KOREAN STUDENT CONCEPTIONS OF EXPERIENCES AT AN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN SOUTH KOREA by Shaun Michael Marsh A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Education Committee: ___________________________________________ Chair ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Program Director ___________________________________________ Dean, College of Education and Human Development Date: _____________________________________ Summer Semester 2018 George Mason University Fairfax, VA KOREAN STUDENT CONCEPTIONS OF EXPERIENCES AT AN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN SOUTH KOREA A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University by Shaun Michael Marsh Master’s of Education North Carolina State University, 2009 Bachelor of Arts University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2002 Director: Jan Arminio, Program Director George Mason University Summer Semester 2018 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright 2018 Shaun Michael Marsh All Rights Reserved ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the participants in the study who were willing to share their experiences despite apprehensions about their importance to this study, or their ability to communicate in English. It is further dedicated to education practitioners who take the risk of being involved in transnational initiatives, with the hope that this study will provide insight on the experiences of students who pursue their education in a distinctive, and often misunderstood context. iii Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge all the remarkable people that have befriended and supported me in my global foray, which began in 2002. This includes my entire family, friends near and far, and the professors and employers who have taken notice of my interests and nurtured my personal development as a both an educator and an individual. Particular mention goes to both the late Dr. Colleen Wiessner and the late Kelly Kirk, who recognized my struggles to reconcile my experiences in South Korea with pursuit of employment and graduate studies in the United States so many years ago. Without their patience, insight, and encouragement, I would never have made it to this point on my particular life path. I would like to thank the faculty and administration at George Mason University Korea for granting access to their institution for this study, and my dissertation committee members for directing me to resources and experiences that allowed me to connect with the institution and design a study. Finally, I would like to thank all the adult students and faculty I have worked with in South Korea for recognizing my potential as an educator and for showing me the importance of continued learning and professional development. Your passion for lifelong learning directly influenced my decision to pursue graduate education and refine my skills as both an instructor and self-directed learner. iv Table Of Contents Page List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xii List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... xiii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ xiv Chapter One ........................................................................................................................ 1 Background and Importance ........................................................................................ 2 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................ 5 Student Identity............................................................................................................ 8 Developmental Tendencies of Branch Campuses ....................................................... 9 Terminology .............................................................................................................. 11 Terminology related to internationalization of higher education. ........................ 13 Terminology related to identity. ........................................................................... 19 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................... 23 The Site for This Study .............................................................................................. 25 Higher education in the Korean context. .............................................................. 25 Internationalization and university growth in Korea. ........................................... 27 Korean student life. ............................................................................................... 29 Research Questions.................................................................................................... 32 Chapter Two...................................................................................................................... 34 The Expansion of Transnational Campuses .............................................................. 34 Identifying Perspectives on Transnational Branch Campuses .................................. 39 Market perspectives. ............................................................................................. 41 Transformative perspective. .................................................................................. 44 Who Benefits? ........................................................................................................... 48 Student experiences. ............................................................................................. 51 Student Identity Development and Self-Authorship ................................................. 53 v Interdependent identity. ........................................................................................ 55 Acknowledgment of student interaction and identity development. .................... 57 Ecology and interaction. ....................................................................................... 60 Student conception of the university environment. .......................................... 61 Student-faculty interaction. ............................................................................... 61 Student engagement and involvement. ............................................................. 64 Peer Networks. .................................................................................................. 66 Services and support. ........................................................................................ 67 International student identity and cross-cultural adjustment. ............................... 68 Position of the Researcher ......................................................................................... 71 Synthesis .................................................................................................................... 74 Chapter Three.................................................................................................................... 75 Phenomenography ..................................................................................................... 76 Framework of Phenomenography. ........................................................................ 78 Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 79 Sampling. .............................................................................................................. 80 Interviews. ............................................................................................................. 83 Structure of awareness. ..................................................................................... 86 Document Analysis. .............................................................................................. 88 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 89 Interview Data. ...................................................................................................... 90 Bracketing. ........................................................................................................ 92 Category of Description. ................................................................................... 94 Implementation. .................................................................................................... 95 Document Analyses. ............................................................................................. 98 Ethical Standards ....................................................................................................... 99 Consent. ................................................................................................................ 99 Confidentiality. ..................................................................................................... 99 Risks. ....................................................................................................................