Intensifying Awareness and Adaptation to Internationalizing and Acculturation of Cross-cultural Encounters from School to Work

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Liton Furukawa  

With the growing population of international students changing the demographics in Canada, and the dramatic increase of internationalization in the academy as a part of the Canadian present and future, the federal government offers a new category which is the Canadian Experience Class of immigration to assist a certain number of graduates. The transition from school to work is crucial for the international students who wish to apply as a skilled work under the Canadian Experience Class. However, research and projects focusing on school-to-work programs emphasizing cross-cultural adaptation are lacking. Therefore, this paper summarizes and extends prior research by anthropologists, business consultants, and educators, investigating the effects on foreign individuals interacting with others during the learning curve and in working contexts within the period of transition from school to workplace. This research concerns not only the “toward land”, but also the “on land” international student; it aims to investigate the main causes of international students’ difficulties in cross-cultural adaptation during school-to-work transitions in Canadian contexts. The initial stage of cross-cultural transition involves international students relocating to a new environment; second, their education does not entirely prepare them when they complete a degree in Canada and are then employed at a Canadian workplace. Thus, this 2nd level of cross-cultural adaptation from school to work needs to be explored and studied. Presenting diverse conceptualizations of research and social construction theory lays the groundwork for the subsequent articulation of this interdisciplinary research project.