Culture Shock In Africa

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Recommended: Multiculturalism and diversity in higher education

African students have been traveling to different parts of the world for educational purposes. It is important to examine culture shock and adaptation in Africans studying in various areas. In the USA, the official language is English which is similar to some African countries. Kenyan, Nigerian, Egyptian, Ghanaian students e.t.c are usually enrolled in the universities (Open door, 2012). In a study by Loretta Gbemudu Evivie (2009), six students from Western Sub-Saharan Africa were interviewed in depth and it was found that the symptoms of culture shock were caused mostly by financial issues. These symptoms were feelings of homesickness, loneliness, isolation, psychological stress. Their perceptions of a lack of social support were caused by apparent cultural differences. Factors noted for affecting cultural adjustment is preconceived ideas about the education system (Constantine, 2005), prejudicial and discriminatory treatment (Senyshyn, R. M., Wardford, M. K., & Zhan, J. 2000)
In Malaysia, English speaking African students travel there because courses are offered in English language. Due to the colonization of the country by the British, English became one of the languages spoken. The students still report culture shock which is evident in the difficulty in adjusting to the local food, inability to develop relationship with Malaysians and experiencing cultural communication barriers in group work. (Irene T A, 2011). According to Dorozhkin M , surveys carried out showed that foreign students, consisting of African students in Russia, experienced the symptoms of culture shock. They range from psychological to physiological. They experienced difficulties in adapting to the climate, living condition. According to the survey, the m...

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...roblem focused engagement, emotion focused engagement, problem focused disengagement and emotion focused disengagement. The problem focused engagement strategies involve problem solving and cognitive restructuring, the emotion focused engagement involve social support and express of emotions. The problem focused disengagement involves avoidance of the problem and wishful thinking while emotion focused disengagement involve social withdrawal and self criticism.

Interventions suggested by the theories to adjust effectively are training to develop stress management skills such as coping strategies, orientation and proper preparation by learning social skills to survive in the new culture, learning of the host culture, especially behavioural-based social skill training, overcoming barriers to inter-group harmony and emphasizing inter-group similarities

Adaptation

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