Degree Name

EdD (Doctor of Education)

Program

Educational Leadership

Date of Award

August 1982

Abstract

The problem of the study was to measure how much students from other countries were satisfied with American education. The purposes of the study were to ascertain the extent to which international students perceived American education as satisfying their educational goals; to determine if any relationship existed between their perceptions of American education before and during their actual experiences with it; and to compare the perceptions of American education by students from one continent to those of other continents. A questionnaire which contained Part A and B was used in collecting the data. The contents of Part A included initial steps, communication, students' educational goals, orientation and the students' reactions toward their orientation and communication. Part B was concerned with textbooks, use of the library, classroom activities, public relations and international students' opinions concerning American education. Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 280 international students who were enrolled at regional universities in Tennessee during the Winter/Spring session of 1982. The students came from five continents. Completed questionnaires were received from 154 students, and this represents 55 percent return on the sample. When the data were analyzed, the results were as follows: Of those who participated in the study, 71 percent communicated with officials of their respective institutions before they entered the United States for an education which was a major goal for 93 percent. Forty-four percent were satisfied with their orientation, an 60 percent were satisfied with information they received about American education. Seventy-seven percent found American education to be what they wanted, and 83 percent were satisfied. American education would enable 83 percent of the participants to achieve their educational goals of being employed in their countries, and their employment would relate to what they studied in the United States according to 79 percent. Comments made by the participants were analyzed separately to show their positive and negative opinions about American education. Some of the negative comments were: high cost of tuition fee, non-disclosure of full information about the university and community at the time they were applying for admission, isolating foreign students by Americans, poorly organized orientation, discrimination and unfriendly attitudes by some American students. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI

Document Type

Dissertation - unrestricted

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