Statuses tend to have common threads but not necessarily and can be inconsistent. A status inconsistency is a mismatch between statuses (Blumer, 1969). An example of status inconsistency might be a professor who works at the grocery store; we are not used to seeing this discrepancy.
Symbolic interactionism is criticized for three main reasons 1) It does not understand society in general, 2) it is popular for micro-research as opposed to macro-research, and 3) it cannot lead to a general understanding of a society but rather can be used for groups (Blumer,
1969).
In accordance with symbolic interactions is dramaturgical analysis by Erving Goffman
(1959). On a macro-level he viewed the world as stage and society as the actors. In his interpretation individuals literally perform roles for each other, and the point of social interactions is always, in some part, to maintain successful interaction that conforms to what is expected (Goffman, 1959). He describes that the “actors” use props to perform impression management to control the information others receive about them. It is not just what an individual says or does, it is a matter of what a person wears or what setting she or he is in.
Impression management is what takes place on Goffman’s’ Front Stage where society is watching, and Back Stage represents time with ourselves when we feel most free to be ourselves.
This is relevant to the study because when we first began this journey, we were in our Front
Stage behavior in a formal relationship and as time passed, we moved to the Back Stage or to a more informal relationship. As we got to know w other better, I was welcomed in as part of the group. I was shown baby pictures, invited to drink coffee, invited to lunch, invited to be friends on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and invited to hold one of the participant’s 44
babies. Another unexpected phenomenon occurred when some of the participants began to email me for no other reason but to “chat.” This happened after data collection. The participants who emailed me were just emailing to say hello.
Intercultural Epistemology and Paradigmatic Confusion
Paradigmatic confusion occurs when a paradigm underlying a practice is different from the outcome claimed for that practice. Intercultural epistemology relies on “theory into practice” as a criterion for conceptual relevance and sits well with the quantum paradigm of constructivism and intercultural adaptation (Bennett, 2013). Thomas Kuhn (1967) showed that perspective
“constructs” the reality that we describe. In his theory, the observer’s theory, the observer interacts with his or her reality according to perspective. This is quite different from a relativistic perspective, which describes different views of reality.
The idea of constructivism relates to the quantum idea of “organization of reality through observer/observation/observed interaction.” This concept traces back to an extensive lineage across many disciplines (e.g. Barnlund, 1998; Bennett, 1986, 1993, 2004; Berger &Luckman,
1967; Kelly, 1963; Lakeoff, 1987; Piaget, 1954; Sapir & Whorf, 1956). For events to become meaningful “people have to make something out of them” (Kelly, p. 42 in Bennet, 2013). Kelly suggest that “experience” occurs in context (as do the relativists) but without engagement of the phenomena. This is what Bennett calls a “profoundly nonpositivist notion” (2013, p. 43). This is relevant to this study because when we encourage intercultural learning, we ask people to engage in a self-reflexive act. The only way a person can have access or experience of different culture is to organize their reality to the different culture rather than their own. 45
Models for Intercultural Competence
Spitzberg & Changnon (2009), organized five categories of intercultural competence:
Compositional Models, Co-orientational Models, Developmental Models, Adaptational Models, and Causal Path Models. Compositional Models represent lists of characteristics that are indicative of intercultural competence but do not specify how characteristics relate to one another (2009). Two examples of compositional models that Spitzberg & Changnon (2009) present are the Intercultural Competence Components Model developed by Howard Hamilton et al. (1998) and the Global Competencies Model by Hunter, White and Godbey (2006). Another model, the Global Competencies Model used a Delphi analysis to develop the core competencies. Delphi analysis assumes people need to know about their own culture before they learn about another culture, be open to learning about other cultures and recognize cultural differences. Ting-Toomey and Kurogi (1998) developed a compositional model to represent facework management theory of intercultural communication that examines individualism vs. collectivism, Spitzberg and Changnon (2009) point out that this type of model differs from causal path models as each change in components is expected to influence every other component. Another influential model they mention is Deardorff’s Pyramid Model of
Intercultural Competence (2006) in which she employed the Delphi method of research by asking 23 intercultural experts about definitions and components of intercultural competence.
Deardorff also converted these ideas into a process model.
Co-orientational Models focus on shared meanings and “communicative mutuality”
Spitzberg and Changdon (2009). Fantini (1995) developed the Intercultural Interlocutor
Competence Model that summarizes the characteristics of the linguistic processes required to 46
achieve co-orientation. As interactions increase between interlocutors, a system of perceptions is
“translated ” into concepts, which are in turn translated into smaller pieces and then transformed into “specific expression-based units” (morphology and syntax) and “overt expression-based units” (phonology, graphemes, signs, etc.).
Fantini (2001) concurs that the traits identified in Co-orientational Models are likely to facilitate interlocution and that these traits are organized by (awareness, attitudes, knowledge, and skills). Fantini also developed the Worldviews Convergence Model (1995) and suggests that interlocutors who develop worldviews display co-orientation through competent interaction with other interlocutors (Spitzberg & Changdon, 2009).
Another influential co-orientation model developed by Byram and colleagues (Byram,
1997, 2003; Byram et al., 2001) involves several commonalities within co-orientational models.
The model distinguishes the differences between bicultural and intercultural interlocutors. What is missing from compositional models and co-orientational models is the factor of time
(Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009). Intercultural competence takes time, and an inevitable factor is the ongoing relationships among the members of different cultures. The ways that intercultural competence models have accounted for the role of time is to consider developmental models
(Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009).
Developmental Models show intercultural competence over time as participants make transitions from one stage to the next. A typical representation of this model is the Intercultural
Maturity Model by King and Baxter (2005). The assumption is that interlocutors will move from the ethnocentric understanding of cultures to a more ethnorelative appreciation. This development is emphasized in Bennet’s (1986) stage model. In 1986, Milton Bennett developed 47
the Developmental Model for Intercultural Sensitivity, which builds on prior work in intercultural communication that focused on stages of development (Brislin et al .,1983;
Gudykunst,1976;1981; Mumford-Fowler, 1994; Paige & Martin,1983). The model consists of six stages: the first three under the topic of ethnocentric are (Denial, Defense, Minimization) and the second are ethnorelative (Acceptance, Adaptation, Integration).
Another influential developmental model is the U-Curve Model of Intercultural
Adjustment by Gullahorn and Gullahorn (1962) that adapts the concept of Culture Shock in multi-stages. The first stage is the “honeymoon stage” where things are relatively positive and next comes the “hostility stage” where stark differences are causing problems. The next stage, the “humorous stage,” takes place when the interactants can see the humor in the differences in cultures. Eventually, interactants feel “in sync” with the host culture. Sojourners who live for a considerable amount of time with a host culture, experience the feeling of “ambivalence” and when returning home, experience “re-entry culture shock.” Eventually, interactants will experience “resocialization” (Gullahorn & Gullahorn, 1962). Developmental models show an evolutionary process and draw attention to relationships and interactions.
Adaptation Models show adaptation as a criterion and the progression of intercultural sensitivity behaviors between two cultures. Y.Y. Kim’s Intercultural Communicative
Competence Model (1988) is an intricate adaptation model that focuses on individual dispositions of interlocutors and the pressures to conform to the dominant culture and the culture’s tolerance for alternative cultural approaches.
The Intercultural Communicative Accommodation Model developed by Gallois,
Franklyn-Stokes, Giles and Coupland (1988) demonstrates adaptations in which interlocutors 48
adjust their communicative style to the styles of other interlocutors. Adaptation to another culture versus maintaining one’s own culture is one of the fundamental dichotomies of intercultural competence and is explicitly represented in the Attitude Acculturation Model by Berry, Kim,
Power, Young and Bujaki (1989). In this model, there are four different acculturation styles: integration, assimilation, segregation, and marginalization. “Assimilation” takes place when the choice is made to value the idea of absorption into the host society. “Integration” happens with the acceptance of the possibility of multicultural groups operating in a “multi-collective” system
(Spitzberg & Changdon, 2009). When there is little interest in the host culture, the self-imposed separation/segregation occurs. When there is little interest in the host culture as well as one’s own culture then “marginalization” occurs (Berry, et. al., 1989).
Another adaptation model is the Relative Acculturation Model created by Naves et al.
(2005). This model is an extension of the Berry et.al. (1989) model and is a complicated representation of what is “real” and what is “ideal” by the host and immigrant or sojourner. As each group interacts, competence will be tabulated by the skills needed and used to fit in and the expectations of the host group. Adaptation models can pose theoretical problems, according to
Spitzberg (1983) “Adaptation in and of itself is a questionable criterion of competence.” Causal
Path Models show a “theoretical linear system” allowing more items for empirical data that are grouped by “cross-sectional multivariate techniques” (Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009). The Model of Intercultural Communication Competence by Arasaratnam (2009) proposes that empathy facilitates competence and indirectly affects interactions and global attitudes.
The Intercultural Communication Model of Relationship Quality by Griffin and Harvey
(2000) shows how cultural understanding and communication competence influence each other, 49
directly predicts relationship quality, and indirectly predicts it through cultural interaction. In the
Ting-Toomey Model (1999) there are three sets of antecedent factors ( system level, individual level, interpersonal level ), managing change process ( managing culture shock, managing identity change, managing new relationships, and managing environment ), and outcome factors ( system level, interpersonal level, personal identity ). This model proposes that change management mediate the antecedent factors. Hammer, Wiseman, Rasmussen & Bruschke (1998) posit that confidence and anxiety reduction mediate four factors of satisfaction. Deardorff (2006) used a grounded theory approach based on agreed-upon criterion by intercultural competence experts.
Deardorff’s Process Model of Intercultural Competence identifies attitudes that promote intercultural competence including respect, openness, and curiosity. Motivation, knowledge, and skills follow a path that facilitates internal change. Imahori and Langnon (1989) posit a model derived from Spitzberg and Cupach (1984) entitled the Relational Model of Intercultural
Competence. In this model, the interlocutors are a mirror image of each other, and the characteristics listed are motivation, skills, and knowledge with common outcomes. Although casual path models posit an explicit hypothesis, Spitzberg and Changnon explain that casual path models, “build too many feedback loops or two-way arrows to reduce their value as guides to explicit theory through hypothesis verification of falsification” (p. 33).
The theoretical framework of a developmental model is an appropriate choice for this study because developmental models show an evolutionary process and draw attention to relationships and interactions. Bennett’s (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) model of intercultural sensitivity shows six stages used for self-assessment and patterns in development and can be used to relate to students’ needs. It focuses on experiential discoveries as participants make 50
meaning, not on their observable behaviors (Bennett, 1993). The DMIS will provide a scale for intercultural sensitivity but an assessment tool will add more validity to the scale.
Intercultural sensitivity has continued to be a key topic in educational research which has resulted in a wide range of literature and applications of intercultural sensitivity. When discussing intercultural sensitivity, it is essential to discuss the term culture and its meaning for this research. Many scholars have defined culture in a multitude of ways and there have been a multitude of publications on the meaning (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952). A current accepted definition of culture is an “accumulated pattern of values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by an identifiable group of people with a common history and verbal and nonverbal system” (Neuliep,
2015). Gonzales, Moll, Amanti (2005) support a view of culture as what we say and do in everyday life. For example, culture is “what it is that people do and what they say about what they do” (p. 40). Basically, I will be using a self-reflexive definition of culture. Using a self- reflexive definition of culture in intercultural learning allows individuals to explore the nature of culture in an exemplary and coherent way. It affords the dynamic quality of cultural organization. It can be interacted with our individually dynamic consciousness (Bennett, 2013).
Bennett feels the appropriate constructivist definition of culture also enables the adaptation strategy of intercultural empathy (Bennett, 1979). Intercultural empathy entails using one’s imagination to place herself/himself/themselves in another cultural setting.
Although not quite as controversial as the term culture, the meaning of intercultural sensitivity is often debated. Like culture, there is a lack of consensus on the meanings of intercultural sensitivity, intercultural awareness, and intercultural competence (Chen and
Starosta, 1997). Intercultural awareness is the “cognitive aspect” of intercultural communication 51
and refers to how “people think and behave” (Chen & Starosta, 1997, p. 9). Intercultural sensitivity is in accordance with emotion and the affect. Where “sensitivity” refers to a complicated understanding of cultural difference and “competence” refers to the ability to enact that sensitivity in another cultural setting in an appropriate way (i.e. behavior) (Bennet &
Castiglioni, 2004).
Intercultural communication, according to Chen & Starosta, is shown through the behavioral aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication in interactions with others (1997).
Bennett, Chen & Starosta have similar definitions of intercultural sensitivity; however, Bennett describes intercultural competence as the ability “to embody and enact intercultural sensitivity”
(Bennett, 2013, p. 12). Bennett believes that individuals move from intercultural sensitivity to achieve intercultural competence. This study investigates intercultural sensitivity, the theoretical models, and the assessment tools used in discovering levels of intercultural sensitivity.
Edward T. Hall, founder of intercultural studies, explains, “…culture is communication and communication is culture” in his book The Silent Language ( 1973 ). Hall is also credited for the term intercultural communication, which eventually developed into a new curriculum where scholars focused on how different cultures interact with one another verbally and nonverbally
Hall’s intercultural communication leads the way to intercultural sensitivity, intercultural competence, and intercultural communicative competence.
Hall discovered how invisible culture is to its own members, which embraced the ideas of
Franz Boaz and cultural relativism . Although Boaz did not coin the phrase cultural relativism , he did originate the idea in 1887, explaining that cultures should not be judged against the criteria of other cultures. Milton Bennett suggests that culture is the result of our lived experience (praxis) 52
of participating in social action (2013). He explains that part of our lived experience is
“languaging” about our experience, which creates our explanations of life (Bennett, 2013).
The opinions of scholars about the definition of intercultural competence varies from context to context. For example, some focus on communication, Intercultural Communicative
Competence (ICC) and behavioral, Intercultural communicative (IC) skills (Byram, 1997;
Spitzberg, 1983) and others define (IC) with dimensions of interpersonal skills, effectiveness, cultural uncertainty and cultural empathy (Arasaratnam & Doerfel, 2005; Bennett, 2013;
Gudykunst, 1995; Matveev & Nelson, 2004; Van der Zee & Brinkmann, 2004).
Intercultural Competence (IC) is one’s knowledge and ability to deal with intercultural experiences. Individuals who gain sensitivity and awareness of cultures other than their own gain the “knowledge, attitudes, and skills over time needed to be successful in intercultural encounters are considered to have intercultural sensitivity” (Chen & Starosta, 1996; Hammer, Bennett,
&Wiseman, 2003; Straffon, 2003). A person who is culturally sensitive can respect and acknowledge cultural differences and therefore is culturally competent (Chen & Starosta, 1996).
Spitzberg & Changnon (2009) explained that “any conceptualizations are relevant that attempt to account for the process of managing interactions in ways that are likely to produce more appropriate and effective individual, relational, group, or institutional outcomes” (Spitzberg &
Changnon, 2009).
Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in various cultural contexts. ICC can foster attitudes that motivate students to discover knowledge to inform them to develop the skills needed to enable learning. ICC has the potential to benefit students academically, personally, and civically (Fantini, 2020). Intercultural 53
Sensitivity and Intercultural Communicative Skills are skill sets that allow a person to understand and learn about people whose cultural backgrounds are different from their own.
Intercultural Sensitivity represents the ability to distinguish the behaviors, perceptions and feelings of culturally different counterparts and the ability to respect them as well (Chen &
Starosta, 1997). Bennett (1986) argues that intercultural sensitivity is related to interactants’ ability to transform themselves not only effectively, but also cognitively and behaviorally.
Interactions can transform one from a denial stage to an integration stage in the development process of intercultural communication and during the process, empathetic abilities develop allowing individuals to accept and adapt cultural differences (Chen & Starosta, 2000).
Intercultural Sensitivity is defined as “an individual’s ability to experience and respond to cultural differences” (Chen & Starosta, 1996; Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003; Straffon,
2003). In literature, intercultural sensitivity and intercultural competence are often interchangeable. Intercultural Communicative Competence, however, differs as it adds the element of language (Byram, 1997; Spitzberg, 1983).
In contrast, Byram (1997) explains that each person has his or her own cultural competence (CC1 4) and when he or she engages with an interlocutor, she/he/they has the choice to acquire the (CC2 5) of the interlocutor and in doing so, becomes interculturally competent.
Byram defines intercultural competence as “knowledge of others; knowledge of self; skills to interpret and relate; skills to discover and/or to interact; valuing others’ values, beliefs, and behaviors; and relativizing one’s self. Linguistic competence plays a key role…” (Byram in
4 CC1-Communicative Competence in one’s own culture. 5 CC2-Communicative Competence in other’s culture. 54
Deardorff 2006, p. 248). In Byram’s model (Byram 2009, p. 323) Intercultural Communicative
Competence is composed of two closely related areas: communicative competence and intercultural competence. Communicative competence consists of linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, and discourse competence. Intercultural competence consists of three components (knowledge, skills and attitudes) and is supplemented by five values: (1) intercultural attitudes, (2) knowledge, (3) skills of interpreting and relating, (4) skills of discovery and interaction, (5) critical cultural awareness (Byram et al. 2002, p. 11-13). These five major intercultural competences are deeply connected. Byram argues that “the basis of intercultural competence is in the attitudes of the person interacting with people of another culture.” Byram explains that without this basic competence, the other four cannot truly develop
(2002).
In contrast, Milton Bennett’s (1989, 1993, 2004, 2013) Developmental Model of
Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) is a phenomenological model that shows progression as a person develops cultural sensitivity and makes no mention of language ability. The model consists of six stages: the first three under the topic of ethnocentric are (Denial, Defense, Minimization) and the second are ethno-relative (Acceptance, Adaptation, Integration). Bennett’s approach to intercultural sensitivity is student based and one of growth and improvement.
Developmental Stages: Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks
In the following section: I describe The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
(DMIS), created by Milton J. Bennett (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013), a grounded theory model based on a constructivist perception and communication theory. It assumes that experience is 55
constructed through perception and that more complex perceptual categories yield more complex or sophisticated experience.
Conceptual Focus: Constructivist Communication
Milton Bennett, a major contributor to intercultural studies explains that intercultural communication, or communication between people of different cultures, is “unnatural’ (Bennett,
2013). Because the communication is “unnatural” it more intentional and therefore is
“constructed.” In the constructivist approach to communication, the basic concept is that intercultural experience (including cross-cultural experience) is constructed (e.g., Kelly, 1963; von Foerster, 1984). This is the main assumption of cognitive constructivism (e.g., Kelly, 1963; von Foerster, 1984). Cognitive constructivism (Kelly, 1963) is “The perception that our experiences of events are made of sets of categories that we use to organize our viewpoint of the event.” Bennett gives an example of this in his lectures and in his book Basic Concepts :
So for instance, an American person who happens to be in the vicinity of a Chinese event may not have anything like a Chinese experience of that event, if he or she does not have any
Chinese categories with which to construct that experience, meaning that one’s own culture is that only basis for perceiving events (pg. 19).
56
Ethnocentric Stages
Ethnocentrism is when an individual believes one’s own culture and worldview are central to all reality (Bennett, 1993). The following are the three stages of ethnocentrism and their subdivisions.
Stage 1: ( Denia l)-a limited contact with people from other countries and has indifference or ignorance of cultural differences (Paige, et.al. 1993 p.30). The denial stage has been divided into two parts: isolation and separation . Isolation occurs when the circumstance lends itself to be isolated (i.e. living far away from other groups) and purposeful isolation is considered separation (Paige, et.al. 1993 p.32). Bennett suggests simple recognition of differences at this stage. He explains that the focus is not communication and recommends avoiding significant cultural differences at this stage. He goes further so say that another possibility would be to have intercultural facilitators come in for discussions
Stage 2: ( Defense )-feels threatened and defends and protects their worldview (p. 469).
This stage represents itself in three forms: denigration , superiority , and reversal . In the
Denigration stage, negative stereotyping can occur. In the superiority stage a person feels that her/his cultural group is better than that of other groups and considers other cultures to be lower status. Reversal is when someone denigrates her/his own culture and embraces another (Bennett,
1993).
Stage 3: ( Minimization )-in this stage, the focus is on similarities. Minimization occurs when trying to preserve one’s worldview by suppressing differences under an umbrella of cultural similarities (Paige, et.al. 1993 p.41). In this stage, there is a “strength” because it counteracts the defense stage. In constructivist terms, this stage allows one to find subordinate 57
constructs that place previously polarizing elements onto one side of the construct. Bennett offers the example of internal frictions that band together to compete against the enemy.
Minimization has two aspects: Physical Universalism and Transcendent Universalism .
Physical Universalism is the concept that all human beings have common physical characteristics and Transcendent Universalism suggests that all human beings are some product of some transcendent principle. Among all the ethnocentric stages, the transcendent stage is the most accepting of cultural differences (Paige et.al. 1993 p.42-45).
Ethnorelative Stages
There is a paradigm shift from the ethnocentric to the ethnorelative stages. This shift denotes a change in the concept of other cultures. People on the ethnorelative side of Bennett’s scale have accepted that not one culture is better or worse than another culture, they are simply different. Stages of ethnorelativity begin with acceptance of cultural difference as inevitable and enjoyable. Bennett suggests that people can learn about cultural and intercultural differences, develop intercultural sensitivity and communication skills, and then synthesize these concepts to become truly integrated into another culture/s (Bennet, 1993).
Stage 4: ( Acceptance )- in this stage the individual has moved to the ethnorelative side of the scale. This stage occurs when an individual has accepted and acknowledged cultural differences. Cultural difference is respected and considered necessary in this stage.
The first subdivision of acceptance is respect for behavioral difference . Bennett suggests that the first acceptance of behavioral difference would be language. At this stage, individuals 58
not only recognize and accept language but also cultural and nonverbal behavior. Cultural variation in paralinguistics, kinesics, proxemics, haptics, and other categories of behavior have been the subject of both traditional and contemporary literature in intercultural communication
(Barnlund, 1982; Hall, 1991). The second subdivision is entitled respect for value . Bennett explains that relativity of cultural values is essential to intercultural sensitivity. At this stage, there is an acceptance of difference and respect for cultural worldviews (Paige et.al. 1993 p.49).
Stage 5: ( Adaptation )- Adaptation is the practical application of ethnorelative experiences and intercultural communication. In this stage, individuals try to feel how others feel. It is divided into two phases: empathy and pluralism. Adaptation is not to be confused with the term assimilation . Assimilation takes place when an individual absorbs a new cultural and, in the process, “loses” their own culture. Adaptation is considered an additive process and is divided into phases of development: empathy and pluralism . Empathy is the attempt to understand another’s perspective by seeing through their eyes or trying to feel their feelings. Pluralism represents a development of intercultural sensitivity beyond empathy and represents the ability to have increased intercultural worldviews and intercultural sensitivity as well as an increase of the number of cultures with which one identifies (Paige et.al. 1993 p.52).
Stage 6: ( Integration )-an individual has internalized more than one culture into their own.
Integration is divided into two phases: contextual evaluation and constructive marginality . So far in the stages, there has not been the mention of evaluation but in contextual evaluation it is important to mention. Bennett uses the example of when it is ok to take your clothes off in a culture. It depends on the context. Constructive marginality is used to describe a person who 59
operates outside the norms of cultural values. Constructive marginality is the experience of viewing oneself as the constant creator of one’s own reality (Paige, et. al. 1993 pgs. 59-65).
Intercultural Competence Assessment Tools for Understanding
In order to gain a more enlightened awareness of intercultural sensitivity assessments, it was important to research a variety of feasible assessment tools. An investigation of the tools of measurement that have been created afford a better understanding of the dimensions of intercultural competence and intercultural sensitivity. These tools also explain what scholars feel are the items that need to be tested in order to observe the levels of Intercultural Competence
(IC). The following are the assessments that I considered for my research, what they measure, how they measure intercultural sensitivity, and how I came to the conclusion to use the
Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (Chen & Starosts, 2000). The first tool I examined was the
Assessment of Intercultural Competence (AIC).
The Assessment of Intercultural Competence (AIC) measures intercultural competence, including language proficiency. This questionnaire, designated as YOGA ( Your Objectives,
Guidelines, and Assessment ), and is used for self-assessment and assessment by peers and teachers. The tool monitors the development of intercultural competence of Sojourners (and hosts) over time providing valid and reliable indicators that are normative, formative, summative
(Fantini , 2006). This assessment tool was not applicable because I wanted a tool for self- identification, and I would only be collecting data for five months. Because I was going to use
Bennett’s DMIS scale to measure (IS), I reviewed the Intercultural Development Inventory developed by Bennett and Hammer (1998). 60
The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) measures people’s orientation toward cultural differences. This inventory was developed based on the theoretical framework of the
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennett & Hammer, 1998). The DMIS measures a person’s attitude toward another culture in six stages: three ethnocentric stages
(denial, defense, and minimization) and three ethnorelative stages (acceptance, adaptation, and integration). The DMIS assumes that being open to cultural differences can become part of one’s worldview. That the intercultural lens can be made bigger and this new worldview can lead to better understanding of one’s own culture as well as another culture resulting in increased competence in intercultural relations (Bennett & Hammer, 1998).
The IDI scale was developed in two phases: 1) the development of the initial 60-item version of the IDI and 2) the development of the final 50-item version (Hammer et al., 2003).
The final items for the IDI assess the five dimensions of the DMIS: Denial/Defense (DD) scale
(13 items, a=0.83), Reversal (R) scale (9 items, a=0.08), Minimization (M) scale (9 items, a=0.83), Acceptance/Adaptation (AA) scale (14 items, a=0.84), Encapsulated Marginality (EM) scale (5 items, a=0.80). Fifty-items seemed like too many items for this study as there was already an interview and scale in place.
Past research has used the IDI as a means to measure both intercultural competence and intercultural sensitivity (Paige, Jacobs-Cassuto, Yershova & DeJaeghere, 2003) in such varied contexts as education, study abroad programs, healthcare, corporations, and government agencies
(Altshuler, Sussman & Kachur, 2003; Anderson, Lawton, Rexeisen & Hubbard, 2006:
DeJaeghere & Zhang, 2008; Greenholtz, 2000). Although the survey was condensed, fifty-items were too many for my participants in addition to Bennett’s Scale. I wanted a shorter survey for 61
my participants. Another factor that played a role is that this survey is not as accessible as other surveys. I had confidence that Bennett’s Scale would measure intercultural sensitivity, but I wanted to add one more assessment tool to explore the many facets of intercultural sensitivity.
Having read Hofstede’s (1980) theories on dimensions of culture, I was informed with the knowledge that it is believed that different cultures may have predictable behaviors.
Although there are no absolutes about a culture or absolute standards to measure societies, he recognized four significant dimensions in societies: high power distance vs. low power distance, individualistic vs. collective, masculinity vs. femininity, and uncertainty accepting vs. uncertainty avoidant. Hofstede reported in his findings that Arab countries had a high-power distance, were collective and masculine societies, and had a high level of uncertainty avoidance.
At the time, I thought about how the dimensions could possibly play a role my findings. I then investigated the Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory (ICSI).
The Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory (ICSI) developed by Bhawuk & Brislin (1992) is a tool used to analyze user behavior when dealing with people from individualistic societies vs. people from collective societies. It measures levels of open-mindedness toward the cultural difference in international encounters and people’s flexibility in adapting to the unfamiliar that reflect other’s cultures and norms (Bhawuk & Brislin, 1992). The more culturally sensitive a person is, the more likely they are to modify their behavior in other cultures. People “who can perform such alterations demonstrate greater intercultural sensitivity and are believed to have greater potential for successful overseas assignments” (Bhawuk & Sakuda, 2009, p. 261).
The ICSI has three sections: The U.S. section, the Japanese section, and the Flex/Open section (Matveev & Merz, 2014). The scenarios in the ICSI assessment determine the level of 62
cultural sensitivity based on whether a person identifies differences between culturally expected behaviors, shows empathy to members of other cultures, and is willing to modify his/her behavior to match a culturally appropriate response (Bhawuk & Sakuda, 2009). Bhawuk and
Sakuda (2009) point out that intercultural sensitivity is a process of cultural learning and involves the cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning process. This tool addressed the areas of my research, but due to its construction specifically designed for Japanese students, this tool would have to go through major adjustments to be usable with my research which I am not at liberty to do.
In believing that personality relates to the emotions and sensitivity, I explored the
Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) (Van der Zee & Brinkman, 2004; Van der Zee &
Van Oudenhoven, 2001). It is important to mention it was developed to assess multicultural effectiveness without accentuating communication skills (Arasaratnam, 2009). For my research, it was not my intention to evaluate communication skills. Van der Zee and Van Oudenhoven
(2000) selected seven dimensions relevant to the success of international trainees. They later introduced a revised scale with a total of 78 items and five dimensions (Van der Zee and Van
Oudenhoven, 2001): cultural empathy (14 items, a=0.83, based on 13 items), open-mindedness
(14 items, a=0.84), social initiative (17 items, a=0.90), emotional stability (20 items, a=0.82), and flexibility (13 items, a=0.81). Tested in education on native and international students in the
Netherlands, MPQ yielded sufficient reliability (Van Oudenhoven & Van der Zee, 2002). This assessment tool is used to measure cultural empathy which is essentially Intercultural Sensitivity
(IS). This questionnaire was not appropriate for my research because I was only interviewing international students. I would not have a native group to compare the data. 63
I probed to find a more recent assessment tool. Arasaratnam’s ICCI is an assessment tool of intercultural competence that measures intercultural experiences regarding cognitive, practical, and behavioral dimensions (Arasaratnam, 2009). Arasaratnam found a positive relationship between interaction involvement and cultural empathy, and between interaction involvement and attitude toward other cultures. The study also yielded a favorable relationship between attitudes toward other cultures and cultural empathy (2009). Because the ICCI is an assessment of intercultural competence (IC), I probed deeper to find a survey that directly addressed intercultural sensitivity.
Finally, I analyzed Chen and Starosta’s ISS (2000) Intercultural Sensitivity Survey. The
(ISS) is devised of a five-point Likert scale (5=strongly agree, 4=agree, 3=uncertain,2=disagree,
1=strongly disagree). Participants were asked to rate the statements quickly and reminded that there are no right or wrong answers. There are five sections to the survey: interaction engagement (items 1,11,13, 21, 22, 23, and 24), respect for cultural differences (items 2, 7,8, 16,
18 and 20) interaction involvement/confidence (items 3,4,5,6, and 10) interaction enjoyment
(items 9,12, and 15), and interaction attentiveness (items 14,17, and 19). To help in reliability, items 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20 and 22 are used in reverse coding.
I chose this survey as my assessment tool because it can be used as a learning tool and a way to communicate with my participants. Chen & Starosta (2004) have stated that intercultural sensitivity, by way of intercultural education, can help others respect other cultures and their differences, develop a multicultural way of thinking, and help people to become part of an intercultural world. The ISS survey will also aid in the interviewing process as the questions may be conversation starters. 64
Building on the concepts of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills components, the
Intercultural Sensitivity Survey has five categories that address these areas (Chen & Starosta,
2004). This survey is appropriate for this study for various reasons: it measures intercultural sensitivity in a variety of categories as mentioned, and has been proven to be an accurate source of measuring cultural sensitivity (Bennet & Hammer,1998), is manageable for second language speakers, is easily accessible, and is an open-source.
Altan (2018) conducted a study on pre-service Turkish ELT teachers using the ISS survey by Chen and Starosta (2000). The soon to be teachers first took a course on intercultural sensitivity as they were preparing for an influx of students from Syria. The participants were then asked to take the ISS. The teachers scored the highest in the respect for cultural differences category and had an overall score of 3.99 in intercultural sensitivity (Altan, 2018). These findings are exciting as they support the following theories 1) intercultural sensitivity is a phenomenological process, 2) intercultural sensitivity can be taught in a formal educational setting as part of a class and, 3) intercultural sensitivity reduces ethnocentricity and promotes peace.
Lack of Literature on Saudi Females Studying in the United States
There have been two national studies conducted on Saudi women studying in the U.S. A grounded study Lefdahl-Davis & Perrone-McGovern (2015) specifically investigated 25 female
Saudi graduate and undergraduate students in the U.S. The study was conducted at universities across the U.S. and focused on cultural adjustment experience. Seven themes were represented in the study, but the main theme was discrimination. The women expressed individual 65
discrimination (being stared at, yelled at for speaking Arabic, and reported being targeted for
‘random searches’ by airport security). The participants were also aware of the media misrepresentations of Islam in the daily actions of others.
In a comparable study, Sandekian, Weddington, & Keen (2015) examined the academic and personal lives of four Saudi female graduate students. In their findings, the researchers found that the participants made a seamless transition to U.S. university but reported feeling unwelcomed and infantilized. Using symbolic interactionist theory, this study seeks to address the gap in the literature and explore how Saudi women international students feel about their lived experiences in the U.S. Currently, there are no studies on Saudi females studying in the
U.S. since the new laws in Saudi Arabia have been enacted.
For two decades, Muslim women have been using their religion and the interpretations of the Qur’an and hadith as a way of fighting sexism. In researching her book, Fighting His lam ,
Susan Carland researched how faith played a role in fighting sexism in the lives of Muslim women (2017). She wanted to ask about faith because it is one of the major criticisms of Islam.
In a comparative study with Christian American women and Muslim women, researchers in her study found that typically a Muslim woman reported that her religion supported feminism. In contrast, American Christian women typically reported that their religion did not support feminist ideals. Most of the Christian women in this study rejected the label of feminism but espoused feminist beliefs. Most of the Muslim women identified as feminist. This strongly contrasts to the common perception of Muslim women. The non-Muslim world appears dismissive of the value Islam can have in Muslim women’s lives.
One of the participants in her book explained: 66
Islam and its teachings are capable of giving women an equal footing in society to
men, and that Islam does not relegate women to the private sphere. I really believe
some Muslims have distorted our teachings and forgotten our heritage. I believe
that Islam can be used as a source of empowerment for women (p. 28).
There is a lack of research on the female Saudi student experience at the university level and the emotions that they feel. Most of the literature pertains to studying in Saudi Arabia. An action research qualitative study was conducted on 11 female Saudi graduate students. The study focused on cross-cultural adaptation in the United States and were asked about the potential psychosocial and academic impacts of mixed-gender classrooms (e.g. Clark & Young, 2017).
The qualitative aspects of an action research called for a variety of data collection. The participants answered surveys, open ended questions, interviews, and field notes were used for triangulation. After coding the data and looking for in-depth themes, the researchers came up with a list of things that the woman were dissatisfied with in the U.S. For example:
Expectations about the U.S. versus the reality, acculturative stress (cultural
adjustment), cultural differences between U.S. and KSA, gender related
differences in society, academic climate differences, experiences of
discrimination, English Language proficiency necessary for success, relationships
with Americans, resources for support and freedom and decision-making
opportunities (e.g. Clark & Young, 2017).
Themes emerged in the data that indicated that the participants’ “acculturation” process was affected by their cultural identity and the experience of being in a mixed-gender social and academic environment for the first time. The findings of this study suggest that despite 67
demographics (age, year of school, city of birth) all the female Saudi graduate students experienced a plethora of challenges and barriers to success during their adaptation process.
Some specific examples included feeling a lack of support academically, English language proficiency, freedom of thoughts and actions in the U.S. as opposed to Saudi Arabia, and mixed- gender classes in the U.S. (e.g. Clark & Young. 2017).
Behavior and Roles
If “status is a social position, then roles are the sets of behaviors, obligations and privileges that go with that status” (Blumer, 1969). An individual holds a status but performs a role. Why do statuses come with roles in the first place? We can look for guidance from the
Thomas Theorem developed by Dorothy and William Thomas (1928) 6 that states “If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” (Smith, 1995, pg. 2). Status and roles matter because perception creates reality. If an individual is not performing her/his role in society it still matters to everyone else in society. For example, a student who refuses to answer a question in class will get into trouble by the teacher, and a teacher who does not maintain order in the classroom will be eventually sanctioned. Role conflict occurs when two or more incompatible demands are present in an individual’s life. A person can come into role conflict when they find themselves pulled in various directions by the statuses they hold. A Role Strain happens when competing obligations of these roles takes place. And Role Exit is when a person
6 Thomas Theorem: The interpretation of the situation causes the action.
68
stops doing a role that had once played a central part in their previous identity thus creating a new role. Roles are guidelines and not prescriptive.
Summary
Although the concepts of intercultural awareness, intercultural sensitivity, and intercultural communication often overlap theoretically, they have distinct features. The focus of this study is on the lived experiences of Saudi women studying at the university and where they self-identify as their level of intercultural sensitivity on the DMIS scale by Milton Bennett (1986,
1993, 2004, 2013) and on the ISS survey by Chen and Starosta (2000).
There are five types of models used for intercultural competence: Compositional Models,
Co-orientational Models, Developmental Models, Adaptational Models, and Causal Path
Models. Compositional Models list qualifications but do not explain how these qualifications or qualities relate to each other. Co-orientational Models allow for shared meaning and communicative mutuality. Developmental Models show the development of intercultural competence/sensitivity over time as a person moves from one stage to the next. Adaptational
Models show adaptation as a criterion and the progression of intercultural sensitivity behaviors between two cultures. Causal Path Models show a linear path allowing for more data because of cross-sectional grouping.
For this research, the Developmental Model is the most appropriate because the participants explain where they think they are on Milton Bennett’s (1986, 1993, 2004, 69
2013) DMIS (The Developmental Model Intercultural Sensitivity). The model consists of six stages: the first three under the topic of ethnocentric are (Denial, Defense, Minimization) and the second are ethnorelative (Acceptance, Adaptation, Integration).
Many reliable assessment tools have been developed to measure intercultural competence. The Assessment of Intercultural Competence (AIC) is unique because it calls for a self-assessment and an assessment by the teacher as well (Fantini, 2006). The Intercultural
Developmental Inventory (IDI) was developed based on the DMIS Bennett & Hammer and found to be a reliable assessment tool. The Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory (ICSI) Bhawuk &
Brislin (1992) assesses user behavior with individualistic and collectivist societies. The
Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) measures multicultural effectiveness without communication skills. Arasaratnam’s (2009) Intercultural Competence Inventory (ICCI) measures intercultural experiences regarding cognitive, practical, and behavior dimensions. Chen
& Starosta’s Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) measures intercultural sensitivity and uses five distinct categories that incorporate cognition, behaviors, and attitudes. For this study, the ISS survey is the most appropriate because it easily explained and understood and is compatible with the DMIS scale.
These assessment tools will be used so the participants can self-identify where they see themselves on the DMIS scale and how they rate themselves on the ISS survey. The DMIS is comprised of six stages that are divided in the middle. To the left of the scale is the ethnocentric side (denial, defense, and minimization) and on the right is the ethnorelative side (acceptance, adaptation, and integrations). 70
There is a lack of literature from the perspective of female Saudi Arabian students on
U.S. campuses. Clark & Young (2017) found themes of general dissatisfaction (expectations about the U.S versus the reality, cultural adjustment, cultural differences between U.S. and Saudi
Arabia, gender related differences in society, academic climate differences, experiences of discrimination, English Language proficiency necessary for success, relationships with
Americans, resources for support and freedom and decision-making opportunities.)
As mentioned, our perceptions are our realities, so it imperative to listen to the perceptions of our students. It is imperative to listen to the perceptions of the participants in this dissertation because what they have to say is a direct reflection on us as teachers, as administrators, and as a community.
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Chapter 3: Methodology
Grounded theory has its roots in pragmatist philosophy and symbolic interactionist sociology (Bryant, 2009; Charmaz 2008; Clarke, 2003; Glaser; 1992; Milliken & Schreiber,
2001; Morse, 1994; Nathaniel, 2006; Schreiber, 2001; Stern & Porr, 2011; Strauss & Corbin,
1994). In this chapter, I detail the research methodology used in carrying out the study, beginning with a brief overview and rationale for the research design and methodology used, followed by the research questions and a description of the research context and recruitment of participants.
Purpose, Significance and Goals
There is a lack of research on female Saudi women and their lived experience at the tertiary level in the U.S. Much of the literature focuses on educational experiences in Saudi
Arabia. Consequently, there is an absence of data that expresses the opinions and feelings of
Saudi female students as they navigate their academic and personal lives in the U.S. at the university level.
Because intercultural sensitivity focuses on the emotions one feels in a situation, place, or environment (Triandis, 1977), it carries the idea that interculturally sensitive individuals can project and receive positive emotional responses before, during, and after intercultural interactions. Specifically, it refers to the attitude of respect (Adler & Towne, 1993). There is a need to open dialogues about what intercultural sensitivity is and what it means for teachers, and students, on college campuses. 72
Deardorff (2004) describes “internationalization” as a process and uses (Ellingboe, 1998) and (J. Knight, 1997) to explain that internationalization has a different connotation in education.
Deardorff quoted:
The process of integrating an international perspective into teaching, research, and
service aspects of higher education. The vision not only involves top
administrators but motivates all persons in academia to think globally,
comparatively in a dynamic and diverse world (p. 60).
In the past, many international students have moved on from the Center to the university only to report back that they feel overwhelmed by the system. The Center acts as a “bridge” essentially because it helps students “cross the bridge” to the university. We even have a
Program that is called the university Track Program (formerly the Bridge Program). The idea behind the program is to have one ESL instructor and one university instructor simultaneously working to help the students succeed. All three of the university teachers I worked with, explained that they would need help or ideas on how to better teach International students. They expressed anxiety about this aspect of their teaching assignment, even though I was present with the students as they gave their lectures. They explained that they felt unprepared because they had little or no training in teaching international students, and yet International students regularly attend classes throughout the campus.
When students come to me asking for help, I suggest meeting with their professors during office hours. Many professors do not realize that term “office hours” may often be confusing for 73
international students. I also suggest asking their professors if it is possible to obtain materials in advance, to tape lectures, or to have supplemental materials that might be helpful. 7
Having students discussing questions in pairs or groups before they answer questions in class gives students time to discuss the possible answers and organize their thoughts before they must speak. Using discussion boards allows students to think before they must answer as well.
Often giving students roles while they are in groups, helps them to feel less apprehensive because the need to perform their role overcomes their shyness. Researchers are designing and discussing new curriculum that would develop intercultural sensitivity and awareness for teachers and students (Yilmaz & Özkan, 2016). This new pedagogy can reduce intercultural misunderstanding, encourage communication, and increase intercultural sensitivity.
The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of Saudi Arabian females in higher education in the United States. Specific goals of the study are 1) to investigate the cultural and personal challenges the women face and how those challenges affect their daily lives, 2) to use the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (1986,1993, 2004, 2013) and the
Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (2000) as analytical and teaching tools, and 3) to gain a better understanding of intercultural sensitivity in order to bridge the communication gap between teacher and student.
7 In the past, I have suggested that professors define all abbreviations or acronyms before they use them on the board. 74
Research Design and Rationale
In this study, I used the constructivist approach of grounded theory to gather data from in-depth ethnographic interviews because interviews are "open-ended, in-depth exploration of an area in which the interviewee has substantial experience" (Charmaz, 2014). I used Seidman’s three-fold method of interviewing to illicit in-depth information from the participants. Seidman explains that interviewing “affirms the importance of the individual without denigrating the possibility of communicating and collaboration” (p. 14).
Seidman's three-fold in-depth method of interviewing model includes three separate interviews: the first establishes the context of the participants’ experience, the second, allows participants to reconstruct the details of their experience, and the third encourages participants to reflect on the meaning of their experience (p. 17). This process helps gather “forgotten” information and allows for follow up questions. It also helps to establish trust with participants
(Seidman, 2006). Seidman explains that interviewing and story recalling are significant ways of meaning making.
Grounded Theory: Shaping Interview Questions
Glasser and Strauss’s (1967) statement that data is emergent , inductive , comparative , and open-ended sits well with this study design as grounded theory methods follow systematic and flexible guidelines for collecting data from the ground up (Charmaz, 2014). Grounded theory shaped my interview questions as I gained inspiration from Seidman’s (2006) three-part interview process as I modified his approach, asking about three separate time periods in the participants’ lives. The first interview focused on life before coming to the U.S. The second 75
focused on present day and the third focused on the perceived future. The questions were used as guidelines and were open-ended. For example, the first question is, “Can you tell a life story about your life before you came to the U.S?” In the second interview, the first question is, “Can you tell a life story about your experience in the U.S?” In the third interview, I asked, “What do you plan to do when you return home?’ These types of questions helped illicit stories from the participants.
All the following questions are the same but edited for time frame. For example, in the first interview, I ask “What were your concerns before coming to the U.S?” In the second interview, I asked about current concerns and then in third interview, I asked questions about what concerns they might have for their future. I employed a comparative approach with the data collected from the interviews. I compared the data collected from each interview and participant.
I then began to formulate themes in the forms of gerunds (explaining, respecting other cultures, integrating.). I developed at code for each theme. For example, I used (E) for explaining and
(RC) for respecting other cultures. I formulated five categories: restructuring daily life (RES), redefining self as student (RED), re-establishing (REW) self as woman as daughter/friend/sister/wife/mother, reconceiving (REC) life in the U.S. and in Saudi Arabia and realizing self-accomplishments (RA). I used the comparative again as I compared the categories.
A Constructivist Lens
Constructivist grounded theory highlights the flexibility of the iterative process of the method (Charmaz, 2014). This theoretical approach employs the knowledge that research acts 76
are constructed by both the participants and researcher. In intercultural communication the most basic concept of constructivism is that experience is constructed.
To capture experiences fully, I simultaneously wrote memos as I gathered data from the interviews and focus groups. I then constructed categories from the data. This approach offers explanations about the primary concern/s of the population studied (in this case, Saudi Arabian women studying in the US). Charmaz explains, "We study how they explain their statements and actions and ask what analytic sense we can make of them" (2014, p.3). Charmaz believes that memos prompt analysis of data, coding early, maintains involvement in analysis, and increases the level of abstraction (Glaser, 1998). Many codes happen in vivo 8, but some appear because of other reasons. These codes are taken, grouped, and reorganized to become categories. The categories, labeled and then analyzed for theories, will bring about points of discovery for the participant and researcher. Seidman believes that his process is “…most consistent with people’s ability to make meaning through language” (p. 14). Research done from a constructivist approach is often scrutinized for not being objective because data collection is subjective to what the researcher discovers or presents.
Scope, Delimitations, & Limitations
Using a constructivist lens, I interviewed fourteen Saudi Women living and studying in the U.S. at the tertiary level. I also conducted three focus groups. I interviewed ten of the participants in the U.S. and one living in Saudi Arabia via Zoom. The focus groups contained
8 in vivo-a form of qualitative data that puts emphasis on the actual spoken words of the participants. It has been praised by many for its usefulness in highlighting participants’ voices and meaning making. 77
three participants who did not participate in the one-on-one interviews. The women’s ages ranged from 18-38. A limitation of this study could be the factor of anonymity. The participants might be more compelled to disclose more or tell the truth if they know there will be not consequences. The second limitation is the interview process itself. It can feel strange for the participant as well as the researcher. Holding the status of instructor might change some of the participants’ answers as they might want to “please” me with what they think is the correct answer. Other limitations of the study related to using the DMIS framework. For example, I was under the impression that I was explaining it clearly to the participants, but I could have been wrong about that. Another limitation could be that the participants were giving “correct” answers or answers they think a teacher or researcher would want to hear. Another aspect is that of language. I did not need an interpreter for the interviews, but the participants answered in their second language. Consequently, there could have been ideas that did not come through in our interviews.
Another limitation could be survey fatigue. The participants were interviewed, took a 24- question survey, and said where they thought they were on Bennett’s scale. Another limitation could be that this research just shows a snapshot of time.
Dual Roles: From Etic to Emic
First used in anthropology, the etic view is that of an outsider looking in on a culture, and the emic viewpoint considered the insider’s viewpoint. Etic accounts of social identity assume that cultural groups develop their social identities in similar ways no matter what their cultures may be (Tajel, 1979). During my research, I wanted to move away from the etic view of culture 78
that assumes culture can be examined by using predetermined categories that can be applied to all cultures (Pike, 1967). In contrast, I wanted to move toward the emic view, which explains each culture is unique and can only be examined from constructs developed within that culture.
As I began interviewing, as an outsider, I occupied a glimpse into the world of the participants.
As my emic interviews developed, I occupied and heard more of what I later refer to as Back
Stage information (borrowing from Goffman, 1959). Originally, in the etic role, I was the outsider trying to a get a glimpse the world of the participants and in the emic role, I heard more of what I later refer to as Back Stage information.
Just as Bennett’s framework and the I.S.S. were instruments in gaging intercultural sensitivity, I assumed the role as the instrument in the data collection process. Since the participants were sharing data with me in the form of the interview, I used myself as the instrument to collect data.
My Positionality and Participation as a Researcher
I wanted to know the participants’ thoughts on their lives before they came to the U.S., since they have been in the U.S., and what they think the future holds for them back home. I wanted to hear their opinions pertaining to the educational system and what personal and cultural challenges they were facing as they embarked on an adventure in another country.
I consider myself a feminist as I understand this term to truly mean equality for all human beings. I support people of all genders (female, male, cis, trans, non-binary, gender fluid, genderqueer/gender-nonconforming and all other gender identities) and sexualities (straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and all other sexualities). Although educational and employment 79
opportunities have become more equitable, there is still a great deal of gender inequality in the
U.S. I advocate for the equal treatment of all people. I grew up with this ideal: men and women are equal as are all people.
I realized that as one of my limitations, as outlined by Erving Goffman’s (1959) Strategic
Model of Interaction, is that individuals aim to control impressions and encounters. I realized that as one of the limitations of the interview. I knew there was a possibility that the participants would give answers that might be what they interpreted as what I would like to hear.
Interculturally sensitivity is associated with emotion and feelings. Chen and Starosta’s understanding of intercultural sensitivity, is the “ability to develop a positive emotion toward understanding and appreciating cultural differences that promotes an appropriate and effective behavior in intercultural communication” (1997). I felt this for the participants and the students in my classes. I completely see myself as having intercultural sensitivity, but have I asked myself the same questions I asked my participants? Deardorff (2012) suggests that instructors take a reflexive approach and ask themselves the same questions that they are asking their students about intercultural sensitivity. Have I asked myself what I have asked my participants? Do I make quick judgements or have prejudices? Do I keep an open mind while teaching?
Intercultural sensitivity is based on attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed to be open to those from different cultural, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. Do I measure a student’s behavior based on my own culturally expectations? What worldviews do I include in my course materials or how can I build on the worldviews to incorporate more viewpoints? Do I look at things with an intercultural lens? Do I know how learners want to be treated, or do I assume they want to be treated like I do? Am I able to adapt my behavior or communication 80
styles for learners? What could I do differently to be more appropriate and effective in my communication and behavior, both in interpersonal interactions and in my teaching? (Deardorff,
2006, 2009).
Remembering that first day many years ago, I was ashamed of myself because I was taken aback by the site of someone in a full black abaya and niqab 9. Taken from “First Day”
Memo:
I was instantly worried that my student was not going to like me because of my
reaction and my American lifestyle. This student must have sensed how
uncomfortable I was initially and made it a point to make me feel comfortable and
to help educate me about her culture. She gave me a book about her city and
explained how she prayed. She showed me photos of herself without her abaya
and I could see her dark curly hair. She was unique, but I continued to have
similar experiences with Saudi female students.
One element in using the interview process is the inductive process of the researcher
(Charmaz, 2000). I had previously researched the population of my study extensively before I interviewed the participants. And although this is not an ethnographic study, I took a partial ethnographic approach (Agar, 1994). As I made my initial observations I was led to a sensitizing theory (Charmaz, 2014 ). This theory sparked by the behavior of my Saudi female students, led me to wonder why they behaved the way they did. I wrote a memo about the earlier years and the
9 An abaya is a black cloak worn over clothes. A niqab is a complete face cover only showing the eyes. 81
first time I was invited to dance by a group of women at the Center. The next memo is entitled
“First International Festival”:
They “ushered” me in a classroom (I had no idea what we were going to do).
They shut all the shades and locked the door! This was to keep the men out. The
music began to play, and the women took their hijabs and abayas off. It was so
shocking to see long dark hair, long highlighted hair, short hair, and the list
continued. I love to dance but the dances involved skills. Each woman would
come up and grab my hand and dance for a while with me. We did this in a big
circle. Each woman did this with the teachers in the room. It made us feel special.
Usually, an extremely talented dancer is encouraged to dance in the middle of
circle. After that first experience, whenever there is dancing with the women, I
always try to be there.
I wanted to hear their voices when I talked to the participants and utterly understand what they were telling me. I promised to keep their anonymity, so each participant was given a pseudonym to protect her identity. I wanted their words to be the most important aspect of this research.
Research Participants
Table 2. Research Participants (all names are pseudonyms).
Participants & Age Region Time in U.S.
Aleena 21 Yanbur 1 year
Atefeh 24 Al-hassa 1 year 82
Amira 25 Al Qassim/Riyad 2 years
Asha 38 Bijan 3 years
Elham 19 Riyad 1 year
Fatima 25 Medina 1 mo.
Hana 21 Damman 2 (almost 3 years)
Jameelah 28 Al-hassa 8 years
Naima 25 Jeddah 1 year
Nawra 20 Jeddah 1 mo.
Zaida 18 Al-Qatiff 2 mos.
Participation and Selection
After IRB approval, I began recruiting for participants at our center. I had a few connections with some former students and that really helped me. I also emailed the Saudi Club.
All the participants signed a consent form for the study. The population of the study consisted of
Saudi females who are studying at the university level in the United States. I was able to obtain eleven participants for the one-on-one interviews and three more participants who participated in the focus groups. All the information presented is from the one-on-one interviews and focus groups.
Background Information: Front Stage
Borrowing from Goffman (1971), I used the idea of front stage and backstage for the different levels of information the participants were willing to give me. The following are brief 83
backgrounds of the participants who participated in the one-on-one interviews and the focus groups.
Amira
Amira has lived in the U.S. for two years and has a new baby. She earned her teaching degree in Saudi Arabia and lived in Al Qassim and then moved to Riyadh. She is twenty-five years old and married. She explains that she got to come to the United States because her husband was studying at the university. She wears a hijab to cover her head and modified abaya in the forms of long belted coats.
Hana
Hana has lived in the U.S. for almost 2 1/2 years and is a junior at the university. She is
21, single, and pre-med. She used to have a roommate, but now lives alone. She is from
Dammam. She wears a hijab and jeans. In our first conversation, she explained it was the “Year of the Woman” in Saudi Arabia.
Atefeh
Atefeh is twenty-four years old and married from Al-Hasa. She has lived in the U.S. for one year. She is pregnant, and she is also in graduate school. I had her as a student in one of my beginning English classes, so I had not seen her in a while. She came to my focus groups as well.
She is eager to help me with my study. She is earning her PhD and getting ready to graduate.
Naima
Naima is twenty-five and a married mother of two. She wears a hijab and a tan or gray abaya. She is from Jeddah. She explained that she does all the cooking and cleaning and 84
childcare while she attends school. She has a full academic schedule as she practices English and is working toward graduate school.
Elham
Elham is from Riyadh. She is nineteen and does not where a hijab. She has a face piercing, and she has dyed her hair an unusual color. She is a freshman and has visited the U.S. a few times. She explained that she has a contract back home for when she finishes school, but she is not obligated to work for that company.
Fatima
Fatima is twenty-five and married from Medina. She is a law student and has only been in the U.S. for one month. She wears a hijab and an abaya. In the future, she wants to work at the law firm and have children. She came to study in the U.S. because her husband has a law scholarship. She is on English scholarship and hopes to do be able to continue with a law scholarship, she explained that men do not bother her in class.
Nawra
Nawra is twenty years old and from Jeddah. She covers her head with an abaya and wears jeans. She is married and excited to be in the U. S. She confided in me that she was pregnant.
She has only been in the U.S. for 1 month. She and her husband are undergraduates. She is an interior design major and plans to work when she returns home. She plans on working when she returns home.
85
Zaida
Zaida is eighteen years old from Al-Qatif. She lives with her father and brother who both went to our center before her. She explains that she is from a Shia town. She has a lived in the
U.S. for 2 months. She explained that she has a lot of freedoms in her city, and that she does not have to wear abaya if she does not choose to. She says that she never wears a hijab at home as she does here. She explained that she drives here, and she drove at home as well.
Jameelah
Jameelah is twenty-eight and has her earned her PhD. She is now back in Saudi Arabia.
She is divorced. Her husband has custody of her children. She did not wear a hijab in the U.S., but she does now that she is back home. She has a boy and a girl that live with her husband and visit her. She hopes that when her son reaches thirteen, he will choose to live with her.
Asha
Asha has three children in the U.S. living with her while her husband lives in Saudi
Arabia. She is from a town called Bija and she is thirty-eight years old. She is finishing her PhD and has lived in the U.S. for three years. She does not wear a hijab. She is getting her PhD in special education. She is a teacher and plans to take what she learns about special education back with her to teach others.
Aleena
Aleena is from Yanbur She is twenty-one and married. She has lived in the U.S. for one year. She is an engineering major. She wears a hijab in the U.S. but will wear an abaya and niqab when she returns home because her husband will want her to. 86
Laila
Focus Group Member-Laila is twenty-eight and from Taif. She lives in and explained that her Homestay Family takes her places and introduces her to people to socialize with. She went to many of the activities offered at the Center and made many friends. She gave a speech at our closing ceremony. She has been here almost two years. She relayed, “We went together to the gym…Today, we will go to watch basketball game.”
Amal
Focus Groups Member- Amal came to the first meeting with Elham. She is twenty years old and from Dammam. She came with a group of girls, but she lives alone. She is single. Amal said that when she was a little girl, she lived in the U.S. for a few years. She is on a scholarship.
“My dad taught me to be independent” she says proudly. She continued explaining that she could ask for money if she needed to, but she wants to do things on her own. She does not wear a hijab.
Dahab
Focus Group Member- Dahab has been in the U.S. for a year and a half, she is 24 and does not have a guardian with her in the U.S. She is also single. She was extremely quiet during our focus group and Hana was upset so we let Hana vent her feelings as we listened. She remained silent for most of our meeting. I wanted her to feel comfortable and I had refreshments for the group. I asked about social media habits and she said that her habits have not changed since she has moved to the U.S
87
Data Collection
In my study I obtained participants by way of purposeful convenience sampling. I acquired many of the students from the Center. I recruited for participants in the classrooms. I explained my study and handed out informed consent papers. I asked the women to take the consent forms and information about the study home so they could think it about if they wanted to be part of my study. Purposive sampling is a method of understanding hidden populations
(e.g., Braunstein 1993; Peterson et al. 2008; Sifaneck & Neaigus 2001). Purposive sampling relies on the researchers situated knowledge of the field and rapport with members of targeted networks. Purposive sampling methods of hidden populations traditionally produced small samples and were associated only with qualitative research.
My first interview began with Hana, a former student. And my second and third interviews were with former students Amira and Atefeh. They also participated in the focus group discussions. They consequently recommended my study to other participants and there was a snowball sampling effect. The students at the Center came to me after I came to their classes to recruit participants for the study. I began collecting data at the Center or on the university campus. I sent out emails eliciting help from other teachers. One student came to me to explain that she could not be part of my study because she had to meet her husband (I think she meant during our break time). Even though she was new to the school and only met me once, she wanted me to know in person that she would not be able to be part of the study.
My next step was to email the Saudi Club to explain my study and ask for female Saudi student volunteers. One teacher at the Center helped me to obtain a few emails of new students that had just arrived. One of the administrators who helps students with immigration and 88
scholarships gave me a few email addresses and that helped me gather a few more participants. I then made a list of all the emails and sent out an invitation to ask for volunteers to be part of my research as an interviewee or as a member of a focus group. In total, I had eleven participants for the one-on-one interviews and three more for the focus groups (fourteen participants).
The data collected for this study consists of the following: 1) more than 12 hours of one- on-one interview data 2) two hours of focus group interview data. 3) Chen & Starosta’s
Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (2002) and 4) Bennett’s Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (1986,
1993, 2004, 2013). Using Seidman’s (2006) guidelines for collecting life stories in three separate interviews, I conducted and recorded interviews with the eleven participants in both one-on-one interviews and focus groups. I transcribed the recordings. One interview was conducted via
Zoom as the participant was back in Saudi Arabia. Three additional participants were part of the focus groups. I conducted three focus group sessions that I recorded and transcribed. Using
Seidman’s (2006) guidelines in collecting life stories in three separate interviews, I used my interview questions as a guide to elicit responses (see Appendix A). After gathering this raw data, I began my analysis looking for similarities, patterns, and emerging themes.
Following Charmaz’s (2014) methods, I wrote reflexive notes and memos. I then began to rethink the memos and write them again. Basically, I wrote down my observations, thoughts, and how our interviews came to be. I wrote about their experiences and their feelings when they were explaining them. For example, I would memo about Hana feeling frustrated or Atefeh feeling insecure. I wrote memos on my own embarrassed feelings. I wrote a memo for each focus group. The focus groups did not stay on the “topics” that I had envisioned but I think the conversations were organic and valuable. The topics I had planned were social media, family 89
life, and what life will be like upon returning. We did talk about all these topics within their interviews. I also wrote memos about my own journey with intercultural sensitivity.
I used an ethnographic approach (Blommaert & Dong, 2010; Glesne, 2016; Hymes,
1972) in the sense as a participant observer in our interviews, in our focus groups, at the Center on campus. I held hour long interviews and jotted down notes and observations as the participants told their stories. The interviews were designed to be in three parts; therefore, I had envisioned three separate meetings for data collection.
Data Analysis
In a constructivist approach, the researcher constructs categories for data collection and recognizes that how the researcher interprets the data is just as important as how the participants do: the researcher and participants co-construct the data (Charmaz, 2006). This approach offers explanations about the primary concern/s of the population studied (in this case, Saudi Arabian women studying in the U.S.). Charmaz explains that "We study how they explain their statements and actions and ask what analytic sense we can make of them" (2014, p.3). Coding and data collection should happen simultaneously; therefore, the use of memos is an important tool for the researcher (Charmaz, 2014). Memos helped to develop and compare categories. They allowed me to organize my thoughts around the events that were taking place. I also took line- by-line notes to see if a category would emerge from the data.
Charmaz believes that memos prompt analysis of data, coding early, maintains involvement in analysis, and increases the level of abstraction (cited in Glaser, 1998). Many codes happen in vivo, but some appear because of other reasons. These codes are taken, grouped, 90
and reorganized to become categories. The categories, labeled and then analyzed for theories, will bring about points of discovery for the participant and researcher. Seidman believes that his process is “…most consistent with people’s ability to make meaning through language” (p. 14).
I began developing codes and analyzing related patterns for the raw data. I took notes and looked for patterns and themes. I used codes to represent each theme. I first found gerunds or actions that the participants were involved in in relation to intercultural sensitivity. I recognized that how the researcher interprets the data is just as important as how the participants do
(Charmaz, 2006). Data on the participants' perception of reality and self-management developed into interrelated categories. A theme of re-establishing began to appear. For example, if you were a mother back home, being a mother in the United States might have different details or responsibilities. I discovered the idea of re-establishing yourself as a woman because every aspect of being a woman in the participants lives were affected. I began coding for the roles that the participants were re-establishing, so I used the code (REW) for re-establishing roles. I then marked my notes (REW) mother, or (REW) sister to add more details to the original code. The more complex the envisioned types, the more complicated experiences of the participants evolved in understanding "self" and "other" (Charmaz, 2006). For example, a participant will reestablish her role in many ways (as a student, a daughter, a sister) and probably will have new roles during her sojourn and as her life changes.
After the participants took the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (Chen & Starosta, 2000) and the data was calculated and reversed coded for all five categories, I entered the data with
SPSS software to show the scores for each category and the overall score. The ISS contains five sections: respect for cultural differences (RC), intercultural attentiveness (IA), interaction 91
enjoyment (IEN), interaction engagement (IE), and intercultural confidence (IC) used for analyses. In analyzing the data from the interviews, I began labeling gerunds. For example, many of the participants explained aspects of their culture to me so I labeled those as (E) for explaining. I went back to those codes to investigate what the participants were explaining and identified five themes (redefining, re-establishing, realizing, reconceiving, and restructuring). I used the code (RED) for redefining, (REW) for re-establishing, (RE) for realizing, (REC) for reconceiving and (RES) for restructuring.
After the participants self-identified on the DMIS Scale, I graphed the information analyzing variables (age, length of stay, marital status, level of education) to see if there any correlations between the variables and intercultural sensitivity. Using the data collected from the survey and scale, I wrote memos and examined the data for theoretical connections.
Patterns were sought from the information gathered from the interviews and focus groups. I wrote memos during each analytic phase looking for patterns to develop specific categories. The categories were compared to each other and examined to see how they interconnect or relate.
Research Timeline
After IRB submission and approval, I began interviewing participants in August of 2019.
The timeline for this study was set for the summer 2019 to fall 2019. Each interview lasted approximately one hour. The focus groups were designed to be short meetings for about 20 minutes each with three meetings total. 92
Summary
Drawing from the data collected from the interviews and focus groups, this study examined how to comprehend the perceived identity of the participants and where they see themselves on Bennett’s scale and the Chen & Starosta’s ISS survey. Bennett’s model (DMIS) is a theoretical phenomenological framework that has six stages. In theory, Bennett (1986, ,1993,
2004, 2013) argues that intercultural sensitivity is related to a sojourner’s ability to transform themselves from the denial stage to the integration stage. The participants also took Chen and
Starosta intercultural sensitivity survey.
Seidman's (2006) three-fold in-depth method of interviewing model includes three separate interviews: the first establishes the context of the participants’ experience, the second, allows participants to reconstruct the details of their experience, and the third encourages participants to reflect on the meaning of their experience (p.17). This process helps gather
“forgotten” information and allows for follow up questions. It also helps to establish trust with participants (Seidman, 2006). Seidman explains that interviewing and story recalling are significant ways of meaning making.
Constructivist grounded theory highlights the flexibility of the iterative process of the method (Charmaz, 2014). This theoretical approach employs the knowledge that research acts are constructed by both the participants and researcher. In intercultural communication the most basic concept of constructivism is that experience is constructed. During my research, I wanted to move away from the etic view of culture that assumes culture can be examined by using predetermined categories that can be applied to all cultures in search of universals (Pike, 1967).
In contrast, I wanted to move toward the emic view which explains each culture is unique and 93
can only be examined from constructs developed within that culture (Peterson et al. 2008;
Sifaneck and Neaigus 2001). Originally, in the etic role, I was the outsider trying to a get a glimpse into the world of the participants and in the emic role, I was allowed to hear more of what I later refer to as back stage information (borrowing from Goffman, 1959). Etic accounts of social identity assume that cultural groups develop their social identities in similar ways no matter what their cultures may be (Tajel, 1979). Just as Bennett’s framework and Chen and
Starosta’s Intercultural Sensitivity Survey were instruments in gaging intercultural sensitivity, I assumed the role as the instrument in the data collection process. Since the participants were sharing data with me in the form of the interview, I used myself as the instrument to collect data.
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Chapter 4: Findings
The following is a presentation of the findings from the Developmental Model of
Intercultural Sensitivity (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013), the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (2000), information collected from interviews, and discussion groups
The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of Saudi Arabian females in higher education in the United States. Specific goals of the study are 1) to investigate the cultural and personal challenges the women face and how those challenges affect their daily lives, 2) to use the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) and the
Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (2000) as analytical and teaching tools, and 3) to gain a better understanding of intercultural sensitivity in order to bridge the communication gap between teacher and student.
During our first interview, the participants took the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey by
Chen and Starosta-ISS (2000). The (ISS) is devised of a five-point Likert scale (5=strongly agree, 4=agree, 3=uncertain, 2=disagree, 1=strongly disagree). Participants are asked to rate the statements quickly and reminded that there are no right or wrong answers. There are five sections to the survey: interaction engagement (items 1,11,13, 21, 22, 23, and 24), respect for cultural differences (items 2,7,8,16, 18 and 20) interaction confidence (items 3,4,5,6, and 10) interaction enjoyment (items 9,12, and 15), and interaction attentiveness (items 14,17, and 19). To help in reliability, items 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20 and 22 are used in reverse coding.
Building on the concepts of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills components, The
Intercultural Sensitivity Survey has five categories that address all these areas (2004). This survey is appropriate for this study for various reasons: it measures cultural sensitivity in a 95
variety of categories as mentioned, and has been proven to be an accurate source of measuring cultural sensitivity (Bennet & Hammer,1998), is manageable for second language speakers, is easily accessible, and is free. The participants also self-identified on Bennett’s six stages. The stages range from the ethnocentric (denial, defense, minimization) to the ethnorelative
(acceptance, adaptation, integration.)
Chen & Starosta (2004) have stated that intercultural sensitivity, by way of intercultural education, can help others respect other cultures and their differences, develop a multicultural way of thinking, and help people to become part of an intercultural world. The ISS survey also aided in the interviewing process as the questions may be conversation starters. One of the goals of interviewing sojourners about their intercultural experiences is to gain insights into their worldviews of their new home and its occupants. In reviewing the interviews, I found a recurring pattern of five aspects of life in the United States: restructuring daily life, redefining self as student, re-establishing roles as woman as friend/sister/daughter/wife/mother, and re-conceiving aspects of life in the U.S and in Saudi Arabia (see Figure 1). These five categories answer research questions one, two, and three. The first questions: 1) What is the perceived identity of
Saudi women studying in the U.S. at the university setting? 2) What are the cultural challenges for Saudi women at the university setting? and, 3) What are the personal challenges for Saudi women at the university setting?
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Interview Data
Figure 1. Five Thematic Aspects of Life
Restructuring Daily Life
Re-conceiving Realizing Self- aspects of life in the Accomplishments U.S. and KSA
Re-establish role as Redefining Self as Woman, Daughter, Student Wife, Mother
1. Five Thematic Aspects of Life
Theme 1: Restructuring Daily Life
One personal challenge for the participants in this study is that they have had to restructure their daily lives because many of them (married or single) were not required to do the chores of the house or cook the meals and now they do. Also, many of the women get pregnant while they are in the U.S. and are given the major responsibility of raising the child/children.
Naima sighed and described how her life had changed, “I make a cook. I clean house.
Homework. A lot of homework.” She continued, “I am pregnant.” Amira explained in our first 97
focus group, “I have daughter. I am busy all the time. I clean and cook all the time and the baby cries at night so I don’t get sleep but I love it.” Nawra agreed with her and said, “I always think about my children how they will adapt to change. My husband is getting his PhD, so they will be here for five years. I talk with them Arabic and they talk English as at school.” I consider this a personal challenge, but I also see it is a matter of restructuring daily life in the respect that the routine, school, language, etc. is different than might have been planned or envisioned.
Some of the participants embraced and enjoyed the change in responsibilities. Zaida exclaimed:
Here I do it all. I go to the store. I always do my laundry. I cook something I like.
Because in my country, I can’t do anything. Not I can’t, but my mom cooks and
other people do the laundry so we don’t (see Appendix D).
A difference worth mentioning that may have influenced Zaida’s attitude is that she is unmarried and has no children.
Jameelah told me during a Zoom interview that she worried about breaking the laws or getting her children into trouble by breaking the laws. She mentioned what she worried about most were, “Human rights and kid’s rights…at the airport, at the security point, everything when
I arrived.”
In the first focus group, we discussed staying alone for the first time. One woman who came to the U.S. with her husband explained that he might have to go home without her, and she would have to stay in the U.S. for a few weeks by herself. She explained to the groups that she did not want to stay alone (see Appendix D, Atefeh). The women encouraged her to try to stay 98
alone. Some of the women in the conversation are at the university and some are going to school at the Center.
One of the women is living in what is called a Homestay living arrangement. A
Homestay arrangement is where international students (for a fee) live with a family while they stay in another country. It is recommended for students who really want to have an authentic feel of the culture they are living in. It can also benefit language development, but I had never heard of a single Saudi woman doing this before. I am left wondering if this a result of no longer needing a mahram. Laila explained, “We went together to the gym…Today, we will go to watch basketball game.”
Me: I have never heard of a Saudi woman doing a homestay before.
L: When I came here, I care about that. I like to stay with family. I feel more
stable, more comfortable.
Laila explained all the fun activities and sporting events that she has been attending with the family. She told us that the people are educated and introduce her to other people. She is very happy with her new living arrangement. This new living experience is more than likely due to change in the guardian laws for women.
Theme 2: Re-establishing roles as woman as daughter/sister/ friend/wife/mother
One of the participants lives with her father and brothers in the U.S. She is currently the
“mother” of the household. She does all the cooking and daily chores for them. She explained that she enjoyed it because she was never “allowed” to do the cooking or buy groceries. She even 99
explained that she likes running the errands and doing the chores (see Appendix D, Zaida).
Another participant feels like she is closer to her mother because she talks to her more often now that she is away. She explained that being away can make a person feel more appreciative of their loved ones (see Appendix D, Elham). She continued, “Here, we get to do things that we don’t get to do at home.”
Fatima expressed, “More comfortable here. We don’t have to tell our moms or dads what we are doing. My mother might say yes, and my father might say no so…no one knows what we are doing.
Timing played a role in many of the participant’s lives. Five of the women were married and then moved to the U.S. with their new husbands. A few of the participants explained that they did not even have time for a honeymoon because their husband had to go for his scholarship. Aleena explained, “I got married and two days had to move to Tucson, and we had no time because of his university. I’m not choosing. My husband picked it.” The women were given a scholarship to study English. This scholarship could be the first step toward a degree in the U.S.
All the participants said that they had made new friends. Some said that they had male friends in class.
Four of the participants have children. One of the participants has her children with her by herself in the U.S. and is taking care of all three of them while going to graduate school. She explained it was difficult in the beginning, but she created a routine and now things go well each day. She is in the U.S. without her husband because he has work in Saudi Arabia (Asha). 100
Another participant has two children, but she indicated that she is the main caregiver for the children and that that was an added stressor to her academic life.
One of the participants is now back home living with her mother. She is divorced so in
Saudi Arabia that means that her husband has custody of her children. They visit her. Her son can decide when he is older (thirteen years) if he wants to live with her permanently. She hopes in the future that they will both live with her (Jameelah). Although the guardianship rule has been lifted, there was only one woman in my focus group that came to the U.S. without a male and does not live with a male member of her family (Laila).
Theme 3: Reconceiving aspects of life in the United States and Saudi Arabia
Some of the participants explained that they had a misperception about the U.S. Some thought they would experience less anti-Islamic sentiment than they had, and others imagined that they would have experienced more. Nawra explained that a man in the street yelled something at her but she did not understand what he said. She said it was a negative word.
Nawra: What can I do?
Me: Ignore them? She nods in agreement with me.
Amal: We can fight back. We can ask why?
Elham: I wouldn’t. To be honest. Some Americans are crazy.
Nawra: He was old. 101
Elham: We can ignore him because he’s old. But change is not going to come by
ignoring things.
From Memo entitled Focus Groups-August 2019:
This conversation awakened me to knowledge that we are continually
making excuses and trying to ignore what is happening right in front of us.
I explained that they should literally ignore people that do not appear
friendly; however, the bigger problem is that we are not solving anything
because we are not talking about what is happening in our city, on our
campus, or in our classrooms. I felt helpless, but at the same time, I
recognize that the participants have a high level of intercultural sensitivity
and intercultural competence because they are able to perceive the
offenses culturally and linguistically.
Another topic we discussed during our focus group meeting was the hijab. The discussion started with the idea of not having to wear one in Saudi Arabia. Atefeh explained that women do not have to wear an abaya. Another participant gave the example of female teachers from other countries and said that they do not have to wear abayas to teach. One woman said it was suggested to “cover” out of respect for the culture but not a law. Another woman said that she thought it was mandatory for Americans to wear an abaya. Another woman explained that she thought it was a law. The conversation went back and forth and never became heated. Elham wanted the group to be aware that originally wearing an abaya really was not a law but a choice.
The consensus was that there was no consensus on this topic.
From focus Groups Memo August-hijab: 102
All I can think about is this peaceful exchange and such a difference of
opinion. And I also know some of the history of Saudi Arabia. I knew
women wore “western” style clothing in the early 70’s and with the radical
takeover of the holy mosque changed things over night. It is an extremely
complicated topic and like Hana continually tries to explain, you cannot
just sum up everything quickly.
All the women are planning on working when they return home, but the latest news from one of the participants is that it has not been easy to find a job. She explained that one must have wasta (social connections) to get a job. Some of the women had to re-conceptualize their lives in the U.S. because it has not been as they thought it would be. Some of the participants are re- conceptualizing life back home as they hear about even more changes on the news or social media. Others have had to re-conceptualize life as they have returned home and have not found the job, they thought they would have right away.
Theme 4: Redefining self as Student
In the U.S., the women now must navigate life as a student attending class with men for the first time. They are also faced with the difficulties of understanding a completely new school system in where they are often required to share their opinions with the entire class. They explained that in Saudi Arabia, classes are taught using a rote memorization style of education.
Due to the extreme differences in the educational system in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the participants have had to redefine their roles as students. They have never attended classes with men before or had male teachers. Naima explained that in Saudi Arabia, “Different teacher man 103
or woman. Just man learn man, woman learn woman. Not mixed. Here mixed.” They have never been asked to share their opinions with the class and in the U.S., they are expected to do so.
Elham stated:
Behave differently? I think I’m more myself here. In class they want to you to
participate…they want you to share your opinion, but in Saudi Arabia it’s all
about the book. It wasn’t bad, but it’s good to use your brain.
Zaida explained, “I don’t feel shy but I have to act like…hmmm have to act like a certain way because its men from all over the world even Saudi men so…”
There are also some culture misunderstandings in the educational system. Atefeh explained in an email:
I have something just happened here made me angry and mad! I am always
stressed when I have presentations especially when I get many comments from
the teacher , here in the US they have a good relationship with the teacher they
laugh and smile all the time and make jokes in the middle of the class (and I like
that ) but!! the teacher and students always laugh while I am getting comments
about my work, not just me other students too, I am stressed and worried about
my grades it is not time to laugh and make jokes and they always talk In a low
voice and suddenly laugh! they look like they laugh at students work.. I think this
is not respectful at all, and it happens in all students’ presentations! I am not
familiar with this because we have a strict relation between teacher and students.
I suggested she speak to her instructor privately. Atefeh followed up with me and still did not feel comfortable in her graduate class. Another cultural challenge is that “strangers” ask them 104
questions. Although I have witnessed many Saudi women patiently explain many aspects of their culture to others, I have never thought about this from their point of view. No one complained about it, but how strange would it be that people sometimes welcomed/sometimes unwelcomed approach and ask for explanations? Fatima said, “In Saudi, we don’t talk to people they don’t know. It’s rude. I was really surprised. You can talk to anyone. If you know him or if you don’t you him.” She told me that her husband told her to expect people to talk to her in the U.S. This relates to what Hana relays, “Many people ask questions, or they ask a friend to ask me. Like why I cover my head or why you’re supposed to not touch.” In my second interview with Hana she exclaimed:
Come on guys. Why are you so interested in us? Focus on yourselves, I want to
say. We have a saying, ‘A camel can’t see its own humps,’ and I think the news
here… we all have the same problems. You look at yours, we’ll look at ours. I
notice that Hana’s attitude is changing every time we meet (see Appendix D,
Hana).
I notice that Hana’s attitude is changing every time we meet. She does not have her usual happy attitude or maybe she is allowing me to see how she truly feels? Jameelah told me during a Zoom interview that she worried about breaking the laws or getting her children into trouble by breaking the laws. She mentioned what she worried about most were, “Human rights and kid’s rights…at the airport, at the security point, everything when I arrived.” Asha expressed similar concerns:
Yes. Racism. My culture. My language. My second language. My religion. Before
I came to the United States, I used to wear my scarf, I find U.S. people have an 105
open mind. People accept me 100 percent by a nice word but I’m not scared. I
saw women could wear a scarf outside without some…issue (see Appendix D).
Some of the women had to re-conceptualize their lives in the U.S. because it has not been as they thought it would be. Hana’s experience will forever change her. Some of the participants are re-conceptualizing life back home as they hear about even more changes on the news or social media. Others have had to re-conceptualize life as they have returned home and have not found the job, they thought they would have right away or sooner than later. Jameelah is frustrated when she says, “One year, Kathleen and nothing! No job.” She later explains that there is like “snag” in the system. She has been advised to be an intern and seems hopeful.
Theme 5: Realizing Self-Accomplishments
It was natural for participants to discuss their strengths and goals and as I listened it was apparent that realizing their self-accomplishments was interwoven with their perceived identities.
Some of the participants had never left their parent’s house before and proudly remind the group.
Nawra announced, “I think I become more stronger.” Zaida explained, “When I complete my studies, I will be completely independent woman but home I can’t. Here I can. Like live by yourself.”
Also, the participants are supportive of each other and highlight each other’s accomplishments. They encourage each other to be more independent. The participants excitedly realize their own accomplishments as they explain what life has been like in the U.S. This sense of pride is fostered by living independently, learning to drive, attending “mixed” American 106
university courses, moving about town independently, learning about new cultures, attending sporting events, doing outdoor activities (i.e. hiking, climbing, riding a ski lift, riding the trolley streetcar, and attending student functions with both genders). The sense of accomplishment also came with the honest admissions on staying positive. Asha expressed:
I go to bed early. I eat good food. Just think about the good things life. I take the
decision to stop the bad idea. Like when I lost my mom. What can I do? I can sit
and cry but that doesn’t bring back my mom. I try to see something positive in my
life. If I have it, I try to remember. My kids are healthy. I can walk and I don’t
need anyone to help. That helps to see the life positive (see Appendix D).
Another great realization of self-accomplishment is that due to the laws changing in
Saudi Arabia, the women have a different “starting ground” and have been promised that many opportunities on the horizon.
Elham: They say we are the vision 2030.
Me: That is so exciting.
Elham: The older generation may be having a hard time with it.
Amal: I think we are here to bring Western culture back to Saudi.
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Back Stage Ethnographic Insights
Identity, Third space, and a “Trans-temporal Model”
In comparing the categories, the major theme that emerged was identity in the U.S. This new perceived identity is remarkably like the idea of a “third space” 10 (see figure 2). I am borrowing the term “third space” to describe a time that is temporary and unstable in the participants’ lives. Many of the participants used the word “stable” or discussed feeling unstable in the US. This “unstable” time is often uncomfortable and confusing for sojourners, and it is our responsibility as educators to step in and help students whenever possible. It is a time for exploration and excitement but there is an underlying fear of what the future can hold. A fear that might be present daily. A fear that can be easily assuaged by teachers, administrators, and the community. I discovered a “third space” while interviewing the participants and as time passed,
I labeled this period as the “Trans-temporal” 11 phase or period. The term “Trans-temporal” is meant to represent a dynamic position that occurs over time and includes past and present experiences that have been negotiated and renegotiated during a sojourner’s stay. This “third space” or “Tans-temporal” phase is the lens of which to view intercultural development.
Homi Bhabha argues “cultural production is always most productive where it is most ambivalent.” A person in a “third space” or “Trans-temporal phase does not exist in a cultural vacuum rather a person is continually in flux according to cultural beliefs and meanings. This time period embraces cultural differences and similarities, much like Bennet’s Acceptance Stage.
In the Acceptance Stage or the first stage on the ethnorelative side of the scale, individuals have
10 I am borrowing “third space” from Blending spaces: Mediating and Assessing intercultural competence in the L2 classroom, Witte. A, 2014. Based on Homi Bhabha’s concepts of hybridity and Third Space. 11 “Trans-temporal” is a term I created to define a phase or period of a sojourner’s life that is dynamic and occurs over time. This phase includes the sojourner’s past and present as she negotiates and renegotiates her experiences. 108
developed a respect for cultural differences and different worldviews (Bennett, 1993). Fatima communicated, “I made friends from all over the world. I love to learn about new cultures. I respect other cultures even if I don’t agree.”
During this period, people begin to see differences in communication styles. This includes nonverbal communication. The cultural relativity of nonverbal behavior is the subject of classic and contemporary literature and has shed light on kinesics, proxemics, haptics, and other categories (e.g.., Hall 1973; Barlund 1982; Jensen 1985). Naima explained, “Learn about law, how to talk to others polite or not polite. How people like or don’t like. Here, people don’t like very near. Learn about different language.” Naima is explaining that she has learned pragmatics or the appropriate signs or gestures that accompany language (Morris, 1946) and proxemics or the space needed for others to be comfortable (Hall, 1963). At this point in our interview, she has only been in the U.S. for one month.
Bennett describes “empathy” as the ability to “experience differently in a communication context” (Bennett, 1993). In the Adaptation stage, individuals begin to feel a cultural empathy.
For example, Fatima expressed, “Men don’t bother me in class.” Fatima has never attended class with men and yet she has adapted to the communication style of the university classroom. Amira said, “I like that we have Kid’s Korner at the library.” She explained that she takes her baby to the library every week to interact with other babies and mommies. Amira is choosing to socialize with members of the community. Aleena met me just before taking her driver’s test and said,
“It’s exciting but I want to try. There, they are already drive. Here, it is exciting. The women here pay more…to signs. (She means pay more attention to the signs). Although the driving ban 109
has been lifted in Saudi Arabia, Aleena is excited about getting her license in the United States as opposed to home.
Bennett describes the development of multiple cultural frames as “pluralism” and describes that it extends beyond “empathy” as it represents a “respect for others” as important as
“respect for self.” Asha divulged:
Some people have the goal to come to the U.S. and live here. My goal is to get all
of the information I have gathered from here and pass on in my country. Every
time I start a class, I have a short story to tell. I am a human resource. I have three
students…master’s degrees from Saudi in Florida. I was just talking about loving
the United States. When they go back, they say they miss the U.S. (see Appendix
D).
Asha explained why she is pursuing her PhD in the U.S.:
Because the U.S. is amazing for education. Because I’m a teacher. I know the
same subjects but different languages. I like the U.S. system and community.
When I finished my master’s degree, my family wanted to know why I go want
go back to U.S. … teachers, the system in education. I like the community (see
Appendix D).
Adler uses the term “multicultural” to refer to both aspects of both adaptation and integration. A “multicultural” person is one whose “essential identity is inclusive of life patterns different from his own and who psychology and socially come to grips with a multiplicity of realities” (Adler, 1977, p. 25). However, a “multicultural” person is not just sensitive to other 110
cultures like a person in the adaptation phase, rather this person is always in the process of becoming “a part of” and “part from” another culture (p. 26).
Another related concept is the constructivist idea of cognitive complexity (e.g., Delia,
Crockett, & Gonyea, 1970; Goertzel, n.d.; Loevninger & Wessler, 1970). More cognitively complex individuals can make finer discriminations and organize their perceptions in differentiated categories (Bennett, 2013). Equivalently, interculturally sensitive individuals have more developed set of categories for making discriminations among cultures. Bennett describes that “a sophisticated sojourner can observe subtle differences in nonverbal behavior or communication style, while a naïve traveler may only notice differences in the money, the food, or the toilets. A sophisticated sojourner can also tolerate ambiguity.
Today, researchers consider that ambiguity of tolerance predicts short and long-term reactions to a spectrum of circumstances in a wide variety of contexts and outcomes (Furnham &
Marks, 2013). Extreme aversion to ambiguity tolerance results in complete rejection of stimulus to reduce ambiguity. Conversely, extreme attraction is the maximal motivation to embrace ambiguity and enjoy its novelty and complexity resulting in a positive attitude (Furhnam &
Marks, 2013). People with a higher tolerance for ambiguity suffer from less culture shock.
Oberg’s (1960) discussion on culture shock details four emotional responses:
1. the ‘honeymoon’, with initial reactions of euphoria, enchantment, fascination,
and enthusiasm;
2. the crisis, characterizes by feelings of inadequacy, frustration, and anger;
3. the recovery, including crisis resolution and culturally learning and finally, 111
4. adjustment, reflecting enjoyment of and functional competence in the new
2005environment.
Tolerance of ambiguity is the ability to perceive uncertainties, contradictory issues which may be difficult to understand, as well as information with vague, contrary or multiple meanings in a neutral and open way. This tolerance of ambiguity phase is much like the ethnorelative side of Bennett’s Scale (Acceptance, Adaptation, Integration). According to Bochner (1965) individuals who have a tolerance of ambiguity display the following characteristics: 1) not bound by categorization, 2) comfortable with uncertainty, 3) a low fear response to the unfamiliar or change, 4) acceptance of novelty, 5) tolerance for fluctuating stimuli and 6) delaying selection from multiple solutions. Categorization is a method of recognizing similarities and differences in ideas or objects and grouping them based on a criterion (Cohen, H., & Lefebvre, 2005).
To understand not bound by categorization we must first understand that categorization is a method of recognizing similarities and differences in ideas or objects and grouping them based on a criterion (Cohen, H., & Lefebvre, 2005). This is much like the Acceptance of Phase of
Bennett’s Scale in where individuals have the desire to learn and are intrigued by the other culture and put themselves in contact with difference. The participants made friends with people from different cultures and attended events.
Being comfortable with uncertainty involves being in situations comprised of imperfect, partial, or unknown knowledge. The participants explained that they were eager to see how the
U.S. was in person. Some were trepidatious but were happily surprised. Moving from Saudi
Arabia to attend school at U.S. university is proof of being comfortable with uncertainty. It is also a cultural and personal challenge. Although Hofstede compares nations, this idea of 112
tolerance of ambiguity tends to oppose his opinion about “Arab countries” being less tolerant of uncertainty.
Low fear response refers to the unfamiliar or change that involves having an open mind.
Being open- minded means being able to appropriately share your opinions and accept the opinions of others. Bennett (1986) indicated the interculturally sensitive individuals have an internalized broadened view of the world. Consequently, people who are interculturally sensitive are more open-minded. The participants had to accept uncertainty when they came to the U.S. and the fact that their roles as women changed as well. The participants had to restructure their daily lives when they came to the U.S.
Acceptance of novelty is the ability to suspend judgment and try something new. The participants attended school functions and participated in games, they tried new foods, explored
Tucson, attended sporting events, and joined community events. They also reestablished their roles as friends as they interacted with people of different cultures and genders.
Tolerance for fluctuating stimuli can be seen in the self-monitoring of the participants.
Self-monitoring is a person’s ability to regulate behavior in order to match situational constraints and to implement a conversely competent behavior. Spitzberg and Cupach (1984) indicated that high self-monitors are more attentive, other oriented, and adaptable to diverse communications.
Individuals with high self-monitoring capabilities are more likely to sensitive to their counterparts and know how to use situational clues for self-presentation (Gudykunst, Yang, &
Nishada, 1987). This can also be connected to empathy. Bennett defines empathy as “the attempt to understanding by imagining or comprehending the other’s perspective” (1993). According to
Barlund (1988), interculturally sensitive person tend to look for communication symbols that 113
will enable them to share other’s experiences. The participants had to redefine their roles as students when they came to the U.S.
Delaying selection from multiple solutions begins with having high self-esteem. A person with high self- esteem usually has an optimistic outlook which instills confidence in interaction with others (Foote & Cottrell, 1955). In interactions with others invariably situations will occur that cause psychological stress. Self-esteem enhances positive emotions toward recognizing and respecting situational differences in intercultural communication. The participants realized their accomplishments as they explained their achievements and plans. Interaction enjoyment is the ability to perceive the topic and situation that involves conception of self and self-reward
(Spitzberg & Cupach, 1984). It involves a person’s sensitivity reaction in an intercultural situation. Being responsive, perceptive and attentive, allows for messages to be received and given, appropriate turn taking, and initiation and termination of conversations appropriately.
Figure 2. Trans-Temporal Model
Restructuring Daily Life
Re-conceiving Realizing Self- aspects of life in the Accomplishments U.S. and KSA
TRANS- TEMPORAL
Re-establish role as Redefining Self as Woman, Daughter, Student Wife, Mother
114
The figure above presents my analysis of the dynamic relationship between the experiences of the participants in each of the themes I identified. Each theme flows to the next.
Inside the five themes on the graphic I have identified a new category – a concept I have identified as the “Trans-temporal” stage of identity. This “new” stage or “Trans-temporal” identity is represented in the middle of the figure. This phase, the “Trans-temporal” phase, is a time period of uncertainty and enjoyment and involves higher levels of tolerance ambiguity.
Sojourners in this phase are hopeful about their futures for when they return but still do not know what the future brings. They are excited to be in a new environment but not all the events that occur in that environment are pleasant experiences. It is a period of instability, full of personal and cultural challenges, that can build self-confidence and promote long-term intercultural sensitivity. Individuals in this phase who have a high tolerance of ambiguity tend to be more successful. Tolerance of ambiguity is one of the highest skills of intercultural competence.
The Center and Cultural Experiences
Does the Center encourage intercultural sensitivity and cross-cultural sensitivity? To elicit a response about the Center’s social atmosphere, I asked the participants if they attended any activities or made new friends since they had been in the U.S. When I asked about participation and activities at the Center, the participants who were students at the Center reported that they had attended activities and had made friends with people of other cultures.
Atefeh responded:
I learn how to respect other people’s culture and in the past…everyone around
had the same culture and religion. And also, the language. I will be able to speak 115
in English and be understood. Also, I like how people rely on themselves. Even if
they are 19.
Atefeh explained that she learned how to respect the cultures of other people. She has expressed to me that she is at the adaptation stage on Bennet’s Scale. At this stage, there is a high level of intercultural development and the person can make a shift in perspective represented by empathy (Bennet, 2013). There is also the concept of pluralism at this stage and is more advanced than the empathy portion of adaptation. Someone who experiences pluralism respects other cultures as much as they respect their own (Bennet, 2013).
Fatima explained that her husband suggested to get to know new people and that, “There are different people from other places. I like to learn about new things” Amira explained that she liked her male teacher Ben. He was her first male teacher. She said:
My male teacher Ben was so nice and funny. I really enjoyed his class. He’s first
[male] teacher for me and I like him. We met different people.
Amira expressed that she thought she was in the adaptation stage. She is open to meeting new people and trying new things. She has never had a male teacher before and she seems excited to have had one.
The participants at the Center seemed to be happier than the students that had left the
Center and moved on. The students attending the Center did not say a negative word about the
Center. They mentioned making new friends, attending activities, and working in groups or pairs. One of the participants talked about enjoying visiting an elementary school to visit
American students. Zaida commented, “Here, at the Center people are very nice to me.” One participant who is attending the university made a comment that people at the Center would 116
pressure her to take another class because “I’m Saudi and have a lot of money.” Even our own
Center, which I considered wrapped in a protective bubble was not impervious to bias and prejudice.
In delving into the interviews, more cultural and personal challenges began to surface as well as perceived identities. In a second conversation with Amira she admitted that her daughter
“cries a lot” and that she nor the baby were sleeping very much. She is the main caregiver of the baby, so she is no longer attending class until the baby gets older. She told me she felt tired. I first had Amira as a student in my beginning English class. She is a conscientious student and has her teaching degree in early childhood development. She is blissfully happy with her baby and did not say one negative word about her stay in the United States.
She helped me get more interviews. She must have said some positive words about me and my study because I had more women come to me daily after I interviewed her. I also got to hold her baby during our interviews. She explained that the rules were changing in Saudi Arabia, but it depends on what your father says. She explained her father has always been supportive of her, but that is not the case for all the women in Saudi Arabia. She said some women in rural areas will not be able to take advantage of the new freedoms because their fathers will not let them.
She enjoys living in the U.S. and describes “story time” at the library and taking her baby for walks in her stroller. She said, “I like the sleep cycle. You go to bed early and you get up early and go to the garden and walk. Now, I walk an hour day. I like the three meals a day. I drive…here. I go to grocery store.” 117
Hana’s backstage story is one of an extremely frightening experience on campus. She explained that a man ran toward her and a small group of her female friends yelling racist remarks. He charged at them and flipped their table. Her phone was broken and before she and her friends realized what happened, the man came back with a knife. No one was physically harmed, and the police arrived before anything else happened. The man was arrested for the crime. A bystander explained to the police that the women were sitting and studying when the man came up and threatened them with a knife. She cried as she told me the story. I sensed the fear she had at the beginning of the story turn to anger and frustration. The policeman told her that the man did that because he has “mental issues”. She felt like the man was a racist. The man that attacked the women was white and 44 years old and not a student of the university.
The next time I talked to her, she wanted to move down Bennett’s scale from adaptation to acceptance. I never thought about someone choosing to move down the scale, but she wanted to be moved the scale. I think her feelings about her experience were coming into play with how she viewed living in the U.S. If our identity is based on how we view ourselves as well as how others view us, then how does her attack inform her identity in the U.S?
I had the pleasure of knowing Hana before my study. In fact, when she “graduated” from the Center, she promised she would let me interview her. She is a happy and remarkably well- adjusted young lady. She attended activities and volunteered and had friends from around the world. I guessed she would self-identify in the integration developmental stage.
I kept thinking about her comment from an earlier conversation: “A camel can’t see its own humps.” She explained it is a common saying in Arabic that means you can see your own 118
flaws if you are looking at others. She felt like the U.S. news was always talking about Saudi people and in a derogatory light.
She explained that she does not feel uncomfortable in class with men. What is uncomfortable is that she knows the answers, but she does not want to say them in English. She explains that at the university, Americans ask her many questions, or they ask their friends to ask her questions about her hijab, her country, her religion, etc. and she does not mind that at all.
However, she would like to be given time to explain these highly significant aspects of her life but there is not enough time between classes for example. She explained that Americans want quick responses and simple answers about her culture as they are often asked in passing casually.
Hana was still terribly upset after her attack and seemed her frustration was increasing, so
I suggested she go see someone on campus at our counseling office. I offered to take her, but she asked to go alone. When I followed up with her, she said she began seeing a psychiatrist, but she felt like he could not really help because “He isn’t Arabic.” She explained that he did not understand her culture or religion enough “To know what I could and could not do.”
Consequently, she felt he could not help her. She felt like discussing her problems with an older female friend that was of the same faith might be best. Hana was willing to go to a male doctor, but what about the women that would not feel comfortable with a male doctor? Could there be
“cultural counselors” to help individuals having issues within the frameworks of their cultures, religions, and traditions?
She also felt discriminated against by her academic adviser. She felt that he withheld information from her, and this caused a great deal of stress. Everything worked out in the end, 119
but she was very frustrated and overly busy. The last time I saw her, she had lost a great deal of weight.
Atefeh’s backstage story consists of a frustrating feeling after she gave a presentation for her university class. She said the students in the class as well as the professor were laughing during her presentation and she did not know why. She sent me a frustrated email about her experience. Atefeh explained that she felt extremely comfortable at the Center, but she does not feel comfortable in her university classes. The professor did not say anything to the students, and she was not sure why they were laughing. Atefeh’s expectation was that her teacher would be in the role she considered to be that of a teacher. When that did not happen, she became doubly upset and frustrated. She said that she understands, “That here the teacher is friendly and makes jokes,” but that experience did not feel the same to her. She wanted to know why the professor did not stop the laughing and she wanted to know why the students would laugh at her in the first place.
She too feels like the other students feel like she might be taking something from them.
Atefeh would like to go home as soon as she can. She is ready to have her first baby. When I asked her why she wants to go home she said, “I will feel being a girl is very difficult.
Everything is easier because I know everything there. I’m excited. Here, was something temporary. Like…I think my life will be stable.”
Naima also mentioned a man who yelled something racist words at her in Tucson. She said she did not know what the words he used meant. She is concerned and feels anxious about her children and says, “I always think about my children how they will adapt to change. My 120
husband is getting his PhD so they will be here for five years. I talk with them Arabic and they talk English at school.”
Elham explained that she gets to do things in the U.S. that she does not get to back home.
She drove herself to see a concert and got a speeding ticket. She took a girl trip and slept on the beach in California. When we were entering the library for our focus group interview, my study room was not ready. Elham took charge. I could tell she was a leader. She asked me if I thought we were treated differently because we were with “hijabis.” She then said, “I don’t get that much…because I don’t look like one.” I asked the other women we were with if they felt like they were treated differently, and they felt they had not been treated any differently.
Fatima has worked with men in the past in Saudi Arabia and commented, “Men don’t bother me in class.” One thing she thinks she will miss about the U.S. is that she only wears a hijab here, she will go back to wearing an abaya and niqab when she returns. She too had someone yell something at her on the street in Tucson:
Someone did say? Someone did say. On campus? No, on the street in Tucson. We
when we go out on the street, they say What? Come on its not a big deal. For
now, it’s simple…it’s just little here and there. Something like where’s the bomb?
This is terrorists. I act like I don’t hear them (see Appendix D).
One thing she discussed is that people in the U.S. say hello when they do not know each other. She said that she was not used to that, but she liked it.
She also mentioned freedom from her parents. Even though she and her husband are adults, she confessed to me that they do not always tell their parents what they are doing in the 121
U.S. She explained, “My mother might say yes, and my father might say no, so…no one knows what we are doing.”
Nawra, a newlywed, told me she was pregnant as soon as she found out. She has embraced life at the Center and attends functions. She even attended a holiday party. For example, she and her husband participated in the three-legged race at our annual picnic. After her studies she wants to return home and practice boxing in the gym. She explains that women have more opportunities now to go places and to work out in the gym. She plans on working when she returns home. She is ready to experience things and seems happy and laughs a lot.
Zaida drives here, but she drove at home as well, so she is not too “excited” about driving. She tells me that when she completes her studies she will be “a completely independent woman” she goes on “but at home…I can’t, but here I can. Like live by yourself.” She tells me women are driving Ubers. She says that Saudi men used to scoff at the idea of being an Uber driver but now she explains, “And now Saudi men are driving Ubers and waiting tables.” She questioned her education and asked why she needed to come to the United States to learn English instead of learning it in Saudi Arabia. She was perplexed. She questioned if she needed English for a job or for her future, why was she not learning English back home? She said that she plans to work in her future. She explained with a grin that not everyone knows what she does while she is in the U.S. and therefore has more freedom.
Jameelah discussed that getting a job has a lot to do with wasta (social networking). You must know someone to get a job. Many people are being advised to become interns first. She is still looking for a job. In our last conversation, she said that there are “gaps in the system” back home. I know she feels disappointed and frustrated. She was under the impression that she would 122
get a job right away, especially because she earned her PhD in the U.S. She is divorced and her husband has custody of her children (as is the law in Saudi Arabia). She has a boy and a girl that live with her husband and visit her. She hopes that when her son reaches 13 that he will choose to live with her. In our earlier interviews she explained, “Women can drive, all jobs try to take to try women first, and the chance for women is so high.” She told me that she had her own car and she could drive anywhere anytime. She relays excitedly, “I went to the pharmacist and she was a woman!”
Asha first came to the U.S. when she was pregnant with her youngest child, she explained it was very difficult to try to go to school with a new baby and her other two children, so she returned to Saudi Arabia. Her goal was to come back after the baby got older and that is what she did. She told me she had major health problems that she has now overcome She described that the system is changing in Saudi Arabia. “But in the past women didn’t have the opportunity…Women can share opinion. Men and women share opinion,” she tells me.
Asha is a teacher and she will take what she learns about special education back with her to teach others. She too worries about her children and their language abilities when they return home. She feels that their knowledge of English will help them, but she is afraid that they will lose their Arabic language.
Asha is one of the first educators in special education and she will pass her knowledge on to other teachers. This is a major paradigm shift in education for Saudi Arabia. I have helped students who had undiagnosed learning disabilities from Saudi Arabia, and I have also helped to find the necessary outlets to get them the accommodations that they need to be successful. Asha is so upbeat and positive about being in the U.S. and going to school in the U.S. Asha even tells 123
me that she loves the U.S. She mentions the death of her mother and explains that it is important to maintain a positive attitude because we have no control over who lives and dies. She lets me cry a little about my dad and tells me that she thinks of everything she is grateful for each day. I now do the same.
When I asked Aleena why she chose Tucson, she said she did not choose to study here but her husband did. In fact, this is the case for most of the women. They go where their husband goes to study. She wears a hijab in the U.S. but will wear the abaya and niqab when she returns home because her husband will want her to. She tells me she was called “American girl” as her nickname. She explained that she was blond when she was a young child. She also explains positive experiences with the people she has met while she has been in the U.S. This is her first time in the United States, but she has traveled a great deal. She explained that she attended an
Arabic school in Spain. She explains that after our interview, she is going to get her drivers’ license. She explains it is a little disappointing because women can drive in Saudi Arabia, but she adds, “It’s exciting but I want to try. There, they are already drive. Here, it is exciting. The woman here pays more…to signs.” (She means pay more attention to the signs).
In the first focus group, we discussed staying alone for the first time. One woman who came to the U.S. with her husband explained that she does not want to stay alone Some of the women in the conversation are at the university and some are going to school at the Center. The conversation turned to experiencing delays in the airport. One woman said that people in Tucson are not as nice as other people in California. They all agreed to some degree to having homesickness. We talked about the changes in Saudi Arabia-women driving, women traveling, and not being required to wear an abaya. 124
I did not know if the participants would talk about 9/11, it has literally been a lifetime for some in the group, but Amal did.
Amal: Since 9/11, people fear anyone with a hijab on. I do not understand. Just
because someone is Muslim and they break a glass, that doesn’t mean all Muslims
are going to break a glass.
I wondered if anyone in the group would bring up American students asking questions or making comments and just after made her comment Elham responded to Amal:
Elham: Exactly but people do not understand. I do not think the Americans are
educated enough to understand that not all Muslims are the same. You can’t
generalize.
Even though Elham makes a generalization herself, she makes a valid point. I have been an educator for 22 years and have taught American students in middle school and high school for nine of those years, so I have had experience “on the other side.” I understand the point that
Elham is trying to make. Many of the students I have had in my classes have been told one narrative and that narrative has been reinforced by the media, their parents, their schools, their teachers, and society.
Amal said she “feels something from other people” whether she wears a hijab or not. She said her father wants her to work on the ARAMCO compound because (she explains) ARAMCO is a “neutral place to live.” She said when she went back to Saudi Arabia that she suffered
“culture shock.” She did not give specific examples, she said it was difficult for her to readjust. 125
Amal told a story from when she lived in the U.S. for a short time. She was in elementary school and as she remembered she said:
Amal: It is hurtful. People would treat my mom differently in front of me because
she wore a hijab and she is the nicest person in the district.
Elham: Or when people make camel jokes. There are cultures, there are traditions,
and there are religions.
In our second focus group interview, Hana said she no longer feels like she can self- identify in the adaptation level on the DMIS and said that she has made a shift to acceptance.
Me: Why do you want to move from the adaptation stage to the acceptance
change?
Hana: I can accept it, but I don’t have to agree with it.
This is the technical definition of acceptance. The participants all explained that they wanted to work when they returned home. They also expressed that they wanted to be mothers.
One of the women who is back home is having difficulty finding a job. Some of the women want to be professors while others would like to work in their chosen fields. The participants also plan to have children. Consequently, there will be more working mothers in Saudi Arabia. One participant explained that in the future, she wants to work and have five or six kids. When talking about the future they expressed excitement and hope, but Fatima mentioned that she is not sure how it is going to be when she returns. Since she will have been educated in the U.S. when she returns. She explained: 126
I have to work a lot harder. Yeah, you go to learn but a lot of people will expect
more. Maybe I will be given all the legal cases in English or maybe no, you never
know.
Zaida sees independence as a goal when she finishes her studies. Asha explained,
“Women can drive. All jobs try to take women first and the chance for women is so high.”
The following data, taken from interviews, shows the startling reality that the participants have strong feelings (both positive and negative) about how they have been treated in the U.S.
Hana no longer views our college campus as the haven she once knew it to be after the incident she endured, and she did not feel she could connect with a counselor that did not understand her culture. She explained, “Psychiatrist can help but…he doesn’t know my culture. He’s not
Arabic. How can he…he doesn’t. He has good ideas but he doesn’t know what I can and cannot do and why.”
Two other participants specifically view Tucson as a racist town. Elham mentioned camel jokes and Amal explained that when she lived in the U.S. as a child, children at her elementary school used to call her mother names. Amal explained that she feels like she gets looks from people whether she wears her hijab or not. Atefeh feels like she was mistreated in her graduate class by the students and the teacher because they were laughing during her presentation. She now wants to return home.
The women had concerns for their children when thinking about their return. The participants discussed that they wanted to work when they return to Saudi Arabia and talked 127
about the “Saudization” of Saudi Arabia.12 Zaida explained that women are now Uber drivers.
She says that Saudi men used to scoff (she makes a gesture like a laugh) at the idea of being an
Uber driver, but she explains, “And now Saudi men are driving Ubers and waiting tables.”
Finding a job has not been easy for Jameelah. It has been over a year and she has still not found work. She explains that a person must have wasta (social networking) to get a job. Zaida tells me that when she matriculates, she will be “a completely independent woman” she goes on to say,
“but at home…I can’t, but here I can. Like live by yourself.” She explained with a grin that not everyone knows what she does while she is in the U.S. and therefore has more freedom. Two of the participants explained that they think they are here to be “westernized” so that they can
“practice” before returning home.
Laila explained that she was living in a homestay situation, which is unusual for a Saudi woman, and that she enjoyed living with an American family. She explained that she felt more
“stable” living with a family. This may be because the guardianship law has been lifted. Fatima and Aleena explained that even though the laws have been lifted on wearing abaya and niqab, they plan to still cover when they return home because their husbands will want them to.
Hana felt like she was not given enough time to respond to questions in class because she needs to translate her answers in English before she can respond.
Elham reminded us “But change is not going to come by ignoring things” and “That there are cultures, there are traditions, and there are religions.” Elham’s point is reminiscent of our first
12 Saudization-the process of employing fewer foreign workers and employing more Saudi workers. 128
day together when she asked me if we were treated differently at the library because we were with “hijabis.”
Survey Data
1. Results of the DMIS Scale
In this study, four out of the eleven participants self-identified in Stage 4 the Acceptance stage. In this stage, the individual has moved to the ethnorelative side of the scale. This stage occurs when an individual has accepted and acknowledged cultural differences. Cultural difference is respected and considered necessary in this stage. All the participants felt that they were on the ethnorelative side of the scale.
The first subdivision of acceptance is respect for behavioral difference. Bennett suggests that the first acceptance of behavioral difference would be language. At this stage, individuals not only recognize and accept language but also cultural and nonverbal behavior. Cultural variation in paralinguistics, kinesics, proxemics, haptics, and other categories of behavior have been the subject of both traditional and contemporary literature in intercultural communication
(Hall, 1997; Barnlund 1982). The second subdivision is entitled respect for value. Bennett explains that relativity of cultural values is essential to intercultural sensitivity. At this stage, there is an acceptance of difference and respect for cultural worldviews.
Two of the participants self-identified in the Adaptation stage. They both had have spent two years in the U. S. The Adaptation stage is the practical application of ethnorelative experiences and intercultural communication. In this stage, individuals try to feel how others 129
feel. It is divided into two phases: empathy and pluralism . Adaptation is not to be confused with the term assimilation . Assimilation takes place when an individual absorbs a new cultural and, in the process, “loses” their own culture. Adaptation is considered an additive process and is divided into phases of development: empathy and pluralism . Empathy is the attempt to understand another’s perspective by seeing through their eyes or trying to feel their feelings.
Pluralism represents a development of intercultural sensitivity beyond empathy and represents the ability to have increased intercultural worldviews and intercultural sensitivity as well as an increase of the number of cultures with which one identifies (Bennett, 1993). One participant felt she was a .5 in stage five and a .5 in stage six.
Four of the eleven participants felt they were in Stage 6 Integration . In integration, an individual has internalized more than one culture into their own. Integration is divided into two phases: contextual evaluation and constructive marginality . So far in the previous stages, there has not been the mention of evaluation but in contextual evaluation it is important to mention.
Bennett uses the example of when it is ok to take your clothes off in a culture. It depends on the context. Constructive marginality is used to describe a person who operates outside the norms of cultural values. Constructive marginality is the experience of viewing one’ self as the constant creator of one’s own reality (Bennett in Paige, 1993). When I asked if anyone felt like they shifted on Bennett’s Scale, I never contemplated the idea that a participant would be asked to be moved from adaptation to acceptance. I thought that the participants would move toward integration the longer that they stayed in the U.S. Another interesting observation is that of the people that experienced racial slurs or attacks, all but one is in the acceptance phase. 130
In sum, four of the participants self-identified in the acceptance stage, two of the participants self-identified in the adaptation stage, one identified in the adaptation and integration and four of the participants self-identified on the integration stage.
2. Results of the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey
In looking at the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey Results, I discovered that the participants scored highest in Integration Enjoyment and Respect for Other Cultures. I went back through the interviews with the top ranked characteristics as guidelines to investigate if these characteristics would surface in the interviews. I saw Integration Enjoyment and Respect for
Other Cultures in the interviews as the participants explained their daily lives to me. I marked
Integration Enjoyment as (IE) in my notes and Respect for Other Cultures as (RC).
In looking at the results of the intercultural sensitivity survey the data provide convincing evidence that the participants have scored in the high range on the 5-point Likert scale.
Table 3. Summary statistics of Intercultural Sensitivity Survey scores.
Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation Interaction Engagement 3.20 5.00 4.1591 .52154
Respect for Cultural Differences 3.33 4.67 4.0718 .38644
Interaction Confidence 3.00 5.00 3.9136 .60996
Interaction Enjoyment 2.67 5.00 3.8727 .64616
Interaction Attentiveness 2.00 4.60 3.6909 .75794
The results of the survey show that the participants scored the highest in Interaction
Engagement with a mean of 4.1591 and Respect for Cultural Differences with a mean of 4.0718. 131
The third highest score was in Interaction Confidence with a mean a of 3.9136. The fourth highest score was Interaction Enjoyment with a mean of 3.8727 and, the fifth highest score was
Interaction Attentiveness with the mean of 3.6909. The participants scored a mean of 3.6 or higher for each category out of Likert Scale of .5. The overall score for the participants was
3.9727.
In looking at the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey Results, I discovered the participants scored the highest in Interaction Engagement and Respect for Other Cultures. For example, when the participants explained the activities they participated in with other students, I marked those experiences as Interaction Engagement. An example of Respect for Other Cultures from Fatima:
I like how people respect each other. I like how people smile and say good
morning even if they do not know him. I meet with people of different cultures
and religion. I learn how to respect people and to like…to talk to people with
different thinking or different culture (see Appendix D).
I marked Interaction Enjoyment as IE in my notes and Respect for Other Cultures as RC.
What the participants shared in their interviews coincided with what they had reported on the ISS survey.
In fact, I saw all of five categories of the ISS (Interaction Engagement, Interaction
Enjoyment, Respect for other Cultures, Interaction Confidence, and Interaction Attentiveness) represented in the interviews. The participants were given the survey before they gave individual interviews. This suggests the participants’ feelings about how they rated themselves on the ISS corresponded to the interview data.
3. The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity 132
The data provide convincing evidence of intercultural sensitivity on the ISS survey and within the interviews. The next step was using the DMIS scale as a framework to ask the participants to self-identify on the DMIS scale. I explained each stage giving specific examples that used language to express how individuals feel at each stage. Based on Milton Bennett’s scale, I explained that Denial meant that, “My way is the only the way.” I explained Defense as,
“There is no better way to do it than the way I do.” The last stage of the ethnocentric phases is
Minimization. I explained this as, “We are all just the same.” Not one participant self-identified with the ethnocentric side of the scale. I explained Acceptance as, “People have different beliefs.” I explained Adaptation as, “I can make changes to my behavior” and for the last phase on the ethnorelative side I explained Integration as, “I can move within different cultures.” I also showed them Bennett’s continuum.
Table 4. DMIS & ISS results by participant.
Zaida Elham Nawra Hana Aleena Altefeh Naima Fatima Amira Jameelah Asha 2 3 4 5 6
DMIS Level ISS Score
133
Another aspect of the analysis was to investigate if variables played a role in intercultural sensitivity. The variables tested were age, years of education, months in the U.S. and marital status. Tables 3, 4, 5, and 6 depict DMIS score results and the tested variables.
Table 5. Age and DMIS score per participant.
6
5.5
5
4.5
4
3.5
3 18 19 20 21 21 24 25 25 25 28 38
The graph in Table 3 features age of participants in years along the x-axis and DMIS score along the y-axis. As shown in the graph, the two oldest participants who have spent the most time in the U.S. self-identified at the integration level however the two youngest are at the integration stage. The youngest participant self-identified in the integration stage and she had only lived in the U.S. two months when she gave me her interview. From the data provided, age does not seem play a role in the level of intercultural sensitivity of my participants.
One student felt she was in the process of both integration and adaptation, so she is 5.5 on the scale. I gave a numerical value to Bennett’s six stage scale to be more explanatory.
134
Table 6. Highest year of education completed and DMIS score per participant.
6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 12 12 13 13 13 14.5 16 17 18 19 20
The above graph depicts the highest year of education attained by each participant in years along the x-axis and DMIS score along the y-axis. The graph shows no clear pattern in
DMIS score and year of educated completed by participant. For example, participants at both the highest and lowest ranges of education self-identified as in the process of integration, or level six on the DMIS scale.
Table 7. Length of stay in the U.S. in years & DMIS score per participant .
6
5.5
5
4.5
4
3.5
3 0.10.10.2 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 8
The graph above shows participant length of stay in the U.S. in years along the x-axis and
DMIS score along the y-axis. (based on Milton’s theory, connoisseur literature I expected that the DMIS score of participants would vary based on their length of stay in the U.S.) However, as 135
shown in Table 5, DMIS scores showed no clear pattern in DMIS score in participant length of stay. For example, participant at both the lower and highest ends self-identified themselves at the highest stage of the DMIS scale.
Table 8. Average DMIS score of participants by marital status.
6 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.2 5 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.2 4 Married Single
There are more single women than married woman in my study. Seven of my participants were married while four of my participants were single. The average score for single women was a 5.5 out of the 6-point DMIS scale. The average score for married women was just under 4.8 out of the 6-point DMIS scale. Although the number of participants in my study is limited, the graph depicts a notable difference in average DMIS scores between married and single women.
Summary
In reviewing the results of the interviews, I found a recurring pattern of five aspects of life in the United States: restructuring daily life, redefining self as student, re-establishing role as woman as friend/daughter/wife/mother, and re-conceiving aspects of life in the U.S and in Saudi
Arabia. During this time, a “third space” or “Trans-temporal” phase begins for a sojourner. 136
In reviewing the results, the DMIS, all the participants self-identified on the ethno- relative side of Bennett’s Scale. The variables did not play a role in levels of intercultural sensitivity. The only variable that showed a significance was marital status. According to the graph, single women self-identified with more development in intercultural sensitivity.
In reviewing the ISS, the participants scored the highest in Integration Engagement and
Respect for Other Cultures. Overall, the participants scored a more than satisfactory score in intercultural sensitivity, Interaction Engagement, and Respect for Other Cultures was represented in the interviews.
This data was triangulated with earlier data and the focus group discussions. Drawing from the conversations, some conclusions can be made: 1) five categories of daily life arose from the data, 2) most participant attributes had little or no role in level of intercultural sensitivity, 3) obtaining an emic view afforded the insight into the emotions of the participants, 4) all the participants self-identified in the ethnorelative stages, and 5) sojourners occupy a “third space” or trans-temporal space where feelings of excitement and instability occur.
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Chapter 5: Conclusion, Discussion, and Recommendations
Overview
The goal of this study was to explore the lived experience of Saudi female students at the tertiary level in the U.S. Influenced by Hymes’ Ethnography of Communication (1972), using a constructivist lens and drawing on Mead’s symbolic interactionism theory (Blumer, 1969), I examined interactions, experiences and explored meanings from data collected from one-on-one interviews and focus groups. In addition to ethnographic interviews, I employed two survey tools to further explore the underlining meanings of their experiences. In order to study their perceived identities and their personal and cultural challenges. I used Milton Bennett’s phenomenological
DMIS Scale and Chen and Starosta’s Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (2000) as methodological analytical tools to see where the participants self-identified their developmental levels of intercultural sensitivity. This chapter includes a discussion of the major findings as related to literature on intercultural sensitivity, and the participants’ perceived identities. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the limitations of the study, areas for further research, and a brief summary.
This study sought to answer the following research questions:
1. What does it mean to be a Saudi woman living and studying in the U.S? And what is the
perceived identity of Saudi women who are educated in the U.S. and return to their
country?
2. What are the cultural challenges for Saudi women as students in U.S. university settings? 138
3. What are the personal challenges for Saudi women as students in U.S. university
settings?
4. Does the length of time spent in U.S. university settings increase the level of intercultural
sensitivity in Saudi women students?
5. Do variables affect intercultural sensitivity (i.e., age, marital status, level of education,
work experience)?
6. Does the Center encourage intercultural and cross-cultural sensitivity in Saudi students?
If so, how?
7. What side of Bennett’s Scale do participants see themselves on: the ethnocentric side or
on the ethno-relative side of the scale? 8)Do the participants feel that they have shifted
position/s on Bennett’s Six Stages of Intercultural Sensitivity during their stay in the
U.S.?
This study was informed by rich interdisciplinary literature on the models, frameworks, and assessment tools for intercultural sensitivity, and from the data collected from one-on-one interviews and focus group interviews. This study was conceptualized, designed, and carried out in accordance with my overarching inquiry about the lived experiences of Saudi women studying in the U.S.
Intercultural communication, according to Chen & Starosta, is shown through the behavioral aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication in interactions with others (1997).
My study investigated intercultural sensitivity and the theoretical models and assessment tools used in discovering levels of IS. There are five types of models used for intercultural 139
competence: Compositional Models, Co-orientational Models, Developmental Models,
Adaptational Models, and Causal Path Models. For the purposes of my research, the best theoretical model for self-identification is Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural
Sensitivity (DMIS) (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) because it “measures” what stage each participant self-identifies as and is easily explained to and understood by participants. The first three stages are on the ethnocentric (one’s view is the only viewpoint) side of the scale and the last three are considered ethnorelative (cultures can only be understood relative to each other). The six stages are as follows: the first three, under the topic of ethnocentric, are Denial, Defense, and
Minimization followed by the three ethnorelative stages of Acceptance, Adaptation, and
Integration. The DMIS is a theoretical and conceptual model as it assumes 1) intercultural sensitivity is a phenomenological process and 2) intercultural sensitivity can be acquired.
In addition to the DMIS, the participants took the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey (Chen
& Starosta, 2000). The survey is compatible with the DMIS model because the survey is a proven way to “measure” where the participants feel they are in relation to cultural sensitivity.
Chen and Starosta (1998) define intercultural sensitivity as the participant’s “active desire to motivate themselves to understand, appreciate, and accept difference among cultures” (p. 231).
Their survey is comprised of five items that incorporate cognition, behaviors, and attitudes: 1) respect for cultural differences, 2) interaction enjoyment, 3) interaction confidence, 4) interaction engagement, and 5) interaction attentiveness.
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Summary of Findings
In this research, all the participants self-identified with the ethnorelative side of Bennett’s
Scale and scored in the “more than satisfactory” range on Chen & Starosta’s survey. When viewing the variables (age, marital status, length of stay, level of education) and the DMIS results, only one of the variables seemed to have pattern responses (marital status). More single women self-identified greater development on the DMIS Scale. On average, the participants scored the highest in Interaction Engagement followed by Respect for Other Cultures. These two categories were found to be significantly present in the participant’s interviews. The consistency of responses across most participant attributes supports Bennett’s theory because Bennett believes that the stages of intercultural development are phenomenological and can be taught. He does not use length of stay or age as a guideline because that is not how learning intercultural sensitivity works. Although I used graphs in my analysis, I do not believe graphs are necessary in qualitative studies.
My data was triangulated with earlier ethnographic data and focus group discussions. The following conclusions can be made from the interviews with the participants:
1) In my analysis of the interview data, I identified five thematic aspects of daily life.
These five categories are: 1) Restructuring Daily Life, 2) Redefining self as student,
3) Reestablishing role as friend/daughter/sister/wife/mother, 4) Realizing
Accomplishments, and 5) Reconceiving life in U.S. and in Saudi Arabia. These five
categories answer research questions 1-3 and reflect symbolic interactionism because
they represent the perceived identity of the participants. Perceived identity, like
symbolic interactionism, is shaped by how we see the world and our place in it. It is 141
based on our experiences and how we internalize those experiences. Obtaining an
emic view afforded the insight into the emotions of the participants. An emic view is
one were an “outsider” can be allowed into a group to gain a better understanding of
how the group perceives events, situations, and communications with others. During
their time away from home, sojourners occupy a “third space” or trans-temporal
space where feelings of excitement and instability occur (answers research questions
1-3).
2) In my analysis of the survey data I found most participant attributes had little or no
role in level of intercultural sensitivity. This would suggest that having intercultural
sensitivity is not affected by variables (i.e. age, marital status, education, work
experience, length of stay in the U.S. The two oldest participants who have spent the
most time in the U.S. self-identified at the integration level however the two youngest
are at the integration stage. The youngest participant self-identified in the integration
stage, and she had only lived in the U.S. two months when she gave me her interview.
Participants at both the highest and lowest ranges of education self-identified as in the
process of integration, or level six on the DMIS scale. The average score for single
women was a 5.5 out of the 6-point DMIS scale. The average score for married
women was just under 4.8 out of the 6-point DMIS scale. This is a significant
difference. It appears that single women are more interculturally sensitive than
married women; however, due to the limited number of participants, I cannot make
that assumption. For length of stay, participants at both the lower and highest ends
self-identified themselves at the highest stage of the DMIS scale (answers questions 4
and 5). 142
3) The interview data indicates the Center encourages intercultural sensitivity. The
following are taken from the interviews: Atefeh explained, “I have lots of friends
from Iran, India, from America (but not much) Korea but I don’ t enjoy spending time
with them because of the language problem. Maybe if I learn the language more, I
will enjoy more.”
Hana offered:
Yeah, I have a lot of really nice friends from the U.S., Mexico…and Africa. Yes,
I have made a lot of nice friends here (referring to the Center). Male and female
friends, Now, if I meet friends, it’s at the library. I met a group of Americans who
helped me with a physics problem. It was pretty nice (see Appendix D).
Fatima described why she likes being at CESL:
Actually, um…I like being here. I like how people respect each other. I like how
people always smile and say good morning even if they do not him. I meet with
people of different cultures. This is the first time I meet with people of different
cultures and religion. I learn how to respect people and how to like talk to
someone with different thinking or culture (see Appendix D).
Zaida stated, “Here, at the Center, people are nice to me.”
“My male teacher Ben was so nice and funny. I really enjoyed his class. He’s first
male teacher for me and I like him. We met different people,” Amira divulged with a
smile. “My male teacher Ben was so nice and funny. I really enjoyed his class. He’s
first male teacher for me and I like him. We met different people.” 143
Atefeh explained “A teacher took me to elementary school and participate there”
(answers question 6).
4) The survey data revealed that all the participants self-identified in the ethnorelative
stages on Bennett’s Scale (answers question 7).
Table 9. Ethnorelative Side of Bennett’s Scale. This table depicts the ethnocentric
side (Denial, Defense, Minimization) and ethnorelative side (Acceptance, Adaptation,
Integration) Of Bennett’s Scale.
Denial Defense Minimization Acceptance Adaptation Integration
Fatima Amira Elham Narwa Atefeh Zaida Hana Jameelah Naima Aleena Aleena* Asha
*Aleena identified in the adaptation stage and integration stage.
5) One participant shifted on the DMIS but she shifted from adaptation to acceptance
(answers question 8). Hana told me she felt she was in the adaptation phase when we
first spoke. On that first day she shared a horrific story with me:
The worst thing in my life happened to me here. Not the worst thing that has
happened that I’ve been here, the worst thing in my entire life. A man came up
and yelled…we don’t know terrorist stuff and flipped our table and broke our
phones. The worst thing that made me so mad at least go to the jail. He didn’t
because of mental issues…he was white. We got used to it. We can’t depend on
them. I will face bad people everywhere. It’s about how I continue after that. 144
Hana was sitting with a group of friends having coffee when the man approached them.
Hana, and the women at the table, were wearing hijabs. The man approached them
twice. Hana, and the women at the table, were wearing hijabs. She cried as she
explained her story. I cried with her. I suggested that she see someone on campus.
When I saw her again, she expressed that the person she talked to on campus did not
help her, “Psychiatrist can help but…he doesn’t know my culture. He’s not Arabic.
How can he…he doesn’t. He has good ideas but he doesn’t know what I can and cannot
do and why.”
She told me that she wanted to shift to Acceptance Scale. When I asked her about it she
said, “I can accept but I don’t have to agree.” This ideology is exactly what it means to
be ethnorelative. The first step in becoming interculturally sensitive is Acceptance.
Acceptance is the ability to keep an open mind even when faced things that you do not
agree with.
The last time we met, Hana was frustrated with her advisor. She felt like he could have
given her more information about enrolling in a class that she needed to take. She
quickly rectified the problem by herself.
It appears that Hana shifted on the scale due to her experiences (answers question 8).
Conclusion
The first highly significant finding is that the participants scored the highest in
Integration Engagement on the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey designed by Chen & Starosta 145
(2000). This is significant because Interaction Engagement refers to communicating (verbal and nonverbal) between cultures during a joint event. The participants verified this in their interviews as they explained the activities they participated in with people from different cultures. This shows that the participants wanted to engage with students from other cultures and were willing to learn about other cultures. This finding indicates that the participants self-identified as interculturally sensitive because wanting to interact with other cultures is intercultural sensitivity.
I observed this behavior at the Center, and I must note that not all groups react this way.
The second important finding is that the participants rated Respect for Other Cultures as their second highest category on the Intercultural Sensitivity Survey. Having this skill directly correlates with emotions and feelings. This stage occurs when an individual has accepted and acknowledged cultural differences. Cultural difference is respected and considered necessary in this stage. The first subdivision of Acceptance on Bennett’s Scale is respect for behavioral difference. Bennett suggests that the first acceptance of behavioral difference would be language.
At this stage, individuals not only recognize and accept language but also cultural and nonverbal behavior. The second subdivision is entitled respect for value. Bennett (2013) explains that relativity of cultural values is essential to intercultural sensitivity. At this stage, there is an acceptance of difference and respect for cultural worldviews. Again, examples of Respecting other Cultures can be seen in the interviews. All the participants self-identified themselves in the
Acceptance Stage or higher which would therefore indicate that all participants self-identified as interculturally sensitive. Having a high-level of respect for others may be connected to having a high level of respect for oneself or high self-esteem. As mentioned, the participants shared their accomplishments proudly with me and the focus groups. 146
A third important aspect of this research is that many of the participants had an anti-
Islamic story to tell. This is assuredly considered a cultural challenge. The findings confirm a need for multifaceted intercultural sensitivity training for domestic teachers, counselors, the student body, and for the citizens of Tucson. I feel Elham’s quote is appropriate here “But change is not going to come by ignoring things.” I agree with her. People do not want to talk about what is taking place. I explained my shock to a colleague about the participants reporting racial slurs and other abuses while living in Tucson and going to school. He responded, “I think not all of that is true. I think they make some of that up.” Although he is no longer a colleague, he also is no longer a friend of mine. I cannot stay friends with someone who views things that way. In doing this research, I have been met with Islamapohbia and was asked, “Why do you want research them ?” It seems common or more acceptable for Americans to say something derogatory about Muslim people.
The findings confirm a “third space” develops when a sojourner comes to another country for an education. This “third space” can be used as a lens to examine intercultural sensitivity and allows for greater insight of the phenomenon. The first aspect of this phase is time. This is a temporary position a student finds themselves in that does not feel completely stable and at the same time is a place for experimentation and exploration. This “new” or
“temporary” identity allows individuals to demonstrate their skills for understanding and recognizing cultural nuances. This “third space” is very much like the “Trans-temporal” phase that I created. The “Trans-temporal” phase involves time a period and during that time period the individual calls on the past and the present at the same time. This phase is temporary as the sojourner will return home someday and move beyond this phase. The participants seemed adept in navigating their way in many different situations even though they may be new to those 147
situations. They appeared to be better equipped at negotiating and renegotiating their experiences. This may be due to the willingness to understand others. Some of the participants were able to sense more subtle institutional clues and felt that they were being made to feel that they did not belong (e.g. Atefeh, see Appendix D). Discussing experiences with other international students, teachers, and counselors can help open dialogues about experiences and possible miscommunications that can help people of all cultures. I like to call this time of uncertainty and excitement a trans-temporal phase. Individuals in this phase have a choice to persevere by adapting and finding ways to reduce ambiguity.
Another significant finding is that the women expressed how difficult it was to be in charge and maintain the household (including children) while attending school. This seems to be what the future will hold for them when they return home. The difference is that they will have their mothers and other family members to help them. All participants expressed that they wanted to work in the future. As mentioned, although more and more women are finding jobs, only 23 percent of Saudi women are currently employed (Radmi, 2019). Another issue could be that the goal of increasing women in the workforce in Vision 2030 is only an 8 percent proposed increase. It appears at this rate of increase, not as many women will be able to be employed or employed in the job they prefer.
The findings showed a shift in Bennett’s Scale. Hana self-identified on Bennett’s Scale at
Adaptation (the 5 th Stage) and then when I interviewed her again, she asked me to move her to the Acceptance Stage (the 4 th Stage). This is not a negative phenomenon; in fact, this could be a positive aspect in one’s journey and what it means to be interculturally sensitive. She began at the Center with an optimistic attitude and then realized that the university was very different. She 148
explained, “It’s not like the Center. Like a community.” The Center is a “bubble” where the students are encouraged to interact with people with different cultures, genders, and religions. I call it the “bubble” because students from all over the world work together in harmony protected from the “real” world. The students have a sense of support and family. Sometimes leaving the
“bubble” to attend the university can be a rude awakening. Having a Center as a home base to start off an international education may be beneficial for some students.
Pedagogical Implications
There is a need for intercultural training. I recently shared my research with a university class and the students did not know that Saudi women had never attended school with men before their studies in the U.S. This is no fault of their own necessarily. After I explained, I saw empathy from some of the students. I began that discussion as I often do about culture. I wanted to connect with the students, so I asked them what they knew about their own cultures. I asked them to write down and share in small groups. I do this because I do not want any of the students to feel pressured to answer a question in front of the group. I asked them to define culture in their own terms. Because people are often authorities of themselves, they are more apt to talk about topics concerning themselves. I ask for volunteers to share with the group, but I let them know that sharing is optional.
For communication to take place in any classroom there must be rules of conduct established to insure an environment of trust. When rules are established for the class, there must be an agreed upon way to uphold those rules. For example, the rules are listed and signed by each student. It is important to establish trust and students need to be able to trust that their 149
professors will maintain these rules. Questions are welcome and never belittled. The class should focus on the student and require the students to “teach” each other and work together to learn and solve problems. Many international students feel that they represent their country and are prepared to present on their culture. International students’ usually welcome questions and educated answers. It is only a problem when someone approaches them (like Hana experienced) and asks for a quick summary of their traditions, culture, and religion in between classes.
A global panel would be a great way to bring the members of the campus together to explore intercultural sensitivity. A global panel could be constructed and used to help people develop an awareness for bias and learn about other cultures. International festivals bring the world to one setting and allow people to put faces with places. The Center hosts an international festival every year.
Class exchanges are highly beneficial for teachers and students. Having students meet and interview other students from other cultures is real world learning and of high interest for students. I took one of my classes to a sociology class. The domestic students got to learn about other cultures and the international students got to learn more about how American families can be configured for American children (mom and dad, one mom, one dad, two moms, two dads, grandparents as caregivers). Lasting relationships come from these class exchanges and
Intercultural Sensitivity also is a by-product.
Recommendations
For future studies, I recommend the use of interviews and emotion-based research for intercultural studies. The interview process was an effective way of communicating with the 150
participants because I evoked emotional data, but it was just a snapshot in time. I would like to suggest a comparative analysis of the data in a longitudinal study. In review of the data and of this research, I think a longitudinal study might bring forth more information. For example, I would like to see how the participants will capitalize on their new opportunities when they return home. A longitudinal study would be remarkably interesting to gain knowledge about how the participants lives have changed over time.
Intercultural sensitivity is a phenomenological process that is ongoing throughout a person’s life: it is a continual process that can be fostered and built upon. Intercultural sensitivity is based on knowledge, skills and attitudes. Part of the attitude takes open-mindedness and curiosity, but there must be room left for humor. For being able to laugh together even when we make mistakes. I recommend the following activities to be used in any classroom to begin discussions on culture or intercultural sensitivity or to “bridge the communication gap” between members of other cultures:
1. The first the activity is to establish the rules of the classroom. For example, A) English is
the only language we have in common, so please use it. B) Come to class on time and
stay the entire class time. C) Be kind, respectful, patient, and non-judgmental. Keep an
open mind. D) Silence cell phone and other electronics before class begins. E) Do your
homework individually unless your instructor has advised otherwise. F) See your
instructor if you feel overwhelmed. G) Come to class prepared to participate. Establish
the norms allows the students feel like the classroom is a safe place to share. The rules
cannot be assumed. This is also a cultural lesson or a lesson of respect. Respecting the 151
Other (the dignity of all people is fundamental to Intercultural Sensitivity). I always
remind the group that if they do not want to follow the norms, they will be asked to leave.
2. Have the group define culture together in small groups and discuss with the class. Have
the participants write down everything they know about their culture on notecards and
ask them to share in their small groups.
3. Discuss possible metaphors for culture (iceberg, a fish in a bowl, a pair of glasses, an
onion) and begin discussing what the meaning of intercultural sensitivity or intercultural
competence means. Introduce a model or framework for intercultural sensitivity to the
classroom. Ask the participants “What is necessary to be successful with those of
different backgrounds?”
4. Competence in general is defined as knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Intercultural
sensitivity/competence does not happen in a vacuum. Attitudes are the foundations of
intercultural sensitivity development. Without an open mind and curiosity, it is difficult
to pursue the knowledge and skills that are needed for intercultural sensitivity. One way
to move individuals toward these attitudes is to challenge their assumptions. A good way
to do this is to prepare classroom incidents for the students to discuss. I have students
discuss potential intercultural “problems” that can arise. The following is an example of
a Critical Incident I use:
Giving tests seems to be the most frustrating time in the classroom. No matter
what the teacher has said about plagiarism, many students seem to work hardest at
cheating. 152
I ask the students to use critical thinking to come up with solutions. We discuss why this
might happen and how we can solve it. Making intercultural sensitivity a salient part of
the class, helps with understanding and communication.
5. Read excerpts from two different points of view. Have half the class read one point of
view and have the other half read the other. Discuss both viewpoints in the class. Discuss
how two people can see the same event but have different opinions of what took place.
6. Cultural surveys- have the students interview each other. For example, these questions as
about a student’s past life. Questions include “Who did the chores in your family?” and
“What were the typical gender roles in your family?”
7. Interviews on campus or “scavenger hunts” gets students out talking to people that they
might not have ever talked to. I ask my students to talk to students who work on campus
and ask them about their jobs.
8. Attending events on and off campus are effective ways to introduce culture to students
and the community. Class exchanges are another excellent way to bring a diverse group
together. International Festivals bring the campus and the community together.
9. Employ the activity of self-reflection. I ask students to self-reflect on lesson. I ask them
two questions to contemplate: “What did I like about this lesson?” and “What idea/ideas
can I use from this lesson?” I also must ask myself, “Did I meet my goals?” I often ask
myself, “Did I do my best to make sure that all students felt comfortable and included?” 153
10. Keep a journal. Journal writing can be cathartic for students especially for students who
are extremely far from their homes and families. A journal is a great place to keep track
of emotions and ideas.
These recommendations have helped me with all types of groups from students to teachers.
There are just some of the methods that I employ. For more activities to do with explicit instructions to foster intercultural sensitivity, read (Berardo and Deardorff; 2012; Fantini 2012).
Final Reflections
In doing this research, it is my hope that a teacher/s will be inspired to do research and learn more about the students she/he/they teach. This research may possibly inform others about the serious situation of hate crimes and fliers on U.S. campuses including on the campus that I currently teach. By sharing the words of my participants, it is my hope that some will listen and gain empathy for my participants as well as for others. To my knowledge there has not been a study on intercultural sensitivity and Saudi women specifically at the tertiary level in the U.S., therefore, this dissertation has unique qualities that may be of interest to other researchers and teachers. In using interviews, the scale, and survey, I was able to gain richer data set to establish levels of intercultural sensitivity.
As I end this dissertation, I think back again to that first day of school and how far I have come. I have learned so much about so many aspects of teaching and learning, language learning, the educational system, teaching ESL classes, intercultural communication, researching, and writing about my research, but most importantly, I have learned from my participants how to have an open heart even when it does not seem that you are welcome. That takes a great deal of 154
courage. It also takes a great deal of courage to move 8,000 miles away from your family, friends, and way of life to join a completely different educational system. It struck me so hard because these women are so young and so self-assured. I am proud of each of them and I miss them all. I remember my first Saudi student and how much she taught me. I also think about how warm and welcoming the participants were with me. I want people to know that they need to look at each person as an individual and not as a culture, race, religion, or gender.
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Appendix A: Interview Questions
Interview 1 questions (focus on before you came to the U.S.)
1. Tell a life story about your life before you came to the United States regarding your education. 2. Why/how did you decide to study in the United States? 3. What impression did you have of the United States before you came here? 4. What concerns or worries did you have before you came to the United States? 5. What activities did you participate in your home country? 6. How often or to what extent did you use social media in your home country?
Interview 2 questions (focus on time in the U.S.)
1. Tell a life story about your experience in the United States. 2. Have you made friends with non-Saudi students? 3. Have you participated in CESL activities or other activities outside of school? 4. What are the significant differences in education in KSA vs. the USA? 5. Do you think you behave differently in the U.S. classroom compared to the KSA classroom? 6. Tell how much social media has helped you to contact your family and friends?
Interview 3 (focus on the future)
1. What do you plan to do when you return home? 2. What do you think will be the most difficult aspects of returning home? 3. Tell me about how your experience in the United States has affected you? 4. Tell a life story of what you envision life to be like when you return home? 5. How will you use social media when you return home? 6. How will you participate in social activities when you return home? \
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Appendix B: Intercultural/Cultural Sensitivity Survey
Below you can find the items of the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale of Chen & Starosta (2000) as published by Möllenberg et al. (2001)
This survey was given to the participants during their first interview.
Below is a series of statements concerning intercultural communication. There are no right or wrong answers. Please work quickly and record your first impression by indicating the degree to which you agree or disagree with the statement. Thank you for your cooperation.
5 = strongly agree, 4 = agree, 3 = uncertain, 2 = disagree, 1 = strongly disagree
1. I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures. ____
2. I think people from other cultures are narrow-minded. _____
3. I am pretty sure of myself in interacting with people from different cultures. ____
4. I find it very hard to talk in front of people from different cultures. _____
5. I always know what to say when interacting with people from different cultures. ___
6. I can be as sociable as I want to be when interacting with people from different cultures. ____
7. I don't like to be with people from different cultures. ____
8. I respect the values of people from different cultures. ____
9. I get upset easily when interacting with people from different cultures. ____
10. I feel confident when interacting with people from different cultures. _____
11. I tend to wait before forming an impression of culturally-distinct counterparts. ____
12. I often get discouraged when I am with people from different cultures. ____
13. I am open-minded to people from different cultures. ____
14. I am very observant when interacting with people from different cultures. ____
15. I often feel useless when interacting with people from different cultures. ____
16. I respect the ways people from different cultures behave. ____
17. I try to obtain as much information as I can when interacting with people from different cultures. ____ 157
18. I would not accept the opinions of people from different cultures. ____
19. I am sensitive to my culturally-distinct counterpart's subtle meanings during our interaction. ____
20. I think my culture is better than other cultures. _____
21. I often give positive responses to my culturally-different counterpart during our interaction. ______
22. I avoid those situations where I will have to deal with culturally-distinct persons. _____
23. I often show my culturally-distinct counterpart my understanding through verbal or nonverbal cues. ______
24. I have a feeling of enjoyment towards differences between my culturally-distinct counterpart and me. _____
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Appendix C: Individual Score of ISS
Individual Research Findings and Results of DMIS and ISS .
Asha-integration
Interaction Engagement 4.71
Respect for Cultural Differences 4.5
Interaction Confidence 4.8
Interaction Enjoyment 4.0
Interaction Attentiveness 4.0
Overall Score 4.5
Atefeh—adaptation I agree
Interaction Engagement 3.2
Respect for Cultural Differences 3.8
Interaction Confidence 5.0 159
Interaction Enjoyment 3.67
Interaction Attentiveness 2.0
Overall Score 3.46
Hana-adaptation and then felt she was at the acceptance level as well.
Interaction Engagement 4.43
Respect for Cultural Differences 4.17
Interaction Confidence 3.6
Interaction Enjoyment 3.67
Interaction Attentiveness 4.33
Overall Score 4.1
Elham-integration
Interaction Engagement 4.14
Respect for Cultural Differences 4.67
Interaction Confidence 4.0 160
Interaction Enjoyment 4.0
Interaction Attentiveness 3.0
Overall Score 4.1
Nawra-acceptance.
Interaction Engagement 4.43
Respect for Cultural Differences 4.0
Interaction Confidence 3.25
Interaction Enjoyment 4.0
Interaction Attentiveness 3.67
Overall Score 3.79 161
Atefeh--adaptation
Interaction Engagement 5
Respect for Cultural Differences 4.5
Interaction Confidence 3.8
Interaction Enjoyment 5.0
Interaction Attentiveness 4.33
Overall Score 4.54
Jameelah-integration
Interaction Engagement 4.0
Respect for Cultural Differences 3.83
Interaction Confidence 3.8
Interaction Enjoyment 3.33
Interaction Attentiveness 4.0
Overall Score 3.83
Fatima—acceptance 162
Interaction Engagement 4.14
Respect for Cultural Differences 3.33
Interaction Confidence 3.0
Interaction Enjoyment 2.67
Interaction Attentiveness 4.0
Overall Score 3.5
Nawra—acceptance
Interaction Engagement 3.57
Respect for Cultural Differences 3.83
Interaction Confidence 3.6
Interaction Enjoyment 4.33
Interaction Attentiveness 3.0
Overall Score 3.67
Zaida—integration 163
Interaction Engagement 3.71
Respect for Cultural Differences 4.0
Interaction Confidence 3.8
Interaction Enjoyment 3.33
Interaction Attentiveness 3.67
Overall Score 3.75
Aleena-adaptation/integration (felt a little overflow from adaptation into integration).
Interaction Engagement 4.42
Respect for Cultural Differences 4.16
Interaction Confidence 4.4
Interaction Enjoyment 4.6
Interaction Attentiveness 4.6
Overall Score 4.46
164
Appendix: D Interviews: Transcripts
Interview 1: Hana
Interview Data Coding/ My notes
“I understood about American culture. I Understanding, accepting, teaching, accept that. But maybe that was the respecting other cultures, hardest…the hardest part to make them understand my culture and to understand E- Explaining their culture especially at the university, not at the Center. At the Center it was easy like the community, at the university it’s hard to Hardest to make them understand teach people like in the class. It’s like 15 minutes… then you don’t see them again.” Hard to teach—feels misunderstood.
CESL is associated with the word community
“Didn’t get accepted, so I came here.” I sense disappointment or like she’s wondering what life would have been like in Europe instead of the U.S.
“Many people ask questions or they ask…a People ask questions friend to ask me. Like why I cover my head or why you’re not supposed to touch.” Must be good and bad. Mentioning traditions 165
“Come on guys. Why are you so interested Questioning. Frustration- but also has such in us? Focus on yourselves, I want to say. a strong voice. We have a saying, ‘A camel can’t see its own humps,’ and I think the news here… REW-Re-establishing her voice/ her role as we all have the same problems. You look at a woman in this new environment. yours, we’ll look at ours.”
“Yeah, I have a lot of really nice friends Accepting, adapting, and integrating –I see from the U.S., Mexico… and Africa. Yes, I all three of these in these comments. have made a lot of nice friends here. Male and female friends. Now, if I meet friends, REW-Re-defining her role as student. it’s at the library. I met a group of Americans who helped me with a physics Interacting Enjoyment=I.E. problem. It was pretty nice.” Respecting other cultures=R.C.
“Tucson is like a village which is nice but Comparing her culture to Mexican culture. everything closes early. It’s one of the hardest things to adjust to. I talked to the Integrating- taking the bus, meeting the bus bus driver. He’s a Mexican guy and he driver, making new friends. talked to me about Mexico and asked me to meet his wife and to come over. He’s nice. REW Re-establishing role as a woman with Most people been nice. I feel we have a lot new relationships. in common in with Mexican culture. Interacting Enjoyment. I.E. Except we don’t drink!”
“Psychiatrist can help but…he doesn’t Explaining Cultural differences----- know my culture. He’s not Arabic. How frustrating can he…he doesn’t. He has good ideas but he doesn’t know what I can and cannot do REWRe-establishing her role has a woman and why.” who cares about her mental care
“The worst thing in my life happened to me here. Not the worst thing that has happened that I’ve been here, the worst thing in my E-Experiencing Racism in the U.S. (more entire life. A man came up and yelled…we common than we want to say?) 166
don’t know terrorist stuff and flipped our REC-Reconceptualizing life in the U.S. table and broke our phones.” E-Explaining the Fear she felt
“The worst thing that made me so mad at E-Explaining her anger/frustration least go to the jail. He didn’t because of mental issues…he was white.” Mentions his race REW-Re-establishing her strength/role as a woman-she survived this event.
“We got used to it. We can’t depend on Getting used to it—accepting. This is not a them. I will face bad people everywhere. positive way to view accepting. It’s about how I continue after that.” Facing bad people everywhere—because of your religion or just because?
REC-Reconceiving her expectations of people?
Interview 2: Elham
Interview Data Code/ Notes
“I actually live with my uncle. We’re like the same age. It’s… like ridiculous. But I don’t stay with him. The girls stay in one REW-Re-establishing her role as woman as place…the boys…are in another.” niece in the U.S. She explains that he’s “technically” her guardian. 167
“They say we are the 2030 vision because we are the young adults.” Informing /educating or showing knowledge
“My grandmother and aunts didn’t have to E-Explaining her knowledge of the past. E- wear abayas, they wore miniskirts. They Establishing a reference point. wore whatever they wanted in the 60’s.”
“I wanted to go to King Saud University and was accepted and then took a gap year REW-Re-establishing her knowledge of her and then I came here.” country’s past.
RED- Redefining her role as student.
“I haven’t changed at all. I have the same But how can that be? type of friends here as I did at home.” REW-Re-establishing her role as woman as friend.
Activities- in KSA –Go to the gym. “There Comparing “types” of families in KSA. are two types of families in KSA. Some families could go to the gym and some who Showing me how she used the gym as way don’t. For me it was a kind of escape— to get out of the house. mostly because we can’t leave our house… or the time. Or friends that are not allowed REW-Re-establishing her role as an to leave their house. There weren’t places independent woman. to go see our friends…like of the opposite sex.”
“Here, we get to do things that we don’t get REW-Re-establishing her new role as to do at home.” independent woman in the U.S.
Interacting Enjoyment=I.E. 168
“Here, take other classes…Gen. Eds. but I Comparing the educational differences. think that’s cool.” REW-Redefining her role as a student in the U.S.
Respecting Cultural differences=R.C.
“Behave differently? I think I’m more Redefining her role as student in the U.S. myself here. In class they want to you to participate they want you to share your Comparing the educational system--More opinion, but in KSA it’s all about the book. comfortable expressing herself. It wasn’t that bad, but it’s good to use your brain.” R.C.
I.E.
Social Media— “We’re almost closer. Talk (REW) Re-establishing bond with family. to your parents more often. Every single day. Before when I was in high school I (RED) Redefining role as daughter. was there and I didn’t talk to her now, I can’t see her. I want to talk to her every (E) Explaining--- the strong connection to day.” her family.
“I have a contract, but I don’t have to work (E) Explaining her independence and for that company.” choice.
(RA) Realizing her achievements.
Interview # 3: Nawra 169
Interview Data Codes/ My notes
“I make a cook. I clean house. Homework. (RES) Restructuring daily life. A lot of homework.” (E) Explaining that she did not have a “I don’t have a husband. I lived with my husband before and now she does. parents. I have my diploma. I had a proposal. He asked me to complete my Her husband proposed and asked her to education here.” study in the U.S.
“I said yes because it is a very good chance (E) Explaining that coming to the U.S. is for me to learn English. To go to the good opportunity to learn English. university.”
“I think I have some ideas wrong about (REC) Re-conceiving life in the U.S. people being danger but after some time, I changed my mind. Life in the USA is the (RES) Restructuring daily life. same in KSA except now I do more work.” (E) Explaining that she likes the “The environment is nice here.” environment in Tucson (trees, grass).
“The women in KSA is new to do (E) Explaining the new rules for Saudi something like practice. In KSA women at women. home because she has a lot of responsibility but the new rules women can have a job (REW) Re-establishing herself as woman in and go to work. It’s very good for women. I the workforce. will work part-time from my home.” Interacting Enjoyment=I.E.
Respecting other cultures=R.C.
170
“I am pregnant.” Explaining that people often marry around 18-22 years of age. “Twenty years old. In KSA marry early, It’s good for life. Your child near to you, your friend with your child.”
Social media-- “Before…a lot. Yes. I have Explaining social media in KSA. Instagram.” (RE) Re-establishing relationship as woman “Here…use social media. Call every day on as daughter and sister with social media. what’s app.” A really amazing thing happens, she starts using the full-term social media and her pronunciation is already getting better.
“Different teacher man or woman. Just man (E) Explaining the differences in the learn man, woman learn woman. Not educational system. mixed. Here mixed.” Interacting enjoyment. IE “Here polite. It’s good. The people here are polite and I say don’t touch and the people Accepting. here understand. Here are different cultures and they are polite.” When she uses “here” I think she refers to our school and the university.
“Non-Saudi friends from... China!” I.E.
R.C.
171
“I got used to that place after one year or (Explaining how leaving the U.S. might two years, I got used to this place. Any feel). person gets used to this place.” (RES) Restructuring daily life
“Learn about law, how to talk to others polite or not polite. How people like or (RC) Respecting cultural differences. don’t like. Here, people don’t like very near. Learn about different language.”
“Different apartment. Here very thin. In KSA, big.” She is referring to how thin the walls are in “I asked my husband, ‘What is this?’ I was her apartment and how small it is. I would very surprised.” estimate a quarter of her living space at home.
( E ) Explaining that people live close together here and the walls are thin between apartments.
“I will live in my own home with my (REW) Re-establish role as woman as wife husband.” and mother when she returns home.
(REW) Re-establish her role as woman who participates in activities outside her home Social activities in KSA—go to the gym. when she returns. “When I complete my university in KSA…inshallah.” I ask her what type of exercise she likes.
“Boxing….I like boxing.” I am surprised on many levels but first and foremost, she looks too tiny to me to do such a thing. She is so young.
172
Interview 4: Amira
Interview Data My notes/codes
“Now, I have baby and I cook and clean But she says this with a smile
and go to school. She don’t sleep.” (RES) Restructuring daily life.
(REW) Re-establishing roles as wife and
mother.
“My male teacher Ben was so nice and Positive attitude.
funny. I really enjoyed his class. He’s first (REW) Redefining her role as student.
male teacher for me and I like him. We met R.C.
different people.” (REW) Re-establishing friendships.
“I like that we have Kids Korner here at the Positive.
library. Yes, I very much.” (RC) Respecting how other cultures do
things.
(REW) Re-establishing new role as wife
and mother.
“I like the sleep cycle. You go to bed early Positive.
and you get up early and go to the garden (REW) Re-establishing the role of woman
and walk. Now, I walk an hour a day. I like as wife and mother. 173
the three meals a day. I drive… here. I go
to grocery store.”
“I have daughter. I am busy all the time. I Still positive.
clean and cook all the time and the baby Restructuring daily life.
cries at night so I don’t get sleep but I love
it.”
“Some father’s say yes and some say no to Explaining that the new laws may be
new rules in Saudi Arabia. My father, he contingent on what father’s say to their
will say yes.” daughters. She was explaining that the
changes that are taking place in KSA are
exciting.
Interview 5: Fatima
Interview data Codes/notes 174
“I finished my college and worked in law (E) Explaining about a law degree. so I worked as a lawyer for a year and a half. Then when get married and then I (Was married and then moved to U.S. with study masters. If I have my master’s husband). degree, I can be a real lawyer. If we finish, (RES) Restructuring of daily life we work for three years, after that, you will be a real lawyer. If you have license, then (REW) Re-establishing role as women as you can have your own firm.” new wife.
“Now, I’m an intern. You can train other lawyers. You can consider it 8 years and not four or five years. In business, we can work together. If we have a meeting, we sit together. If we have a women’s room, we don’t have to wear the niqab and abaya.” (E) Explaining gender separation in a law firm.
“To be honest, I don’t like to travel. That’s (E) Explaining her fear before coming to why it will be so hard. I was afraid from of the U.S. my religion or what people would think of me. I was afraid, yes.”
“Someone did say? Someone did say. On (E) Explaining a racist slur. campus? No, on the street in Tucson. We when we go out on the street, they say Ignoring this behavior. What? Come on its not a big deal. For now, (REC) Re-conceiving life in the U.S. it’s simple…it’s just little here and there. Something like where’s the bomb? This is terrorists. I act like I don’t hear them.”
175
“In Saudi, we don’t talk to people they (E ) Explaining cultural differences in don’t know. It’s rude. I was really greetings. Explaining that speaking or surprised. You can talk to anyone. If you laughing loudly is considered inappropriate know him or if you don’t him. My husband in KSA. said they are like this. Especially in Saudi as women, we don’t have talk… to laugh a (REW) Re-establishing role as woman as lot. If you do, what’s wrong with this girl?” friend or acquaintance
“More comfortable here. We don’t have to (REW) Re-establishing role as woman as tell our moms or dads what we are doing. daughter and wife in the U.S. My mother might say yes and my father might say no so…no one knows what we Avoiding conflict? are doing.”
Explaining that her husband “let” her be a Her father wanted her to be a teacher, but lawyer. (She is smiling as she tells this she wanted to be a lawyer and her husband story). supported her.
Activities--“Our school picnic. My first Adapting (attending activities). time.” R.C. 176
“For now, there is no difference but if you want to complete the master’s degree…you will rely on yourself because you will do a lot of research on your own. In Saudi they
will say study this, this, this. Then they will have an exam. In KSA we don’t say if it is right or wrong, we just say what the book says. I think that is wrong because (RED) Redefining her role as student sometimes we study old books with old laws. Why? No, I am the same. I always stay in the back and don’t say anything.”
“Men don’t bother me in class.”
“I sit in the back.”
Interview 6: Naima
Interview Data My Notes/code
“I don’t think people here is friendly Comparing cultures. Tucson with
because I went to California and they were California.
more different people and they were
smiling more.” 177
“Two children and it’s hard. My daughter is (RES) Restructuring daily life. seven and my son is in daycare. And my (RED) Redefining role as student. level is very hard.” (REW) Re-establishing role as woman.
Stressing out.
“I was excited to come.” Positive
“I had some discrimination with…my ( E) Explaining her experience with racism. hijab. I was walking in the street and a (REC) Re-conceiving how life is in the person said negative words. I was U.S. shocked.” Accepting (not in a positive way).
“Some man yelled something but I don’t Feeling helpless. know the word he uses.”
“I was shocked. He was old. It hurts. What should we do?” 178
“The picnic and American football.” Participating in activities and sporting
events. (RC) Respecting other cultures.
Adapting. Accepting. Integrating.
IE
“I always think about my children how they Worrying how children will adapt
will adapt to change. My husband is getting Stressing
his PhD. So they will be here for five years.
I talk with them Arabic and they talk
English as at school.”
“I think I become more stronger.” How could she get stronger? She is
amazing?
(RA)Realizing her accomplishments.
“I will have to get a job. My husband will Working in her future. Re-establishing a
find a job. I will probably teacher at a future role as wife, mother, and teacher.
university.”
Interview 7: Aleena
Interview Data Code/Note taking 179
“It’s exciting but I want to try. There, they Accepting, adapting, and integrating. are already drive. Here, it is exciting. The (RA) Realizing accomplishment woman here pay more…to signs.” (She She just got her license before she meets means pay more attention to the signs). me.
(REW) Re-establishing role for women.
“I have friends from all over…Mexican.” (REW)Re-establishing the role as woman
as friend.
Establishing friends from other cultures.
R.C.
“We travelled a lot. Every year we got a (RC) Respecting other cultures. Accepting, new place but we always go back our city. adapting, and integrating.
Once we went Spain but we had a Saudi school in Spain.”
“I have one sister and one brother.” (RES) Restructuring of daily life. Re-
“I got married and two days had to move to establishing role as a married woman.
Tucson and we had no time because of his university. I’m not choosing. My husband I’m not choosing (when she said this, it was picked it.” as if she would not have chosen the U.S.?)
180
“Some people talked and said that some (RC) Re-conceiving that the U.S. wasn’t people are racist of woman who wear a completely racist. hijab.”
“ The people are cute and nice. Especially when I wear a hijab. Some woman wanted me to show her tie her scarf like a hijab. It was amazing.”
“I cover my face in Saudi Arabia.” (REW) Re-establishing role as woman as
(She shows me a picture of and she looks wife in the U.S. like Shirley Temple. She says her friends back home gave her the nickname of
American Girl). 181
I ask her about social media and she says. (REW) Re-establishing relationships as
“Snapchat and Instagram same.” She said daughter. she sees her family that way. And her friends. Interacting with other cultures.
She went to an American Football game IE with (our school). (I) Integrating through activities.
She tells me that she went to Mount
Lemmon with her husband but she was
“too scared to go up to lift.”
“My husband skis.”
“Um…we have same the house. We live (REW) Re-establishing her role as a with his family and maybe will get a place. working woman.
Of course, I will work. I told my husband I Excited about the future. will get before (sic) he gets a job. Everyone (REW) Re-establish friendships when she is giving women jobs.” gets back.
“Maybe it will be difficult to adjust to…maybe my friends. Maybe they have graduated from their university while I was away” 182
“It has opened my mind. Because there are ( REC) Re-conceiving the U.S.
so many people. Maybe when I first I get
here, I thought everyone was more formal.
It's more casual. I wear what makes me feel
comfortable. I wear what I want. People do
the same.” She has such kind words for me.
I wanted to talk to you. I love to talk to
you.”
(About Social Media) “Maybe I will busy.
Maybe I will focus. I want to reconnect Predicts KSA will be more the U.S.
with my friends here when I return home”
“We have football and what’s it called…
soccer. I was on the basketball team in my
college.”
“When I return…maybe it will be more like
here.”
Interview 8: Jameelah
Interview Data Codes/Notes 183
“I have made friends from all over the (E) Explaining what she has learned and world. I love to learn about new cultures. I accomplished. (Sense of pride). respect other cultures even if I don’t agree.” (RA) Realizing her accomplishments.
(REW) Re-establishing relationships.
“One thing I tell you that I was not Comparing two cultures in the U.S. prepared for two cultures. I mean African American people. I did not prepare for that (REC) Re-conceptualizing the idea of and that is a big difference.” culture in the U.S.
“Yeah, African American people maybe (RC) Discovering other cultures and more flexible, more funny…they just showing respect for other cultures. answer with something funny. But the white people are more serious and just give me…they just give me the rules step by step.”
“Human rights and kid’s rights…at the Explaining her concerns for her family. airport, at the security point, everything when I arrived to Florida. I watched how (RC) people act. My ex and I discussed how to (RES) Restructuring daily life be careful with our kids. Be careful of money. And because I was wearing a hijab, (REW) Re-establishing the new rules. so I was worried but everyone was nice.” IE “I was worried about education for my kids.” Explaining fear
(REC) Re-conceiving the idea of all U.S. citizens being racist. 184
(RES) Restructuring daily life.
“Unique city Sunni and Shia and they live Comparing cultures- how Shia are treated together. We show respect to them. They back at home. Respecting other cultures. just had a festival.” Accepting.
“I’m on twitter with hijab. I have a new Choosing to cover in Twitter Photo. project, so I can talk about my experience.” (RE) Re-establishing her role back home- didn’t cover in the U.S.
“Women can drive, all jobs try to take (REW) Re-establishing the roles for women women first, and the chance for women is in KSA. so high.” (REW) Re-establishing the roles for “I went to a pharmacist and she was a women. woman!” (REW) Re-establishing the rule for travel Woman can drive anywhere any time. I and driving. have my own car. There is a lot that’s changing. They allow for a visa. You can Mentions change excitedly. come visit us.” 185
Invites me to visit.
“In KSA our education is like tradition like (E) Explaining the system. memorization.” Comparing educational systems. “In the U.S. no, they give a space to discuss. You study with a male and a (I) Integrating into the system over time. female. At home, there is a screen from the (REW) Re-establishing the rules in the other college so you can’t see him. I had to classroom in the U.S. live with it. With men in the class. My ex did not want me to talk to men. But he (RED) Redefining role as student. finally realized we had to do it. He had to talk to females.” Accepting. Adapting. Integrating.
(REW)Re-stablishing role as women.
Finding voice.
“We talked.” (RED) Redefining role as student.
“Speaking and listening. Give us activities IE to collect data and talk to students.”
186
Interview 9: Asha
Interview Data My notes/codes
“How they change the system in Saudi Jumping right in with conversation Arabia. How they changed the past until now. Before women didn’t have the Speaking excitedly. opportunity but…system in Saudi Arabia man and woman have the same salary until (E) Explaining Saudi’s have always had now. But the opportunity women didn’t equal pay, but the big change is that women have the opportunity…in the past…just the now have a say/opinion in the decision men said but now women can say an making in education. opinion. Women can share opinion. Men (E ) Explaining how things were in the and women share their ideas. Before past. women under the man. Under the man.” (REW)Re-establishing the role as a woman
in the workforce.
“From the start 2016. From 10 years from (REC) Re-conceptualizing what KSA will now. 2030! What will Saudi look like? The be like. U.S.? Like Dubai? Anyone can visit with a visa. Like to see culture.” Comparing cultures.
(RC) Respecting other cultures.
“Because the U.S. is amazing for RC. Integrating. education. Because I’m a teacher. I know the same subjects but different languages. I like the U.S. system and community. When I finished my Master’s degree, my family (E )Explaining educational system in KSA. wanted to know why I go want go back to IE U.S. the teachers, the system in education. I like the community.” Comparing educational systems.
187
( E) Explaining why she would return to the U.S.
“Yes. Racism. My culture. My language. (I asked if she was worried about anything My second language. My religion. Before I before coming to the U.S.) came to the United States, I used to wear my scarf, I find U.S. people have an open mind. People accept me 100 percent by a nice word but I’m not scared. I saw women could wear a scarf outside without ( REW) Re-envisioning life in the U.S. some…issue.” (RED) Re-defining her role as student. “Some people have the goal to come to the U.S. and live here. My goal is to get all of (E) Explaining her goals. the information… I have gathered from here and pass on in my country. Every time (She does not cover her head). I start a class, I have a short story to tell. I am a human resource. I have 3 (E) Explaining that she is a “link” to the students…master’s degree from KSA in U.S. educational system. Florida. I was just talking about loving the United States. I miss the United States. When they go back they say they miss the (REW)Re-establishing her role as teacher U.S.” when she returns home.
188
“I go to bed early. I eat good food. Just (RES) Explaining her life in the U.S. and think about the good things life. I take the how she had to restructure her daily life. decision to stop the bad idea. Like when I lost my mom. What can I do? I can sit and cry but that doesn’t bring back my mom. I try to see something positive in my life. If I have it, I try to remember. My kids are healthy. I can walk and I don’t need anyone to help. That helps to see the life positive.” Maintaining a positive attitude. Looking on the bright side of life.
189
“Before coming to the U.S. me and my (RES) Restructuring daily life. sister go to walking every day except the weekend. We walked at 8:00 pm because of the weather but I haven’t had the time in the U.S. and when I have time, I need break. In my country, I had someone who helped. Here, it’s different. I have to wash the clothes, help the kids with their homework. I have a lot less time to do work.”
“When I first try to do PhD, my baby was (RED) Redefining role as student six weeks. My weight has increased and I have thyroid problem and I make the I can’t imagine raising kids by myself in surgery for a tumor twice in the U.S. I have another country while being sick and a belief at this issue. I feel I have faced too pregnant. much pressure and it effects the body and I want to back to my country. I my face, my (E) Explaining health issues. Explaining body, my skills I doubt but when my son feeling stressed. got older we had a routine…my daughter helps me.”
Re-establishing role as woman as parent (taking on father’s role while in the U.S.).
(E) Explaining how her daughter helps her.
“I want my kids to finish university here. (E) Explaining her concerns for her English is like their first language now. children’s future. First grade and third grade and they faced challenge and they can complete.” (E) Explaining English proficiency will be beneficial for people who are currently She said she worries about them getting a trying to find a job at this time but wonders job and about the Arabic language but she about her children’s future. continues “Right now, when you go to a job mention language because they will hire you.”
190
Interview 10: Atefeh
Interview Data Codes/My notes
“I got married and my husband was a (REW)Re-establishing role as woman as student here and I came with him and I wife decided to study here so I thought it was good chance to study the English and master’s degrees and also maybe PhD.”
“I had an idea because my brothers studied (RES) Restructuring daily life here…um…I knew that they respect other cultures and religions. Um…I was happy to come here. I knew the people were friendly. My husband talk (sic) a lot about that. I wasn’t worried to come (sic) here. He said a lot of bad things about Tucson—it’s a small city, it’s not a very interesting city. But I like it here.” 191
“I was like worried (sic) about the hijab. (E ) Explaining prior concerns. But I came here from the first day and I saw people like me. And I saw nobody staring about (sic) me because of my hijab.”
“I was worried about…mmm dogs and pets.” (REC) Re-conceiving life in U.S.
“I wasn’t worried about coming here but I was worried how can I spend a year without my parents? I haven’t spend (sic) (REW) Re-establishing her role as woman days out of my house how (sic) can I spend as daughter in the U.S. months or years outside my house?”
I have something just happened here made (follow up email) me angry and mad! I am always stressed when I have presentations especially when I get many comments from the teacher , here in the US they have a good relationship with the teacher they laugh and ( RED)Redefining role as student. smile all the time and make jokes in the middle of the class (and I like that ) but!! (RC) Respecting cultural differences. the teacher and students always laugh while I am getting comments about my work, not (RC)Re-conceiving life in U.S. just me other students too, I am stressed and worried about my grades it is not time to laugh and make jokes and they always talk In a low voice and suddenly laugh! they look like they laugh at students work.. I think this is not respectful at all, and it happens in all students presentations! I am not familiar with this because we have a strict relation between teacher and students 192
“We use What’s App and Instagram and Explaining the social media she used before Snapchat. I don’t use Facebook.” she came to the U.S.
“Actually, um…I like being here. I like I.E Interacting engagement how people respect each other. I like how people always smile and say good morning (RC) Respecting cultural Difference even if they do not him. I meet with people of different cultures. This is the first time I meet people of different cultures and religion. I learn how to respect people and how to like… to talk to people with different thinking or different culture.” Accepting and Adapting.
“I have lots of friends from Iran, India, Explaining how the language barrier can be from America (but not much) Korea but I difficult when you are out with friends who don’ t enjoy spending time with them do not speak your language. because of the language problem. Maybe if I learn the language more, I will enjoy Accepting and Adapting. more.” (RC) Respecting cultural differences.
(REW) Re-establishing her role as woman as friend.
“I went with a teacher to an elementary (RED)Redefining her role as student. school and participate there.” Explaining an activity with her class. 193
“I had the first experience in the U.S. with (RED) Redefining her role as student. boys and this is significant difference. I don’t think if affect my studying. I felt shy in the beginning. The presentation was very hard to me. But I feeling very prepared from study with girls. Actually, I do behave differently in the classroom. I talk more, I had more activities, I talk more, I felt more comfortable because we don’t have to wear a hijab. Also, I made friends easy in KSA (E) Explaining the educational system at but not here. Having boys in the class home. affects that.”
“I contact my family daily.” (REW) Re-establish relationship as woman as daughter at home. “I send them a picture of my breakfast.
I send pictures every day, Snapchat, WeChat and What’s App.”
“When we go back we will rent a home. (REW)Re-establishing role as woman in I’m planning on having a job there. When I the workforce. graduated, we came here. I will not be a student anymore. It will be very different, (REW)Re-establishing role as woman as but I will transfer.” future mother.
(RED) Redefining her role as student—no longer a student.
“I will feel being a girl is very difficult. (E) Explaining what life will be like when Everything is easier because I know she returns home. everything there. I’m excited. Here, was something temporary. Like…I think my life (RES) Restructuring daily life when she will be stable.” returns. 194
“I learn how to respect other people’s (RC) Respecting cultural differences. culture and in the past everyone around had the same culture and religion. And also the Adapting. language. I will be able to speak in English (RA)Realizing accomplishments. and be understood. Also, I like how people rely on themselves. Even if they are 19.”
“I will teach my children to rely on (RC)Respecting cultural differences. themselves.”
“I plan to be a professor and have five or (REW) Re-establishing as woman in the six children. I will be near to my parents. I workforce. can visit every weekend.” (E) Explaining her plans for future children and that she will close to her parents.
“I think I will have a good future in KSA.” (E) Explaining what she thinks her future holds.
Interview 11: Zaida
Interview Data Codes/Notes 195
“We’re... I’m from Shia people. Only Shia. (E) Explaining her religion. At (our ESL) only me. My brother. 18 years old. I live with my brother and dad. I (There are more Sunni students than Shia). came with my dad because my brother was here. I just came this session. I don’t have a (E) Explaining her family life in the U.S. lot of Shia friends yet because I’m new. I (E) Explaining how she feels comfortable have Sunni friends.” at (our ESL). “Here at (our ESL) people are very nice to IE me.” RC -Respecting other cultures.
“I think…maybe I’ll come back. I came Discussing future plans. here to study English. I tried in my country…I really tried. At here, it’s easy. It’s easy.” (E) Explaining its easier for her to learn English in the U.S. than in KSA RE-Redefining her role as student
“My dad’s staying here in the U.S. My dad (E) Explaining she was encouraged by her say go to U.S. to study. I graduate, I told father to attend school in the U.S. my dad I want to study in English and he said OK. My brothers study here. I have (E) Explaining that her brothers studied in three older brothers and three younger the U.S. sisters.”
196
“Beautiful city. A lot of freedom. If you Describing her city. want to go without an abaya you can. Now, in KSA you can. You don’t have to wear an (She wears a headscarf in the U.S.). abaya or you can. It depends on your family or your dad.” Explaining the new rules for women in public. “Scarf or sometimes an abaya but not niqab.”
(I asked her what she wore at home).
“Fear of immigration because we weren’t (E) Explaining her fear at the airport. allowed to bring anything we want. Do you have something to eat? Do you have fish?”
“No, I didn’t get caught.”
“But I didn’t worry about anything because American people are very friendly.” (This is what she heard from her father and brothers and she said she agrees).
Activities at home--Gym, restaurant with (E) Explaining her activities and social friends. media before coming to the U.S.
Social Media--Twitter, Instagram, snapchat before and now.
“When I come here, before I come, I was (E ) Explaining her concerns about housing worried about an apartment. And the food and food. here…I don’t know why, but the food is so expensive.” 197
“They didn’t care about English but they (E ) Explaining the educational system want English in College and when I go for (what an interesting observation). a job, they want English. I need to study English to do my major.”
“I don’t feel shy but I have to act (E) Explaining her feelings and how her like…hmm... have to act like a certain way actions are different. because its men from all over the world even KSA men so…” RED-Redefining her role as student.
“Here I do it all. I go to the store. I always RES-Restructuring her daily life (likes do my laundry. I cook something I like. doing the shopping and cooking). Because in my country, I can’t do anything. Not I can’t, but my mom cooks and other REW-Re-establishing her role as woman as people do the laundry so we don’t.” daughter
“When I complete my studies I will be a Real-Realizing her accomplishments. completely independent woman… but at home… I can’t but here I can. Like live by (E) Explaining that she cannot be yourself.” completely independent at home.
“I want to work in a bank.”
198
“I will use social media like here but in high school we couldn’t but when I go back, it will be more.”
Activities. “I don’t know…”
“I drive in KSA. I drive here. I am practicing. I went to the cinema before I left. I saw it twice.” I- Integrating.
“Women are driving Uber cabs. They used Re-establishing role as woman in KSA. to say, ‘You want me to drive an Uber?’ (E) Explaining new jobs in KSA. And now Saudi men are driving Ubers and waiting tables. Women are working in the malls.”
Focus Groups: 1, 2, and 3
Focus Group 1
Interview Data Codes/Notes
“I stay with a family with three kids like She is the first Saudi woman that I have my home. They almost graduate. They are met that lives in a homestay arrangement. educated peoples. I have my own room. They introduce me to people. We go to the gym. We go places. I like to stay with family. They feel like family.”
“I actually live with my uncle. We’re like the same age. It’s like ridiculous.” 199
“I lived (sic) just with one man. In Saudi I The other women encourage her. lived with many people. I don’t know about paying bills. Next session, he will be gone, “Try it,” they were saying. “I might like it,” so I will have to learn to pay the bills. I she replied. don’t like to stay alone. (The other women were encouraging her). Very supportive.
“Try it, they were saying. I might like it, Cohesive group even though they are all she, replied.” quite different people from different walks of life.
“I have daughter. I am busy all the time. I clean and cook all the time and the baby cries at night so I don’t get sleep but I love it.”
“I live with my husband…two children and it’s hard. My daughter is seven and my son is in daycare. And my level is very hard. In an apartment that’s small.”
“Do you think we got treated differently One woman, the youngest of the group asks because we were with hijabis?” me this question. She’s referring to a not so warm welcome at the library when we entered. The question made me think for a long time. It did feel like a different reception but was it caused by what the women were wearing? I could not answer her question with confidence. This question opened my eyes and has helped me to be more observant and a better listener.
Hijabis-I had never heard the term or used the term before. She used it to refer to the ladies that were wearing head scarves. 200
“They say we’re the Vision 2030 because The average age is in the 30’s in KSA. we are the young adults.”
Memo-Focus group 1
When I asked about the biggest problems they reported that at times “I feel like I am taking something from them.” Another woman said, “No eye contact and I thought maybe they don’t like me but it was O.K.” These comments were mostly in reference to people in their classes, or people they saw on campus.
Other problems were feeling homesick and feeling worried because “It is more dangerous in the U.S.”
Another thing that was mentioned under an area of concern category was the current changes in Saudi Arabia. Some of the women expressed that the changes were good overall but coming at a rapid pace.
Focus Group #2
Interview Data Codes/Notes
A few of the ladies were discussing Aramco. Family and possible jobs. They begin discussing when one woman adds that women in KSA no longer have to cover their heads.
“Now, don’t have to wear a hijab.”
201
“My grandmother and aunts didn’t have to True statements… wear abayas, they wore miniskirts. They wore whatever they wanted in the 6os.” E-explaining
“New passports allow women over 21 They begin discussing this. One of the without permit. Some fathers say no but not lady’s even sends an article to me about this now.” new law. They are explaining that women no longer need permission to travel.
E-explaining
“And…family cards for both men and I am sent an article to read on this as well. women. Not like past (sic)…just mens.” For example, in the past, only fathers could use the family pass to pick up children from daycare or school. Now, both parents are able to pick up children.
One woman speaks up and explains that an old man in Tucson said something to her when she was walking by but she wasn’t sure what he said. She did not think he said something nice.
202
She responds to the group, “It hurts. What RES should I do?” REC One lady responds, “Say something back”
Another one says, “I wouldn’t. Some Americans are crazy. You don’t know what they could do.”
I have to say that I agree with her here. I would not respond either, but I cannot imagine how painful it would feel.
One woman responds, “True.”
“There is a stigma of Saudis, after what E happened with 911, people feared anyone who had a hijab. I don’t understand. I had to watch people treat my mom differently just because of her hijab. If a person who is a Muslim breaks a glass, not all Muslims are going to break a glass. There are billions and billions of us.”
“Or like when they make jokes about riding In fact, that is the news. Women no longer a camel. I don’t need my brothers’ or need guardians to leave the house or even to father’s permission to go anywhere.” fly to another country.
REC
203
Focus Group #3
Interview Data Codes/Notes
Hana is frustrated. I can see it. We just chat about our lives and drink coffee and eat donuts.
“I can accept but I don’t have to agree.” E
REC
They both tell me school is difficult and I know they are busy. I only have two people show up. I think all my talking is getting old. I meet with her and another participant who hasn’t agreed to the three-part interview. The other student is very quiet and I don’t want to “force” her talk. She could be shy. She could be suspicious of me. Why do I get so paranoid?
I can tell Hana is upset. Finally, when I ask about moving on the DMIS, she says I want to move mine down.
“You will not believe one year with PhD Jameelah is so frustrated. She assumed she and no job. One year.” would have a job by now.
REC 204
“That takes time. Be an intern.” This message comes in as a Tweet and answered by a man who suggests that she become an intern first.
“There are gaps in the system.” When asked about finding a job.
“You cannot believe that they did not answer me back.”
“That is so bad.”
205
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