The choice of this theme for the dissertation is due to the fact that the number of
international students receiving higher education in Greece is increasing annually,
therefore the specificity of intercultural adaptation of international students is an actual
area of research. International students from different countries throughout the world go
abroad to study and most of the time, they are faced with challenges before, during, and
after the application process that are quite different from local students’ experiences.
Demographic and economic data on international students in higher education in
Greece is available on governmental websites, but qualitative research into their needs,
experience and expectations is relatively scarce. National Bank of Greece’s Sectoral on
Education (2017) report states that Greece ranks low in the Education Index, mainly due
to the limited independence of its universities. Weak competitiveness is reflected in
Greece’s low share in the global market (0.7 per cent) – with the majority of
international students enrolling either through bilateral agreements (e.g. with Cyprus) or
are children of immigrants (mainly from Albania).
Getting prepared to apply by taking numerous exams, applying to the intended
program by sending documents overseas, and waiting for the response of the
educational organization after the application cause international students to experience
stress before they even start their classes. However, coming to the Greece, even after
success with the application process, is not the end of the story for international
students. It is just the beginning of a whole new story in terms of their academic,
personal and social lives. Getting into new sociocultural conditions, international
students experience difficulties (social, psychological and socio-psychological in
nature) that affect the success / failure of their intercultural adaptation. Therefore, the
question arises of highlighting external and internal factors affecting the specifics of
intercultural adaptation of international students.
Intercultural adaptation is understood as a complex multilateral phenomenon that
reflects the process of international students entering the new sociocultural
environment. Its successful course connected with the presence of high motivation for
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leading activities among international students, involves the development of social
norms, cultural values, patterns of behavior of communication partners as
representatives of other cultures while maintaining their own cultural uniqueness. The
success of adaptation depends on internal and external factors: of the efforts of the
international student and his characteristics (internal environment), but also on the
system of conditions created in educational organization for the training of foreign
citizens (artificial educational and artificial living environment).
This study will examine international students’ experience and academic,
sociocultural transition in an increasingly globalized society and is inspired by many
such research studies and papers done in different countries like US, UK, Australia but
lack of similar researches focusing on international students experiences in Greece. This
dissertation represents the opinions of international students in a multitude of aspects,
allowing the voice of international students in Greece, in Thessaloniki to be heard.
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