Health Needs Assessment of International Students and Their Families at the University of Illinois

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Meleis, Afaf I. Arab Students in Western Universities: Social Properties and Dilemmas. Journal of Higher Education, 1982, 53 (July/August) pp. 439–447. Arab students in the U.S. have unique problems. Arab students have a tremendous need for affiliation due to their upbringing in extended families. They prefer close, personal relationships and shun impersonal Western-style business relationships. They put a high value on close eye-and body-contact in all relationships and are highly oriented to oral communication. Arab students therefore may have difficulty in completing reading and written assignments. Whereas the American educational system stresses the value of independent thought, problem-solving, and discussion, the Arab educational system stresses the value of receiving information from an authority. Arab students therefore appear passive and unoriginal when placed in an American educational setting. Arab students in American universities tend to express their loneliness and confusion through physical symptoms such as exhaustion, depression, and gastrointestinal problems. Extensive orientation and ongoing support from an adviser or affiliation group should be provided for Arab students. (7 ref)—School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco. Cited in College Personnel Abstracts, now Higher Education Abstracts.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: