KIWI, ,0 , _.., :na . ..., .--.. ."0 .fl YA V . ‘ "5.3:! “J? 9"“ . ’1?" V 52%;" ' “- I § 3‘ L353: 2'95 J.” . , u, a“ u... a “a!" , ¢n 3.-..“ a u ‘ ”'1zrvv-3. h ‘ my, n‘wagq . : 'th‘ , . 1 ¢ v‘gfl‘}; : h" ;_ ~.«~. ~“”-‘;. 3v" 4‘ . «a». ‘ 311. : 3.;— $323335??? . 9 3'4 ht.‘ ‘24.: .- THREE 7007 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled TRANSNATIONAL TWINNING PARTICIPATION: INDIAN STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ETHNIC IDENTITY Ph.D. presented by JONATHAN ANDREW LEMBRIGHT has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the degree in liqher, Adult, and LifelonLEducation Wag/gable CQW ~ "“ Major Professor’s Signature 41:01 200:? Date MS U is an affirmative-aclion. equal-opportunity employer LIBRARY Michigan State Universlt PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE WWI. 20 209139 6/07 p:/CIRC/DateDue.indd-p.1 TRANSNATIONAL I WINNING PARTICIPATION: INDIAN STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OP ETHNIC IDENTITY By Jonathan Andrew Lembright A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Educational Administration 2007 ABSTRACT TRANSNATIONAL TVVINNING PARTICIPATION: INDIAN STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ETHNIC IDENTITY By Jonathan Andrew Lernbright This qualitative study examines the experience of seven Indian students in their final year of enrollment in an academic twinning program offered by a regional state- run university in the Midwestern United States. The study collected data through extended semi-structured interviews to address the following research question: How do Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning programi- Based on the experiences of the students, a theory emerged from the data titled engagement theory, which associates higher levels of host culture engagement with greater change to ethnic identity—-change described as new and/ or divergent values, traditions, beliefs, and Iifestyle--contributing to “add-on” rather than ethnogenesis. The key factors associated with the emergence of the theory were the foundation of family, sociocultural safety net, host culture engagement, and cultural change/variation. Copyright © 2007 Jonathan Andrew Lembright ForJennifer, a true partner and friend on this journey. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the fall of 2003, Ann Austin told our class of first semester doctoral students that completing a Ph.D. was like running a marathon--a contest of endurance. Four years later, I find myself at the finish line of a long race filled with much reading, late nights of writing, and discussions testing the merit of thought-provoking ideas. Yet for all of its demands, this has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I have been blessed by the privilege to study and learn, while at the same time challenged by the words, “To whom much is given, much is required.” The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of several people. Dr. Reitumetse Mabokela, Dissertation Committee Chair, and committee members Drs. Roger Baldwin, Jack Schwille, and Marilyn Amey lent much appreciated guidance and support throughout this journey. Continuing in a tradition of educators from my great-grandfather Wilhelm Lembrecht to my parents, I wish to thank my mother, Bonnie, who inspired my love of learning and commitment to education, as well as my father, Wynn, who imparted to me the values of faith, critical thought, and perseverance. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Addie Jane, for their love, encouragement, and inspiration. Thank you for your relentless support in this endeavor. [1 Timothy 4.7 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES .................................................... x CHAPTER ONE Introduction ......................................................... 1 Statement of the problem ........................................ 2 Purpose and research question .................................... 6 Why ethnic identityé ............................................ 7 Why twinningé1 ................................................. 9 Why Indiaé ................................................... 12 Class, caste, and education ....................................... 15 Definition of key terms ......................................... 17 CHAPTER TWO Literaturereview....................................................21 Global trends .................................................. 21 Ethnic identity ................................................. 23 Indicators of ethnic identity ................................ 25 Twinning .................................................... 26 Twinning defined ........................................ 27 Examples of twinning ............................... , ..... 31 Partnerships in developing countries ......................... 33 Twinning critics ......................................... 85 Twinning advocates ...................................... 39 CHAPTER THREE Methods ........................................................... 43 Key assumptions .............................................. 43 Constructivism .......................................... 43 Postpositivism ........................................... 45 Critical theory ........................................... 46 Data collection methods and procedures ........................... 47 Location ............................................... 48 Population .............................................. 49 Data collection .......................................... 50 Data analysis .................................................. 52 Representation of findings ....................................... 52 vi CHAPTER FOUR Participant stories ................................................... 54 Andhra ...................................................... 54 Jisma ........................................................ 59 Rajat ........................................................ 63 Shree ........................................................ 66 Ronal ........................................................ 70 Lakshmi ...................................................... 75 Alor ......................................................... 79 CHAPTER FIVE Personal history and the twinning experience ........................... 85 Part one: Gender, privilege, and family ................................... 85 Gender ....................................................... 85 Female participant perspectives ............................. 86 Male participant perspectives .............................. 89 Privilege ...................................................... 91 Financial ............................................... 91 Academic ............................................... 93 Family foundation .............................................. 94 Core values ............................................. 94 Collective welfare ........................................ 95 Gratitude ............................................... 96 Part two: Predisposition attitudes, safety net behavior, and ways of engagement .97 Predisposition attitudes .......... . ............................... 97 Host culture engagement .................................. 97 Twinning participation .................................... 99 Dual predispositions: Cultural engagement and twinning ....... 100 Connection to home ........................................... 102 Host culture engagement ....................................... 111 Part three: Culture and change ......................................... 118 Steadfast principles ............................................ 119 Intensification ................................................ 127 Variation .................................................... 135 Conclusion ........................................................ 146 CHAPTER SIX Discussion: Ethnic identity, theory, and implications ................... 147 Key themes: Synopsis and comparison .................................. 148 Parents and family ............................................ 148 Engaging the host culture ....................................... 150 Predisp osition ................................................ 15 3 Sociocultural safety net ........................................ 154 Cultural change/ variation ....................................... 156 Theoretical contributions ............................................. 158 Engagement theory ........................................... 159 vii Engagement theory and associated literature ....................... 162 Comparison of UDM to engagement theory ................. 163 Comparison of BDM to engagement theory ................. 165 Applied contributions ................................................ 167 Relationship to neocolonial practices ............................. 167 Implications for practice ........................................ 169 Fostering community .................................... 169 Campus interaction ..................................... 170 Limitations ............................ - ............................ 172 Sample size .................................................. 173 Socioeconomic diversity ....................................... 173 Single data set ................................................ 173 Directions for future research ......................................... 174 APPENDICES Appendix A: Engagement theory illustration ............................. 176 Appendix B: Consent form ........................................... 177 Appendix C: Interview guide .......................................... 178 Appendix D: Interview exercise ..................................... ~. . .180 REFERENCES ...................................................... 181 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Predisposition towards host culture engagement and/ or twinning participation ....................................................... 102 Table 2: Categorization of degrees of safety net reclusion .................. 110 Table 3: Categorization of host culture engagement ....................... 118 Table 4: Summary of changes in lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs categorized by intensification or variation ............................... 144 Table 5: Classification of degree of variation ............................. 145 Table 6: Predisposition attitudes and level of engagement .................. 154 Table 7: Comparison of safety net reclusion with host culture engagement . . . .156 Table 8: Review of host culture engagement level and degrees of change ...... 158 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Engagement theory (small) .................................... 160 Figure 2: Engagement theory (large) .................................... 176 CHAPTER ONE Introduction ”We want to spread our wings over all continents and have a presence there ” — Australian twinning program administrator (Poole, 2001, p. 418) Higher education as we know it in India began in 1858 with the transfer of all power from the East India Company to the British crown (Deka, 2000). Institutions of higher education were established in the imitation of London University after the recommendations of a document called Wood’s Dispatch, which is considered the Magna Carta of English education in India as it set the foundation for higher education in that country (Haggerty, 1969). Following the recommendations of this document, the British government established the first three universities in India: Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. The pressure to establish Indian higher education came from several sources. The first was from the employees of the East India Company who wanted a place to educate their children. Second, with the increasing difficulty of recruiting personnel from England to meet the rapidly expanding demand of the British administration in India, it seemed that the best solution was to educate Indians to fill these positions. Thirdly, higher education was seen as a means of preserving colonial control as the British thought it best to establish a form of cultural imperialism through education as a way of insuring Indian loyalty to British rule (Chitnis, 2000). This third position is represented in Thomas Macauley’s speech regarding Indian education where he stated, “We must at present do our best to form a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect” (Young, 1935, p. 430). However, contrary to British expectations, even limited access to higher education introduced Indians to political ideals and philosophies that generated nationalism and aspirations for freedom on a grand scale (Chitnis, 2000). This eventually led to independence in 1947 from the iniquitous _ shackles of colonialism. Or did it¢ According to Ashcroft, Griffins, and Tiffin (1995), education is perhaps the most insidious and in some ways the most cryptic of colonial survivals with older systems now passing, sometimes imperceptibly, into neocolonialist configurations. As defined in the key terms, educational neocolonialism is the continued impact of advanced industrial countries on the educational systems and policies as well as the intellectual life of the developing world (Altbach, 1971). Given the current globalizing world of free trade and transnational education (i.e., that which “transcends” national boundaries), the question remains: have new , forms of educational programs from the West knowingly or unknowingly perpetuated making “Indians into Englishmené” What does it mean when the world’s educational producers are overwhelmingly Western and the consumers of this education increasingly lie in the non-Western periphery (Ashcroft et al., 1995)¢ tate e ft r lem Since 1991, which marked the opening of India’s economic market to outside investors and subsequent expansion of the middle-class, there has been a significant increase of Western providers of higher education in India (Jaschik, 2005; Neelakantan, 2004). A popular form of Western provision has been a j oint-degree program among institutions in two or more countries, called twinning, which is the focus of this research and will be elaborated on later in the study. By importing Western knowledge and education to India, the current influx of Western educational providers and programs may in fact be producing a sort of colonization of the mind with education that is poorly adapted to the local needs of the population and is instead serving the interests of the more powerful states and institutions of the West (Altbach, 1984). The general model of education employed in India has significant similarities to the Western system, both as a remnant of colonialism and as a relatively new type of import from industrialized countries. According to Altbach (1977), students have difficulty relating to this Western system as it is seen as distant from their experience. Furthermore, Western knowledge in this environment is often given special importance. For instance, knowledge in English and of the English language is required for entrance into most professions in India. Therefore, students have no real choice but to consume the products they are offered in the way of an education that is thoroughly Western in form and content. By importing knowledge and education from the West, foreign providers of higher education in India may be perpetuating, in the words of Thomas Macauley (Young, 1935, p. 430), the colonial practice of making “Indians into Englishmen.” As the world’s “knowledge producers” are overwhelmingly Western and the consumers of this education increasingly lie in the non-Western periphery (Ashcroft et al., 1995), the developing world has an imbalance of intellectual payments in that it imports many more “knowledge products” than it exports (Kelly 8t Altbach, 1984). Not just in India but around the world, education is taking on the appearance of formal education in the West (Boli 8t Ramirez, 1992). While the form of education may be acceptable to local populations, if the knowledge learned in this environment is not relevant to the local setting, the educational institution may serve to alienate students from their surroundings and inculcate a colonization of the mind (wa Thiong’o, 1981). Colonization of the mind is a neocolonial practice in which the talents and genius of the developing world are seized. As noted by wa Thiong’o (1981), in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Europe stole art treasures from India and Africa to decorate their houses and museums; in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries the West is stealing the treasures of the mind through formal education to enrich and serve the needs of their own civilization and culture. Colonization of the mind leaves students alienated and dissociated from their natural and social environment resulting in a distancing from local reality, and identification with that which is most external to their environment (wa Thiong’o, 1981). It has been suggested that in the context of education, the effecton the student is the creation of an “educational hybrid” (Braman, n.d.). The educational hybrid is detached and alienated from both local and Western culture and society through an educational system heavily influenced by the West in addition to a university system increasingly dominated by Western suppliers (Achebe, 1975). This mix between indigenous and Western ideology and practice thus produces a hybrid that is neither fully Indian nor fully Western. On the other hand, there are points of View that consider concerns of hybridity and colonization of the mind unfounded and even part of the natural evolution of culture. Kwame Appiah (2006) argues that there is no such thing as a “natural,” authentic, or pure culture as all cultures are hybrid by nature and result from chronic intermingling. He says, “Cultures are made of continuities and changes . . . . Societies without change aren't authentic; they're just dead” (Appiah, 2006, p. 2). Appiah (2006) labels these necessary changes to culture as “contamination” in the best sense of the word, stating that the ideal of cultural contamination “. . . celebrates hybridity, impurity, interrningling, the transformation that comes of new and unexpected combinations of human beings . . . ideas, politics, movies, songs, [etc]” (p. 6). While this alternative view of culture is worth referencing, the focus of this study is not the positivist objective of discovering the true nature of culture, but rather to understand particular constructions of culture in relationship to ethnic identity. “To speak of education . . . is inevitably to speak of identity” (Hoffman, 1998, p. 324) and the psychological importance of ethnic identity in particular can be attested by the writings of various ethnic group leaders regarding their struggle to understand their ethnicity, e.g., Gandhi (1993) and Malcolm X (1970). As further explained in the section entitled “Why ethnic identityé”, attitudes toward and perceptions of one’s ethnic identity are central to the psychological functioning and well-being of those operating in an environment where their group and culture are poorly represented (Phinney, 1990; Phinney, Horenczyk, Liebkind, 8t Vedder, 2001). Furthermore, the concept of ethnic identity provides a way of understanding the potential challenges associated with twinning participation and suggests what relationship exists between neocolonialism, perceptions of identity, and transnational education programs (T omlinson, 2003; Weinreich, 1983). In light of the preceding discussion, the problem that is central to this study is how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program. That is: do these Western providers emulate the British colonial objective of cultural imperialism, or is the primary goal to provide an education that enhances opportunities for Indian students while maintaining a relevance and connection to the culture imparted from their family and communityé In addressing the question of which interest is being best served through Western higher education programs operating in India, one wonders if the answer lies with the interests of the more powerful states and institutions of the West. If so, Ashcroft et al. (1995) may be correct in asserting that education is perhaps the most insidious and in some ways the most cryptic of Western hegemonic survivals. W The purpose of this study is to explore how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program. The results of this research are intended to assist Western twinning programs in their mindfulness of the students’ ethnic identity and the implications this has for how their programs are administered. Thus, the goal is to inform the practice of those engaged/ engaging in these relationships and, depending on the institution, to change, modify, or reinforce existing practices, e.g., connection with the local Indian community, campus-life involvement, nature of assignments/learning tools, etc. This qualitative study addresses the following question: How do Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning programé This question is explored in the context of a regional Midwestern university (RMU) in the US, which has active twinning partnerships with three South Indian institutions. These partnerships have been active since 1997 and provide a fertile environment from which to explore the problem. Why ethnic identityé Interest in this particular study originated with the question of whether Western twinning programs perpetuate manifestations of neocolonialism, which was prompted through my work and interactions at an Indian educational institute. As the objectionable circumstances of colonialism include the cultural domination of a people by a foreign power (Kottak, 2003), it can be assumed that the penetration and domination of a culture is also an element of neocolonialism, thus providing a link between neocolonialism and culture. As a result of this connection, using ethnic identity as an indication of the relationship between twinning and neocolonialism becomes apparent as the foundation of ethnic identity is one’s understanding of his or her culture, with a change in cultural understanding Signaling a change in ethnic identitv(Espiritu, 1992; Lee, 1999). Ethnic identity in this study is understood as a construction or set of self-ideas about one’s understanding of his or her culture based on information from family and community (Bernal, Knight, Ocampo, Garza, 8: Cota, 1993; Torres, 1999). Ethnicity and ethnic identity are often understood in terms of culture. According to Phinney (1996), ethnicity focuses on the cultural characteristics of a particular group, that is, the norms, values, attitudes and behaviors that are typical of an ethnic group and that stem from a common culture of origin transmitted across generations. Examples of cultural characteristics include such things as language, food, behavior, and other customs (Atkinson, Morten, 81 Sue, 1993; Torres, 2003). In addition to concerns of neocolonialism, examining ethnic identity and its relationship to twinning is important because, according to Rosenthal and Hrynevich (1985), when a student is subjected to or lives in a foreign environment, the contrast between one’s culture of origin and the dominant culture has the potential to significantly affect the self. This belief stems from the conviction that a strong, secure ethnic identity makes a positive contribution to psychological well-being (Phinney et aL,2001) As discussed above, the concept of ethnic identity provides a way of understanding the potential challenges to one’s identity associated with twinning participation, thereby suggesting what relationship may exist between these programs and untenable neocolonial manifestations, such ascultural imperialism (see key terms) (Tomlinson, 2003; Weinreich, 1983). Tomlinson (2003) supports the existence of such manifestations by writing that Western cultural and economic dominance have swept through the world’s diverse cultures in various forms, destroying stable localities and bringing a market-driven, branded homogenization of cultural and educational practice, thus obliterating the differences between locality-defined cultures which play a substantial role in constituting one’s sense of identity. Twinning programs and other forms of transnational education may present significant challenges to the survival of both local culture and ethnic identity through the homogenization that accompanies the globalization phenomenon (see key terms). It is crucial that purveyors of twinning programs are aware of these risks, avoid perpetuating the threat to culture and identity, and actively address these issues (Nabobo 8t Teasdale, 1995). For these and the aforementioned reasons, how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program is the focus of this study. Mumms Western transnational education programs take numerous forms throughout India and the world. As will be defined and discussed in the literature review, twinning programs are just one of numerous forms of transnational education, i.e., education that “transcends” national boundaries. One of the reasons research needs to be conducted on twinning programs is that this form of transnational education is quickly expanding and is expected to continue to do so (Hosie 81 Mazzarol, 1999). The rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific rim, particularly China, India, and Pakistan, represent enormous opportunities, and incentives for educational exporters to deliver their products (Hosie 8t Mazzarol, 1999). In fact, on a global scale, the Australian Trade Commission (2005) predicts that as the world’s population rises by approximately one-and-a-half billion in the next twenty years, the demand for tertiary education is forecast to grow from just under one-hundred million student places in 2000 to around two-hundred and sixty million places in 2025. Many past ventures and forms of transnational education such as twinning have not been successful, with the oft-quoted reason for failure being “culture clash” (McMurtrie, 2000). As cited in Knight (2002), some argue that inherent in formal education is a process through which cultural assimilation and acculturation takes place. If education is understood as a way of changing students, then educators, especially those in transnational endeavors, should accept that they cannot be culturally benign, but invariably promote certain ways of being and knowing over others (Ziguras, 2001). Therefore, what impact will this have on the local culture and ethnic identity of the growing number of transnational program participantsé Moreover, this point is especially salient if Western institutions assume their knowledge, beliefs, and organizational structures will transfer without significant adaptation to a non-Western culture such as India. If Western twinning programs operating in India fail to take account of cultural differences in values and practice, they run the danger of engaging in the colonial practice of cultural imperialism. In India and the developing world, cultural imperialism is thought of as the systematic penetration and domination of cultural life by the West in order to reorder the values, behavior, institutions, and identity of oppressed peoples in conforming to their interests (Petras, 2000; Tomlinson, 1991). Cultural imperialism has two major goals: a) to capture markets for its cultural commodities, and b) to establish hegemony by shaping popular consciousness, both of which can and have been readily accomplished and perpetuated in India through higher education, as demonstrated through the history of British rule in that country (Petras, 2000). There is an interesting diagnosis of transnational twinning programs given through the Uppsala Internationalization Model, also called the incremental development approach (Mazzarol, Soutar, 8t Seng, 2003). The model states that new foreign market entrants, such as US. twinning programs in India, gradually become 10 more involved/integrated in that market through a pattern of entry modes beginning with exporting products and culminating with the establishment of off-shore facilities or locations (Mazzarol, Soutar, 8E Seng, 2003). In applying this model to twinning programs operating under the framework of transnational education, it is not hard to imagine an incremental invasiveness of these entities. For example, an institution “imports” foreign students to study at their hOme campus in the US; next the institution exports part of its degree program to India by way of twinning; and finally the US institution exports its entire degree program by establishing an Indian branch campus. Relating this to the Indian context, the appeal of twinning to the West is due in part to the fact that independently establishing a stand-alone institution on foreign soil can be a risky, complicated, and expensive endeavor for a Western university (N eelakantan, 2004). A twinning partnership with an Indian institution provides a way for a foreign university to still gain a foothold in the market while minimizing risk and avoiding the headache of navigating bureaucratic red tape (Iaschik, 2005). While the Uppsala model does not necessarily imply that twinning is intrinsically problematic, it does underscore the fact that twinning programs as a global phenomenon may have a controlling expansionist nature about which little is known in terms of the impact such programs and partnerships might have on the local culture and ethnic identity of program participants. For this reason, and for the reasons presented in the preceding paragraphs, there is a compelling need for research regarding how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program. 11 Why Indiaé Interest in India developed during the summer of 2004 when I participated in an internship with a community development agency in the city of Bangalore. The internship consisted of working within the education branch of the agency while carrying out an independent study exploring education, values, and economic development. This dissertation is a product of the experience and was sparked through conversations with local university administrators and their interest in Western providers of higher education. In addition to this personal experience, interest in India as a research topic is due in part to the nation’s strategic position in the debate over globalization and its high-profile transition to the global economy brought about by a Western push for less protectionism and greater openness to world trade (N eelakantan, 2004). India’s large English-speaking population, along with a strong cultural value placed on education, has made it_a popular destination for multinational corporations to establish themselves at a substantially lower cost than in the West (Chitnis, 2002; Tilak, 2002). In fact, as witnessed in recent US. elections, India is a hub of the politically contested issue of outsourcing and its relationship to lost American jobs. This influx of multinational corporations is due in part to the Indian government opening its previously closed market to foreign and private investment in 1991 (Neelakantan, 2004). Along with this opening of the market, the higher education market has experienced a similar kind of opening. In the early 19905, the Indian government had a virtual monopoly on higher education (Mitra, 1999). Yet, fueled in part by an expanding middle-class, the government-run institutions did not have the 12 capacity to accommodate the steep demand for higher education by the Indian people (Jaschik, 2005; Mitra, 1999; Neelakantan, 2004) with the current system still only having the ability to educate ten percent of the college-age population (Altbach, 2005 ; Gupta, 2007). Popular demand, personnel shortages in growing sectors of the economy, and pressure from multinational corporations for an educated workforce led the government to ease its grip on higher education and allow for greater private and foreign competition (N eelakantan, 2005; Suroor, 2002). Consequently, the number of private higher education institutions and partnerships in India has seen a significant increase in recent years. For instance, the state of Andhra Pradesh was recently counted as having ninety-five private engineering colleges and three-hundred and three private medical colleges in comparison to eleven public engineering colleges and twenty—five public medical colleges; moreover, one-hundred and eight private universities were established in the state of Chhattisgarh in just the two years between 2002 and 2004 (Gupta, 2004; Neelakantan, 2004). While there are no official numbers of twinning partnerships between foreign and Indian universities, in 2004 it was estimated that between fifty and sixty such partnerships existed (Neelakantan, 2004) Yet, even with the increase in the private sector, India’s President Manmohan Singh is critical of the existing education sector for its inability to cope with the demand for higher and professional education (N eelakantan, 2005). This demand for higher education is enticing to Western institutions endowed with financial resources 13 and market-oriented entrepreneurship, contributing to the significant investment of Western institutions in this high-demand/short-supply market (Stella, 2002). Along with this comparative advantage by the West, there is the potential for significant revenue generation for those “setting up shop” and offering programs in the Indian higher education market. Unfortunately, there is not much pressure to consider issues of cultural appropriateness and relevance when operating in such a high- demand/short-supply scenario (Behal 8E Suroor, 2004). With the influx of Western higher education programs in India, local culture and identity may be confronted with a serious challenge. It is the exploration of this particular interaction between ethnic identity and participation in Western twinning programs that this study addresses; specifically, how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program. The exploration of this relationship is significant. By importing knowledge and education from the West, Western twinning programs may in fact be producing a sort of neocolonial education that is poorly adapted to the local needs of the population and is instead serving the interests of the more powerful states and institutions of the West (Altbach, 1984). Therefore, using the concept of ethnic identity in this study provides a way of understanding the potential challenges to one’s identity associated with twinning participation, thereby suggesting what relationship may exist between these programs and neocolonialism (T omlinson, 2003; Weinreich, 1983). This research is significant because little is known about twinning, and transnational partnerships in general, in terms of the impact on local culture and 14 identity-—especially so from the reality of the participants. I write that not much is known because literature was not found that described transnational twinning programs in any way other than in classifying terms. Therefore, this research on how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program will add depth to the literature on twinning in a way that will allow a new voice to be heard: the voice of the participant. a c t n duc t'on In gaining a more accurate understanding of the educational environment from which the twinning students of this study originated from, it is important to include a brief discussion of class, caste, and education. The Indian caste system and its four major divisions are said to have been in existence for at least 2500 years. Historically, those in commerce (vaishey) and manual jobs (shudras) were viewed as inferior compared to the warriors (kshatriyas) and priests/highly learned (brahmins) (Gupta, 2006). In fact, the lower castes were judged unfit for learning and were denied access to knowledge which was enforced on religious grounds (Chitnis, 2000). Over time, an individual's occupation evolved into his or her caste, which was determined upon the family one was born into (Chitnis, 2000). In modern India, caste continues to play an important role in the life of an individual and in the system of education. Recognizing the injustice of this social structure, soon after independence in 1947 the Indian constitution made certain provisions for those in the lower castes. As a result, reservation quotas were instituted for those who were traditionally denied access to formal education. This quota system persists today and requires institutions 15 of higher education that receive government grants to reserve spaces for students from these disadvantaged groups (Chitnis, 2000). Due in part to the reservations system, there has been some increase in higher education enrollment for India’s disadvantaged groups. The ratio of “general” students to lower castes was twelve-to-one shortly after independence and has dropped to eight-to-one in recent years (Kapu &'Mehta, 2004). In terms of gender, women in India have seen a significant increase in enrollment at institutions of higher education. At independence women accounted for only ten percent of total enrollment, while in 2003 they accounted for just over forty percent of enrollment in higher education (Chanana, 2004; Kapu 8t Mehta, 2004). In spite of these achievements, the relationship between the educational reservation system and disadvantaged groups remains complex. Gupta (2006) states that because the overwhelming majority of India’s population does not pay any income tax, caste remains the primary means of the government for determining the socioeconomic status (SES) of an individual. However, this method for determining SES is flawed as caste and class no longer correspond as closely as they once did (Gupta, 2006). Due in part to this faulty assumption, reservations for disadvantaged groups for education seats is usually caste-based rather than based upon real income or wealth. In some instances, this has meant that the benefits of reservations have been realized by well-off individuals or groups from the so-called lower castes (Gupta, 2006). The complexity of expanding educational access has been punctuated by the recent debate about the comprehensive expansion of India’s reservation system for 16 disadvantaged groups at all of India’s higher education institutions. This debate was brought to a head when a proposed amendment to the Indian Constitution was passed in January 2006. When implemented, this controversial amendment will reserve up to half of all seats in public and private universities for disadvantaged groups based on fixed criteria other than academic merit (Altbach, 2006; Gupta, 2006). Beyond the critics of this amendment who argue for the pursuit of meritocratic values (Altbach, 2006), there is a fear that if the upper and middle classes are denied access to higher education due to heavy reservations for disadvantaged groups, these students will leave India in increasing numbers for higher education abroad, resulting in significant loss in terms of human capital and brain drain (Gupta, 2006). While not substantiated by this study, the consequences of the reservation system described above may well portray the circumstances under which the population in this study (introduced in Chapter Three) left India and their upper/middle class families to obtain university degrees. in the United States. e ' 'tio ke e s As a way to clarify the terminology used in this study, operational definitions of key terms have been adopted. It is important to begin with the following four terms, which have a tendency to be somewhat ambiguous in their usage, and yet have important similarities and distinctions. These initial concepts find their roots in imperialism. Imperialism: a type of ideology: the practice, theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory, often manifesting itself by 17 force in terms of political, economic, or cultural power (Ashcroft et al., 2000; Hirsch, 2002) Cultural imperialism: nearly identical to neocolonialism (see below), an adaptation of imperialism suggesting the systematic penetration and domination of cultural life by the West in order to reorder the values, behavior, institutions, and identity of oppressed peoples to conform to their interests (Petras, 2000; Tomlinson, 1991) Colonialism: a type of practice, which is a form of and usually a consequence of imperialism. Colonialism is the political, social, economic, and cultural domination of a territory and its people by a foreign power for an extended time (Kottak, 2003). Far from disappearing, colonialism has merely modified and developed into the neocolonialism of the post-independence period (Ashcroft et al., 2000). Neocolonialism: synonymous with contemporary forms of imperialism, an indirect method of control through economic and cultural influence as well as dependence (Yew, n.d.). The relationship between ne c ' ' 'o is understood as the continued impact of advanced industrial countries on the educational systems and policies as well as the intellectual life of developing areas (Altbach, 1971). giglggizag’gn of the mind: to steal the talent and genius of the developing world through formal education as a way to enrich and serve the needs of Western civilization and culture (wa Thiong’o, 1981). 18 ColgninLalLenannn: disassociation from one’s natural and social environment that has two primary results: a) distancing from local reality, and b) identification with that which is most external to one’s environment (wa Thiong’o, 1981). Educational hybrid: detachment and alienation from both the home culture by means of a Western education and from recognition in Western society by means of phenotype and nation of origin (Braman, n.d.). Neoliheralism: the emphasis of three general policy trends seen worldwide and closely associated with economic globalization: a) deregulation--withdrawal of the state from control and oversight, b) privatization--increased role of the private sector in providing goods and services, and c) liberalization—-relinquishment of domestic protection over most sectors of the economy (Stromquist, 2002). Ethni; identity: a construction or set of self-ideas about one’s understanding of his or her culture based on information from family and community (Bernal at al., 1993; Torres, 1999). Culture: the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of society or a social group, and encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions, and beliefs (UNESCO, 2002) Glnbalizatinn: the increasing homogenization of societies with the incorporation of world space into a single social, economic, and cultural system dominated by the old imperial powers (Peet, 1999). 19 lransnatignal educatinn: all types of higher education study programs, courses of study, or educational services in which learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based (Nokkala, 2002). 1 winning: an agreement between two higher education institutions in different countries where joint programs are offered. In both institutions students follow exactly the same courses, have the same materials, and pass the same examinations. Students complete their initial years of study at the local school and finish at the site of the awarding institution, thereby receiving a degree from that university or college (Bernardo, 2002; Van Damme, 2001). 20 CHAPTER TWO Literature review The ensuing chapter first explores trends in the global higher education market, then ethnicity, ethnic groups, and ethnic identity as well as its key indicators. Next, twinning will be examined among other forms of transnational education, along with examples of twinning, twinning in developing countries, and the voices of twinning critics and advocates. gilnhal trends Prior to delving into the literature on twinning and ethnic identity, the following discussion helps ground one’s understanding of the environment in which transnational twinning programs operate as related to the emerging market-oriented approaches to education. Demand for higher education is growing worldwide, yet the capacity of the state to satisfy the demand is being challenged because of budget limitations, the changing role of government, and increased emphasis on market economics and privatization, i.e., neoliberalism (Knight, 2002). This move towards economic rationales and benefits is driving the international supply of education as the business/commercial/profit side of education grows. Along with this change in economic rationales, the exporting of academic institutions and programs has grown much during the last decade fueled increasingly through non-governmental initiatives, which are typically prompted and initiated by those from the exporting country (Altbach, 2004). In this sense, exporting country is nearly synonymous with Anglo-Saxon countries (U .S., UK, Australia, New Zealand, 21 and Canada) as they seem to have adopted the most visible market-oriented, entrepreneurial approach to student recruitment. In fact, the major providers of education throughout the world are primarily from the largest English-speaking OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries (N okkala, 2002). They are characterized as being unsatisfied with just recruitment of foreign students and therefore extend their educational supply to promising markets in other countries, which some argue has caused a shift from educational provision driven by demand to educational provision driven by supply (Van Damme, 2001). In absolute numbers the United States is the biggest exporter of educational services (typically to the global South), followed by the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada (Australian Trade Commission, 2005). To punctuate this trend toward educational exports from North to South, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), comprised of multinational corporations and government agencies in high- income countries, hasmoved to integrate higher education into the legal structures of world trade through the World Trade Organization (WT O). This indicates how important higher education has become to the development of a new “knowledge economy” as well as the increasing role higher education is playing in the ever- expanding free-market of globalization (Sorensen, 2005). Another byproduct of globalization is an increased homogenization of textbooks, course materials, and syllabi worldwide, stimulated by the expanding influence of multinational publishers, the internet, and by returning scholars from transnational programs, e.g., twinning. However, of the students who come to the US. from India and China, two of the largest sending countries who also happen to 22 have the world’s two fastest growing economies, eighty percent do not return after obtaining their degrees and instead take jobs in the United States (Altbach, 2004). The exploration of the impact of transnational twinning programs is a large, complex, and under-researched subject, as shown later in this chapter. So in attempting to understand this considerable phenomenon, a specific approach must be taken through which to engage the issue. In this case, the specific approach or “angle” is achieved through the lens of ethnic identity as a way of understanding the potential challenges associated with twinning participation, thereby suggesting what relationship may exist between these programs and neocolonialism (T ornlinson, 2003; Weinreich, 1983). In exploring the issue of ethnic identity, it is important to position the term ethnicity within the research. According to Rotheram and Phinney (1987), ethnicity patterns our thinking, feelings, and behavior in both obvious and subtle ways. In addition to feelings and attitudes, ethnicity can be thought of as a birthright where people are born into a particular ethnic group whose members share a common culture and history (Lee, 1999). While culture and ethnicity are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a distinction between the two, and although they are strongly linked, they are not one and the same (Sheets, 1999). Culture differs from ethnicity in that culture refers broadly to a group’s norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors that may not necessarily be based on ethnic background (Y eh 8K Hwang, 2000). Ethnicity focuses on the ways 23 in which social and cultural practices intersect with one another in the identification of and interaction between ethnic groups (Jones, 1997; Sheets, 1999). While there is a distinction between ethnicity and culture, ethnicity is often understood in terms of culture and commonly focuses on the cultural characteristics of a particular group, that is, the norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors that are typical of an ethnic group and-that stem from a common culture of origin transmitted across generations (Phinney, 1996; Yeh 81 Hwang, 2000). Given how ethnicity is defined above, this definition is consistent with a primordialist theory of ethnicity, which states that ethnic groups are essentially cultural groups; members of ethnic groups are bound together by birth and believe the loss of culture Signals the loss of ethnicity (Espiritu, 1992; Lee, 1999). Ethnic groups possess a collectivity within a larger society having real or alleged common ancestry, memories of a shared historical past, and a cultural focus on one or more symbolic elements defined as the epitome of their peoplehood. Examples of symbolic elements include kinship patterns, physical contiguity (localism), religious affiliation, language or dialect forms, tribal affiliation, nationality, or phenotypal features (Sheets, 1999; Sollors, 1996). Ethnic group identity is generally construed as what a person is born with or acquires at birth and is distinct from all other identities people acquire because unlike all the others, its elements are what make a group, in Clifford Geertz’s phrase, a “candidate for nationhood” (Isaacs, 1975). N ow that ethnicity and ethic groups have been described, it is appropriate to define how ethnic identity will be used in the study. This is not‘a particularly easy task because, as noted by Phinney (1996), despite the wealth of literature concerning ethnic 24 identity, there is still not a widely accepted definition (Y eh & Hwang, 2000). Be that as it may, with regards to the preceding paragraphs, ethnic identity in this study refers to a construction or set of self-ideas about one’s understanding of his or her culture based on information from family and community (Bernal, et al., 1993; Torres, 1999). In dica tors of ethnic identity I Indicators of ethnicity, ethnic groups, and ethnic identity have been noted and alluded to in the preceding paragraphs. The following paragraphs list in more detail widely used indicators of ethnic identity and include self-identification (i.e., identity construction), language, social networks, religious affiliation, endogamy (e.g., not marrying outside one’s caste), family and community traditions and practices, the sharing of a cultural heritage, a sense of social relatedness, and symbolic cultural ties (Lee, 1999; Phinney, 1992; Phinney et al., 2001; Sodowsky, Kwan, 81 Pannu, 1995). Phinney (1990), Sheets (1999) and, Rogler, Cooney, and Ortiz (1980) include the subsequent indicators of ethnic identity with additional examples of ways it may be exhibited: ' Language--desire of adults to have their children learn their ethnic language I Friendship-~importance of in-group friends, in—group dating, ethnic background of friends ' Religious affiliation and practice-—church membership, attending religious ceremonies, parochial education, religious preference - Structured ethnic social groups--participation in ethnic clubs, societies, or organizations 25 I Political ideology and activity-~involvement in political activities on behalf of one’s ethnic group, political ideology, involvement with politics of one’s country of origin I Area of residence--the number of in—group members in one’s neighborhood, choosing to live in an area where other in-group members have settled I Ethnic/ cultural activities and attitudes--ethnic music, songs, dances, dress; newspapers, periodicals, books, literature; food/cooking; entertainment (movies, radio, TV, plays, sports, etc); traditional celebrations; traditional family roles, values, and names; visits to and continued interest in the homeland; endogamy or opposition to mixed marriages; and knowledge about ethnic culture or history mm In reviewing the body of literature surrounding twinning programs, it should be noted that much of what was found has its roots in economics, management, and business journals, with only a small amount of literature found in what would be considered traditional education resources such as ERIC and Education Abstracts. In fact, much information on twinning was found in Australian journals regarding relationships between Australian and Southeast Asian institutions. These programs are quite common as this region of the world has a more extensive history of involvement in this type of education than North America. As the nature of this study of twinning programs is exploratory, so the nature of the review of twinning literature is comparatively exploratory. The review will 26 examine the definition of twinning, examples of twinning, twinning in developing countries, and the criticism and acclaim of such programs. Twinning defined One of the difficult things about defining what we term in the United States as twinning is that other countries and cultures use different words to define the same phenomenon. Much of the literature in the Australian and UK. journals generally referred to these programs as “off—shore programs” as well as transnational universities. However, in this study, twinning will be the preferred term in defining an institutional relationship that falls under the category of both transnational and off- shore programs. First, it is helpful to understand how twinning is situated among the other forms of education with an international scope. There are considered to be two models, or general categories, of international education (Bernardo, 2002). The first and more traditional model stems from simply a spirit of international cooperation and includes traditional activities and programs such as faculty exchanges, research collaboration, and foreign language study. The second model of international education has a more contemporary history involving transnational education. This category of education is born out of the agenda of globalization and includes twinning programs, distance education, branch campuses, franchising agreements, and international quality assurance systems (Bernardo, 2002). The term transnational education can be thought of as an umbrella under which twinning and other forms of free-market education mentioned above fall. As one may suspect, the word transnational in referring to education is borrowed from 27 business and is viewed as nearly synonymous with the term multinational, as in multinational corporation (Deardorff, n.d.). However a significant difference between the two is that multinational refers to relationships between and among nation-states, while transnational refers to relationships that transcend national boundaries and in which nation-state governments do not play the most prominent or even a significant role. As Mazrui (1975) has argued, the Western-style university, especially in the developing world, may be accurately understood as a “cultural multinational corporation.” However, in the years since he phrased these words, it could be argued that the push for neoliberal policies regarding global trade and enterprise has diminished the role of the nation-state to the effect that most universities operating outside the borders of their country of origin may well be referred to as cultural transnational corporations. Transnational education or “TNE,” as defined by UNESCO, includes all types of higher education study programs, courses of study, or educational services in which learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based (N okkala, 2002). Such programs may belong to the education system of a nation-state different from the nation-state in which it operates, or may operate completely independent of any national education system. As noted in the preceding paragraphs, transnational education is tightly coupled to the opportunities afforded by the changing demands of an ever more connected world economy that is increasingly run by markets and less by governments (Bernardo, 2002). A central component of transnational education is that programs under this label are not always offered in relationship with major universities but are increasingly 28 delivered in partnership with professional associations and for-profit businesses (Poole, 2001). Just as Mazrui (1975) predicted thirty years ago, as many for-profit companies and institutions enter the field of transnational education, the education industry has expanded and taken on similar characteristics of large global corporations. As transnational education rapidly expands, the forms it takes are varied. The following is a list of the more well-known and/ or common forms and definitions associated with transnational education (N okkala, 2002): I Off-shore institution--an institution which legally belongs to a given country and does not necessarily have a campus in that country but has a campus in a third or different country I Branch campus--established by an institution from one country in another country in order to offer its own degrees in that other country I Corporation universities-~usually large corporations setting up their own institutions without belonging to any national system I Virtual universities--institutions offering education mainly or solely online I Franchising or McDonaldization--opening a branch institution or setting up off- shore institutions. The name and curriculum are lent with limited supervision and quality control to a local institution or business, where they then have the right to grant a degree of the foreign university to local students I Twinning--joint-degree offerings among institutions in two or more countries (inter-institutional) The Global Alliance for Transnational Education (GATE), an international organization of businesses, higher education institutions, and governmental agencies 29 concerned with quality assurance, accreditation, and certification in international education, defines the following as the primary forms of inter—institutional transnational agreements (Van Damme, 2001): I Franchises-—an institution grants a host institution in another country the permission to provide some of the programs and degrees of the first. In these arrangements, the education provided resides completely under the degree awarding capacity of the home institution, but the manner in which the program is actually taught is the responsibility of the host institution I Twinning-an agreement between two higher education institutions in different countries where joint programs are offered. In both institutions students follow exactly the same courses, have the same materials, and pass the same examinations, albeit that the academic staff is usually local The preceding descriptions have moved the discussion forward and beyond multinational, transnational, off-shoring, inter-institutional partnerships, and finally to the concept of twinning, which exists as a subset of the definitions just mentioned. As a way to consolidate the above explanations of twinning, the following will be the understood description of twinning used throughout the review. Twinning involves a local private (not state sponsored) college providing the facilities, administrative infrastructure, and employment of local academic staff, which is typically from the host country but is selected by the provider institution (Lewis 81 Pratt, 1996). The foreign institution provides the intellectual property in terms of curricula and academic/programmatic expertise with students following exactly the same curriculum, lectures, and examinations as those of the partner school. Students 30 complete their initial years of study at their local school and finish at the on-shore partner site, thereby receiving a degree from the foreign institution (Bernardo, 2002). As a note of clarification, the twinning literature often refers to the degree granting institution as the on-shore site and the partnering institution as the off-shore site. Examples of twinning As mentioned earlier, much of the literature written about twinning is from Australia as it has rapidly expanded its programs into Southeast Asia, led by an increased interest of Australian universities in inter-institutional agreements (i.e., twinning and franchising). In the case of Australia, this interest is oft-attributed to a global spread of neoliberal values (i.e., emphasis on economic growth, efficiency, and free-markets) in addition to viewing twinning as a step in the process of establishing a material campus on foreign soil (Maslen, 1998). For instance, it wasn’t until recently that foreign universities were legally granted the right to establish campuses in Malaysia; therefore twinning was a popular option for Australian universities to bypass this prohibition, yet since the ban was lifted branch campuses have increased in prevalence. In addition, the focus of many Australian-Malaysian twinning relationships is in the field of business education (Lewis 81 Pratt, 1996). This helps to explain Malaysian interest in English-speaking institutional partners such as those in Australia so that Malay students are better prepared to participate in Western-led globalization by learning English: the “lingua franca” of the global economy. As the-Australian context seems to encompass the bulk of twinning literature, it is important to examine what information exists on twinning partnerships with the United States since this is the focus of the study. The site for data collection in this 31 research, regional Midwestern university (RMU), has one of the largest twinning programs in America and may in some ways typify the American experience. U.S. twinning is typically a collaborative arrangement through which a local college contracts to teach the first and, often, second year classes of a partner university located abroad. Twinning is also commonly referred to as “2+2” in the United States and “1+2” and “2+1” in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, with some US. programs moving towards a “3+1” format (Dooley, 2000). For example, a “2+2” program means an Indian student spends the first two years of the program at a local institution taking RMU (regional Midwestern university) curriculum while only paying local tuition fees. Following the two years of coursework at the local institution, the student then transfers to RMU along with all of his or her credits to complete the US. degree in the final two years. As noted above, some US. schools are moving towards a “3+1” format, which means students would only need to spend their final year in the US to complete their degree and save a significant amount of money in the process by only paying full U.S. tuition in the fourth year. American off-shore twinning sites, such as those operated by RMU, use identical syllabi, titles, teaching formats, texts, tests and other evaluation methods of their on-shore campuses. Upon the successful completion of the off-shore program, students are guaranteed the transfer of their credits to the on-shore campus (Dooley, 2000). As a way of ensuring the quality of the off-shore partner, the degree-granting on-shore partner usually sets the standards for first-year student admission as well as for faculty appointments on the off-shore campus. Partnerships in developing countries Much of what has been discussed above is from the perspective of the on-shore twinning partner which frequently takes the form of an institution based in the industrialized West or those at what Wallerstein (1975) calls the “center” (i.e., Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand). Consequently, the overwhelming majority of off-shore twinning partners are located at the “periphery” of the industrialized nations; to use the terminology of Andre Gunder Frank (1966), they are positioned as educational satellites of the West. The linking of institutions from various countries usually represents a union of unequals, with the on-shore institution dominating the local or off-shore institution. That is to say, with academic partnerships almost always emanating from the center to the periphery, rarely does one see this role reversed. The danger in such relationships is that they may foster a sense of dependency and as mentioned in the introduction, may be understood as neocolonial in nature (Frank, 1967; Wallerstein, 1975) Coleman (2003) noted that higher education has historically involved the exporting of knowledge and techniques from educational centers to the peripheries and that exporting has moved from simple local markets to now encompassing the entire world. Modern globalization has in a way reemphasized the centers and peripheries as the identity of the developed and the developing world, with the “center as knowledge producer” exporting educational products to the “periphery as consumer.” So far the discussion has been concerned with knowledge as the commodity that is being exported and imported. However, with transnational 33 twinning, knowledge and students become the commodity as center-periphery relations encompass the flow of students leaving the periphery to study at the center (Beerkens, 2002). This returns the discussion to the question posed in the introduction of if this relationship involves Altbach’s (1971) notion of neocolonialism, being the continued impact of advanced industrial countries on the educational systems and policies as well as the intellectual life of developing areas. For better or worse, depending on the neocolonial nature of these relationships, there is a feeling in the developing world that these large-scale transnational university networks will continue to develop at a rapid pace (Van Damme, 2001). It is believed that this rapid development is a result of the state’s diminishing command over education and other social services, due in part to the spreading of neoliberal practices (Stromquist, 2002). In addition to the diminishing role of the state, the rapid development of transnational education also results from the great demand for Western-style education in the developing world. The demand has been caused in part by the high rate of return for higher education, the prestige attached to a Western-style university degree, and the emergence of a growing middle-class in developing countries (Lewis 8t Pratt, 1996). However, the central problem and the primary impetus for transnational education is the demand for higher education outstripping the state’s ability to supply, which has contributed in part to these center-periphery partnerships meeting the demand and providing access to higher education (Dooley, 2000). Regarding center-periphery partnerships, a small amount of literature was found regarding what makes for a fruitful twinning venture in developing countries. 34 What was found stated that many past ventures in transnational education have not had a track record of success (McMurtrie, 2000), with one of the primary factors for failure in developing countries relating to issues of ownership and empowerment. Educational partnerships which have been fruitful attribute success to local stakeholders feeling included in the assessment of needs and in determining a plan of action that involves significant input from the people most impacted by the partnership (Yule, 1996). When those at the local level or “periphery” are not involved in the process, they become alienated with little incentive to provide support for a relationship that no longer feels like a partnership, let alone one that conveys some sense of equity. There is still much debate as to the consequence of transnational twinning partnerships. The following looks at how the literature presents both the criticism and support of such relationships. Twinning critics The criticism of transnational education and twinning falls along three rather connected lines: culture, quality, and economics. Regarding culture, twinning is seen by some as a threat of foreign domination as well as exploitation of a nation and culture (Knight, 2002). One could argue it is akin to educational imperialism as educators (usually Western) expect their students (usually from developing countries) to simply adapt or conform to Western models of education. Critics View these programs as an intrusion into the local culture and policies of the host country by offering programs better tailored to foreign conditions and needs in a strange environment and usually in a language other than the student’s mother 35 tongue (Van Damme, 2001). Ziguras (2001) cites the “World Information Order” to capture this idea by stating that the flow of information from industrialized “knowledge producers” to the “knowledge consumers” in developing countries fails to ensure mutual respect and protection of the diversity of information, languages, and cultures. According to UNESCO, there is a danger that organizations involved in transnational education will impose the same standards everywhere, thereby dissociating education from the social, cultural and political origins of a country and contributing to cultural homogenization, one of the primary concerns of critics of globalization and neoliberal policies (Knight, 2002; Stromquist, 2002). This sentiment is echoed by those who believe globalization and the increasing power of the free-market will lead to increased global inequality and the McDonaldization (i.e. homogenizing/ franchising) of the university. Globalization has significantly contributed to such contemporary issues as massification (mass demand for higher education) and the substantial growth of the private sector (Altbach, 2004), which consequently perpetuates the development and expansion of transnational education. The expansion of the private sector is seen as problematic as it tends to place greater financial burden on the student to shoulder the responsibility of tuition costs. Moreover, if education continues its move toward a business/corporate paradigm, maximum returns often mean maximum enrollment, thereby bringing into question the maintenance of acceptable standards (Cox, Logan, 8t Cobbin, 2000). 36 In terms of pedagogy and classroom strategies, the teaching in twinning programs reflects a form of acculturation; meaning, in order to maintain academic excellence, international students must adapt to the dominant culture, value what it values, and share its culturally acquired attitudes thereby contributing to the creation of “educational hybrids” (Braman, n.d.). Even so, some institutions engaged in twinning acknowledge the necessity of foreign student acculturation to Western teaching and learning styles as a necessary evil and a way of ensuring student success in a foreign environment during their on-shore experience (Cox et al., 2000; Ziguras, 2001). Yet there is little evidence of curricula being adapted to the local culture, religious, and economic circumstances of the country in which the courses are offered (Cox et al., 2000). By Western twinning programs doing very little to tailor teaching to off-shore students, the values of the exporting countries will continue to inform curriculum and the social and cultural realities in which non-Western students live will be largely ignored. Consistent with the nature of transnational education often being beyond state regulation, there is the matter of program quality. Since twinning partnerships are often made at an institutional level within a relatively autonomous educational market, these relationships remain mostly unknown to state authorities and transgress national frameworks of educational planning, accreditation and quality assurance (Van Damme, 2001). This is one reason why upholding the standards of the off-shore component is particularly important and can be especially difficult given the distance between the two campuses in both proximity and culture. 37 For example, one of the biggest obstacles in the success of off-shore educational programs is the difficulty of standardized policies such as entry requirements and hiring procedures (Cox et al., 2000). Other obstacles to high quality programs include poor supervision and inadequate communication between the providers and the hosts. The British press charged that UK. institutions involved in transnational programs are damaging the “good name” of higher education through second-rate administrative practices that produce poor quality programs (Altbach, 2004). Regarding criticism related to economic motives, many believe the central goal for the stakeholders in transnational education, especially those in the center/W est is to earn a profit (Altbach, 2004). With developing countries experiencing the bulk of higher education expansion in the coming decades, it is the Western educational institutions who will fill the greater part of this need given the increased prevalence of neoliberal policies associated with modern globalization (Stromquist, 2002). As colonial history and globalization suggest, critics claim transnational arrangements between institutions are marked by inequality with the results being the same now as they were during British India: the loss of intellectual and cultural autonomy by those who are less powerful. A related criticism along economic grounds is that twinning will contribute to “trade creep” where educational policy issues are increasingly framed in terms of trade at the expense of key rationales for higher education such as social, cultural, and scientific development (Knight, 2002). Educational trade, with the priority of profit seeking, undermines local initiatives for relevance and quality and perpetuates a cycle of the developing nations’ dependence on the developed world (Ziguras, 2001). This 38 and the above mentioned criticisms resonate with Altbach’s (1971) notion of neocolonialism; that is the continued impact of advanced industrial countries on the educational systems and policies as well as the intellectual life of developing regions. Twinning advocates In general, arguments on behalf of twinning fall along the lines of those who promote globalization as a relatively promising development in the new age of knowledge interdependency such as Thomas Friedman (2005) with his popular and upbeat assessment of the phenomenon. Such arguments imply that transnational education caters to the increasing worldwide trend of student and staff/faculty mobility (both real and virtual) and that these partnerships will lead to the establishment of important international university networks on a global scale (Van Damme, 2001). They contend that transnational education will bring about a new hybridization and fusion of culture that will evolve through the increased mobility of people and the influence of information and communication technologies (Knight, 2002). Rather than pitting local (developing) versus foreign (developed) education, proponents of transnational education see differences in educational practice as “old versus new”; they see new and improved practices as modern approaches to education which transcend traditional points of contention (Ziguras, 2001). Rather than being just modern Western approaches to education, they advocate these techniques as being based on universal principles of good teaching that overcome cultural differences, with cultural differences being increasingly reduced as common educational philosophies and techniques take hold around the world. 39 In response to critics that claim these new foreign programs are a form of cultural imperialism, transnational education advocates argue that this criticism treats culture as a unified static entity that does not change (Ziguras, 2001). They argue that culture is not a static unchanging entity, but rather that it is constantly evolving, has fluid patterns of relations, and the introduction of new educational practices, such as twinning partnerships, is a part of the natural cultural evolution that has been occurring since the beginning of civilization. Advocates of twinning cite one of the benefits for those on the educational periphery, the off-shore partner, of participating in a twinning program is that they are provided with an economic alternative to going directly to the more expensive host institution, thereby obtaining a degree from a Western institution without bearing the full cost (Bernardo, 2002; Smart, 1988). Additionally, advocates argue that the rate of return on a diploma obtained from a Western university is comparatively significant and represents a sound investment for students, and even more so through the discount of a twinning program (Lewis 8i Pratt, 1996). In addition to off-setting the cost of a degree, by giving students the opportunity to begin their studies in their home country, twinning allows the student time to mature and adapt to different teaching approaches in a familiar environment before having to adjust to a different setting abroad, which may reduce problems of cultural adjustment and academic failure (Smart, 1988; Dooley, 2000). This sort of approach, called “transformation methodology,” is where newly enrolled students benefit from the provision of a familiar environment and then through teaching approaches that build students’ skills for the foreign context, the student is 40 appropriately prepared to successfully integrate into the on—shore campus to complete the final two years of coursework (Cox el al., 2000). Advocates further claim that this delay in enrollment at the on-shore campus is advantageous since students who spend the first few years in their home country are less likely to lose their commitment to return home upon degree completion, thereby lessening the problem of “brain drain” in developing countries (Smart, 1988). Twinning supporters claim that students who enroll at off-shore educational institutions are seen as having important advantages over students who stay in their home country. For those who enroll in programs in English-speaking countries, their improved language skills are seen as a significant advantage by employers in their home country. It is argued that home country employers perceive the graduates to have a greater proficiency for jobs requiring autonomy and are perceived to have developed a greater sense of independence, confidence, international perspective, and cross-cultural understanding (Lewis 81 Pratt, 1996). In addition to student employability, proponents of twinning argue that upon return from the on-shore campus, an increasingly skilled labor force is built at little cost to the state with students and foreign institutions bearing the brunt of the expense (Dooley, 2000). From the state’s perspective, not only is the national labor force improved, but it is argued that partnerships with more “advanced” Western educational systems result in the enhanced quality of the local educational infrastructure by providing a wider range of opportunities for students/ consumers (Knight, 2002; Mazzarol et al., 2003). 41 Regarding the benefits for those in the center, or the on-shore partner, of participation in twinning, advocates argue that twinning contributes to a diverse student body for the on—shore campus. In addition, since the on-shore partner typically writes the syllabi taught both on— and off-shore, it encourages faculty members to develop a more “internationalized” curriculum which is more sensitive to the needs of a diverse student body (Dooley, 2000). Even so, the most compelling benefit for both the on- and off-shore partner may be that of financial gain. The on-shore university benefits fiscally from self- financed foreign students paying tuition and fees without having to spend the full costs of on-shore residential education while the off—shore partner gains related fees to managing and maintaining the local site (Bernardo, 2002; Dana, 1997). In concluding the review of the literature, the findings are significant by confirming that little is known about twinning educational partnerships in terms of their impact on local culture and identity--especially so from the participants’ perspective. The findings demonstrate the growing trend toward educational exporting by the West and the lively debate between those who view these types of educational programs as the best means for providing the world with accessible higher education versus those inclined to see Western higher education as a tool of neocolonialism. This study on Indian students’ perception of ethnic identity in relation to their participation in twinning will add depth to the conversation on transnational programs by giving voice to the participant who has been voiceless thus far in the literature. The next chapter will outline the manner in which this research was carried out. 42 CHAPTER THREE Methods This qualitative study explores a twinning program based at a regional Midwestern university (RMU) in the United States and how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in this program. The study collected data through extended semi-structured interviews to address the following research question: How do Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning programé In examining this question, the following chapter presents the key assumptions of the study, data collection methods, data analysis methods, and representation of findings. It should be noted that the names of participants, educational institutions, the cities they reside in, and other key identifying factors have been changed to protect the identity of the involved parties. Ema-impugn: As the presence of a researcher observing or investigating a phenomenon by nature affects or changes that which is being observed (Fine, Weis, Weseen, 81 Wong, 2003), it is important to acknowledge the key assumptions or paradigmatic lenses that inform and in a sense “filter” this research. The assumptions are not mono- paradigmatic, but rather draw from a number of lenses that overlap to address the problem from a collective qualitative standpoint. Constructivism Gilles Deleuze stated to Michel Foucault, “You were the first to teach us something absolutely fundamental: the indignity of speaking for others” (T omlinson, 43 1991, p.iii), which resonates with the intent of this study to let the reality of the participants speak-—to understand their perceptions of their own ethnic identity. Therefore, this study will not begin with a particular scale or measurement of identity to grade participant responses against, but will focus on the full complexity of . participant sense-making as it emerges in the interview. This is not to say that this research will begin without any notion of the meaning of ethnic identity, as there must be a point from which to launch the inquiry. The interview guide will serve as this foundation with the questions informed by the operational definition of ethnic identity used in this study along with the indicators of ethnic identity mentioned in the literature review. It must be emphasized that the goal is not to pre—define what Indian and American ethnic identity is; rather, it is to elicit the participants’ perception of their own ethnic identity and how they understand it in relation to their twinning participation. In fact, other former colonial holdings such as Algeria, Zimbabwe, or Vietnam could be substituted for India with the purpose of this study remaining relatively intact. However, for the reasons given in the “Why Indiaé” section, India was specifically chosen for this study. The above stated goal of understanding the participants’ perception of reality fits with Lincoln and Guba’s (2003) notion of constructivism. Constructivism focuses on the process of how knowledge is built rather than on its product or object, with the emphasis of the end goal being to understand rather than to explain. Given this perspective, reality is understood as existing mainly in the mind, constructed or interpreted in terms of one’s perceptions based on prior experiences, 44 mental structures, and beliefs (Oka 8t Shaw, 2000). Since reality is relative depending on individual experience, the aim of constructivism is to understand the local and specific constructed realities of the participants through the meanings they assign to them. Consistent with the constructive/interpretive approach to understanding participant perceptions’ of ethnic identity, the role of the researcher is to attempt to understand the interpretation of, or reasons for, the participants’ perceptions (Pike, 1967). Therefore, the researcher’s role can be considered emic in nature, meaning that the objective is to understand what ethnic identity means to the participants (V idich 8t Lyman, 2003). Inevitably, the researcher’s own set of values will influence the way the participants’ reality is portrayed in the findings. While the goal is to understand their experience or reality, the researcher as a Western “outsider” serves as a limitation to this end (Vidich 8t Lyman, 2003). Postpositivism While constructivism is the primary paradigmatic assumption employed by the researcher, this study also employs lesser degrees of a postpositive paradigm. Postpositivism, which admits that human beings cannot perfectly understand reality, yet can begin to approach the truth (Oka 81 Shaw, 2000), is a modified form of positivism (i.e., an objective world exists independently of the researcher, therefore the researcher must disclose the objective facts). Due to. the primacy of constructivism in this study and the considerable differences between this paradigm and postpositivism, it is emphasized that only elements of postpositivism apply to this research; that is, this study assumes that the 45 influence of twinning upon ethnic identity can be understood in some measure, yet what is understood about the students’ experiences can only be partially and probabilistically comprehended (Denzin SI Lincoln, 2003). Even as constructivism most heavily influences this study’s approach to the problem of contextually underStanding participant reality, it is acknowledged that the expectation of approaching some sort of truth about the relationship between ethnic identity and twinning at the conclusion of the research is exemplified by postpositivism. C n'tical theory The final assumption of significance in this study concerns critical theory which understands history and structures of power as central to reality by shaping social, political, cultural, and economic values (Lincoln 8t Guba, 2003). Critical theory, or critical theory of society, finds its Marxist roots in sociology and philosophy and is oriented toward emancipatory social change directly through research, in contradiction to “traditional theory,” i.e., theory in the positivist or scientific tradition (Gur-Ze'ev, n.d.). In this sense, using critical theory as a critique means taking the ideology of a society (e.g., Western-style education and neoliberal policies provide the best means for educating the world) and critiquing it by comparing it with the social reality of that very society (e.g., Western-style higher education in India is an instrument of neocolonialism). Therefore the critical theorist’s research is oriented toward social transformation, particularly towards righting historical wrongs in working towards greater economic, political, and social equity (Agnello, 2001). 46 This study could not adequately address the problem without including critical theory because one of the stimuli for this study was a concern for critiquing the prevalent neoliberal ideology against the reality of transnational twinning participants in an effort to prevent Western higher education from perpetuating neocolonial practices. India’s long history of British colonial rule and the social, political, cultural, and economic impact it has had on the people and educational system is an important account that brings us back to the question posed in the introduction: Has Indian independence from colonialism been truly achieved, or do configurations of colonial practice still persist in neocolonial forms of higher education, namely forms such as twinningé ata col c 'o e od an c due The question this research explores is how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program. The focus is to examine this relationship through the experience of participants where little or no theory exists. As the data were analyzed, a theory was generated that is grounded in the data, and is therefore described as grounded theory. Grounded theory (Strauss 8t Corbin, 1990) was used to guide the design and analysis decisions of this study. Grounded theory was first developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and has been used to generate “abstract analytical schema of a phenomenon that relates to a particular situation” where theory does not exist or is not well developed (Creswell, 1998, p. 56). Strauss and Corbin (1994) consider 47 grounded theory methodology appropriate for generating theory from data or for elaborating and modifying existing data. Because grounded theory relies on the researcher’s interpretation of data but also includes the perspectives and voices of the participants (Strauss & Corbin, 1994), it is a compelling methodology for this study which explores ethnic identity in terms of participants’ perceptions and understanding, i.e., meaning-making. Moreover, this research does not start with a theory with the intent to prove it, but rather begins with a particular area of study and that which is relevant to the area was allowed to emerge, thereby generating a theory grounded in data from the field. location The research methods for this study flow from an interest in developing an in- depth understanding of how Indian students understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in twinning. Therefore, identifying a location where a relatively significant number of Indian students are enrolled in a North American twinning program was essential. For this study, a nearby regional Midwestern university (RMU) was identified that reportedly offers more transnational twinning programs than any other higher education institution in the United States. RMU began their twinning programs in 1987 when the institution was engaged in assisting a Malaysian college with administering their programs and curriculum. Through this relationship, RMU’s first twinning partnership evolved. Currently, RMU administers twinning programs in Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, and Malaysia. The twinning partnership in which the participants of this study are enrolled in has existed since 1997 and enrolls students from throughout India. The partner 48 institution, Trinity College, was established in 1968, enrolls 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and is affiliated with Gnanabad University, the local state run university. (For the purpose of protecting the identity of these institutions, references to the source of this data have been omitted). RMU was viewed as an ideal site to conduct this research as they have a sizeable population of Indian students currently enrolled in their twinning programs. RMU’s Indian twinning programs are “2+2” in format, where the student spends the first two years at the partner institution enrolled in identical RMU classes and then transfers all coursework for his or her final two years at the RMU campus. Population RMU’s director of transnational education programs served as the “gatekeeper” for gaining access to the desired student population. In addition to making the initial contact with the desired population and setting up the first face-to-face meeting between the researcher and the students, the director also supplied a full list of RMU’s Indian twinning students as well as their contact information. The sample size for this study was reached after contacting each of the thirty Indian twinning students at RMU through email. These thirty students were invited to a meeting at RMU with the researcher and RMU’s director of transnational education programs. Of the students who came to the meeting, six agreed to participate and a seventh student was recruited by one of the participants. The final population consisted of a mix of four males and three females, with ages ranging from 21 to 22 years old. Three of the participants were seniors in the program, while the other four participants had just graduated from RMU the month 49 prior to the start of the interviews. Of the seven students, five were Hindu, one was Muslim, and one was Christian. The participants had been enrolled in the twinning program for a minimum of three years and were removed from the program for no more than one month. This was important as the proximity to program entry and exit exempted students who Vvere either inadequately exposed to twinning or so far removed from the experience as to yield poor data. Regarding the diversity of the population, it should be noted that in terms of socioeconomic status (SES), the population used in this study is quite homogenous in their affluence. As shown in the section “Privilege” of Chapter Five, the students are not a representative sample of Indian SES as they each come from wealthy, upper/middle class families. However, a fairly balanced representation of gender is found in the population, as well as that of religious affiliation (Hindu, Muslim, Christian). Data collection In terms of an appropriate sample size for qualitative studies, Bowling (1997) suggests the rule of thumb should be that when the same stories, themes, issues, and topics are emerging, then a sufficient sample size has been reached. For research involving interviews, Kvale (1996) recommends that interviews should be conducted with as many subjects as necessary to find out “what you need to know.” Kvale (1996) quantifies this by noting that in current interview studies the number of interviews tends' to be around fifteen, plus or minus ten. Regarding the form in which data was collected for this study, interviews were conducted with seven students representing a range of diversity as listed in the 50 previous section. As alluded to earlier, students who agreed to be interviewed for the study also suggested other students, usually friends, who were also interested in being interviewed, thereby supplying their names and contact information. This method of identifying students is called “snowballing” (Fontana 8: Frey, 2003) and was utilized during the course of this research. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and guided by an interview schedule consisting of a set of questions meant to elicit an understanding of the student’s relationship with the culture of his or her home community and their perceptions of this in relationship to twinning (see Appendix C and D) (Fontana 8t Fey, 2003). As the interview process was emergent, deviation from the questions was acceptable as long as the data to be gained appeared profitable. The questions served as a guide with the expectation that they were to begin a conversation which was to evolve into greater depth as the dialogue emerged. The interviews varied in length from ninety to one-hundred and twenty minutes. The interview length was appropriate as it allowed sufficient time to build upon the rapport developed with the participants during the initial meeting, and allowed for deeper conversations to emerge. Additionally, ninety to one-hundred and twenty minute interviews were fitting in that limiting the interview to one hour carries with it the consciousness of a standard unit of time with participants “watching the clock” and interviews greater than two hours may be too long to maintain a focused discussion (Seidman, 1998). The interviews were digitally-recorded, transcribed, and supplemented with handwritten notes taken during each session. W In analyzing the interview data, both a realist and narrative strategy were used (Ryan 81 Barnard, 2003). A realist approach means the data is reported “as it is,” somewhat akin to what a journalist might do. The narrative approach acknowledges what is said but then asks the question of what this really means. As grounded theory is interested in understanding the participant’s experiences in as thorough a manner as possible, analysis began with collecting the transcribed interviews and reading through the text, proofreading the material, and taking note of key phrases, categories, and concepts through line-by-line analysis (Ryan 8t Bernard, 2003). In a process called open coding, patterns were first identified by pulling together examples from the text of each interview transcript (Bogdan 8t Biklen, 1992). Next, through a process called axial coding, recurring patterns were singled out as categories emerged from the data and were linked together into primary themes (Chapter Five). Once this was done“, the primary themes and concepts were compared and contrasted in light of the original research question (Chapter Six). Consistent with Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) constant comparison method, the comparisons were guided by asking when, why, and under what conditions these themes occurred. Representatinn of findings Consistent with grounded theory, the results of the study are represented through presenting segments of text, i.e., exact quotes from participants as examples of concepts and themes (Ryan 81 Bernard, 2003). Additionally, Appendix A presents the key themes in the form of an illustration consistent with the emergent theory of the findings. Speculating on the form of such a model prior to this research was 52 conflicting with the grounded theory methodology employed. As such, the theory existed as a “work-in-progress” that evolved with the continued analysis of the data. Following the commentary on the theoretical model is the applied commentary. In this section, the question of “so what” is explored in terms of the practical implications for transnational twinning programs. Throughout the analysis, it is important to be cognizant of the filtering of the data that takes place through the various identities and beliefs the researcher carries into the research, such as those examined in the key assumptions of this chapter. Such awareness is important in processing the findings, not only for the researcher but also for those reading the research. 53 CHAPTER FOUR Participant stories The participants for this study were very generous with their time. Each agreed to an initial meeting on the RMU campus and participated in a ninety to one-hundred and twenty minute interview as well as follow-up and clarification through phone and email. All of these activities were completed during the summer semester. Their participation was in addition to rigorous schedules including academics, work, moving, and job hunting. As mentioned in the preceding chapter, the research participants were a mix of four males and three females, with ages ranging from 21 to 22 years. Three of the participants were seniors in the program, while the other four participants had just graduated the month prior to the start of the interviews. Of the seven students, five were Hindu, one was Muslim, and one was Christian. The following chapter details the story of each participant’s twinning journey. The purpose is to demonstrate the complexity of each participant’s experience as conveyed through the experiences of family, environment, culture, and identity. The names of each participant are pseudonyms and other identifiers have been masked. Andhta “I want to maintain the balance between my traditional background and the modern culture . . . in a way that l ’m a little bit of both. ” Andhra is from Gnanabad, India where his family runs a large packaging business. He grew up going to the best Christian schools and then began the twinning program at Trinity College in Gnanabad. He just finished his studies at RMU, majoring 54 in food marketing, and is returning to India to take a position with the family business as well as to enroll in an MBA. program. He characterized his Hindu family as more traditional than most mainly because he was brought up in a joint family, that is, both his immediate and extended family live under the same roof. He said this type of arrangement is becoming rare as the Western tradition of nuclear families becomes more prevalent. Yet, he as his parents before him, loves the joint family tradition because of the feeling of togetherness and for the reason that “. . . I can always count on my family.” Even when he gets married, he plans to continue to live under the same roof as his parents. His love for the joint family as well as the other traditions he values are attributed to his family. Of his family he said, “. . . I can’t live without them being around me.” A self described “mama’s boy,” Andhra stays closely connected with his family through telephone and email, as well as the shared tradition of food. Before he left, his mother taught him the basics of Indian cooking, which he practices whenever he has time. Collegeville has a large Indian community, so he maintains the connection with home by going to the local Hindu temple for festivals. He said, “The Indian community is so big here that you don’t feel out of place so much.” In addition to this community, he noted the significance the twinning cohort has had in maintaining his connection to home and adding a sense of security to a different culture as well as aiding the transition from home to America. One of the first things he noticed when he came to America was the difference in accents. He made a concerted effort to adapt his speech and roll his “r”s to fit in with the local speech patterns. He says that this and other adjustments to American 55 culture “. . . do not make me less of an Indian; we just have to adjust to the environment.” Yet, maintaining his traditional background is important because he wants to pass down his family’s heritage to his kids, making them “. . . socially acceptable to their family and friends.” He summed up this attitude by saying, “I want to maintain the balance between my traditional background and the modern culture. I want to balance it in a way that I’m a little bit of both.” Another impression of America was that people were quieter and there was a more peaceful atmosphere compared to India. It was a shock to him that people pay “. . . attention to you and respect your personal space,” something he was not accustomed to back home. Americans in general impressed him as being very polite, e.g., smiling, or saying, “Have a nice day,” and seeming to be more patient. By comparing what people do in America to what he is used to back home, he has adopted some of these “new” traits, such as “. . . being more laid back and not getting upset.” Andhra spoke about how most Indian students at RMU remain within the Indian community and do not interact much with Americans. According to him, “. . . they spend most of their time searching for Indian movies and music while hanging out with their Indian friends.” He, on the other hand, identified himself as one of the few who immersed himself in the American culture; part of his goal of coming to RMU was to experience the culture. As a result he learned how to “jell” with the Americans by “. . . dressing like them, talking like them, and listening to their music.” Yet he was never worried about being completely Americanized because according to him, “. . . that’s not possible.” It wasn’t about losing or leaving his culture, 56 but more a matter of learning how to be “American” within a certain context. This related to the way he spoke during our interview when he said, “If you want I could switch back right now and speak in my original English accent, my British English accent.” Andhra learned to adjust and switch between the culture of his American friends and that. of his Indian cohorts. It wasn’t that he shunned his Indian friends, he just “. . . didn’t want to be confined by them.” He wanted to maintain his relationships with his old friends while making new friends in America (similar to his desire to balance a traditional background with modern culture). Andhra said he felt “. . . having some sort of knowledge of differing beliefs and cultures is very important,” and the importance of this feeling for him has intensified since coming to America. Part of this learning experience involved joining a fraternity where he was the only foreign student and was eventually elected secretary. He felt welcomed by the fraternity, enjoyed their laid-back attitude, and came to think of himself as an ambassador of his culture. He said, “I’m very patriotic about my Indian culture. I completely support it and love to talk about it and spread awareness of it.” He said he was able to dispel misconceptions as they asked questions about India and vice versa. The wishes of his family play a central role in Andhra’s career ambitions. He remembers from a young age his father encouraging him to work in the family business. Andhra was not initially keen about this idea because he had and still has a passion for music; he was even in a band. However his father made him give this up, and while this was difficult-Andhra expressed no resentment as it was what the family wished. Recently, Coca-Cola offered him a job upon graduation that would 57 also pay for his MBA. Even though he wanted to accept the offer, he turned it down because his parents expressed concern about him being away from home too long. Andhra expressed a notable difference with his family over the issue of arranged marriage. He noted a strong partiality towards “love marriage,” but similar to his attitude with his career, he bows to his family’s preference because he knows “. . . they won’t make a bad choice.” Whenever he referred to differences with his family, such as his interest in music, job offers, or arranged marriage, he defended his family’s position by saying, “. . . it is for our own good and the good of the family.” He added, “I love my family too much to make them unhappy and would make sacrifices to keep them happy.” Going abroad for college was initially not looked upon favorably by his parents as they were worried he would not return home once he left. However, his parents relented when he spoke with them about the two year twinning program and his desire to return to the family and its business. Reflecting on his twinning experience, Andhra highly recommended it as providing “. . . the best of both worlds.” Being able to have an Indian college experience and then a comparative experience in America was important for him given the increasing connectedness of the world. In relationship to the success of his family’s business, the comparative aspect was essential as he plans to bring back and implement principles he learned in the United States, such as punctuality, dress code, and professionalism. Being away from home and seeing how much is going on around the world from a different perspective has, in his words, “. . . made my views more open [to different perspectives].” Also, being away has intensified his relationship with his 58 family and “. . . brought me closer to them.” However, he feels “. . . two years is too little time to change what you’ve been doing for the past twenty years.” lime. “I ha ve strong cultural values em bedded in me because of my parents . . . you do what your parents do. ” Jisma recently graduated from RMU with a degree in marketing. She considers Kerala, India her home, but lived for a time in Bahrain, and then moved to Gnanabad, India. Jisma grew up in a nuclear family and is very close to her parents, saying, “I’m extremely close to my dad and mom, but barely know my extended family.” Jisma attributed who she is and her values to her parents, saying, “I have strong cultural values embedded in me because of my parents . . . you do what your parents do.” For example, Jisma spoke about her father being “. . . very patriotic towards India,” and how she is the same way because of him. Her career goals are also similar to her fathers in that she eventually sees herself “. . . owning a restaurant. My dad has a chain of restaurants back home and I loved the way he used to do that.” Being away from home has allowed Jisma to see herself and her culture more objectively for the first time. Through living at RMU, she has realized how conservative she is compared to Americans. “I wouldn’t do half the things I see people doing here, like sleeping around,” she said. Jisma has come to value her family more, become more patriotic, and developed a much deeper faith. Yet in spite of her self- described conservatism, Jisma said cultural openness remains a fundamental part of her and has become more important. 59 Jisma frequently mentioned her father when talking about who she is and her values; she holds him in high esteem. Later in our conversation, she noted that her father died unexpectedly only a few months ago. This personal tragedy sparked a stronger adherence to her Christian faith, which she admitted was not previously important because it wasn’t important to her father. She said, “Before that, I had everything I wanted, so what’s the point of religions” But when her father died, things changed and she had nowhere else to turn except her faith. “My father dying was a wake-up call. I’ve become more religious, pray more, and go to church every Sunday.” Jisma’s parents were not particularly interested in sending her to another country. While her older brother was encouraged to enter the twinning program, they discouraged her. She said, “Girls are still a little more protected.” Yet Jisma eventually convinced her parents to enroll her and they have been very supportive. She partly attributes her parent’s decision to the family’s “. . . high priority placed on education.” Jisma first heard about and became interested in twinning through her older brother who had gone to Trinity College and enrolled in the RMU twinning program. The appeal of twinning was partly credited to the social pressure and prestige of the program. She said, “It had to do with the crowd . . . the best of the best go to the twinning program.” Twinning was perceived to be reserved for those with high socioeconomic privilege, as she related, “In twinning, everyone speaks very good English and is better educated. The people who enroll in twinning, their parents have had the idea to send them to the US for a long time.” In fact, Jisma said her first two years of twinning in India were easy because twinning students received “. . . a lot of 60 special privileges since we paid a lot more tuition than the rest of the normal students.” When Jisma first arrived in the US, she was surprised by the general openness of the culture and the value placed on independence from family. She said, “Things are just different. I had a bit of culture shock; it’s a lot more open here.” She explained openness in terms of coed dormitories, revealing dress, and “. . . parents being more free with their kids--these kinds of things are taboo in India.” The culture of societal dependence at home contrasted with the personal independence she observed in America. She said in India there are more checks on one’s behavior; people care about what you do. “Here, no one cares what the other is doing. In India, everyone makes sure.” Still, the differences between her home culture with that of America’s did not bother Jisma. She adapted her behavior accordingly and dealt with the differences in stride. She said, “It’s like when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” For instance, while Jisma described herself as conservative when it came to relationships, she would “. . . be okay living with a boy in the US,” whereas she “. . . would never do it in India.” Jisma was comfortable “doing as the Romans do.” Although she grew up in Kerala, she went to school in Gnanabad and perceived two noticeably different cultures in these places. According to Jisma, Kerala is more conservative in dress and attitudes than cosmopolitan Gnanabad, saying she “. . . would never wear jeans [in Kerala], but I wear them in Gnanabad.” Jisma stays connected to home by watching many Hindi movies, listening to Hindi music, and spending time interacting with online Indian communities. She 61 connects with Hindi movies and music, yet celebrates the Christian holidays as a Christian. For her, living with and incorporating various cultural practices is a part of life and nothing new. While at RMU, Jisma was actively engaged in the campus community. She intentionally immersed herself in the local culture by living in a residence hall, joining a business fraternity, and attending campus parties. It was her brother who recommended staying in the dormitories so she could better “. . . experience the culture.” However, even though she lived there for a year, she “. . . just hung out with Trinity College people because they were already close friends.” While Jisma’s desire was to be intentional about engaging in the culture, she saw no need to venture far beyond the safety of the twinning cohort. Of this cohort she said, “Thirty of us transferred here together, so there was no need to reach out and meet anyone. To a very large extent, we were involved with ourselves and went out together. The cohort is almost like a cult.” More than just providing a social refuge, the twinning cohort made the transition to America more comfortable. “It was an easy transition; it would have been a lot harder if I would have come alone. Coming with friends makes the transition so much easier.” Overall, Jisma said twinning had “. . . been a great four years and if I had a chance, I would do it all over again.” She liked how the program was set up with the cohort system where all the students from the first two years at Trinity College transfer to RMU together. In this way, the cohort provided an island, or safe place, from which to explore and engage the new environment. She said, “It’s like high school; you come and explore a different place together. It’s like a four year vacation.” 62 Rajat “If! see good’in another culture, I tend to take what is good and use it.” Rajat grew up in a family of four in a small coastal village in Andhra Pradesh. In the second grade he was sent to live with his uncle in Hyderabad in order to learn English and get a better education. His family moved to be with him in Hyderabad two years later where his father runs a successful business that was begun by his grandfather. His family has “means”, as he said, “Financially and socially, and in other ways, we are very comfortable. My father has been very successful.” Rajat described himself as someone who is “. . . open to other cultures, who likes to explore new things.” He attributed this openness to other cultures as being natural to Hindus and Indians. Being Hindu meant “. . . being open to everybody,” and he said interest in other cultures is natural to Indians because India is such a culturally diverse place. “Why would you not like a rainbowé” he said. “I’m a person from a country which is highly diverse, so that way, when in India, I’m used to other cultures.” Even though Rajat is open to other cultures, he retains a special love and pride for his own. Being away from home has allowed him to examine his culture more critically and objectively. Because of this, he said, “I have] come to own my traditions more. I love my culture, my family background and friends.” Rajat described his relationship with his parents as “. . . very close,” both in terms of relationship and outlook on life, saying, “My view of life is the same as my parents.” Rajat also has a deep sense of indebtedness along with a desire to bring them honor, as he said, “Whatever I am now is because of my parents and whatever I will 63 be in the future . . . it would be because of my parents. They have given me much. I didn’t ask . . . they just give it to me. Rajat discussed his connection with home, the connection to parents and culture, and the strength it gives in difficult times. “The cultural bond is very strong with home; I know my parents will be there always. I’m very happy here, but when something goes wrong, I remember home. Home is an emotional thing [and not just a location].” In addition to communicating regularly with his parents, he stays connected to home through cultural opportunities created by the local Indian community. Rajat said, “If I want to go, pray, and see my culture, all I need to do is drive for ten minutes and go to a Hindu/American cultural center or the temple where other Indians go to celebrate festivals.” He said there are even Hindu priests at the temple from India on religion visas “. . . who do things exactly as they do at home.” Rajat spoke about the strength of the Indian community at RMU and attributed the twinning cohort with his relatively easy transition to America. “All of my problems associated with coming here were quickly solved because there were already Indians here.” Moreover, the twinning cohort did more than just ease the transition to America: the group maintained the link to home and his culture. He said, “The community of Indians kept me connected to home culture and language; I was never alienated after coming here.” When examining his experiences at home and in America, Rajat commented on what he perceived as the increased traffic across cultural boundaries. For example, within a short drive from RMU he can go watch an American film, a Hindi film, or a film in his native tongue of Telugu. He added, “When I’m missing home badly, food is 64 an important factor. So I drive five minutes and get Indian food sold in American stores.” Rajat observed that “. . . what’s happening in India also is happening in America,” as cultures become less restricted by location. Rajat is an extrovert and loves being around other people. When he arrived on campus, he was intentional about meeting people and getting involved in the social scene. During the first few weeks of class he went to quite a few American parties and met many students. Rajat is also part of a program that connects American families in the area to international students. In addition, he joined the International Program Council (IPC) which is made up of both American and international students. He said, “I like the IPC because I get to see lots of people from other cultures as they are studying here.” He admitted his parents strongly encouraged him to enroll in the twinning program and major in business. They remain the driving force in his educational and career goals. His academic history is rather poor, as he admitted to being “. . . a bad student most of my life.” So when the prospect of going to college and graduating from an American institution presented itself, his family jumped at the opportunity. Rajat’s career and education are very important to his family as his success or failure will bring them either honor or shame. Since coming to study in America, expectations for him from the family have risen greatly. Rajat said his family will be supportive of his career goals as long as they approve of the route he chooses. For instance, studying literature or political science is not acceptable but engineering and business are encouraged. Rajat admitted his family has great influence over what he does. He used an interesting analogy to describe the 65 relationship, saying, “It’s like they have a remote control; they give me freedom, but can revoke it if necessary.” Through his time in America and by comparing it to back home, Rajat sees “. . . why the US. is successful,” and wants to take what he has learned back to India and implement these things in the family business. He said, “If I see ‘good’ in another culture, I tend to take what is good and use it.” For example, when he came to America he noticed how everyone seemed to be more time conscious than back at home. He thought this way of understanding time was “good,” has adopted this value, and described himself as “. . . more punctual since coming to America.” Rajat related that he has thoroughly enjoyed the twinning experience. For him, twinning is equally about experiencing a new culture as it is about getting a degree, and he has been able to do both. Smee “Over here I wear Amen'can clothing, but in lndia I wear a sari. l also go clubbing and all of that over here, which I wouldn ’t be doing in India . . . . I guess this is because of the culture around me. ” Shree grew up in Bombay and Gnanabad with her father, mother, and younger sister. Her father is a successful businessman as the Chief Financial Officer of Wipro, a large Indian software firm. According to Shree, he is “. . . a bigshot over there,” and she chose finance as her major because of the admiration she has for him. Her mother is a housewife and her parents’ relationship is traditional in the sense that they had an arranged marriage. Both parents grew up in joint households, but her immediate family now lives away from extended family. 66 11.. Shree’s extended family has different ideas than her immediate family about the role and proper behavior of women. When she decided to leave India for RMU her extended family said, “Why are you sending her to America, she’s a girl, she’ll be getting married soon. Let her be home now.” Shree said what the extended family fears most about her behavior is that she will “. . . be this independent person who will not fit in with the family.” When these differences arise, she said her “. . . dad does not care as long as we as a family are convinced.” In Shree’s family, the opinion of the family is very important, but opinions and the sense of communal good do not extend far beyond the immediate family. Following graduation, Shree hopes to find a job in America. Her parents are supportive, but encourage her to come home. In accordance with her parents’ wishes, she said, “After two years, I want to go back to India and be close to family.” Her parents are not opinionated about what she does career-wise, saying, “As long as I’m with them, they don’t care what career it is.” Shree’s decision making process is strongly influenced by her parents, saying, “They have a very high influence on my decisions. I always think about what they would want to see me do and then make my decision.” Still, she does not resent their influence, but seems to welcome and appreciate their input. She said, “They have a big influence on my life and I like that because most of the things they tell me make sense.” She described herself and-her immediate family as “not very different” in terms of values and beliefs. Yet she said there are some differences, such as views on religion. With differences such as this, she has a strong sense of family loyalty, 67 meaning that even though she is not religious, she goes to the temple out of respect to their wishes. “I go to the ceremonies and temple to keep my family’s faith alive. I don’t believe it, but I support it for my family; that is a big part of my culture.” However, other differences that she feels have a greater impact on her are openly discussed, such as the matter of arranged marriage. Her parents would prefer an arranged marriage, yet she said, “If I did find a boy for myself, they would give that a thought and if it looks all good, they would be fine with it.” Rather than differences of opinion creating an impasse, accommodations are made. She said, “If I bring something up to them and it’s logical, they will be okay with it.” Shree and her parents seem to have much trust and respect for each other and it shows itself in differences of opinion. Her parents lean on tradition, yet they are open to reason and different ways of doing things. In talking about social restrictions and freedoms, she feels she can “. . . do more .here [as a woman inAmerica than back home].” Shree views the culture here as more free, so as she engages it, she adjusts her behavior according to its norms. She said, I go more clubbing and all of that over here, which I wouldn’t be doing in India. Even dressing for these parties, over here I would wear a halter or more revealing clothing, but back home, I wouldn’t. I guess this is because of the culture around me. In India it wouldn’t be as accepted by my family; as a girl, I wouldn’t be allowed to stay out late. If I were a guy, I think I would have more freedom to go out. But as a girl, they wouldn’t--it’s a no-no. Shree has always had a love for learning about other people and places, saying it is important for her to “. . . continue learning and reading about other cultures.” 68 When asked where this came from she said her father has the same love and instilled it in her. This is a value that “. . . in the past was a focus, but has increased since enrolling in the program and being exposed to more things I was not aware of. This is what makes people broad-minded.” Shree highly values “. . . living a broad minded life, yet keeping the conservative cultural issues in mind.” She credits her family for this value and for maintaining it, saying, “If I was the only one I would not be able to, but I am able to maintain this belief since my parents and our family of four believe in it.” In discussing her twinning experience, she said it was a “big thing” for the family because it was her first time away from home. Other than telephone calls and emails, she spoke about eating and cooking Indian food as being an important connection to home. She believes it is also important for her to attend festivals at the local temple, saying, “It’s like my contribution to the celebration as part of my family.” Shree was eager to get involved in campus life and experience American culture. When Shree came to RMU she signed up to join a fraternity and went through rush week in order to “. . . give me more friends and exposure to parties and that sort of thing.” She arrived at RMU with a cohort of twenty students who had all spent the first two years together at Trinity College. She remains very close to this group and understands this as both a blessing and curse. The closeness is a great source of comfort “. . . when coming from far away you have this group to talk to.” Yet she also understands the safety afforded by the cohort hindered her ability to engage the new environment. She said, “I didn’t make much of an effort to meet Americans and made 69 new friends very slowly since I had so many friends with me.” Even now, Shree is “. . . only close to my twinning group.” Overall, Shree spoke very highly of the experience. She said if it were up to her she “. . . would have chosen a whole four year program, but my parents wanted me home for part of it. My parents have never been exposed to something like this.” She did not express any bitterness about not attending a four year program as family harmony is given the utmost importance, saying, “I will only be happy if they are happy” Rmial “I’m the same person, but with more add-ons, like how to talk to and react to different people. ” Ronal has spent most of his life in Kolkota, India. His father is the founder and owner of a large import business in Kolkota where Ronal eventually plans to return ' and work. Ronal just graduated from RMU’S twinning program with a degree in sales and marketing. He spent his first two years of the program at Trinity College in Gnanabad. Even though he finished his degree, when he returns home he hopes to continue his education with a master’s degree in international business at a school in India. While Ronal did most of his education in Kolkota, in grade eight he made a decision to go to a boarding school for grades nine and ten. His parents were a little worried about him going away, but he wanted to join his cousins who were also attending the boarding school. He remembers it being a tough experience, but felt he ' learned self-discipline and how to get along with different people in different settings. 70 Ronal explained that boarding school prepared him for the twinning experience and for leaving home. He said, “The boarding experience had prepared me. For many people it was the first time away from home, but for me, it was the second experience and was fine for me.” He noted that being away from home drew him closer to his family. Ronal grew up in a joint family, so he is not only close with his parents and siblings, but also his cousins, aunts and uncles. He communicates with all of them regularly via telephone and email. Other than through family, he said he maintains connection to his home via movies, music, and cooking Indian food. Yet Ronal said it is not so important if these things are Indian, but rather it’s most important to ask if these things are “good.” He said he will “. . . (listen, eat], or watch it, ifl feel like it’s good” Ronal discussed his clothes and how he is most comfortable in “. . . jeans and t- shirts.” Yet when he is home or when he goes-to festivals he wears the traditional kurta pajama. Ronal’s actions and attitude are in part determined and modified by the context of the culture. For example, when discussing the celebration of festivals, he said, “Wherever you are you celebrate, but the way we celebrate here and in India are very different.” In speaking about his parents, Ronal expressed a deep appreciation and respect for their values, traditions and beliefs. “Everything I am today is because of my parents . . . they have a major influence in my life. Mostly, all Indians would feel the same way that whatever they are is because of their parents--their values, culture and upbringing.” He said his parents will always have a say in what he does and that major 71 decisions impacting him are always “. . . taken up by the elders.” He contrasted this communal orientation with what he understood as the independence from family and parents exhibited by Americans. Ronal’s faith, like other pieces of his values and traditions, mirrors the tradition of his family. He said, “With issues like religion and God, those are taken care of from the beginning by your family . . . family is the most important influence. Faith in India is from tradition, whatever god you worship is from tradition.” When Ronal misses home or is going through a tough time, he finds renewed devotion to his family’s Hindu faith, which he now holds in higher esteem than before. He said, “Spiritually, I do more than back in India; my mom was too much into that. But when I’m over here, when I feel too low or I have not seen them, I see things from my mom’s view. It makes me feel better emotion-wise. It’s relaxing.” In talking about a career, Ronal mentioned his parents as the most influential factor. He said, “In choosing my major, they said go with finance because Indians like finance, but I wanted to go into marketing and they were okay with that. But in the future I will probably go with finance because that knowledge is important if I have to run the family business.” Ronal placed personal aspirations second to the family’s honor and wishes, saying, I love my family and I won’t do anything that would negatively influence or something they wouldn’t like. Like, I would never live in America because my family won’t be happy and I won’t be happy. I know my core values and at the end of the day I have to be with my family. 72 As noted, Ronal’s attitudes and values mirror those of his family, knowing that differences may jeopardize harmony which is highly valued, saying, “My family is very comfortable with my views, because I don’t have any that differ from theirs. Maybe a few, but nothing that goes totally against their core views or that would create a problem within our family.” Part of the motivation for Ronal to come to America was to engage in and understand American culture. He said, “When I came over here I wanted to make new friends and see new cultures. I wanted to know how Americans are and what’s so different about them.” When he first arrived at RMU he decided to live in the residence halls in order to get to know other students, because “. . . if you live with an American, you would at least learn about their culture.” In addition, Ronal joined a fraternity for a year, made “. . . many non-Indian friends,” and ended up being the vice president of internal affairs. When asked where this predisposition to engage the culture came from, he said, “. . . my parents . . . they always told me to learn new things, make new friends, always open yourself up to different situations, so you can move ahead in life.” In discussing what he learned from this experience he mentioned the diverse and different attitudes and lifestyles compared to India: In India, you will find people more or less with the same mentality. In America, you find different viewpoints . . . some hate America, some like America, someone likes rock music, someone is bisexual, someone is lesbian . . . . We ”never had those in India. It’s strange for me, but it’s different people’s preferences. 73 In processing these differences, Ronal did not discard them but took a different approach, saying, “You can learn something from everyone. It’s a process . . . it is seeing all the differences and grabbing the good.” Through immersion into the culture, Ronal was able to see differences, assess their merit, and employ the “good” values and beliefs so that, as his parents told him, “. . . you can move ahead in life by opening yourself up to different situations.” Ronal talked about the different environment at RMU, saying he had to learn about “. . . American culture before making a judgment; now I can make a decision between America and India. I have become more open and aware.” He said in America he has “. . . learned about independence and used it to the fullest, in balance with restrictions [found in the traditions and influence of my parents].” While Ronal has evaluated and embraced some new values such as independence, he has also evaluated other values/lifestyles and rejected them. For example, he talked about the prevalence of living together in America. He said, “Over . here, a boy and girl’s relationship is very different from in India. I am a traditional Indian, so I’m not comfortable with the idea of a boy and girl living together.” In talking about his friendships, he knows the Trinity College cohort very well as a result of spending the first half of the twinning program with them. These students remain his closest friends at RMU, but he does count a fair share of American students as good friends. American friendships were difficult for him at first because he “. . . didn’t know how to talk to them,” but after some time he felt he could successfully navigate both the culture of his Indian friends as well as his American friends. 74 When Ronal is with Americans, he thinks of himself as an ambassador of his culture. He said, “I love my country because of the different cultures . . . I’m very proud. So I explain India to others and am a representative of India to these people. This gives me more pride because people get excited about it too and want to go there.” I ’ When discussing how he felt after living in America, Ronal views himself as the same person but with expanded perspectives and a greater capacity to interact with different kinds of people. He likened his identity to an internet web browser, saying, “It remains the same, you just add more things and add-ons to it, like this feature and that feature.” Ronal hinted at how these “add-ons” will benefit his career by saying, “So as a marketing guy, I’ll know how to be with different clients.” He is still the same person in both an American and Indian setting, but he feels he has the ability to make certain pieces of his identity, i.e., the add-ons, most salient for the appropriate environment or culture. In describing his overall experience away from home, Ronal said it was really enjoyable because he “. . . experienced other cultures, learned different styles of study and became better at self management.” Lakshmi “When you get out of the county and see things from the other side you know. . . you geta whole other view. ” Lakshmi and her family are from India. Her family eventually moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) where her father started a business. Her parents were 75 adamant about her enrollment in private Indian schools because they were the “. . . closest you could get to our culture in Dubai.” After completing secondary school, she moved back to India before attending college. Considering herself to be a “. . . practical person,” Lakshmi credited herself with the ability to be content in various cultures and flexible with her expectations. She presumed her lack of rigid expectations for the future led to being somewhat of a dreamer and contributed to her leaving home to go to school in America. Lakshmi described herself as outgoing and enjoying taking the initiative in meeting other people, which she believes has helped her successfully adjust to the new life and culture at RMU. She first considered the idea of going to college in the US. from her older sister who attended Portland State University, where she met her husband, and continues to live in the US. Once her father saw the experience was positive for her sister, he allowed Lakshmi to leave home for school. As Lakshmi reflected upon her time in America, she quickly noted how her sense of patriotism for India had grown. Even though she grew up for part of her life in Dubai, she thinks of India as home and did not express attachment toward Dubai. In fact, she does not want to go back to Dubai and would be excited to return to India. She said she feels this way because as Indians, Dubai treats her family like second- class citizens with little rights and the constant threat of deportation. Lakshmi never realized this while living in Dubai. She didn’t feel this way until she left Dubai and gained a different perspective on how other people lived outside the country. Lakshmi considered her arents “more roaressive” than man of her extended P P o Y 76 family. The extended family thought it was strange to spend money to send a woman to America for college, given that an education would dampen the prospects of marriage. Even her mother wondered if she would be too educated and old to be attractive to an acceptable suitor. Still, it was important for her parents to give her and her sister every opportunity, saying, “[Since my parents] did not have a son, they had to raise us like sons and provide the same opportunities they would have given a son.” She views America as the “land of opportunity” and prefers this over the attitude back home where “. . . you are given one chance and if you mess up then that is that.” Compared to what she is used to, the “land of opportunity” lends itself to a more laid-back atmosphere which she prefers. Lakshmi also enjoys the relative privacy from others in America, as she said, “I like the fact that nobody bothers about anybody else’s life. Nobody pokes their nose into unwanted business.” Still, Lakshmi feels most comfortable being around other Indians, which didn’t occur until she came to America. Whenshe was in Dubai there were people from all over the world but being Muslim was the common bond; religion instead of nationality determined the bond. Now she feels being Indian has become a common bond for her in America because “. . . everyone is so different.” When asked why Islam was no longer the common bond, she said that the Muslims she met at RMU were too extreme and clashed with her moderate upbringing. She admitted that being Muslim is just one part of her identity that became salient during secondary school and is fine with “Indian” being the most salient part of her identity in the current environment. Lakshmi spoke about feeling connected to home while in the US, referencing the strong local Indian community at both RMU and the Lake City area where some 77 of her relatives live. She remains close to her parents but has also grown closer to her American relatives. She is attracted to their more relaxed and laid-back attitudes: But being away is difficult and she misses home. Through the relationships With her relatives of similar age in America, she has found more common ground with them than her relatives back home. Lakshmi attributed the closeness with her cousins to common interests and cultural factors such as watching the same American television shows and movies, reading the same books, and listening to similar music. When discussing differences with family members back home, she only mentioned one thing: marriage. People back home wonder why she hasn’t married yet and if something is wrong with her. Compared to home, she much prefers the American “. . . no—rush attitude” towards marriage that her cousins exhibit. Instead of marriage, the things Lakshmi perceives as directly benefiting her are more appealing, such as furthering her education. Lakshmi said she really enjoyed her twinning experience in part because coming to the US. opened her eyes to the “real” America beyond what is portrayed in the media. Seeing America firsthand dispelled media-prOpagated misconceptions, such as the notion that all Americans drink excessively. Still, she knows Americans who do drink all the time, but recognizes the danger of stereotyping a country. At RMU, Lakshmi did not get very involved with the campus community, saying, “You have your own tiny community and hang out with the people you are familiar with.” While she partly attributed this lack of community connection to the strength of the social network of both the twinning cohort and stateside relatives, she also noted a lack of receptiveness by the local students. Contrasting the receptiveness 78 of the students with her work environment, she noted that people at work seemed more welcoming of her. Upon graduation from RMU, Lakshmi plans to find a job in the US. but if that doesn’t happen, she will probably continue her education at RMU’s graduate school. In relating these goals, she noted that her parents are not very supportive and encourage her to come home and marry. In contrast, her community of American relatives and friends are supportive of her goals and encourage her to pursue her interests. Aim “1 came with a group of twenty students; we know everything about one another. . . so this made for very good bonding. As soon as we came here, we could lean on each other for support. ” Alor grew up in Gnanabad. He takes pride in knowing the area and the best places to party. Once he graduates, he is hoping to work a few years in the US, “. . . stand on my own two feet,” and then move back home. But he is in no hurry as his father owns a large business in India begun by his grandfather. According to him, “I can go back and work anytime.” Yet, if the business was ever in trouble “. . . my parents know that I would automatically go back and take care of it.” Alor is very close to his family, misses them very much, and feels his “. . . connection to them has become more important” since leaving home. Of his parents he said, “Everything depends on their decision . . . we take it as the final authority.” Alor noted that, 79 . . . my parents gave me some freedom to make decisions, let me choose academics and the classes I wanted. This is different than the normal Indian family. This was more responsibility for me . . . so I had to be perfect or the best and I always worked hard. This actually impressed my parents a lot. They like me more and are really happy that I’m not going off track, even in America where people are crazy. Alor spoke about the importance of his traditional values saying, “Traditional values . . . worshipping God, respecting elders, I can never go against these things. They are from our ancestors, passed down from family.” While he finds that in a new culture these values remain strong, navigating the culture requires adaptation. Using the value of respecting elders, Alor related the following example. “At my workplace, my boss said I can call her Lacy. In my culture we cannot call an elder by their first name, but here we have to. Calling elders by name is against my culture, but you can’t help it here.” In speaking of marriage, Alor said, “My whole society expects me to only marry a girl of my caste and religion.” However, his parents do not share society’s sentiment, “. . . [because] at the end of the day, when it comes to my immediate family, I can choose a girl in any class and any religion. My family would not care, but the whole society would make a mess of it.” So even though marriage within the caste is not important to him or his immediate family, social expectations strongly encourage his adherence to traditional norms. Alor’s parents, and mostly his father, have a “sink or swim” attitude when it comes to raising him. Alor attributed this to the way his father was brought up where 80 he was given great freedom, made many mistakes, and feels he is better off by learning from them. He said for example, “Back home I’m always drinking and driving, breaking lanes, and driving with no license or no speed limit. But my parents don’t get involved.” This is one way he asserts his freedom, which is important to him in part because he feels this way he can gain his parents’ acceptance. “1 want to be successful in my life, stand on my own feet, and get all their love and blessings.” Regarding career plans, his parents gave him the same freedom as with school: “. . . my parents don’t interfere or force anything on me. They know I won’t make a foolish decision.” But it wasn’t always this way regarding “foolish decisions.” Alor used to struggle in school and wasn’t known for making good decisions, as he mentioned, “Back home I was viewed as a useless kid because I failed the eleventh grade and joined stupid colleges. I was very off—track in academics and everyone thought I would just get into the family business.” However, since starting the twinning program and getting good grades (a 3.3 GPA.) “. . . everyone is impressed _ and has now changed their views... they are all happy again because I’m doing good.” Alor expressed great affinity for his twinning experience because it gave him a fresh start from previous academic failures. For him “. . . it was the only way I could change my career and change my whole lifestyle.” He spoke about life before twinning and the low expectations he had by saying, “If I hadn’t taken this program, I would have taken a general commerce program at Christ’s College. Before I would have finished, I would have started in the family business and quit my studies.” Alor spoke about the increased expectations his family has for him since studying in America, saying, “. . . expectations have changed because they thought my 81 life was limited . . . now they are expecting that I do big things and get high marks.” Having these expectations gives him a feeling of stress and pressure, saying, “I feel a lot of pressure . . . pressure in the sense that ifl don’t meet their expectations I feel bad.” Even so, going to study in the U.S. brings the family honor as he noted “. . . my family’s reputation has even gone higher. So if I’m successful, society will respect my family and me more.” When Alor arrived in America, he was disappointed by the disparity between the new environment and what he was accustomed to in Gnanabad. He was surprised that while it was easy for him to make friends back home, it was more challenging to do the same in the U.S. His misconceptions of America (founded in movies and media) were quickly dispelled when he found that people were not partying and drinking all the time. In addition, he felt that between their jobs and preestablished relationships, the RMU students didn’t have the time to develop new relationships with “outsiders.” He thinks things would have been different if they were not from different cultural backgrounds and had “. . . grown up in different environments.” Occasionally Alor celebrates festivals in America with the Indian community, “. . . at home I do many rituals and festivals. But as a student I don’t do anything like that.” Still, when he does this in America, he sends pictures back home of him in traditional dress for his family to view because “. . . everyone is happy to see I haven’t losttmy culture.” He is very active in an international student group called International Program Council (IPC). He is the only Indian in IPC and they do many social activities and have an intramural team, as well as assist RMU with programs such as the international 82 student orientation. Alor said, “This was a very good place for me to make good friends and talk to different people from other countries.” In discussing the twinning cohort that transferred with him to RMU, he stated the cohort provided an environment which was familiar and safe amid the new surroundings. He said, “Because I came with a group of twenty students, we know everything about one another--families, views, incomes, capacity. So this made for very good bonding; as soon as we came here, we could lean on each other for support.” The twinning cohort is considered a special group at Trinity College, set apart from the other students. Alor spoke with pride about the cohort’s common privilege and disconnect from the home institution’s student body, “In Trinity College we are considered different, in fact, people are scared to talk to us. They are afraid because we are richer than the rest. People look at us differently; we are a closed group with big cars and parties. We have a very good time in India together with our group of twenty. We all, as a group, have fun.” Alor spoke of new opportunities and a new confidence since enrolling in the program. “In America, I want a job in a bank and I’m confident I can succeed in that. Four years back, I couldn’t think of these things. After I joined the twinning program, I saw for myself a good future.” When asked what gave him this confidence he said, “After coming here, I saw many people getting jobs; I saw that they can get there [their goals]. So, I think with my attitude and mentality I can reach the place I want--my goals.” 83 By entering into and experiencing American culture, Alor found something that gave him confidence: he can have ample opportunities and reach his goals if he has the right attitude and works hard. He said, “Even with my part-time job on campus, I decided that my goal was to be the supervisor and I was there very soon. I didn’t cheat or bribe, but won people’s hearts and worked very hard. So, I have confidence if I do the job, I will get there.” 84 CHAPTER FIVE Personal history and the twinning experience This chapter presents and describes three sets of codes that emerged from the consolidation of initial groupings into distinct categories of similar themes. In parts one and two, the codes follow the students from their family background to their interactions with the host culture. Part three concerns the students’ lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs, that is, culture. In this section, changes are identified in terms of the strengthening or lessening of these sentiments and behaviors during the course of the twinning experience. Throughout the study, the participants used the words America and American to refer to people, places, things, and concepts from the United States. While America can just as easily be used to describe anyone or anything associated with North, South, or Central America, this word was used as a synonym for the United States. For this reason, the word American is used throughout this study to refer to people, things, and concepts associated with the United States. Part one: Gender, privilege, and family Gen. det At the outset of the interviews, the participants presented themselves as fairly similar in terms of family background and twinning experience. Therefore, as a way to explore differences among the students in the coding process, male and female interviews were coded separately, resulting in the following discussion. What was most significant in contrasting the women to the men was that gender was not explicitly discussed during the interviews with male participants; they 85 never mentioned the word “guy” or “male” in reference to themselves, whereas all of the woman spoke of gender during the interview. The other significant difference in terms of what the men said regarded the burden of professional expectations placed upon them by their family as a result of studying at an American university. On the other hand, the women spoke of the burden of “traditional” expectations and limitations placed upon them, especially that of arranged marriage. The issue of arranged marriage and the lack of freedom in choosing a partner was a concern of both genders and a source of frustration. Female particrpant perspectives Shree spoke the most about her feelings of the restrictions and constraints of being a woman. She spoke about how at home “. . . as a girl, I wouldn’t be able to stay out late . . . it wouldn’t be accepted by my family. And I would be allowed to go clubbing once in two weeks or once a month.” She continued, “If I were a guy, I think I would have more freedom to go out. But as a girl, my parents wouldn’t allow it . . . it’s a no-no.” In addition to Shree feeling that her gender restricted her “going out,” she described her family’s view of educating women by saying, “When it came to me coming to America for school, my dad’s side said, ‘Why are you sending her to Americaé She is a girl and she will be getting married soon. Let her be home now.’” She said they were wary of her being educated because “. . . they think I’m going to be this independent person who will not fit in with the family.” Yet her parents were supportive as she said, “Dad would shun all of that talk . . . my mom’s side was also supportive, so their views matched my parent’s.” Shree 86 described one of her most important values as “. . . education equally for a man and girl,” and attributed this to her parent’s high regard for education saying, “. . . my parents believe if it’s a boy, girl, whatever: go and study.” When it came to the issue of marriage, Shree said her parents “. . . would definitely appreciate me having an arranged marriage, but ifI did find a boy for myself, they would give that a thought and if it looks all good, they would be fine with it.” So, while Shree feels the weight of knowing her parents prefer arrangement, she appreciates their openness to the idea of a “love” marriage, as long as “. . . it’s logical, and if I tell them how it will benefit me; with a lot of convincing they will be okay with it.” She added, “When my parents got married, my mom had no say, my dad just said he wanted to marry her and it happened. They will not let it happen to me, but my grandparents would still believe in that.” Lakshmi related her experiences to gender in much the same way as Shree. Because of her gender, she said she wasn’t sure she would be able to enroll in the twinning program because her “. . . family is a little hesitant to send girls out.” She said, “. . . people were very discouraging [about my going away to study] as they basically don’t encourage a lot of education [and said,] ‘Who will you find as a partneré If you study so much, you won’t find a partner of equal wavelength.” . Yet her parents decided to send Lakshmi in part because her “. . . parents were pretty forward compared to other family members. [For example,] my mother told me to never wear a head scarf. The girls I see here try to restrict themselves, which is not the case for me.” Lakshmi said, “My mom always said since they did not have a son, 87 they had to raise us like sons and provide the same opportunities they would have given a son.” In discussing marriage, she said, “Marriage is my parent’s top concern.” Back home, Lakshmi related that . . . I would be way past my marriageable age. People would be like “Oh my God, she isn’t married yet, what is wrong with her.” Back in India, I have a cousin who is my age and people are like “Why isn’t she married” and are really struggling for her to find somebody. While feeling this pressure to marry, she is attracted to her U.S. family members’ attitude about this, saying, “Over here, my cousins are really laid back and think things are going to happen the way they have to happen. They’re not too bothered [and say,] ‘If you want to go ahead, go ahead and if you have something else in your life, go ahead with that.’” Jisma had less to say than the other females regarding gender. Discussing her parent’s reaction to her interest in twinning, she said, “My parents weren’t very fond of sending me to a country they didn’t know. I remember having fights with them. They wanted my brother to go, but weren’t so excited about me going. Girls are still a little more protected.” Growing up in both India and Bahrain, she voiced distaste for Kerala when comparing the two, saying, “Girls can’t go out after seven at night. In Kerala, people are more narrow minded _. . . like I don’t wear jeans in Kerala.” She related this to her desire to live in an “open” place in the future, saying she could live in “. . . Bahrain or 88 Dubai . . . as these are the only two places in the Middle East more open to things.” Speaking about arranged marriage, Jisma noted, If my mom had her say, she would have me married by the time I’m 22 or 23 and it would be arranged. My perspective is totally different . . . I just cannot see myself living with someone I don’t know at all. I mean, I might get to know them during the six-month engagement, but I don’t know . . . you grow up and think different, you knowé Male participant perspectives While the women discussed the limitations they felt from “traditional” expectations, the men in the study expressed having the burden of professional expectations placed upon them by their family as a result of studying at an American university. As with the women, the issue of arranged marriage and the lack of freedom in choosing a partner was a concern and source of frustration. Throughout his life, Rajat’s family made sacrifices in order for him to obtain an education. Recalling his childhood, he said, When I was in second grade I was sent to live at my uncle’s place in Hyderabad where he was working for a bank. I was sent there to go to school and learn English to provide a strong basis for my education. My father is from a small village on the coastal part of the state and wanted to move there too, but he was not in a position . . . two years after, my parents came. He also spoke of his mother sacrificing her education for the good of the family, saying, “My mother is also from a village and her education is like seventh or eighth grade. She had to quit education to take care of her family. Both of her parents 89 thought she should be in the house . . . but my relatives cannot forget what my mother did for them.” His parents’ sacrifice in the name of education informed their encouragement and support of Rajat going to college. He said twinning was “their idea” and that his “. . . getting educated is a great honor to my family.” He said, “. . . expectations are high from family back home” since he is at RMU, adding that his “. . . career is important to my family and they support me as long as they approve of my career path.” Alor also spoke about high expectations from home, with his success or failure in college affecting his family’s reputation. He said, “When I go back home, I get the maximum importance . . . and the expectation has become more thatI do big things and get high marks. They all ask about me; I don’t want to lose my reputation,” adding, “[I feel] a lot of pressure . . . pressure in the sense that ifl don’t meet their expectations I feel bad--the whole society’s expectation.” He continued, Because of this, my family’s reputation has even gone higher. It’s unusual to go away from the house and leave the country to study. So if I’m successful, they will respect my family and me more. This was more responsibility for me; I could not just waste their money or fail classes, because I had to answer to my parents. He said, “Today I have a 3.3 GPA. . . . everyone is impressed,” adding that his parents “. . . are expecting higher things now [and] like me more in a sense, because I’m on track.” 90 There were some similarities with the women in terms of Alor’s frustration with personal choice regarding marriage. He said, My whole society expects me to only marry a girl of my caste and religion. But when it comes to my immediate family, I could choose a girl in any class and any religion because they just want a girl that is good and who will take care of the family and their tradition . . . but the whole society would make a mess of it. Like Alor, Ankit also expressed frustration at the tradition of arranged marriage. He said, “Arranged marriage, it’s ridiculous that there is so much pressure from my parents and community for us to get married to a girl that they select or choose. I know they won’t make a bad choice, but it’s still not fair.” He added that most people of his age and culture feel the same way, saying, This is how I view it, my generation views it, I mean you are marrying the girl, not your parents. If there is a love marriage, say I marry a Muslim girl, the community and society talks so much about it--there is so much pressure that I want to avoid it. Euyilege The students were from economically privileged families. Attributed in part to their financial status, some students indicated they were given special privileges related to their schooling. Financial Rajat’s father started a successful business in Hyderabad, saying, “He was a contactor and in India, if something had to be built, like a sub station, they hire private 91 contractors and that is how my dad got work.” He added, “His business went really well. And then be invested monies in another private firm, so financially and socially, and in other ways, we are very comfortable. He has been very successful.” Andhra spoke about his father’s packaging business in Gnanabad, saying, “My dad has two brothers and they run the business and just recently my brother joined them and the next couple of years I will join them. My family’s business, I don’t want to brag, but it’s big in India right now and I want to keep that going.” Shree’s father is a chief executive for the Indian software firm called Wipro. She said, “My dad is a smart guy and he is the CFO of the company; a big shot over there.” Similarly, Jisma's father is a businessman. She said, “My dad has a chain of restaurants back home.” Alor stated that his father has a very successful manufacturing and exports business back home, saying, “My dad’s business is number one in the country . . . anytime I can go back and work there. Money comes from my family.” He added, “They give me twenty or thirty grand at a time and don’t ask me for accounts.” Neither Ronal nor Lakshmi directly mentioned their family’s wealth, yet it was alluded to. Ronal’s father owns an import business in Kolkota, where he plans to return, saying, “I would go back to work at my dad’s business.” Regarding the business, he said, “We import stuff from China, Malaysia . . . it’s a wholesale business. Like cosmetics, chocolates, stationery . . . mostly consumer goods.” Lakshmi’s parents sent both her and her sister to study in the U.S. Lakshmi’s father is a businessman, saying, “My dad owns a business right now and my mom has been working the same job for twenty-two years.” Academic Jisma stated, “The best of the best crowd goes to this twinning program. You get a very good crowd involved with twinning.” When asked to elaborate on what “a very good crowd” meant, she said, “Well . . . how do I put it . in twinning, everyone speaks very good English, is better educated. You know the people who are enrolled in twinning, their parents have had the idea to send them to the U.S. for a long time.” Jisma added, “We got a lot of privileges because we paid a lot more tuition than the rest of the normal Trinity College students.” She described how the twinning students were treated better in India than the “normal” students at her college, saying, “Back home, you could get away with murder, cut, copy, and paste and they wouldn’t care about it. In terms of submitting homework on time, we could delay one, two, or three days and would not get points deducted.” She said, “Here, it isn’t like that . . . we were regular students here.” Alor discussed how the twinning students are thought to be above the normal Trinity College student, saying, “In Trinity College we are considered different, in fact, people are scared to talk to us . . . they are afraid.” He continued, “We are richer than the rest of the programs. So, obviously, they look at us differently. We are a closed group with big cars and parties and people look at us differently.” Andhra related the following story about how the wealthy are privileged in the admissions process of Indian higher education, saying, My sister got ninety percent in her high school, but it’s very hard for her to secure admission in Trinity College, and their American program is one of the 93 best in India. There is no way she will get in by merit, so we have to try another way around it, which is to bribe them. He added, “My uncle said he doesn’t mind paying the money to get her in.” When asked if bribes in exchange for school admission were standard in India, Andhra responded, “That’s very common in India for those that can afford it. They [the parents] would definitely support their kid.” Shree stated that when it came to cheating at Trinity College, resolving the issue came down to the student’s ability to pay the teacher. She said, “Over here, it doesn’t get personal if the student has been caught, but in India, if you pay them money, they will pass you anyway.” Family fnundation One of the central themes of this study was that of the students embodying the lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs of their families. As demonstrated below, these characteristics emanated from the understanding that their family was the foundation of who they were; their understanding of self was collective, rather than individual. Core values Ronal said, “My upbringing and core values are always from my family . . . the values, culture, and the upbringing was from parents. Everywhere they have a major influence in my life.” He continued, “My family is very comfortable with my views, because I don’t have any that differ from theirs. Maybe a few, but nothing that go totally against their core views or that would create a problem within our family,” adding, “Issues like religion and God, those are taken care of from the beginning by 94 your family. Whatever god you worship is from tradition . . . family is the most important influence.” When asked about the differences between his values and his family’s, Alor said, “There are similarities, but no differences,” adding, “The only difference is me smoking and drinking . . . and driving like crazy.” In discussing her family, Jisma said, “I do have strong cultural values embedded in me because of my parents.” As an example, she said faith and politics were not important to her because they were not important to her parents, stating, “. . . my dad was not that religious and . . . I remember my dad saying he had never voted. [So] you do what your parents do.” In discussing her values compared to those of her family, Shree said they were “. . . not very different, [but] equal.” Similarly, Rajat stated, “My view of life is the same as my parents.” Andhra remarked, “We grew up with values instilled in us by our family.” Lakshmi said, “I think there is only one difference that I notice and that is it if I was back in Dubai, I would be way past my marriageable age.” Collective welfare Ronal placed the good of his family before himself, saying, “I love my family and I won’t do anything that would be a negative influence or something they wouldn’t like. Like, I would never live in America because I won’t be happy and my family won’t be happy.” He added, “And if you go wrong somewhere or do wrong, they are always there to back us up.” 95 Andhra spoke about the importance his family placed on being together, saying, “The sense of togetherness, I can’t live without them being around me. Our idea of living together is on the same lines . . . . When they get older, I need to take care of them.” He'added, “I’m a family person and depend on them for everything . . . finances, joys and whatever happens. I’m completely dependent on them. Shree discussed choices and decisions, saying, “I have always thought about what [my family] would want to see me do and then make my decision.” She continued, “Whatever I do, I do think in their perspective, so they do have a big influence in my life. I like that because most things make sense; so why make a fit of ité” Even though Shree said, “I don’t really believe in God,” she supports their beliefs for the sake of the family, saying, “My family and parents are very religious. I go to the ceremonies and temple to keep my family’s faith alive, but if I was by myself, I would not really go. My mom gets angry though, so I go ahead and support all of that.” Gratitude In voicing his sense of gratitude towards his family, Ronal remarked, “Everything I am today is because of my parents. Mostly, all Indians would feel the same way that whatever they are is because of their parents.” Rajat echoed Ronal’s feelings toward his family, saying, “Whatever I am now is because of my parents and whatever I will be in the future . . . if I make millions or governor of the state . . . it would be because of my parents. They have given me much. I didn’t ask . . . they just give it to me.” 96 Andhra commented, “Family plays a very big role in my life and they’ve been so supportive of what I’ve done; I think they will extend that for the rest of my life.” In Part one of the preceding section, the personal history of the students’ was the primary concern of the codes. In Part two, the students’ interactions with the host culture is the main focus. Part two: Predisposition attitudes, safety net behavior, and ways of engagement Eredispnsitinn attitudes The coding process revealed the students’ attitudes of predisposition towards host culture engagement and/ or twinning participation. This predisposition found its source primarily in parental encouragement, friends, the home culture, and life experiences that furthered greater interest and awareness of the world. Host culture engagement Rajat had his first experience of leaving home for school when he was a young boy. He described himself as “. . . a cultural person . . . open to other cultures. In the sense that I’m open to everybody and do not discourage anyone because of my own interests. So me, I learned that principle and kept it first and foremost. I’m a person that likes to explore new things.” Rajat ascribed his attraction to different cultures to his being “. . . a person from a country which is highly diverse, so that way, when in India, I’m used to it. Why would you not like a rainbowé” Additionally, he said this attraction “. . . came from traveling in India where I met a lot of foreigners. Also watching TV was a source to help me learn more about different countries when I was in India. So my exposure started through television . . . especially National Geography Channel and the History 97 Channel.” Rajat added that his “. . . interest in twinning is more about seeing a new culture than going to school. I want to see the world more than anything.” Rajat’s attitude toward the host culture was symbolized by his statement that, “. . . [I am] open to other cultures . . . . [My] interest in twinning is more about seeing a new culture than going to school.” Therefore, it could be said that Rajat was predisposed to host culture engagement. He said this attitude came from his culture, being “. . . a person from a country which is highly diverse.” Andhra wanted to immerse himself into the host culture, saying, “I came here to experience the people over here. How I saw this exchange program was coming here to experience America with American people because I had my share of exposure to India and Indian friends for twenty years.” He continued, “I was ready to make friends here and ready to adapt to the American culture. I was a little more open to that. I grew up around a lot of kids from different states and I’m completely aware of different cultures.” Andhra explained that he felt this way because “. . . we live in a global environment and people need to get out of India to get exposure to what’s going on outside in the rest of the world.” And yet, he said, “I’m trying to strike a balance between the world and one view, but at the same time, respect my culture and traditions. I want to balance it in a way that I’m a little bit of both.” When asked where this conviction originated from, he said, “It’s just me. I don’t know.” Andhra’s attitude toward the host culture was characterized by his statement that, “I came here to experience the people over here . . . to experience America with American people.” Therefore, it could be said that Andhra had a predisposed attitude 98 towards host culture engagement. Andhra understood this predisposition to come from his culture, saying, “. . . I grew up around a lot of kids from different states and I’m completely aware of different cultures.” Twinning particrpa tion Jisma grew accustomed to different cultures at a young age by growing up as a Christian religious minority in two countries. She stated that, “I had always told my dad I wanted to go outside of India for my studies.” She said her sibling played a significant role in her enrollment as she “. . . learned of this program from my brother who did it.” Jisma’s attitude towards twinning was exemplified by the statement, “I had always told my dad I wanted to go outside of India for my studies.” Thus, it could be said that Jisma’s predisposition was towards twinning, with the desire to go abroad for college coming from her brother and family. Lakshmi had a similar experience as Jisma in her exposure to various cultures as a young girl. She said, “I would say that I’m pretty good with non-Indians, feel pretty comfortable with them. I was with a non-Indian crowd more in Sharjah [international high school] . . . we had Iranians, Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabs and I would get along with them.” She also has a sister who came to America for college and now lives here. Lakshmi said, “She came here for grad school, met my brother-in—law, got married and then continued with her education.” When asked how she became interested in twinning, Lakshmi answered, “Because my sister came here first.” Her attitude towards twinning was typified by her statement that she wanted to enroll in 99 the program “. . . because my sister came here first.” For this reason, it could be stated that Lakshmi’s predisposition to twinning came from her family. Dual predispositions: Cultural engagement and twinning Ronal traced his interest in twinning to spending part of his education in a boarding school, saying, “I learned a lot living away from my parents. You have to manage yourself, different setting, and different people,” adding, “. . . the boarding experience had prepared me [for twinning]. For many people it was the first time away, but for me, it was a second experience and was fine for me.” He described his openness to the culture at RMU, saying, I wanted to make new friends and see new cultures. The motivation was that I was in America and after that, I wanted to do well in studies. I also wanted to know people and how Americans are and what’s so different about them. If I’m in some country and don’t know their culture, then it doesn’t make any sense. You won’t discover other cultures.” Ronal attributed his predisposition to experiencing the host culture to his parents, saying, My parents always told me to learn new things, make new friends, always open yourself up to different situations, so you can move ahead in life. That’s why I decided not to have an Indian roommate. I was a stranger to this place, but with interaction with them, you learn more. Ronal’s attitude toward the host culture was illustrated by his statement that, “I wanted to make new friends and see new cultures . . . to discover what was so different about Americans.” Additionally, Ronal believed that his previous experience 100 in “. . . boarding school had prepared me [for twinning].” Therefore, it could be said that Ronal was predisposed not only to twinning, but also to host culture engagement. Ronal noted that these predispositions came from his parents, who “. . . always told me to learn new things, make new friends, always open yourself up to different situations.” Shree said that to “. . . continue learning and reading about other cultures [is one of my most important values.]” She described herself as “. . . living a broad- minded life and keeping the conservative cultural issues in mind.” When asked where these values came from, she said, “In the past it was a focus . . . this is what makes people broad-minded. I think I’ve gotten this from my father,” adding, “. . . just by talking to people, friends that have enrolled in twinning, and by TV.” Shree’s attitude towards twinning and the host culture was guided by her statement that, “I knew what I’d be exposed to and wanted that exposure. I think that [twinning] would make me better than those who have just studied in India.” She indicated that one of her most important values was to “. . . continue learning about other cultures.” Therefore, it could be said that Shree was predisposed not only to twinning, but also to host culture engagement. She said this attitude came from her family and friends, saying, “. . . I’ve gotten this from my father . . . [and] just by talking to people, friends that have enrolled in twinning.” The table below illustrates the preceding theme by presenting what manner of predisposition was indicated by each student: host culture engagement, twinning participation, or both. Additionally, what the students attributed their predisposition to is listed. 101 Table 1 Predisposition to wards host culture engagem ent and/or twinning participation host culture twinning attitude engagement participation attribution Ronal V” \‘ Family Shree V” \i family, friends Andhra v - home culture Rajat \’ - home culture Jisma - V” Family Lakshmi - \7 Family Alor - - - In the following section, the students’ connection to home is demonstrated through what is described as a social and cultural safety net. W During their time at RMU, the students all spoke of strong connections to home and culture. These connections served as a “safety net” in terms of providing a sense of comfort and reconnection to home in the midst of the host culture. The connections took the form of twinning cohort relationships, the local Indian community, celebrating festivals, cuisine, entertainment, attire, and stateside relatives. Each of the students indicated that these connections were very important. Still, some were hindered by this connection, which then facilitated reclusion within the safety net. Cohort When discussing what made him comfortable and connected him to home, Andhra said, “My friends who are from the same program who are here. It’s much better to have them here than to be alone.” He continued, “For me, I’ve always needed people around me and I’ve been lucky to have my Indian friends transfer here which makes it much easier for me to socialize . . . 102 Likewise, Alor discussed the role his Indian friends from the Trinity College cohort played, saying, Because I came with a group of twenty students, we know everything about one another--families, views, incomes, capacity. So this made for very good bonding; as soon as we came here, we could lean on each other for support and if I find out something‘new, I tell it to all my twenty friends so they are aware. He continued, “The seniors really help the juniors too, with housing and things we need. In fact, the coordinator of the international office is useless. Our Trinity College senior students are more help.” Discussing the importance of the twinning cohort at RMU, Jimsa said, “Thirty of us transferred here together, so there was no need to reach out and meet anyone. I came here with my best friends . . . to a very large extent, we were involved with ourselves.” She added, A lot of Indians are from Trinity College, so it’s almost like a cult and that common bond breaks the ice. So there’s not a need to go to parties and make new friends. If I go to a party, I go with my Indian friends. It was an easy transition. It would have been a lot harder if I would have come alone . . . it’s like high school, you come and explore a different place together. It’s like a four year vacation. Shree discussed her transition to RMU and the twinning cohort, saying, “I came here with a group of twenty students and . . . I would say that is a good thing, when coming from far away you have this group to talk to. But also a negative, because you don’t make that much of an effort to meet American friends. At least in my case, 103 initially, I made friends very slowly since I had so many friends with me.” She added, “I am only very close to my twinning group. But if I had come by myself, I may have made better friends. I have my four friends that I came with and a boyfriend I came with. So I’m more close to the twinning group.” Discussing the strength of his relationships within the twinning cohort at RMU, Ronal said, The Indian group’s friends are all their Trinity College friends. We know everyone in that group for two years, so I knew them and when you come over here, in such a big surrounding, those are the people you know and they’re easier to talk to and be friends with. So my Indian friends are those from Trinity College, plus ten to twenty more. I have many Indian friends who are not a part of Trinity College, people I work, play cricket with. local comm unity In discussing his connection to family and home, Rajat said, “I never got alienized after coming here . . . . There was already a community of Indians that kept me connected to home culture and home language.” The greater Indian community provided opportunities to participate in cultural events, as Rajat said, So if I want to go and pray and see my culture, all I need to do is drive for ten minutes and go to a Hindu/American cultural center . . . temples, where other Indians go to celebrate festivals. Here at the temples there are priests from India on religion visas who do things exactly as they do at home. There are huge temples here too, like the one in Chicago and Pittsburgh that have big temples like in India. 104 Andhra said, “. . . the Indian community is so big here that you don’t feel out of place so much.” He added, “Out of seventy-thousand people in Collegeville, there is an Indian community of at least one-thousand. There are a few major festivals and you can take part to feel at home.” Festivals Alor spoke about the traditions that keep him connected to home, saying, “I go to the temple in Collegeville with my Indian traditional clothes. Diwali is one of the biggest festivals, festival of lights, so I try to celebrate it here. I can’t do it as well as I do at home, but everyone back home is happy because I’m trying.” He added, “Our student association has a few programs a year. International food festival and India dance night. So for that, we all go in Indian traditional clothes and click pictures to send back home and everyone is happy to see that we haven’t lost our culture.” Shree said, “There is’one temple in Collegeville and I’ve been there, in my two years, four times for festival days, which is important. I would be known as a South Indian and my mom is strict to visit our particular god at the temple. It’s like my contribution to the celebration as part of my family.” Regarding festivals, Ronal said, “We don’t have all the festivals that we celebrate in India over here, but whatever I can be a part of over here I do. I’ve been used to doing that and it becomes more tradition and set in me,” adding, “. . . [it’s] kind of like Christmas and New Years for you, wherever you are you celebrate.” He added, “This goes to the culture thing; how I’ve remained to the culture. Sometimes I listen to more Indian devotionals or manuscripts. It makes me feel better emotion—wise.” 105 Cuisine Andhra discussed the importance of food as a connection to home, saying, As I started getting closer to the date I was going to be in the U.S., that’s when I got basic training from my mom on how to cook Indian food. I try to cook here whenever I have time. Indian food--it’s true--I cannot live without this for more than one week. Andhra added that he never thought about Indian food before leaving “. . . because I always had it around me.” He continued, “I bet even for a person who has never been outside of their own culture and then goes, they probably won’t think about how much they love American food until they have the opportunity to miss it.” In discussing the importance of food and home, Rajat said, It definitely serves as a connection here. When I’m missing home badly, food is an important factor. It’s important, because if you don’t like what you are eating, you get sick and start questioning why you are here. So I can drive five minutes and get Indian food at restaurants. Shree said, “. . . my roommates and I will get together and go to a temple or make certain food or listen to certain music--have get-togethers with friends,” adding, “Food always, we are always looking for Indian cuisine and cook it ourselves too . . . the best--chapattis, rice.” Ronal said he helped maintained his “Indian connection” through “. . . Indian food which I have learned to cook at home,” adding, “Once in awhile, we will go to the Indian restaurants over here.” 106 Entertainment In discussing ways she stays connected culturally, Jisma said, We watch a lot of Hindi movies and listen to Hindi music and go online to stay in touch. I often go to this message board which is for Indians who are in the U.S. They post what’s happening in India, the’news, it’s basically a site for Indians. Rajat said watching Indian movies were important to him, saying, “Keeping festivals and temples aside, entertainment [is important]--I watch Hindi movies. So many movies are released here after being released in India. I watched one here in N ovi. So what’s happening in India also is happening here.” Shree spoke about her passion for Bollywood, saying, “I’m crazy about the movies . . . I’d rather have movies than food. If I’m not studying, Iwant to watch movies. I’ve always been very passionate about thisbecause they play certain songs connected to what the occasion is and you become all sentimental. It really affects my emotions; it’s such a way to celebrate.” In discussing ways he maintained his cultural connection, Ronal said, “Movies, I watch all Indian movies online. With music, I listen online to Indian music. If it’s in Hindi, I get more into the meaning and rhythm.” Attire Shree also discussed clothes as a connection to home, saying, “We have Indian festival days and on those days I wear traditional Indian clothes, my sari, so whenever we have a function I wear it. I like it better than anything else. I don’t wear it 107 regularly, because it’s a hassle with all the jewelry, but given a choice, I would wear it everyday. It looks so much prettier.” Relatives For Lakshmi, her safety net was better defined by her relatives in America than the Indian community at RMU. Her most personal connection to her culture was her sister with whom she spent much of her time and lived with despite the ninety minute commute to RMU. She said, “My sister is married and has a baby here.” Lakshmi said this was a crucial factor in choosing RMU, saying, “I chose something in the Midwest because my sister was here.” Lakshmi described her involvement with the Indian community in America, saying, “We have a huge Indian community here in Lake City . . . a lot of family people in Lake City and Windsor. When I do see them I feel good.” She continued, “These are people from my own community. It feels really good and it feels as they are family. We have a community back at RMU, but I feel good going to Lake City and seeing my family members,” adding, “I like my relatives out here . . . they are more relaxed and laid back about things.” Safe ty net reclusion The comfort and close connection Andhra maintained with his Trinity College friends and the local Indian community characterizes the important relationship with his safety net. Yet in characterizing this relationship, Andhra neither stated nor implied that the importance of the safety net restricted his involvement with those on the outside, thereby suggesting a lower degree of safety net reclusion, i.e., reclusion within the safety net’s sphere of influence. 108 Alor’s close association and dependence on the Trinity College cohort characterizes the significant relationship with his safety net. Alor’s statement that he would have made more friends had he come to RMU without the cohort indicates the safety net limited his involvement with those on the outside, thereby suggesting a higher degree of safety net reclusion. Awareness of the local Indian community and its supportive role in maintaining Rajat’s connection to the home culture characterized the important relationship with his safety net. Yet, Rajat neither stated nor implied that the importance of the safety net limited his involvement with those on the outside, thereby suggesting a lower degree of safety net reclusion. Cultural connections with movies and music as well as the exclusive nature of the relationship with other cohort members characterize Jisma’s significant connection with her safety net. Because Jisma stated there was no need to reach out beyond the social sphere of the cohort, the safety net limited her involvement with those on the outside and suggested a higher degree of safety net reclusion. Shree’s relationship with her Indian roommates, connections to Indian food and dress, and lack of relationships outside of the Trinity College cohort portray the important bond with her safety net. Because Shree stated that her close relationship with the cohort limited her interaction with Americans, the safety net restricted her involvement with those on the outside and suggested a higher degree of safety net reclusion. Ronal’s close association with the Trinity College cohort and connection with Indian media, food, and faith characterize the significant relationship with his safety 109 net. However, Ronal neither stated nor implied that the importance of the safety net limited his involvement with those on the outside, thereby suggesting a lower degree of safety net reclusion. Lakshmi’s relationship with her sister and her Indian American relatives characterizes the importance of her safety net, showing this relationship to be significant. While not stated, Lakshmi’s distance from the RMU community and closeness with her sister and Indian American relatives implied a dependence on these family relationships and limited involvement with those on the outside. Yet Lakshmi’s relationship with her stateside relatives provides a unique situation where she is engaging American culture while at the same time finding the familiar safety net of Indian culture. Because of this, she is assigned a moderate degree of safety net reclusion. As demonstrated above, the students all indicated the significance of the safety net in their twinning experience. Yet, as the following table presents, this connection to home was capable of hindering interaction with those outside this sphere of influence, which then facilitated reclusion within the safety net. Table 2 Categorization of degrees of safety net reclusion degree of reclusion Jisma - High Shree - High Alor - High Lakshmi - moderate Ronal - low Rajat - low Andhra - low 110 W The students ventured out of their safety net to engage the host culture in varying degrees. Some did not feel the need to leave the safety net, while for others, engaging the culture was the reason they came to RMU. Engagement refers to the act of intentionally engaging America and Americans: those people and experiences beyond the Indian community and culture. As shown below, engagement took the form of living in the residence halls, joining fraternities, international clubs, activities with the American community, class projects, the workplace, Indian American relatives, and sociable behavior. Residence halls Ronal described one of the ways he engaged the host culture, saying, “So I lived in the dorms instead of living with my friends off-campus so I can make American friends. You wouldn’t know if you lived off-campus with Indian friends. You would only know the Indian part,” adding, “. . . but if you live with an American, you would at least learn about their culture. So when I was in the residence hall, the friends were mostly American.” He said he decided to live in the residence hall because of his parents. Ronal said, They always told me to learn new things, make new friends, always open yourself up to different situations, so you can move ahead in life. That’s why I decided not to have an Indian roommate. I was a stranger to this place, but with interaction with them, you learn more. 111 Jisma also lived in the residence halls, saying, “When I first came here, I stayed in the dorms . . . because my brother told me to. I stayed with Shree and we had heard back home that if you wanted to experience the culture you should stay in the residence hall. So I wanted to stay somewhere on campus.” Her experience in the residence halls was not what she expected. Jisma said, “I wish I would have only stayed for one semester . . . . It was not the best thing . . . sometimes you just want your own room and quiet.” She added that the residence halls were not much of a cultural experience because “. . . we mostly stayed with people from Trinity College . . . it was my first semester and I didn’t make an effort to know anyone around me. I just hung out with Trinity College friends and there was no need because I had the close friends already.” As noted earlier, Shree roomed with Jisma and another student in the residence hall her first year. In describing relationships outside of the twinning cohort, she only mentioned her roommate, saying, “I had aChinese roommate . . . I’m still good friends with that roommate . . . we meet often as well.” Fraternity Ronal noted that he “. . . was in a fraternity, a business fraternity. I was there for one year.” Adding, “It was a good experience. I was also on the e-board there. I took a position as vice president of internal affairs and it was interesting being Indian and taking that position and trying to implement things.” He said, “I can explain India to others and I am a representative of India to these people.” Similar to Ronal, Andhra said, “My first involvement with a lot of Americans was a business professional fraternity,” adding, “It’s a food marketing fraternity, so I 112 thought it was a club like we have back home where you meet up each week and share ideas. I felt I jelled real well with them.” Andhra said he felt he played a special role in the fraternity, not unlike an ambassador, saying, Iwas the only Indian who joined, so they were kinda excited. They threw questions at me and their perceptions of India. The first thing I said was we belong to Asia. [They said], “Asians just mean Chinese, Japanese or everyone with small eyes, small ears . . .” but I had a tough time telling them I belonged to Asia as well and that I was an Asian. He added, “The first thing they knew were the booming economy and outsourcing, especially ifl said Gnanabad . . . that’s the first thing that came to their mind.” Andhra continued, “I started hanging out with them more . . . I played ice hockey with them and we went skiing in the winter. It was cool to experience that, how they talked.” He added, “As I started jelling with them, they nominated me for a position within the fraternity, and I just kept climbing up. I started to organize activities for people who started rushing. It was a good experience.” Andhra said the fraternity has . . . shown me what American life is all about. And they have made me feel special, mainly because I was the only non-American and that got them excited and I’m glad I could share what I think about them and my culture . . . and spreading the common culture.” Jisma said, “Most all of my American friends are from my fraternity, which I joined alone. I was part of a business fraternity and in fact, my last semester I was part 113 of the e-board, which I was very proud of. I was in the fraternity for only one year.” She added, “My fraternity had parties . . . I would be open to going to them, but never really bothered.” Shree wanted to join a fraternity, saying, “When I came here I wanted to join one of these fraternities which you have over here. I started off with the whole initiation, but it was just too much with my class work and I stopped doing it,” adding, “IfI did have the time, I would have wanted to complete it and join . . . it would have helped and given me more friends and exposure to parties and that sort of thing.” In terna tional clubs Rajat described his interaction with the international community at RMU, saying, I joined IPC, International Program Council, for all international and American students--all students. There were a lot of fun American students involved and the current president of the group is an American. So we go there on Fridays during the semester and talk about political things and try to propose new plans to help the university go better. I get to see lots of people from other cultures as they are studying here and we are discussing political issues and all those things. Not having many American friends, Alor found himself developing friendships with international students. He said, “There is an association called International Program Council for all international students [from] Ukraine, Zambia . . . these people meet every week to talk about experiences. I joined the program, but was the only 114 Indian in that and it was interesting.” He added, “We had many parties and functions; Ice Capades and International Food Fest and the student orientation program for all international students. So I worked with this and tried to help all these students.” Alor continued, We have a small chapter on campus and every Thursday at noon, churches all around Collegeville sponsor lunch. This is meant for international students, but Americans can also come. I come every Thursday for this lunch--it’s a free lunch. I hardly see Americans there. This was a very good place for me to make good friends and talk to different people from other countries. There is more bonding among international students than Americans. Sociable behavior Rajat’s initial interactions with Americans were guided by an outgoing personality, saying, “People get mixed very fast here . . . in the sense of knowing each other. We can say hi and how are you to someone we don’t even know. They never kept me out; I can go straight away, ‘Hi.’” He continued, “In the first week itself I made very good friends. A lot of American students with other international students were running orientation. These American students got close to us and told us that when fall semester starts and everyone comes back that they have parties,” adding, “So I went and started to see the present generation of American culture; I saw parties and relationships, boyfriend/girlfriend.” Class projects Discussing his initial interactions with Americans, Alor said, “The view I had of America was that people are friendly . . . I thought we’d get along. It wasn’t that easy 115 and not that comfortable,” adding, “I hardly made any friends . . . . They only hang for certain reasons [like] group projects. If I call them up, they are not that friendly . . . . I have only one very good American friend and we’re really close.” Workplace While Alor found it difficult to make friends at RMU, his workplace was a different story. He said, “Now at my workplace, I’ve made friends. I am already closer and have dated American girls there . . . not at school.” When asked why he thought this was, he said, “Because we work and see each other every day. Obviously at work we help each other, it’s a team environment. I became supervisor quickly and transitioned very fast; became student worker of the month.” In dian American relatives The majority of Lakshmi’s interactions outside of the RMU community consisted of her Indian American relatives, saying, “. . . I feel good going to Lake City and seeing my family members,” adding, “I like my relatives out here . . .” Living with her sister in a city north of RMU, Lakshmi described her impression of the people in America as, “I think they are pretty friendly.” Referring to the attitude of her Indian American relatives, she said, “I like the fact that nobody bothers about anybody else’s life. Nobody pokes their nose into unwanted business.” American comm unity Regarding the American community surrounding RMU’S campus, Rajat said, Besides IPC, I also got connected to American families. There are so many families in Collegeville who want to learn about other cultures through students. So there were two people who came to the university and with the 116 university’s permission they are meeting the international students and help us connect to American families. He continued, “So one day these guys drove us to American families in the’suburbs of Collegeville and to a big farmhouse and there was a bonfire and good food. We chit- chatted and slowly students got connected to these families.” Summary Ronal’s choice to live in the residence halls with an American roommate as well as his significant level of activity in the fraternity characterized his highly engaged relationship with the host culture. Like Ronal, Andhra’s considerable level of involvement with his fraternity in addition to his close American friendships characterized his high engagement with the host culture. Lakshmi’s close relationship with her Indian American relatives provides a unique situation where she engages American culture and at the same time resides in the familiar safety net of her home culture. Because of this, her engagement with the host culture is described as moderate. Rajat’s participation in RMU’s international programs as well as his light involvement with local American families characterized his moderate engagement with the host culture. Alor’s general lack of meaningful relationships with Americans at RMU and negative attitude toward such interaction, while developing friendships with Americans in the work environment, characterized his low to moderately engaged relationship with the host culture. Even though Jisma lived in the residence halls and joined a fraternity, she said she did not make an effort to develop new relationships outside of her Trinity College 117 friends, saying, “Thirty of us transferred here together . . . there was no need to reach out and meet anyone.” For this reason, low engagement characterized her relationship with the host culture. Similarly, Shree’s lack of relationships and involvement outside of her Trinity College friends characterized her low engagement of the host culture. Table 3 Categorization of host culture engagement level of engagement Andhra - high Ronal - high Lakshmi - moderate Rajat - moderate Alor - low/ mode rate Jisma - low Shree - low Part three: Culture and change In this part, the presentation and description of themes is concluded. The following presents a discussion of the student’s expression of lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs, i.e., culture. In the first section, the above components of culture are presented and described as being consistent and foundational for each student, meaning the student did not indicate change in them upon reflecting on the twinning experience. Following this part of the discussion, the subsequent two sections present the self-described changes in the students’ lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs, with changes described in terms of intensification and variation. In the intensification segment, those values, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyle choices which were shown to intensify or become greater through the experience are described. In the variation segment, those concepts which, upon reflection, had weakened or arisen for the first time are described. In reading the following sections, it 118 is worth noting the centrality of the role of the family throughout the various themes demonstrated by the participants. t ast r'nc' e In the following section the values, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyle choices that remained consistent and foundational for each student are elaborated on. The present theme is exhibited through family prominence, faith, harmony, honor, decision- making, cultural zeal, progressiveness, freedom, repositioning, and entertainment. Family prominence Of his family, Andhra said, “My relationship is very close. I’m what they call a ‘mama’s boy,’” adding, “I would say I’m very close to my parents and if I were to marry a girl, not necessarily a condition, but I would tell her that I prefer to live with my parents for the rest of our life.” Andhra said his family shares a “. . . sense of togetherness . . . I can always count on m y family.” He added, “I can’t live without them being around me. Maybe, go away for a few years, but I will always think about getting back to them. Our idea of living together is on the same lines . . . when they get older, I need to take care of them.” Like Andhra, Shree was defined by her strong relationship with her parents. She described her relationship with her parents, saying, “I’m very close to my mother . . . no matter what problems I have I take to her. I would be closer to my dad, but he is very protective. Both’are very protective. Given a choice, they would want me back home,” adding, “I know long-term I want to go back to India and be close to my family.” 119 Jisma described her relationship with her parents as “. . . extremely close with my dad and my mom.” She said her family was very important in her life, saying, “[I am] very close to my family and will do anything for them.” In discussing a career, she would like to do what her father did and get into business. Jisma said, “I think I want to definitely get in the service industry . . . . My dad has a chain of restaurants back home and I loved the way he used to do that.” Of his family, Ronal said, “My relationship is very close. I’m close to my family and am very supported by my family. If you ask me about my assets, I don’t own anything much, but my personal asset is my relationship with my parents.” Faith Andhra spoke about his faith, saying, “I am religious and do believe God exists. I am not a staunch religious person who is with my prayer books all the time and going to the temple all the time. I don’t believe I have to go to the temple to prove that,” adding, “I was very influenced by a philosophy class my freshman year. That really played a large role in changing and molding my beliefs.” Shree noted religion as a point of difference with her parents. She said, “Religion, I don’t really believe in God. My family and parents are very religious. I’m not very religious, but I do believe in some power and basically yourself; being true to yourself is what really matters.” Rajat said, “If some of my traditions are illogical I don’t follow them.” He used religion as an example of differing beliefs while still honoring his family, saying, “I don’t buy into my parents’ beliefs, but will abide by these if they are around.” He added, “I am a very secular person and religion ranks last in importance.” 120 In discussing her faith as a Muslim, Lakshmi said she did not feel connected to the Muslims at RMU like she did with the Indians on campus. She said, “I feel the Muslims in college were too extreme for me, compared to my own beliefs.” Adding, “. . . my parents are very forward, my mother especially told me never to wear a head scarf . . . . The girls I see here are much more restrictive. They try to restrict themselves, which is not the case for me.” She said that while being Muslim is part of her identity, “. . . it’s not the only identity I have--not the strongest identity.” In describing faith, Ronal said, “Faith in India is from tradition, whatever god you worship is from tradition. With religion, family is the most important influence,” adding, “. . . issues, like religion and God; those are taken care of from the beginning by your family.” Harmony When asked if Ronal had any values or views that differed with his family’s, he stressed the importance of maintaining harmony in the family, saying, “My family is very comfortable with my views, because I don’t have any that differ from theirs. Maybe a few, but nothing that go totally against their core views or that would create a problem within our family.” Ronal continued to stress the importance of communal good as it related to family, saying, “As I’ve said, I love my family and I won’t do anything that would be a negative influence or something they wouldn’t like. Like, I would never live in America because I won’t be happy and my family won’t be happy,” adding, “I know my core values and that at the end of the day I have to be with my family.” 121 In discussing family harmony, Andhra said, “I would not do anything to make them unhappy . . . . I love my family too much to do that and would make sacrifices to keep them happy.” He added, “They have always supported me and I’ve depended on them . . . . I want to keep them happy and me happy as well.” For Shree, the importance of maintaining harmony within the family evidenced itself though her faith, or lack thereof. Even though she did not believe in God, she believed it was more important to honor her family than to cause discord, saying, “Maybe I don’t believe it, but I support it for my family. That’s a big purpose in my family, everyone believes it, and so I support it . . . that is a big part of my culture.” She added, “Going to the temple [is important], not because I believe in it but to support my family.” Honor Alor spoke about the responsibility and pressure he felt to succeed at RMU, which was a collective responsibility to bring honor to his family. He said, “[I feel] a lot of pressure, I can’t play. I have to limit myself and can’t go beyond the limits. Pressure in the sense that if I don’t meet their expectations I feel bad. The whole society’s expectation . . .” He added, “I don’t want to lose my reputation. Because of this [twinning], my family’s reputation has even gone higher. So if I’m successful, they [society] will respect my family and me more.” In terms of marriage, Andhra said, the primary concern is for the honor and reputation of the family. “If there is a love marriage, say I marry a Muslim girl, the community and society talks so much about it,” adding, “[My family is] very 122 concerned about what others say about us. They are really freaked out about that. That is a very common thing among our parents, [but] it’s for our good.” Decision -making In making decisions, Andhra’s first consideration is given to the preferences of the family. He related the following story, I initially wanted to do an M.B.A._here and Coke U.S.A. was willing to give me a job and sponsor my grad studies at RMU. Even though my funds would be paid by Coke, [my family] still wanted me to come home and had insecurities-- the longer I stay that means I’ll drift away. When asked how he felt about this, he said, “I think I’ve grown into it . . . . I’ve accepted it and don’t have any regrets. Initially, I was a little disappointed because it’s something I worked towards and Coke had given me a scholarship; it was all coming together and was overwhelming and nice to get the offer.” Andhra added, It is unfortunate how this community has such an impact on individual aspirations, but there are some parts that we don’t care about and a few other things we really need to think twice before doing in order to be accepted into that community and be socially compatible with them. For Shree, she not only thought about how decisions would impact her, but also how they would impact her family. She said the following about what defined her, “Being conservative about making decisions; thinking about myself and my family.” She continued, “They [parents] have a very high influence on my decisions. I always do think about it in their perspective . . . I would say sixty percent I think of them before my own . . . it’s just how I was brought up,” adding, “As soon as I make a 123 decision, the first thing I think of is will it be accepted. I have always thought about what they would want to see me do and then make my decision. I will only be happy if they are happy.” Shree continued, I’m very conservative about making decisions and thinking about my family and what fits into the culture and my family . . . . Whatever I do, I do think in their perspective, so they do have a big influence on my life. I do like that because most things make sense, so why make a fit of ité Alor added that, “From my childhood, every decision is made by my parents. This is the general view for all Indian students. Every parent makes their children’s decisions . . . we are very attached to our parents, even after marriage.” Cultural zeal When Rajat spoke of his culture, he said, “You will see lots of reflections of my culture in me.” Adding, “. . . festivals and temples . . . Iwatch Hindi movies. If given a choice between Hindi and American movies, I would want to watch Telugu movies first because it’s my mother tongue.” He continued, “I give lots of value to my traditions . . . . Ilove my culture, my family background, and friends.” Andhra spoke of great pride for his culture which led him to take on the role of an “ambassador” while at RMU. He said, “I’m very patriotic about my Indian culture. I completely support it and love to talk about it and spread awareness of it. And that’s why I’m here talking about it with you. I can go on and on about it,” adding, “. . . I see myself as Indian and spreading the common culture.” Andhra said he has, “. . . tried to maintain my traditional values as long as I’ve done the twinning program, even though I was here in America and far away from 124 home,” adding, “Even though they don’t celebrate festivals, I try to keep it in mind on those days and I don’t eat meat, drink, or smoke . . . . I still can celebrate, but not in the same degree as back home.” He said, “[This] wouldn’t make me less of an Indian, we just have to adjust to the environment and resources and social life over here.” Frogressiven ess While Andhra had a strong sense of preserving his family’s communal values, he also spoke about the need to understand and live in a world with differing values than his, which he said, “. . . makes me so different from my family and friends,” saying, “We live in a global environment and people need to get out of India to get exposure on what’s going on outside in the rest of the world and understand how much you’re being influenced by them and they by you.” He added, “I want to maintain the balance between my traditional background and the modern culture. I want to balance it in a way that I’m a little bit of both.” While having a love for his culture, Rajat expressed interest in other cultures, saying, I am a cultural person and am open to other cultures . . . . Open in the sense of the Hindu word, [é], meaning to be open to everybody and do not discourage anyone because of your own interests. So me, I learned that principle and kept it first and foremost. I’m a person that likes to explore new things. He added, “IfI see good in another culture, I tend to take what is good from that culture.” 125 Freedom While Ronal is close with his family, he also carried with him a sense of freedom and has valued independence from a young age. He spoke about his decision as a young teenager to go to boarding school, saying, “I learned a lot living away from my parents. You have to manage yourself; different setting, and different people . . . first time away from parents and many restrictions, I was so much freer.” Ronal attributed this sense of freedom and. openness to his parents, saying, “My parents . . . they always told me to learn new things, make new friends, always open yourself up to different situations, so you can move ahead in life.” Alor said his parents’ raised him with the view of giving him the freedom to fail, which was how his father was raised. He said, “My dad had a lot of freedom and that’s all he’s known. My dad has said that he’s fallen off track because of this freedom, but learned from his mistakes. So he wanted me to grow and learn from mistakes too and grow from my freedom.” R epositioning Ronal discussed how he moved between his traditional Indian culture and that which is associated with Western culture. This is something he did before coming to RMU, saying, “There’s no like typical Indian dress . . . everyone wears jeans and t- shirts.” He added, “We do have kurta pajamas that we wear in India when there are particular festivals or celebrations. So if I go to those over here, I wear that for a change from jeans and t-shirts.” Ronal also discussed his speech in relation to moving between cultures. When asked if he spoke Hindi, he said, “It depends if I’m talking to my friends. But some 126 friends I do talk to in English . . . it depends on how comfortable I am with them.” He added, “I have friends over here that are Hindi, but speak English; I speak English because they feel more comfortable speaking English.” Entertainment Ronal spoke about the importance of entertainment in connecting him back to his culture. He said, “I remain in touch with the Indian culture by listening to Indian music, celebrating festivals, watching movies . . . . I watch all Indian movies online. With music, I listen online to Indian music.” But, he said, “If an English movie comes out and I feel like it’s good, I’ll go watch it. The most important thing to ask is if the movie or music is good, not American or Indian.” Intensificstinn In this segment, those values, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyle choices which were expressed as intensifying or becoming greater through the experience are described. The present theme is exhibited through family bond, tradition, broadmindedness, pride, personal devotion, friendship, opinion, integrity, diplomacy, confidence, self-awareness, and lifestyle. Family bond Andhra indicated the bond between he and his family had strengthened, saying, I’m a family person and depend on them for everything . . . finances, joys, and whatever happens. I’m completely dependent on them and that’s another reason why I’m going back home. Family plays a very big role in my life and they’ve been so supportive of what I’ve done and I think they will extend that for the rest of my life. 127 He continued, “It has intensified . . . staying away from them has brought me closer to them. I find myself missing them a little bit more compared to two years back when I wouldn’t have even thought of them . . . now I feel more of a need to keep a connection with them.” Ronal also said his family had become more important to him since being away, saying, “. . . now the family thing has become more [important], since being away from them. I know what it’s like to be away from them and when I go back, the things you feel are not taken for granted.” Alor indicated that his relationship with his family and home had become stronger. Speaking of his family, he said, “I didn’t realize all they were doing for me. The connection has become more important. I’m living away from them and the only one living away. They all miss me . . . cousins, all my family.” Jisma also said that her relationship with her family had grown stronger. She said, “Distance has brought us closer, we stay in touch and talk more often,” adding, “Being away I realize how much I love my family.” Tradition In exploring Rajat’s values, he said being away from home allowed him to examine his traditions more critically and objectively, saying, “Because of this, I have come to own my traditions more.” Beyond this, he indicated that personal struggle sparked a nostalgic response to those things most dear to him. He said, “I’m very happy here, but when something goes wrong, I remember home. That cultural bond is very strong with home . . . . And my parents will be there always.” 128 Additionally, Ronal spoke about traditional festivals and how being away had increased their importance. Ronal said, “We don’t have all the festivals that we celebrate in India over here, but whatever I can be a part of over here I do. Kind of like Christmas and New Years for you, wherever you are you celebrate.” He continued, “Probably the tendency of that has increased, so the next time in India, I will celebrate it more.” In discussing her conservative traditions, Jisma said that since coming to RMU, “I realize how conservative I am. I wouldn’t do half of the things I see people doing here . . . . Like I wouldn’t sleep around or lose my virginity before marriage.” Broa dmindedn 655 In discussing the strengthening of values with Shree, she said, “Being able to be modernized and broad-minded [yet] keeping conservative issues in mind [was of utmost importance].” She said since the twinning experience, “I have become more open to things . . . . I have become exposed to more things I was not aware of.” Shree described one of her core values as “. . . continuously reading and learning about new and different cultures and other similar issues.” This value had become stronger, as she said, “In the past it was a focus, but it has increased. This is what makes people broad-minded.” Andhra spoke about how his appreciation for other religious beliefs has increased. He said, “I studied at a Christian school since kindergarten . . . I know about other religions,” adding, “That way I’m very open and flexible because I’ve read both of them [Our’an and Bible] and know both parts of the stories. Even though they convey the same message . . . I feel having some sort of knowledge of both is very important.” He added, “I think I’ve learned a lot more and it has intensified [the importance of knowing both] as I’ve met other religions and what they think and how they think.” Ronal discussed how openness to other cultures had become more important to him, saying, “Learn from everything-the goods and bads and then make your judgment.” He said, “[It] has made me more mature by learning the goods and bads of American culture. Now I can make a decision between America and India.” Because of this, he said, “I have become more open and aware . . . . I have learned about independence and use that to the fullest, in balance with restrictions.” Fnde In the discussion with Ronal, he described how his love for India had increased, saying, “Indian and proud to be . . . I love my country because of the different cultures which we’ve had in the past and the history of India. I’m very proud,” adding, “Indians have all the capacity and I don’t care what anyone else says, nothing is lacking-~in any field, you will find an Indian.” He added, “. . . I can explain India to others and I am a representative of India to these people . . . . [It has made me] more proud because people like that heritage. People get excited about it too and want to go there.” Jisma also noted that she had become more patriotic about India, saying, “[I am] patriotic--I feel good about my country and its amazing growth.” Because her family resided in Bahrain, she said, “Bahrain is my home; India is my country . . . . My dad was very patriotic [about India], so this is where it comes from.” In her interview, Lakshmi indicated that she had a renewed sense of patriotism since arriving at RMU, saying, “I have gotten more patriotic since I got here . . . . Many 130 people change their attitudes once they get here . . . develop a more negative attitude of India once they get here.” However, this criticism sparked something in her as she said, “I got more patriotic once I heard that . . . I never knew that was in me. Personal devotion Ronal said the devotion to his faith had been strengthened through the twinning experience. He noted, “Sometimes I listen to more Indian devotionals or manuscripts. So, spiritually, I do more than back in India. My mom was too much into that. But when I’m over here, when I feel too low or I have not seen them, I see things from my mom’s view.” He added, “It makes me feel better emotion-wise. It’s relaxing.” In speaking about her faith, Jisma said she didn’t grow up very religious “. . . because my dad was not that religious and he would only go to church on Christmas and Easter.” She added, “. . . you do what your parents do.” However, Jisma said, “I became more religious in the last one year . . . . My'dad passed away last November, and it was a wake up call from that.” She said being “. . . more religious meant . . . praying more and I go to church every Sunday now. Before [my dad died], I had everything I wanted, and then it was just like, ‘What happenedé’” She was quick to point out that “. . . being away from home hasn’t influenced this,” but rather that personal tragedy sparked a stronger adherence to her faith. Friendship Alor also said his friendship and trust with his cohort of twinning students had become stronger since arriving in the U.S. He said, “. . . [with] other twinning students, trust has gone up since we’ve been together for so long and know each other.” 131 Lakshmi said her feeling of connection to Indians had strengthened, saying, “After coming here, I feel most comfortable with Indians.” She explained this by saying, “I think you are always looking for a common bond . . . . Over here everyone is so different, so you look for India as a common bond. I think that’s whatl did.” Opinion As discussed earlier in the text, Shree expressed different opinions than her family on the issues of marriage and religion. Now, she said, “[I am] more willing to express a difference of opinion with my parents than before.” As an example, Shree said, Well, my sister is ten, so if she would come up to me and say she wants to do psychology, it is not considered a good major in India. Like I wanted to do criminal psychology and my dad was like, “What do you want to do with thaté” But if my sister would want to do that, I would make sure she does that. And before I came here, I would have given into my parents’ thinking. Integrity Alor discussed his freedom in the U.S. and how it had strengthened his character. He said, “I’ve had more freedom and had to check my character. There are so many people who go off track after coming to the U.S. . . . the U.S. pulls at it a lot.” He added, “I’ve never misused it [freedom] . . . it’s more tempting to get out of character, but because of that, [my character has] become stronger.” Diplomacy Andhra discussed the value of diplomacy, which became stronger during his time at RMU. He said, “My family taught me about non-violence and having a fair 132 debate and doing everything peacefully. That is something that I was taught at home.” He continued, “People are very peaceful here compared to back home, but my relation to twinning is that it has intensified this particular value. People over here want to sort out everything peacefully or really they don’t care.” As an example, he stated, “. . . usually if something wenttwrong in a restaurant, I would start arguing with the waiter back home. But over here, if I just explain it to them, they bring a replacement and I am happy. So I’ve changed my approach to tackle these situations,” adding, I try to avoid arguments or debates or fights as much as possible . . . because I don’t see people doing it here and they are much better off. It takes so much effort to argue or think about arguing and people over here don't care and they forget about it after awhile and they are happy. He added, “I’ve learned a lot from people here; they are a lot more composed.” Confidence Alor spoke about how his confidence in setting and attaining his goals had increased, saying, Four years back, to know I’d be in the US and making big money . . . I couldn’t think of those things before. After I joined twinning, I could make my own goal that I live on my own, make my own life, be successful and make my own money; even I saw for myself a good future. He continued, “After coming here, I see many people getting jobs. So, I think with my attitude and mentality I can reach the place I want.” As an example, he said, “Even with my part-time job on campus, I decided that my goal was to be supervisor and I was there very soon. I didn’t cheat or bribe, but 133 won people’s hearts and worked very hard. So, I have confidence if I do the job, I will get there.” Self-a wareness In discussing what had become more important to him since leaving, Andhra said it was not until he left home that the common things he took for granted began to take on more value. He said, “. . . there are so many things I wouldn’t have thought two or three years ago because I have become more self-aware of what my likes and dislikes are because I miss them. But as I said, when we were about to leave, these things started coming to my mind,” adding, “[For example,] I bet even for a person who has never been outside of their own culture and then goes, they probably won’t think about how much they love American food until they have the opportunity to miss it.” bfeszyle Regarding his fun-loving side, Alor thought his time in the U.S. has added to his commitment to this lifestyle. He said, “I think whatever you do, have the maximum fun. Enjoy life.” As an example, he said, “On the thirtieth of December, we decided to go to New York for Times Square and in half-an—hour we left. We just rented a car and went. I don’t even have a license, only an international permit.” He added, “Flirt with American girls, go work, you know . . . go to the limit. That’s what I do. Don’t harm anybody.” When asked about this lifestyle and his experience in the RMU program, he said, “Twinning has helped a lot.” As the preceding section described aspects of culture that the students indicated had strengthened, the following section is concerned with those cultural aspects 134 (lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs) which were described as having diverged or arisen for the first time, that is, variation. Variation The following segment will not only note variation in lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs, but will also classify degrees of variation-~with variation defined as new and/ or divergent lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs. The present theme is exhibited through social interaction, behavioral adaptation, identity adjustment, workplace values, tolerance, tradition, outlook, independence, ambition, family connection, learning, and stereotyping. This discussion on variation is particularly significant, as will be shown in the following chapter. 5 061221 interaction Ronal learned different ways of interacting when around his American friends, saying, “I was in a fraternity, a business fraternity. It was a good experience . . . if I wouldn’t have joined, I would not have learned so many things like interviewing, resume building, general way to talk and interact with people.” He added, “In a fraternity you know all twenty-five people, so you learn how to talk with them.” Ronal continued speaking about how he learned from his new relationships with Americans, saying the more he was around them the more comfortable it was. He said, “. . . Americans are totally different. I didn’t know what to talk about and how to react in situations, but when I came to talk to them and be with them it became easier.” 135 Andhra discussed his friendships with Americans and how he adapted himself to better fit into their way of life. He said he began to “. . . slowly jell into the American group of friends, started dressing, talking like them, listening to their music,” adding, “I thought it would be a better chance for myself if I jelled around a little bit with American friends. I never drifted away from my old friends, just wanted to make new friends while I was here.” While Alor’s traditional values were important to him, he discovered that living in a new culture sometimes required these values to be adapted or compromised. He related the following story: “At my workplace, my boss said I can call her Lacy. In my culture we cannot call an elder by their first name, but here we have to.” He continued, “Here, if you say, ‘Sir, can you help meé’ they ask us to call them by their first name . . . which is against my culture, but you can’t help it here.” Lakshmi described how she had to learn to speak differently in order to be understood by other Americans. She said, “Changing from the British accent to the American one . . . I’m still working on that.” She related the following story, I remember in my first semester I had this friend of mine, he was with me in two of my classes and he realized I had a problem with the accent. In British English you say, “Plant” and I responded to a professor once and he wouldn’t get me and I thought, “What the hell is going oné” And this guy he just shouted from behind me, “Plant, Plant!” It was so embarrassing and it happened in front of the whole class. I think that’s very funny. And we say “Granite” and my colleague said its, “Granite.” I’m like okay . . . 186 Bebe Vjora/ adaptation Shree described how certain aspects of her behavior were different in America than back home. She said, “I go more clubbing and all of that over here, which I wouldn’t be doing in India. It wouldn’t be as accepted by my family,” adding, “As a girl, I wouldn’t be allowed to stay out late. I stay out the whole night [here], but in India, I would stay out till one o’clock a.m. maximum.” When asked why she behaved differently here than back home, she said, “I guess the culture around me and no constraints and no one is telling me to stay home.” Jisma spoke about how her behavior changed when her cultural surroundings changed upon arrival at RMU. She said, “I had a curfew back home of nine o’clock and here no one cares. In India, you have rules to follow because you’re staying with your parents until you’re 18 or 21.” She continued, “Even if I was in India and my parents were not there, I would not stay out that late because the neighbors would talk, you knowé Here, no one cares about what the other is doing. In India, everyone makes sure.” This did not bother Jisma, as she said, “Well, it’s like when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” In discussing her traditional views of divorce and living together, Jisma said, “. . . twinning has weakened this sentiment. I would be okay with divorce, but my family would not.” She continued, “I would be open to a live-in relationship . . . this may be because of twinning or just getting older.” However, she stated that while “. . . I would be okay living with a boy in the U.S., I would never do it in India.” Shree spoke about her traditional dress saying she no longer wore it very often, and now wore both “American” clothes and the clothes of home. She said, “I still wear 137 Indian clothes, but not as much as I did in Trinity College, when I had to wear it everyday,” adding, “Like fifty-fifty Western and Indian wear. If there is a formal occasion here, I would wear American here, but over in India I would wear a sari because everyone else would be wearing them.” Shree added, “Even dressing for these parties, over here I would wear a halter or more revealing clothing, but back home, I wouldn’t.” Identity 307115022th While Ronal admits he learned much from his interactions with Americans, he said he remained “. . . more or less the same person.” He said, “Like an Internet web browser, it remains the same, you just add more things and add-ons to it, like this feature and that feature. I'm the same person, just now more add-ons, like how to talk to and react to people.” Ronal related the value of being able to navigate different cultures to his business back home, saying, “. . . as a marketing guy, I’ll know how to be with different clients.” Andhra discussed how he learned to act “American” and yet retained his “Indian-ness,” saying, “If you want I could switch back right now and speak in my original English accent, my British English accent. It never really occurred to me that I would be completely Americanized, that’s not possible for me. But I wanted to learn what I came here to learn.” He added, “I would still hang out at home and cook dinner with them [Indian friends] and then the next night go bowling with my American friends . . . . I really didn’t feel like I left my Indian culture and became Westernized.” 138 Workplace values Andhra’s family owned a business, which he planned to work for upon graduation. He talked about the workplace values he experienced in the U.S. that were foreign to the Indian workplace. He planned to implement these values in his business, saying, I did an internship with a company called Roundy’s. It’s a retail company in Milwaukee and I got to see their corporate culture . . . and how they conducted their entire business with so much ethics and discipline. I’d like to apply that back to my business, especially punctuality, dress code, and definitely professionalism-—punctuality and professionalism, two very big differences [from the Indian workplace]. Rajat said he had changed since “. . . being on my own in America.” In comparing the U.S. and Indian workplace, he said, “The U.S. follows rules and utilizes technology better . . . . [and I’ve become] more punctual since coming to America,” adding, “. . . I want to take these things back to India to make it better.” Through his twinning experience Rajat said he now understands why “. . . India is lagging behind and why the U.S. is so successful.” Tolerance Ronal spoke about his exposure to the diversity of American culture and learning new ways of thinking. He said, “In America, you find different views, points . . . some hate America, some like America, someone likes rock music, someone is bisexual, someone is lesbian--we never had those in India.” He added, “It’s seeing all those and grabbing the goods and bad. It’s a learning process.” 139 Andhra spoke in general about how he became less conservative and more open minded through the course of his twinning experience. He said, “. . . once I got into this program, I met a lot of people and it [the change] was a lot about them also. In terms of what I think is not right, there are some things that have changed . . . . It’s basically made my views more open.” He continued, “. . . open minded and less conservative . . . to how things function now and the politics and pressure around you. Basically I’ve just learned to accept that there is a lot going on around me that I wasn’t aware of back home.” Tradition Shree described how “. . . respecting your elders even if you aren’t close to them” was important for her. Yet she spoke of a lessening affinity for some of these practices, such as one involving the touching of feet, which is “. . . like taking their blessings.” She said, “[It’s] just being a part of Indian and family culture . . . my family is very particular about this.” But, she added, “. . . it’s one of the things I don’t like about my culture, the touching feet.” Shree said, “ffhis practice has become] less important. You don’t have to go all out and do these kinds of things.” In fact, she preferred a hug, saying, “Hugging would mean more than touching your feet.” Alor indicated his strong adherence and belief in traditional values. He said, “Traditional values . . . worshipping God, respecting elders, I can never go against these things. They are from our ancestors.” 140 Outlook Lakshmi noted a particular change of attitude regarding her approach to life, saying she now prefers the freedom and laid-back attitude of America. She said, “I like the fact that there are a lot of opportunities here. Back in India or Dubai, we say you are given one chance in life and should not screw it up.” She continued, I think that attitude of mine has changed since I’ve been here. [Now I think], “You have plenty of opportunities and don’t need to restrict yourself.” Like when I was in the twelfth grade, you have to score your best to get into the best university or else you are ruined for life. They just torture you about those kinds of things. When discussing this attitude, Lakshmi spoke about the influence of her extended family in America. She said, “I think of my family friends who are over here, they are more relaxed about everything and that you won’t ruin your life with one small mistake.” She added, “I like my relatives out here . . . they are more relaxed and laid back about things.” Independence Rajat discussed how his family’s influence on his life had changed, saying, “Their influence has decreased since coming [to RMU]; I am more independent.” While the relationship had been altered, Rajat still acknowledged their influence, saying, “They give me freedom, but can revoke it if necessary, like a remote control.” Ambition Discussing her goals following graduation, Lakshmi said, “[I want] to find a job for sure, but if that doesn’t work out, I’m keeping graduate school as a back-up--it is 141 not my first priority right now, job is my priority.” She said how these goals went against her parents’ wishes, but were supported by her American relatives, “[My] parents--not very supportive. My family over here--pretty supportive. [They say] if you want to go ahead, go ahead and if you have something else in your life, go ahead with that. It’s pretty much me for myself kind of thing.” Family connection Lakshmi also spoke about a diminished connection to home, saying, “Parents--I think generally after you’ve stayed away for a few years you would like to keep that distance . . . . Just the fact that I’ve been away for four years and there have been so many changes.” She added, “My relations back in India, I think I feel a little bit emotional when I just call them and that’s it. It stays for just a few hours and then it’s gone” Learning Andhra spoke about how he developed a new view of education and schooling and preferred the style he experienced at RMU. He said, “The professors here give you a chance to develop individually, rather than the spoon feeding that takes place back home . . . . Spoon feeding is what they do . . . they make you study the book and everything is books,” adding, “Books and theory is given so much emphasis versus practical assignments and projects and presentations is what is given here; they give us more real-world based assignments. So back home it’s more in the books.” For example, he said, If you learn Chapters one to ten, you are intelligent. But if you step outside in the job and know nothing, you are still intelligent because you got a ninety 142 percent in school. Over here, if you have a 2.6 GPA. and fair well in an interview, you can get hired at a very good company . . . . I think it makes more sense over here. Stereog/pmg Lakshmi discussed how coming to RMU had “opened her eyes” and dispelled previous notions of what America was like. She said, It’s always good to go to another country and study. It opens your eyes to a whole different world. For instance, all I watched on Hollywood was like New York and that was my idea of America and then I came here and realized that it is not the whole of America--the buildings and stuff. You have a lot of misconceptions before you come into a country and it’s all different when you are staying in that country and experiencing it. It’s totally different. Before she came, Lakshmi said she thought all Americans “. . . do is drink, drink, drink or party, party, party . . . but that’s not it . . . . You see it’s just an aspect of their life, not all of their life. You learn not to judge people on one particular thing you see.” Summaiy To summarize and classify the students’ degree of variation presented in the preceding discussion: Lakshmi’s adoption of a new “American-style” laid-back approach to life, a diminished connection to her family in India, and linguistic adaptation to sound more American suggests a high level of variation; Andhra’s relational and linguistic adaptation to fit in with his American friends, adoption of new workplace values, and a less conservative and more open-minded approach to his views and opinions demonstrate a high level of variation; Ronal’s linguistic and 143 relational adaptation to match his American friends as well as the exposure to American-style diversity which prompted new ways of thinking about other viewpoints demonstrates a high level of variation; Rajat’s increased independence from his family and adoption of what he understood as American workplace values demonstrates a moderate level of variation; Jisma’s attitude of“. . . when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” and her adoption of new beliefs that go against her family’s, such as divorce and living together, suggest a moderate level of variation; Shree’s examples of adapting to more American-style dress and new social activities (clubbing) but lack of significant interpersonal-related change suggests a low level of variation; Alor’s isolated example of adapting a traditional value to the workplace suggests a low level of variation. Table 4 Summary of changes in lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs categorized by intensifica tion or variation intensification variation Andhra - relationship with family was - became less conservative and more strengthened open-minded to other vieWpoints - increased appreciation for other - changed relational patterns to match religious beliefs American friends - value of non-violence and civility - changed speech patterns to match increased American friends - adopted new workplace values (punctuality and professionalism) to implement in family business Ronal - increased pride in Indian heritage - linguistic adaptation to match and traditions American friends - devotion to faith increased - increased openness to American- - importance of family increased style diversity - relational adaptation to match style of American friends Alor - relationship with family became - adapted traditional value to better stronger fit workplace, i.e., respecting elders - confidence to attain goals increased - commitment to “getting the maximum from life” was strengthened 144 intensification variation Alor cont’d increased commitment to traditional values--Cod and respecting elders Rajat strengthened affection for home and traditions adopted new workplace values, i.e., punctuality, adherence to policy, . and utilizing technological innovations increased independence from family Jisma devotion to her faith increased relationship with family was strengthened became more patriotic about India adopted new view on divorce that goes against tradition adopted new view on living together which clashes with tradition interaction with host culture was guided by the attitude of “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” Lakshmi became more patriotic towards India connection to parents diminished adopted more laid-back and relaxed attitude of her American relatives towards life and career changed her speech to sound more American change in perceptions of America Shree increase in “broad-mindedness” increased interest in learning about other cultures increased willingness to express differences of opinion with parents adapted to more American-style dress adoption of new social activity (clubbing) Table 5 Classrfi'ca tion of degree of van'a tion, 1'. e., new and/or divergent values, traditions; beliefi, and lifestyle cb oices; degree was determined as follows: big]: 2 three or more notable variations; moderate = two notable variations; low = little or no indication of SI nificant variations degree of variation Lakshmi - high Andhra high Ronal high Rajat moderate Jisma moderate Shree low Alor low 145 Conclusion In concluding this chapter, it is important to note the history of the student experience up to the point of indicating a change in their lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs. This history followed the primary themes of the study: family as foundation, attitudes of predisposition to cultural experiences and/or twinning, safety net of sociocultural support, engagement of the host culture in varying degrees, and variation or change in cultural understanding. This chapter included a considerable amount of information about the students’ background and experience in America. How that information is connected and what it means will be discussed in the following chapter as the primary themes of the study are compared. 146 CHAPTER SIX Discussion: Ethnic identity, theory, and implications This chapter seeks to clarify the connection between the key themes in this study with the original research question presented in Chapter One. This study is guided by the premise that attitudes toward and perceptions of one’s ethnic identity are central to the psychological functioning and well-being of those operating in an environment where their group and culture are in the minority (Phinney, 1990; Phinney, Horenczyk, Liebkind, 81 Vedder, 2001). Ethnic identity provides a way of understanding the potential challenges associated with twinning participation and suggests what relationship exists between perceptions of identity and transnational education programs (T omlinson, 2003; Weinreich, 1983). The current study was designed to examine how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program. The context in which this question was examined was at a regional Midwestern university (RMU) in the U.S. with active twinning partnerships with three South Indian institutions. In relationship to the above stated design of the research, this study makes a notable contribution by way of an emergent theory elicited from the key findings, which has both theoretical and practical/applied significance. In proceeding with the material introduced in this chapter, the following pages present a) a synopsis of and connection between key themes, b) theoretical contributions, c) applied contributions, and d) limitations and considerations for further research. 147 Key themes: Synopsis and comparison This section presents an overview of the key themes and elaborates on the relationship between themes where appropriate. The following themes evidenced themselves as most prominent and central to understanding the student experience: a) family as the foundational force and influence in the lives of the students; b) engagement of the host culture; c) predisposition to twinning and/ or host culture engagement; d) the sociocultural safety net; and e) changes in lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs, that is, culture. are t m'l The foundational theme of the interviews was the students’ relationship with parents and family as the basis for their lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs (i.e., culture). The relationship with their family was underscored by a pervasive sense of indebtedness and the desire to bring them honor. They had an understanding and deep appreciation for what their parents had sacrificed and given to them. Rajat stated, “Whatever I am now is because of my parents and whatever I will be in the future . . . it would be because of my parents. They have given me much. I didn’t ask . . . they just give it to me.” Andhra added, “They have always supported me and I’ve depended on them. So the least I can do is to keep them happy.” Jisma spoke about this relationship, saying, “Family is very important, after all they have done for me, I could never do something like put them in a nursing home.” Tied to this sense of indebtedness was an understanding that their lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs were the same as those of their family. There was a sense that this was not something they chose, but rather the natural order of things. 148 Ronal stated, “Everything I am today is because of my parents, the values, and the culture.” When discussing his family, Alor stated, “Between my values and my family’s values there are similarities, but no differences.” Lakshmi said that she and her family shared the same values, with “. . . only one difference being that I am past my marriageable age.” Jisma added, “We are mirrors of our parents . . . you do what your parents do.” The students’ stories pointed toward a communal understanding of culture: they and their families shared a common understanding of lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs. The students’ communal understanding of culture spoke to their overall understanding of the primacy of the family over the individual. The students’ decisions were guided by this understanding. Shree said, “I’m very conservative about making decisions and thinking about my family and what fits into the culture and my family . . . I will only be happy if my family is happy.” Andhra echoed this sentiment, saying, “We really need to think twice before doing things in order to be accepted into the community and be socially compatible. I love my family too much and would make sacrifices to keep them happy.” Alor added, “I have to keep family as the first thing . . . I take them as the final authority.” This strong family-student bond grounded them firmly in the culture of their family. Who they were and how they defined themselves was inexorably bound up in this understanding. The students’ embodiment of their family’s culture as the foundation of who they were was the guiding principle in their lives. 149 I: re The students ventured out of their safety net to engage the host culture in varying degrees (see Table 3). Some did not feel the need to leave the safety net, while for others, engaging the culture was one of their priorities while at RMU. As discussed earlier, engagement refers to the act of intentionally engaging America and Americans: those people and experiences beyond the Indian community and culture. Ronal described how he intentionally engaged the host culture, saying, “I lived in the dorms instead of living with my friends off-campus so I can make American friends. That’s why I decided not to have an Indian roommate.” In addition to living in the residence halls, he “. . . was in a fraternity, a business fraternity,” adding, “It was a good experience. I took a position as vice president of internal affairs.” Ronal’s choice to live in the residence halls with an American roommate as well as his significant level of activity in the fraternity characterized his highly engaged relationship with the host culture. Rajat also discussed his interactions, which included a mix of the local and international community. He said, “I joined IPC, International Program Council, for all international and American students. I get to see lots of people from other cultures as they are studying here and we are discussing political issues and all those things.” He added, “I also got connected to American families . . . who want to learn about other cultures through . . . meeting the international students.” Rajat’s participation in RMU’s international programs as well as his light involvement with local American families characterized a moderate engagement with the host culture. 150 Andhra was very engaged with those of the host culture. He said, “My first involvement with a lot of Americans was a business professional fraternity. I was the only Indian who joined, so they were kinda excited.” He continued, “I started hanging out with them more . . . I played ice hockey with them and we went skiing in the winter . . . . As I started jelling with them, they nominated me for a position within the fraternity, and I just kept climbing up. I started to organize activities for people who started rushing. It was a good experience.” He added, “I see myself as an Indian spreading the common culture.” Andhra’s considerable level of involvement with his fraternity in addition to his close American friendships characterized his high engagement with the host culture. Alor found himself frustrated and unable to develop many relationships outside of the Indian community. He said, “I know the social life in Gnanabad and how to get along with people. I expected similar over here, but it wasn’t that easy. Americans are not that friendly,” adding, “I have only one very good American friend and we’re really close.” The exception to his lack of American friends was at his place of work. Alor said, “Now at my workplace, I’ve made friends. I am already closer and have dated American girls there, [but] not at school.” Alor’s negative attitude toward and lack of relationships with Americans at RMU, while developing relationships with Americans in the work environment, characterized his low to moderately engaged relationship with the host culture. For Jisma, she was initially intentional about engaging the host culture, but found it more comfortable to stick with the relationships within her existing cohort of friends, saying, “When I first came here, I stayed in the dorms,” adding, “It was not the 151 best thing [as] I just hung out with Trinity College friends . . . and I didn’t make an effort to know anyone around me.” She added, “Thirty of us transferred here together . . . there was no need to reach out and meet anyone.” For this reason, low engagement characterized her relationship with the host culture. Like Jisma, Shree had the intention of engaging the culture, but ended up staying mostly within her preexisting circle of friends. She said, “I wanted to join one of these fraternities. I started off with the whole initiation, but it was just too much . . . and I stopped doing it,” adding, “I would have wanted to join . . . it would have given me more friends.” When asked about relationships outside of the twinning cohort, she only mentioned her roommate, saying, “I had a Chinese roommate . . . [and] I’m still good friends with that roommate.” Shree’s lack of relationships and involvement outside of her Trinity College friends characterized her low engagement relationship with the host culture. The majority of Lakshmi’s interactions outside of the RMU community consisted of her Indian American relatives, described in the previous “Connection to home” section. Lakshmi lives with her sister in a city north of RMU and described her impression of the people in America as, “I think they are pretty friendly.” Referring to the attitude of her Indian American relatives, she said, “I like the fact that nobody bothers about anybody else’s life. Nobody pokes their nose into unwanted business.” Lakshmi’s close relationship with her Indian American relatives provides a unique situation where she engages American culture and at the same time resides in the familiar safety net of her home culture. Because of this, her engagement with the host culture is described as moderate. 152 The students possessed attitudes of predisposition towards new experiences, which manifested itself by way of a desire to enroll in twinning and/ or experience a new culture. Ronal said he came to America “. . . to know people and how Americans are and what’s so different about them.” Ronal believed that his previous experience in “. . . boarding school had prepared me [for twinning].” Rajat described himself as “. . . a person that likes to explore new things,” adding that his “. . . interest in twinning is more about seeing a new culture than going to school. I want to see the world more than anything.” Andhra said, “I came here to experience the people over here. How I saw this exchange program was coming to experience America with American people.” Regarding her twinning enrollment, Shree said, “I knew what I’d be exposed to and wanted that exposure. I think that would make me better than those who have just studied in India.” Jisma expressed similar sentiment, saying she “. . . had always wanted to go outside of India for my studies.” For Lakshmi, her attitude towards twinning was shaped by her statement that she wanted to enroll in the program “. . . because my sister came here first [to study in America].” The discussion of attitudes of predisposition (Table 1) took two forms: host culture engagement and twinning participation. A question that raised itself was what type of relationship existed between these predispositions and actual levels of engagement. Table 6 (below) attempts to draw some implications about the relationship by comparing these two themes (Tables 1 and 3). 153 In examining just the host culture engagement (HCE) column in Table 6, it is noted that the corresponding level of engagement with each possessor of HCE is “high,” “high,” “moderate,” and “low.” In examining only the twinning participation (TP) column, it is noted that the corresponding level of engagement with each possessor of TP is “low,” “low,” “moderate,” and “high.” In addition,” those who had a predisposition to only HCE had “high” and “moderate” levels of engagement, while those solely in possession of TP had “low” and “moderate” levels of engagement. However, the nature of the relationship between HCE, TP, and levels of actual engagement as found in this study is inconclusive. It can merely be speculated that an inverse relationship may exist between predisposition attitudes and levels of engagement, e. g., HCE predisposition and higher levels of engagement, and TC and lower levels of engagement. Table 6 Predigposition attitudes and le vel of engagem ent host culture j twinning level of engagement participation engagement Ronal J v high Andhra \l - high Rajat \l moderate Alor ~ - low/ moderate Shree \l VT low Jisma - \l low Lakshmi - \l moderate oci e et As noted in Chapter Five, the students engaged the host culture in varying degrees, yet at the same time were a part of a social and cultural safety net, which provided a sense of reconnection to home and ease of adjustment to the host culture. The safety net was primarily comprised of the cohort of Indian students who spent the first two years of the program together at Trinity College and then 154 transferred to RMU for the final two years. It also included relationships outside of the Trinity College cohort, such as stateside relatives and the local Indian community. Andhra said, “I’ve been lucky to have my Indian friends transfer here which makes it much easier for me to socialize . . . the Indian community is so big here that you don’t feel out of place so much.” Alor said, “Because I came with a group of twenty students . . . this made for very good bonding; as soon as we came here, we could lean on each other for support.” Rajat added, “I never got alienized after coming here . . . . There was already a community of Indians that kept me connected to home culture and home language.” Jisma said, “Thirty of us transferred here together, so there was no need to reach out and meet anyone. I came here with my best friends . . . . It was an easy transition. It would have been a lot harder if I would have come alone.” Shree said, “I came here with a group of twenty students . . . . I would say that is a good thing, when coming from far away you have this group to talk to . . . . I am only very close to my twinning group.” Referring to the Trinity College cohort, Ronal said, “We know everyone in that group for two years, so I knew them and when you come over here, in such a big surrounding, those are the people you know and they’re easier to talk to and be friends with.” For Lakshmi, her safety net was defined more by her relatives in America than the Indian community at RMU. “We have a huge Indian community here in Lake City . . . a lot of family people in Lake City and Windsor. Whenl do see them I feel good . . . . These are people from my own community.” 155 The twinning students were well connected to the safety net and found it helpful in the adjustment to their new surroundings. Yet, for some, the safety net proved to hinder their relationship with the host culture, which then became a source of reclusion, as shown in Chapter Five. And as one might expect, degrees of reclusion generally followed an inverse relationship to levels of host culture engagement. The table below illustrates this point by comparing these two themes (Tables 2 and 3). Table 7 C om pan'son of safety net reclusion with host culture engagement degree of safety level of net reclusion engagement Andhra - low - high Ronal - low - high Rajat - low - moderate Alor - high - low/moderate Jisma - high - low Shree - high - low Lakshmi - moderate - moderate Cultural change/variation In reflecting upon their twinning experience, the students expressed changes in the perception of their lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs, that is, their culture. Changes were described in terms of lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs which intensified or became stronger through the experience (intensification). Additionally, changes were described in which the above concepts had diverged or had arisen for the first time (variation). Up to this point, cultural change has been used to describe the properties of both intensification and variation. Yet, when examining definitions of change, it is described as “becoming different in nature”; “losing one’s original state”; and “to abandon or pass from one form to another” (Princeton University, 2005; Webster’s Dictionary, 1989). 156 These definitions reveal a parallel relationship between change and variation in its description of new and divergent values, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyle choices; the same can not be said for intensification. So, for the purpose of this study, concern will be given only to changes in values, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyle choices which - were new and/ or divergent (i.e., variation), rather than those which only intensified (i.e., intensification). As shown in Chapter Five (Table 4), the students exhibited different ways and expressions of variation. Andhra demonstrated relational and linguistic adaptation to fit in with his American friends, adopted new workplace values, and a less conservative and more open-minded approach to other’s views and opinions. Shree adapted to a more American-style dress and adopted new social activities, such as clubbing. Rajat showed an increased independence from his family and the adoption of what he understood to be American workplace values, such as punctuality, adherence to policy, and utilizing technological innovations. Ronal demonstrated linguistic and relational adaptation to match his American friends as well as new ways of thinking about others’ views and opinions which he attributed to his exposure to American-style diversity. Alor related his adapting of a traditional value to the workplace, while Iisma’s attitude of “. . . when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” guided her adoption of a new attitude on divorce and living together that differed from her family’s. Lakshmi expressed a new “American-style” laid-back approach to life, a diminished connection to her family in India, and linguistic adaptation to sound more American. 157 Classifying degrees of variation by high (three or more notable variations), moderate (two notable variations) and low (little or no indication of significant variation) (see Table 5), allows for a comparison of what relationship may exist between these degrees and other primary themes. Table 8, shown below, draws some conclusions about degrees of change and level of engagement by combining Tables 3 and 5. ’ In combining the data into Table 8, a generally positive correlation emerged between the level of HCE and the degree of change or variation. Therefore, it is reasonable to deduce that greater engagement of the host culture is related to higher levels of cultural change. Additionally, due to the inverse relationship between HCE and safety net reclusion in Table 7, it could be stated that higher degrees of reclusion are related to lower levels of variation. Table 8 Review of b 052‘ culture engagement level and degrees of change level of degree of engagement change Andhra - high - high Ronal - high - high Lakshmi - moderate - high Rajat - moderate - moderate Jisma - low - moderate Alor - low/ moderate - low Shree - low - low Theoretical contributions For this segment, it is helpful to recall how this study defines ethnic identity; that is, a construction or set of self-ideas about one’s understanding of his or her culture (Bernal el al., 1993; Torres, 1999). Similarly, how this study defines culture is also important; that is, the set of distinctive features of society or a social group that encompasses lifestyles, value systems, traditions, and beliefs (UNESCO, 2002). 158 The emergent theory of this study, explained below, has its foundation in the student’s family, that is to say, the lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs (i.e., culture) of the students were firmly rooted in their relationship with their families. The students’ families served as the foundational force and influence in their lives as well as the primary means for describing who they were. It is not certain whether the students’ predispositions lead them to engage the culture, as their predispositions were not uniform, with inclinations towards either twinning enrollment or towards host culture engagement (HCE). In fact, little can be stated about the relationship between the predispositions and other factors in the study, except for speculating that a positive trend may exist between HCE and actual engagement of the host culture, as noted earlier. Exposure to the host culture was influenced by a sociocultural safety net. The safety net, comprised primarily of the twinning student cohort, was a buffer from and informed their adjustment to the new environment. The safety net was viewed by the students as an important component of their twinning experience, yet some were hindered by their strong connection; this hindrance was characterized by reclusion, which demonstrated an inverse relationship with the level of host culture engagement. mam—chm): The most compelling outcome to emerge from the data was a theory called engagement theory, which is about engagement of the host culture, a change in lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs, and the relationship to ethnic identity. This theory is the end result of processing the data through memos, extensive coding, and the comparison of primary themes. The intent of the theory is to stress relatedness 159 between concepts and not necessarily causality. In conceptualizing the subsequent discussion of engagement theory, refer to Figure 1 below. As this study defines culture by lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs (UNESCO, 2002), a change in lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs indicates a change in culture. This change in culture, as shown in the preceding segment, is related to host culture engagement, meaning that greater levels of engagement signify higher degrees of cultural change (T able 8). Since ethnic identity develops from one’s understanding of his/her culture (Bernal et al., 1993; Torres, 1999), a change in culture indicates a change in ethnic identity. Therefore, in light of the relationship between engagement and cultural change discussed in the /\ . , afc t host culture preceding paragraph, it can be emu“ said that for the students in this study, the level of host culture engagement is related to changes in ethnic identity: in essence, higher levels of host lifestyle values tradition beliefs greater change to ethnic \ \ / / culture engagement yields family& community identity. In light of this conclusion, what does change to figure 1‘ Engagement theory Higher levels of host culture engagement are ethnic identity meané Did associated with greater change to ethnic identity, contributing to ethnic identity add-on. ethnogenesis occur, that is, the 160 creation of a new ethnic identity (Flannery, Reise, and Yu, 2001)¢ Rather than ethnogenesis, the data suggests that “add-on” took place in processing these changes. Add-on, analogous to expansion, is an en vivo label (Strauss 8t Corbin, 1990) taken from Ronal’s analogy that “. . . like an Internet web browser, who I am remains the same; I just add more things and add-ons.” Add-on is suggested because while changes in ethnic identity occurred, the students’ family continued to be the foundational force and source of identity in their lives. In fact, as shown in Table 4, each of the students expressed an increased affinity for family and home, with the exception of Shree. Ethnic identity add-on parallels the cognitive-structural model of describing how people think and make meaning of their experiences. In this model, the mind is thought to have structures, or sets of assumptions, for determining how to adapt to and organize one’s environment; these structures are not static, but change, expand, and become more complex as an individual develops (Evans, Forney, and Guido-. DeBrito, 1998). One of the ways that change to mental structures takes place is through assimilation, that is, the process of integrating new information into existing structures, rounding them out and contributing to their expansion (Evans et al., 1998). In applying this explanation of assimilation to engagement theory, by integrating new information-—cultural change--into an existing mental structure or assumption about one’s environment-~ethnic identity--, the end product is the rounding out of the twinning students’ ethnic identity, that is, add-on. While the data from this study do not speak to the degree of add-on experienced by the participants, it may be reasonable to conjecture that the degree of 161 add-on shares a positive correlation with the degree of change to ethnic identity as indicated by the level of host culture engagement and changes to lifestyle, values, traditions, and beliefs, that is, cultural change. Yet, further study is needed before such a claim can be asserted. The preceding paragraphs address the original research question of how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program. Engagement theory addresses this question by explaining that the students’ understanding of their ethnic identity changed to the degree of their host culture engagement. Yet at the heart of their ethnic identity was the students’ family as the foundational force and influence in their lives, contributing to ethnic identity add-on rather than ethnogenesis in response to the change. Engagmtshenntandasfliateflmanire The intent of the ensuing section is to help situate and compare engagement theory with an analogous body of literature, thereby eliciting greater understanding of this emergent theory. For this purpose, acculturation was chosen because of its corresponding relationship to the Indian student experience in this study; acculturation being how individuals deal with culture contact and the resulting change in which attitudes, beliefs, and behavior are the major focus of interest (T rimble, 2003). Additionally, the cognitive-structural notion of assimilation, as previously discussed in relationship to ethnic identity add-on, is similar to acculturation, with acculturation defined as the process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure (Kaufman, n.d.). 162 Currently, there are two broad perspectives among the numerous models of acculturation: the unidirectional model (UDM) and the bidimensional model (BDM) of acculturation (Flannery et al., 2001; Nguyen, Messe, 8t Stollak, 1999). The first model, the UDM, represents cultural change on a linear bipolar continuum, moving in one direction from the home culture to the host culture. In this model, acculturation is ”equated with the process of acquiring the host society’s values and behaviors (Franco, 1983), i.e., the shedding off of an old culture and the taking on of a new culture (Flannery et al., 2001). The second model, the bidimensional model (BDM), involves the intersection of two independent dimensions of cultural orientation based on two questions: (a) Is my cultural identity of value and to be retainedé; and (b) Are positive relations with the larger (dominant) society to be soughté (Berry, 1980). Based on the answers to these questions, four types of acculturation styles are assigned: integration--positive attitude toward both cultures; assimilation-~negative home culture attitude coupled with a positive host culture attitude; separation—-positive home culture attitude coupled with negative host culture attitudes; and marginalization--negative attitude toward both cultures (Berry, Trimble, 8E Olmedo, 1986; Culhane, 2004; Flannery et al., 2001; Sayegh 8t Lasry, 1993). Comparison of UDM to engagement theory The appeal of the unidirectional model of acculturation (U DM) is in its simplicity, assuming the long-term and inevitable impact of culture contact results in greater change towards host culture values, beliefs, etc. This understanding is comparable to the current study in its finding of a correlation between engagement 163 and change, but not necessarily at the expense of disconnection from the home culture. The UDM posits that the home culture gradually disappears as one enters the social and cultural institutions of the host culture, eventually serving as its replacement. If the students in this study lived in the U.S. long enough, it may be the case that they would assimilate to the point’of losing the home culture to gain that of the host’s. However, as noted in the study, the students’ families were the foundational force and influence in their lives and the data did not point to such diminishment. Conceptually, unidirectionality poses a problem in applying the UDM to engagement theory. While it would be possible to place the participants of this study at different points on such a scale, the difficulty resides in the lack of data indicating " their progression in the same direction towards the host culture. However, if the UDM scale was bidirectional, where the individual could move either toward the home or host culture, this study’s data might be more accurately represented. As noted in Chapter Five, the students in the study indicated that some aspects of their traditional lifestyles, values, traditions, and beliefs had become more like the host culture’s while other aspects had actually intensified toward their family’s tradition; in terms of cultural change, they moved bidirectionally on the UDM scale. This difficulty exemplifies the problem in applying the UDM to this study’s theory, demonstrating the students’ commitment to their family’s traditional culture while at the same time representing changes to their ethnic identity. The minimalism and unidirectionality of the UDM does not accommodate for this more complex 164 understanding to be represented. Additionally, the difficulty in its application can also be attributed to the fact that the UDM assumes time as a variable, while this study represented a snapshot or moment in the students’ lives. Comparison of BDM to engagement theory The bidimensional model (BDM) provides an alternative understanding of acculturation than the UDM. This model allows for additional degrees of complexity to be represented in ways the UDM does not, given the independence of the host and home culture relationship. In comparing this independent relationship to the data from this study, although change occurred in varying degrees alongside the students’ commitment to their family’s culture, the data did not confirm an independent relationship between host and home culture attitudes or levels of commitment. As the major difference between the UDM and BDM, this study recognizes but is unable to make a statement about the nature of this relationship. The BDM states that acculturation involves choice, selectively adapting values and culture, thereby making the changes dynamic in nature rather than uniform. The data from this study confirms this idea, as the changes expressed by the students were not uniform, not only in degrees but also in nature and form. The students exercised choice in terms of greater or lesser degrees of engagement, which as stated earlier, was associated with changes in ethnic identity. The BDM determines acculturation style through attitude assessment. The two questions used to determine acculturation attitudes (i.e., Is my cultural identity of value and to be retainedi— and, Are positive relations with the dominant society to be 165 soughté) (Berry, 1980) connects with this study’s data from the student interviews in its recognition of the tension between home and host cultures. In comparing the BDM’s measurement of attitudes with the current study’s population, it can be reasonably speculated that the students would each answer “yes” to, “Is my cultural identity of value and to be retainedé” (Berry, 1980, p. 13). Chapter Five’s “Family foundation” supports this speculation as the students’ families served as the foundational force and influence in their lives. Yet, the response to the second question, “Are positive relations with the dominant society to be soughté” (Berry, 1980, p. 13), would most likely be less uniform among the population. Based on Table 1, Ronal, Rajat, Andhra, and Shree could be expected to respond affirmatively, while it is more difficult to speculate on the responses of Jisma, Lakshmi, and Alor. By answering “yes” to the first question, the BDM provides two probable options for the twinning students: integrated or separated. Again, to speculate on student attitudes, the two categories appear to be generally accurate in capturing the voice of the population in Chapter Five’s “Engaging the host culture,” that is: integration-- the kinds of relationships that I ha ve with Indians are valuable while the kinds of relationships I ha ve with Amen'cans are also worth while, and separation-- most of m y friends are Indians, because I feel very comfortable around them, but I don ’t feel as comfortable with Amen'cans (Berry, Kim, Power, Young, 8.! Bujaki, 1989). While both questions of the BDM attempt at understanding acculturation through attitudes towards the home and host culture, this study neither confirmed nor refuted a relationship between attitudes of predisposition and levels of engagement and change. However, when taken out of the context of attitude, the second question 166 (Are positive relations with the dominant society to be soughté) does relate to this study’s finding that engagement of the host culture is related to change in ethnic identity. Rather than in seeking relations with the dominant culture, change was found when the students actually engaged in relations with the dominant culture. As acculturation addresses how individuals deal with culture contact and the resulting change (Trimble, 2003), acculturation theory was chosen for comparison because of the analogous relationship to the students’ experience in this study. Through its similarities and differences, the review of acculturation theory elicits greater understanding of engagement theory, as well as situates the theory in relationship to a comparable body of literature. Applied contributions In addition to the theoretical contributions discussed in the preceding section, this study also makes important applied contributions. In this section, the applied contributions of the study will be explained in reference to the issues raised in Chapter One, namely, a) the relationship of the students’ twinning experience to neocolonial practices, and b) considerations for twinning program practice in light of the data. e o ' ct'c As concluded in the preceding paragraphs, engagement theory emerged from the students’ stories about host culture engagement and changes to ethnic identity. The following paragraphs examine this conclusion in light of the concerns raised about the nature of twinning programs and their relationship to neocolonial practices. At first glance, changes in ethnic identity share a likeness to cultural imperialism, which is the reordering of values, behavior and identity in the interest of 167 those in a place of power (Petras, 2000; Tomlinson, 1991). The similarity with this study is found in the change in values, behavior, and identity that occurred to varying degrees in the lives of the students. Yet as noted above in the definition, the key aspect of cultural imperialism is not simply reordering, but reordering in the interest of the dominant group. In the case of this study, it could be argued that the institution administering the twinning program--the dominant group--had an interest in and benefited from the changes to ethnic identity. Such benefits from the changes to ethnic identity might include the creation of workers better adjusted to Western norms and culture, and thereby better equipped to contribute professionally in a way that promotes and serves the interest of Western institutions. However, it could also be argued that twinning students benefited from the changes to ethnic identity. The advantage from such changes to ethnic identity might include giving the students greater professional flexibility through cross-cultural relational and workplace skills, thereby gaining advantages in employment and social mobility. Aside from these conjections, the comparison of the present study’s changes in ethnic identity to cultural imperialism does not hold up due to the lack of data demonstrating the students’ manipulation by the twinning institution to serve its own interest. To the contrary, it might be better argued that a duality of interests was served; that is, interest became a two-way street by benefiting both the student participant and the twinning provider. As for the neocolonial practices of colonial alienation and educational hybridity raised in the first chapter, it cannot be asserted that either were associated with the students’ twinning experience in the current study. A central component of each of 168 these conditions is detachment and alienation from the home culture (Braman, n.d.; wa Thiong’o, 1981); this description does not fit with the students’ experience as they evidenced a strong connection to their family and home culture in spite of the changes , to ethnic identity. As a component of engagement theory, ethnic identity add-on speaks to the way in which these connections to family and culture were maintained by the students in spite of the changes that occurred. Thus, add-on invalidates such claims of neocolonial practice as they require a severance or disconnect from the family and home culture (Braman, n.d.; wa Thiong’o, 1981). For the reasons stated in the preceding paragraphs, it cannot be concluded with certainty that a correlation exists between the twinning program of this study and neocolonial practices. Im ' ' ti Practical applications for institutions already engaged in or planning to begin a twinning partnership are offered in the following paragraphs from the perspective of the student experience. As this study found host culture engagement to be related to changes in ethnic identity, considerations examine what the twinning institution’s role should be in relationship to such engagement. Fostering community The first recommendation for institutions engaged/ engaging in twinning is to intentionally encourage the students’ connection to home (i.e. safety net) by fostering a sense of community among twinning participants. In this way, being cognizant and wary of India’s colonial past, risk of the students’ separation from their culture can be minimized, thereby avoiding accusations of perpetuating neocolonial practices. Encouraging the students’ connection to home by fostering a sense of community can 169 be done in a number of ways; the following are suggestions for how this might be accomplished. Similar to RMU, institutions may consider utilizing the cohort system, where students who have been grouped together for two years at the off-shore site are intentionally brought over together as one group to the on-shore site. In the case of this study, the twinning students described their close relational bond to one another as a product of the nature of the cohort system. Another suggestion for developing a sense of community among the twinning students is through intentional and communal living arrangements. Institutions may consider encouraging their students to live together through the designation of certain residence hall floors for twinning participants or through the development of twinning/international fraternity or sorority houses. In addition to living arrangements, institutions may consider requiring first year twinning students to enroll in a special semester or year-long “twinning only” academic seminar through which the students develop a closer sense of community. Active, well-funded student groups may also be an avenue for developing community among these students. RMU’s international student groups were not successful in doing this as the twinning students complained that they were stagnant and a waste of time. However, the on-shore institution may be able to invigorate such groups by pledging greater support through funding and raised visibility on campus. Campus interaction As well as encouraging the connection to home by fostering a sense of community among the twinning population, this study recommends that institutions 170 also foster interaction between the twinning students and the campus culture. While data from this study suggests that greater connection/ engagement leads to greater change in ethnic identity, the data does not indicate this change adversely affects the student. In light of this, institutions may consider ways to engage these students and their culture in a manner that enriches and enhances the campus environment. Moreover, intentional efforts to engage the twinning students may also serve to discourage safety net reclusion and withdrawal as described in Chapter Five. The following are suggestions for ways the on—shore institution can support interaction between the campus culture and the twinning students. To begin, institutions may consider requiring all twinning students to live in the residence halls during their first semester or year at the on-shore site, thereby encouraging social interaction with American students outside of the classroom. In addition to living on- campus, requiring twinning students to participate in the orientation for new domestic students rather than just the international student orientation is another way to encourage this type of interaction. Another suggestion is to have regular campus programs that are attractive to and target bringing together domestic and international students; for example, sponsoring a discussion panel addressing pertinent topics that impact both domestic and twinning students, such as job outsourcing and other implications of twenty-first century globalization. Intramural athletics participation by the twinning students is another way the institution can encourage engagement between these students and the general student population. By promoting certain leagues with sports the students 171 are familiar with, such as soccer or field hockey, the institution can encourage such involvement and interaction. Besides encouraging engagement to enhance the campus environment, there is an argument to be made that such opportunities for interaction also benefit the twinning student. Such opportunities present the twinning students with a more genuine choice about their interaction with the campus culture. Minimizing feelings of ostracization and the barriers between these students and the campus culture encourages them to feel equally comfortable engaging or not engaging in such interactions. Twinning students who do choose to engage the campus culture beyond just the classroom are given the added benefit of the cultural learning that accompanies such interaction. As noted in the interview data, those who were not well connected to the campus culture wished they were or had been and voiced a sense of regret. In essence, this study recommends that twinning institutions consider programmatic ways to dually support the students’ engagement of the institutional culture as well as maintain the students’ connection to their home culture. As a final suggestion, institutions applying data from this study to their programs should remain mindful of the specificity of this study in terms of the small population size which is not intended to be representative of their respective country of origin. Limitations The primary limitations of this research stem from the population sample in both size and socioeconomic diversity. Also included is a methodology limitation in the use of a single set of data. 172 ize The small size of this study’s population is a limitation. However, having seven participants is an acceptable number for research utilizing interviews and falls within Kvale’s recommended number of fifteen, plus or minus ten (1996). Be that as it may, a larger sample size would further strengthen and refine the grounded theory of this study in its portrayal of the reality of the participants. Due to the specificity of the population in this study, recruiting even seven participants who were given incentives was a challenge. Suggestions for obtaining a larger sample size in repeating this research include finding and utilizing multiple university sites with twinning programs and/ or using a more enticing incentive for participation. Another limitation of this study is the homogenous socioeconomic status (SES) of the participants. The populations’ high SES is not uncharacteristic for those Indian students who go abroad for higher education, but it is not representative of the average SES of 21 to 22 year old Indians, nor was this the intent of the study. Therefore, the populations’ lack of socioeconomic diversity serves as a limitation. in t The exploratory nature of this study yielded a snapshot or a moment in time in the lives of the students. Yet, the use of a single set of data is a limitation to this study. A suggestion for further study is to deliberately quantify change to ethnic identity between two points in time through the comparison of two sets of data. This is often done through longitudinal research which does not have much history in cross-cultural 173 psychology (the source of ethnic identity theory) and is often plagued with problems of loss through out-migration and continued relevance of research (Berry et al., 1986). As an alternative to longitudinal research, Berry et al. (1986) recommend cross- sectional research in which a time-related variable is employed, such as the number of years of participation in the twinning program. A suggestion for factoring change and the passage of time in the current study is to compare a data set from those students who have been in the twinning program for one semester with a data set from students who are finishing the program after four semesters. The use of multiple data sets calls attention to the limitation of this study’s single set of data. Directions for future research This research made two important contributions to the knowledge about changes to ethnic identity and twinning participation. First it allowed the student voice to emerge and convey how these individuals from India understood their ethnic identity in a new environment. In doing so, an enhanced comprehension of the student experience was obtained. The second key contribution is that through the voices of the students in this study a theory emerged which expresses the most significant patterns in the data. As connections were made between patterns, engagement theory emerged as a way to represent the relationship between the populations’ ethnic identity and their engagement of the host culture. In light of these contributions and the aforementioned limitations, five future directions for this research are offered below. 1. Conduct a study further exploring the scale of ethnic identity add-on. Specifically, influences affecting the extent of add-on and the relationship 174 between this and the scope of ethnic identity change experienced by the participant. . Research involving participants of a single gender. Given that this research used a mixed gender sample and given the traditional gender roles in Indian culture, the understanding of ethnic identity by a single gender in relationship to twinning may be quite different than what was found in this study. . Research involving other types of transnational higher education programs. . Research involving a population from a country other than India. . Cross-sectional research with the number of years in the twinning program as a time-related variable. By employing two sets of data, change to ethnic identity and the passage of time could be explored by comparing new entrants with those who are nearing completion of the program. 175 Appendix A: Engagement theory illustration Figure 2. Higher levels of host culture engagement are associated with greater change to ethnic identity, contributing to ethnic identity add-on. engagemen lifestyle values traditions beliefs // family 81 community 176 Appendix B: Consent form Transnational twinning 0 participa tion: Indian students ’percep tions of ethnic identity Your consent acknowledges that you are at least eighteen (18) years of age and agree to participate in a research project conducted by Mr. Jonathan A. Lembright of Michigan State University entitled, “Transnational twinning participation: Indian students’ perceptions of ethnic identity.” W: The purpose of the project is to study how Indian students perceive and understand their ethnic identity as it relates to their participation in a twinning program. The intent is to assist Western twinning programs in being mindful of the student experience related to their understanding of ethnic identity and what implications this has for how the programs are administered. Thus, the goal is to inform the policy of those engaged/engaging in these relationships and depending on the results, to change, modify, or reinforce existing practices. Your participation consists of being interviewed for approximately 1.5 hours. To avoid misquoting or misinterpretations, the interview will be audio taped. Additionally, you will be compensated with a $15 bookstore gift card. Your responses will be kept confidential and will not be shared with others. Responses which may be used in the final written product will not include participant names but rather general descriptive information (e.g. age, major, gender). Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. Participation in this research is voluntary: you may choose not to participate at all, refuse to participate in certain procedures or answer certain questions, or discontinue your participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits. If you have any questions about the study, please contact the Responsible Project Investigator: Dr. Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela, 425 Erickson Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, Email: mabokela@msu.edu, Phone: (517) 353-6676. In case you have questions or concerns about your rights as a research participant, please contact Michigan State University‘s Chair of University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects: Dr. Peter Vasilenko, 202 Olds Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, Email: ucrihs@msu.edu, Phone: (517) 355-2180. Jonathan Lembright 1715 Clifton Avenue Signature of Participant Lansing, MI 48910 517-485-7361 lembrioE hf?! msuedu Date 177 Appendix C: Interview guide The interviews are open-ended in form but the following questions serve as guidelines. As participants share information about themselves, I will occasionally share resonant stories or reflections as appropriate. Intr ' n: 0 Brief overview of the research project and its rationale, my background and motivation for the study. 0 Obtain permission to use tape recorder and explain why recording is important (frees me for listening, allows accurate quotations, closer listening later) 0 Explain that interview transcripts will be confidential and that I will use sensitivity and discretion in disguising obvious identifying information if interview is referred to in a paper, conference presentation, etc. Demographic Questions (use as intro): Name: Gender: M F Age: Hometown/State: Major: Year in school: Junior Senior Year of graduation: Name of home institution: Years enrolled in program: Years living in the U.S.: transition: tell me about your family/ growing up talk about your connection w/ home contact w/ home; cultural arts; food; dress; language; religious traditions tell me about your relationship w/ host society (i.e. US) non-Indian social activities; “Indian” cultural and social activities; friends; employment describe your relationship w/ parents and family influence on each others views (career, goals, politics, religion); difference and/ or similarity of values (what about community’sé) 178 tell me about your twinning experience interest in program] goal of enrollment; off-shore vs. on-shore environment; greatest challenge; post-graduation goals; parents/ family support goalsé have participant complete interview exercise (about ten minutes) have student talk about the paper; prompt participant by saying tell me about “X” and twinning; broaden by reconnecting to earlier ideas is there anything that we did not touch on or discuss fully in the interviewé anything that you would like to clarifyé 179 ,—___ _—_____.—~’7 i .A—_—_ Appendix D: Interview exercise take a few minutes to jot down characteristics about your culture that define you 1) l 2?) culture: spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features encompassing literature, ? entertainment, lifestyle, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs _,_,_______7____ ____ _ _________ _ __ fl- _ _______Lm ———_—‘J 180 REFERENCES Achebe, C. (1975). Colonialist Criticism. In C. Achebe (Ed.), Morning yet on creation Day(pp. 3-18). London: Heinemann. Agnello, M. (2001). A postmodern literary policy analysis. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Altbach, P. (1971). Education and neocolonialism: A note. Comparative Education Review, 15(2), 237-239. Altbach, P. (1977). Servitude of the mindé Education, dependency, and neocolonialism. Teachers College Record 79(2), 187-204. Altbach, P. (1984). The distribution of knowledge in the Third World: A case study in neocolonialism. In G. Kelly 81 P. Altbach (Eds), Education and the colonial experience (pp. 229-249). New Brunswick: Transaction. Altbach, P. (1998). The anatomy of private higher education. International Higher Education, 12, 9-10. Altbach, P. (2004). Globalization and world: Myths and realities in an unequal world. Tertiary Education and Management, 1, 1-20. Altbach, P. (2005). India: A world-class country without world-class higher education. Intemational Educator, 14(6), 14-17. Altbach, P. (2006). The Achilles heel of India’s high-tech future: World-class universities. International Higherfducation, 44, 16-17. Appiah, K. (2006, January 1). The case for contamination. New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2007, from http://nytimes.com Appleton, N. (1983). Cultural pluralism in education: Theoretical foundations. New York: Longman. Ashcroft, B., Griffins, G., 81 Tiffin, H. (1995). The post-colonial studies reader. New York: Routledge. Ashcroft, B., Griffins, G., 81 Tiffin, H. (2000). Post-colonial studies: The key concepts. New York: Routledge. Atkinson, D., Morten, G., St Sue, D. (1993). Counseling American minon'ties:A cross- cultural perspective (4th ed.). Dubuque, IA: Brown. 181 Australian Trade Commission. (2005). Educating the world adds up for Aussie exporters. Austrade, Australian Government. Retrieved September 23, 2005, from http://www.austrade.gov.au Beerkens, E. (2002). International inter-organizational arrangements in higher education: Towards a typology. T ertiaryEducation and Management; 6’, 297- 314. Behal, S., 81 Suroor, H. (2004, August 20). India suffers from rogue institutions. The Times HigherEducation Supplement. Retrieved September 17, 2005, from http://www.thes.co.uk/search/story.aspx¢story_id=2015259 Bernal, M., Knight, G., Ocampo, K., Garza, C., 81 Cota, M. (1993). Development of Mexican American identity. In M. Bemal 81 G. Knight (Eds), Ethnic Identity: Eorma tion and transmission among Hispanics and other minorities (pp. 31 -46). Albany: SUNY Press. Bernardo, A. (2002). lntemational higher education models: Models, conditions and issues. Philippine APE C Study Center Network, Discussion Paper No. 2001-12. Retrieved September 10, 2005, from http://pascn.pids.gov.ph/DiscList/d01/501—12.pdf Berry, J. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In A. Padilla (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory, models and some new findings (pp. 9-25). Boulder, CO: Westview. Berry, I. (1983). Acculturation: A comparative analysis of alternative forms. In R. Samuda 81 S. Woods (Eds .), Perspectives in immigrant and minority education (pp. 66-77). Lanham, MD: University Press. Berry, I. (1991). Refugee adaptation in settlement countries: An overview with an emphasis on primary prevention. In F. Ahearn 81 I. Athey (Eds), Refugee children: Theory, research, and services (pp. 20-38). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Berry, I. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5-34. Berry, J., Kim, U., Minde, T., 81 Mok, D. (1987). Comparative studies of acculturative stress. lntemational/Migration Review, 21(3), 491-511. Berry, 1., Kim, U., Power, 5., Young, M., 81 Bujaki, M. (1989). Acculturation attitudes in pluralistic societies. Applied Psychology and International Review, 38, 185-206. Berry, ]., Trimble, I., 81 Olmedo, E. (1986). Assessment of acculturation. In W. Lonner 182 and I. Berry (Eds), Pield methods in cross-cultural research (pp. 291-325). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publishers. Bo gdan, R., 81 Biklen, S. (1992). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods (2nd ed.). Boston: Allen 81 Bacon. Boli, 1., 81 Ramirez, F. O. (1992). Compulsory schooling in the western cultural context. In R. F. Arnove, P. G. Altbach, 81 G. P. Kelly (Eds), Emergentissues in education: comparative perspectives (pp. 25-38). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Bowling, A. (1997). Research methods in health. Buckingham: Open University Press. Braman, V. (n.d.). Education as (post) colonial control in the literature of Zimbabwe and Singapore. Retrieved September 8, 2005, from the Brown University Web site: http:// wwwpostc olonialweb.org/ poldiscourse/ braman/ 1 .html Chanana, K. (2004, December). Gender and Disciplinary Choices: Women in Higher Education in India. Paper prepared for the UNESCO Colloquium on Research and Higher Education Policy, Paris. Chitnis, S. (2000, Fall). The challenge of access in Indian higher education. Liberal Education. 8&4), 10. Chitnis, S. (2002). Higher education in India-seriously challenged. International Higher Education, 27, 19-20. Chun, K., Organista, P., 81 Marin, G. (2003). Preface. In K. Chun, P. Organista, 81 G. Marin, (Eds), Acculturation: Advances in theory; measurement and applied Research (pp. XXIII-XXVII). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Cre swell, I. (1998). Oualita tive inquiry and research design: Choosing among live traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Cuellar, I., Arnold, B., 81 Maldonado, C. (1995). Acculturation rating scale for Mexican Americans--II: A revision of the original ARSMA scale. Hispanic journal of Behavioral Sciences, 17(3), 275-303. Culhane, S. (2004). An intercultural interaction model: Acculturation attitudes in second language acquisition. Electronic journal of Foreign language Teaching, 1 (1), 50-61. Retrieved December 6, 2006, from the National University of Singapore, Centre for Language Studies Wéb site: http://e-flt.nus.edu.sg/v1n12004/culhane.htm Dana, R. (1997). Multicultural assessment and cultural identity: An assessment- 183 intervention model. World Psychology, 3(1-2), 121-141. Deard orff, A. (n.d.). Deardorfffs Glossary of lntemational Economics. Retrieved December 10, 2005, from the University of Michigan Web site: http://www.personal.umich.edu/ ~alandear/ glossary Deka, B. (2000). Higher education in India: Development and problems. Delhi: Atlantic Publishers. Denzin, N ., 81 Lincoln, Y. (2003). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. Denzin 81 Y. Lincoln (Eds), The landscape of qualitative research: lheories and issues (pp. 1-45). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Dona, G., 81 Berry, J. (1994). Acculturation attitudes and acculturative stress of Central American refugees. International/ournal ofPsycholog , 29, 57-70. Dooley, H. (2000). Kuala Lumpur to Kalamazoo: A twinning experience. The Advising Quarterly: Por professionals in international education, 5 4, 13-15. Espiritu, Y. (1992). Asian American pane thnicity: Bridging institutions and identities. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Evans, N ., Forney, D., 81 Guido-DeBrito, F. (1998). Student development in college: Theory, research and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Fine, M., Weis, L., Weseen, S., 81 Wong, L. (2003). For whomé1 Qualitative research, representations, and social responsibilities. In N. Denzin 81 Y. Lincoln (Eds), The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (pp. 167—207). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Flannery, W., Reise, S., 81 Yu, I. (2001). An empirical comparison of acculturation models. Personality and PsychologyBulletin, 27(8), 1035-1045. Fontana, A., 81 Frey, J. (2003). The interview: From structured questions to negotiated text. In N. Denzin 81 Y. Lincoln (Eds), Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials (pp. 61-106). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Franco, I. (1983). An acculturation scale for Mexican-American children. journal of General Psychology, 106’, 175-181. Frank, A. (1966). The development of underdevelopment. MonthlyReview 18(4), 17- 31. Friedman, T. (2005). The world is flat: A bn'ef history of the twenty first century. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 184 Gandhi, M. (1993). Candhr' an autobiography: The story ofm y experiments with truth. Boston: Beacon Press. Gans, H. (1979). Symbolic ethnicity: The future of ethnic groups and culture in America. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2, 1-20. Garcia-Vazquez, E. (1995). Acculturation and academics: Effects of acculturation on reading achievement among Mexican-American students. Ihe Bilingual Research foumal, 19(2), 305-315. Glaser, B. (1998). Doing grounded theory: Issues and discussions. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press. Glaser, B., 81 Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine. Gordon, M. (1964). Assr'mrlation in Amen'can life. New York: Oxford University Press. Graves, T. (1967). Psychological acculturation in a tri-ethnic community. Southwestern journal ofAnthropolog , 23, 338-350. Gupta, A. (2004). Divided government and private higher education growth in India. International Higher Education, 3.5, 13-14. Gupta, A. (2006). Affirmative action in higher education in India and the U.S.: A study in contrasts (Research 81 Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.10.06). Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education. Gupta, A. (2007). India: The new private sector. International Higher Education, 46, 17-18. Gur-Ze’ev, I. (n.d.). Max Horkheimer and phrlosoph y of education. Retrieved November 7, 2005, from the University of Haifa, Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Education Web site: http://www.vusst.hr/encyclopedia/horkheimer.htm Ha ggerty, W. (1969). Higher and professional education in India. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Hirsch, E. (2002). 7726 New Dictionary of Cultural literacy (3rd ed). New York: Houghton Mifflin. Hoffman, D. (1998). A therapeutic momenté Identity, self, and culture in the anthropology of education. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 29(3), 324- 346. Hosie, P., 81 Mazzarol, T. (1999). Using technology for the competitive delivery of 185 education services. foumal of ComputerAssistedLeaming, 15, 118—128. Isaacs, H. (1975). Basic group identity: The idols of the tribe. In Clazer, N. 81 Moynihan, D. (Eds), Ethnicity: theory and experience (pp. 29-45). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Jaschik, S. (2005, February 1). Passage to India. Inside HigherEd. Retrieved September 11, 2005, from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/02/01/india Jones, S. (1997). The archaeology of ethnicity: Constructing identities in the past and present. London/New York: Routledge. Kapu, K., 81 Mehta, P. (2004). Indian higher education reform: Prom half-baked socialism to half-baked capitalism (CID Working Paper N o. 108). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Center for International Development. Kaufman, D. (n.d.). Psychology glossary. Retrieved November 28, 2006, from http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.cfméterm=acculturation Kelly, G., 81 Altbach, P. (1984) Education and the colonial experience. New Brunswick: Transaction. Kincheloe, J., 81 McLaren, P. (2003). Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research. In N. Denzin 81 Y. Lincoln (Eds), The landscape of qualitative research: Iheon'es and issues (pp. 433-488). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Knight, G., Bernal, M., Garza, C., 81 Cota, M. (1993). A social cognitive model of the development of ethnic identity and ethnically based behaviors. In M. Bernal 81 G. Knight (Eds), Ethnic identity: Eorma tion and transmission among Hispanics and other minon'ties (pp. 213-234). Albany: SUNY Press. Knight, J. (2002). Trade talk: An analysis of the impact trade liberalization and the General Agreement on Trade in Services on higher education. foumal of Studies in International Education, 43), 209-229. Kottak, C. (2003). Cultural anthropology. New York: McGraw-Hill. Kvale, S. (1996). InterViews. N ewbury Park, CA: Sage. Lee, S. (1999). “Are you Chinese or whaté” Ethnic identity among Asian Americans. In R. Sheets 81 E. Hollins (Eds), Racial and ethnic identity in school practices: Aspects ofhuman development. Mahwah, N]: L. Erlbaum Associates. Lewis, P., 81 Pratt, G. (1996). Growth in Malaysian demand for business education: The Australian response. foumal of fhgher Education Policy and Management, 16(2), 207-216. 186 Lincoln, Y. 81 Guba, E. (2003). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In N. Denzin 81 Y. Lincoln (Eds), 7726 landscape of qualitative research: T heon'es and issues. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Malcolm X. (1965). Autobiography ofMalcolm X New York: Golden Press. Mazrui, A. (1975). The African university as a multinational corporation: Problems of penetration and dependency. Harvard Educational Review, 45(2), 191—210. Mazzarol, T., Soutar, G.,‘81 Seng, M. (2003). The third wave: Future trends in international education. The lntemational journal of Educational Management. 17(3), 90-99. McMurtrie, B. (2000, June 2). Culture and unrealistic expectations challenge American campuses in Japan. The Chronicle oergherEducatron, 46(39), p. A56. Mishra, R., Sinha, D., 81 Berry, J. (1996). Ecology, acculturation and psychological adaptation: A study of adivasis in Bihar. New Delhi, India: Sage. Mitra, P. (1999). Running on Empty. EarEastem Economic Review, 162(3), 36-38. Nabobo, U., 81 Teasdale, J. (1995). Education for cultural identity: a Fiji case study. Prospects, 25(4), 695-706. N eelakantan, S. (2004, June 18). India struggles to meet demand for higher education. The Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A39. N eelakantan, S. (2005, September 2). India's Prime Minister sharply criticizes universities as lagging behind. The Chronicle oergherEducation, p. A66. Nguyen, H., Messe, L., 81 Stollak, G. (1999). Toward a more complex understanding of acculturation and adjustment: Cultural involvements and psychosocial functioning in Vietnamese youth. journal of Cross-CulturalPsycholoo , 36(1), 5-31. N okkala, T. (2002). National policy responses to the globalization of higher education. Retrieved October 9, 2006 from the University of Twente, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies Web site: http://www.utwente.nl/cheps/documenten/susunokkola.pdf Oetting, R., 81 Beauvais, F. (1991). Orthogonal cultural identification theory. lhe Intemationaljoumal of the Addictions, 25, 655—685. Oka, T., 81 Shaw, I. (2000). Qualitative Research in Social Work. 187 Retrieved January 16, 2005, from the Sophia University Web site: http://pweb.sophia.ac.jp/~t-oka/qrsw.html Peet, R. (1999). Iheories of development New York: Guilford Press. Petras, J. (2000, February). Cultural imperialism in the late 20th century. Rebelion: Petras essays in English. Retrieved October 3, 2005, from http://www.rebelion.org/petras/english/cultural_imperialism.htm Pettys, G. (1994). Asian Indians in the United States: An analysis of identity formation and retention (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, 1994). Dissertation Abstracts International, 55, 266. Phinney, J. (1990). Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: Review of research. Psychological Bulletin, 10&3), 499-514. Phinney, J. (1992). The multigroup ethnic identity measure: A new scale for use with diverse groups. journal ofAdolescent Research, 7(2), 156-176. Phinney, J. (1996). When we talk about American ethnic groups, what do we meané American Psychologist, 51, 918-927. Phinney, J., Horenczyk, G., Liebkind, K., 81 Vedder, P. (2001). Ethnic identity, immigration, and well-being: An interactional perspective. journal of Social Issues, 57(3), 493-510. Piaget, J. (1952). Ihe ongins of intelligence in children. New York: International Universities Press. Pike, K. (1967). language in relation to a unified theory of structure of human behavior (2nd ed). The Hague: Mouton. Poole, D. (2001). Moving towards professionalism: The strategic management of international education activities at Australian universities and their Faculties of Business. HigherEducation, 42, 395-435. Princeton University. (2005). Wordnet' An electronic lexical database. Retrieved December 11, 2006, from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwnés:change Rosenthal, D., 81 Hrynevich, C. (1985). Ethnicity and ethnic identity: A comparative study of Greek-, Italian-, and Anglo-Australian adolescents. International journal of Psychology, 20, 723-742. Rotheram, M., 81 Phinney, J. (1987). Introductions: Definitions and perspectives in the 188 study of children’s ethnic socialization. In J. Phinney and M. Rotheram (Eds), Children ’s ethnic socraliza tion: Pluralism and development (pp. 10-28). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Ryan, G., 81 Bernard, H. (2003). Data management and analysis methods. In N. Denzin 81 Y. Lincoln (Eds), C ollectrng and interpreting qualitative materials (pp. 259- 309). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Sayegh, L., 81 Lasry, J. (1993). Immigrants’ adaptation in Canada: Assimilation, acculturation, and orthogonal cultural identification. Canadian Psychology, 34(1), 98-109. Seidman, I. (1998). Interviewing as qualitative research. New York: Teachers College Press. Sheets, R. (1999). Human development and ethnic identity. In R. Sheets 81 E. Hollins (Eds), Racial and ethnic identity in school practices: aspects of h urnan development (pp. 91-106). NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. Sodowsky, G., 81 Plake, B. (1992). A study of acculturation differences among international people and suggestions for sensitivity to within-group differences. journal of Counseling 81 Development. 71, 53-59. Sollors, W. (1996). lheories of ethnicity: A classic reader. New York: New York University Press. Sorensen, O. (2005). The high profile of trade in higher education services. In tema tional Higher Education, 40, 5-6 . Stella, A. (2002). Institutional accreditation in India. International IhgherEducation, 27, 17-18. Strauss, A., 81 Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. N ewbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Strauss, A., 81 Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: An overview. In N. Denzin 81 Y. Lincoln (Eds), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273-285). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Stromquist, N. (2002). Education in a globalized world: The connectivity of power, technology, and knowledge. Lanham, MD: Rowman 81 Littlefield Publishers. Suroor, H. (2002, July 5). Full Indian campuses face crisis. The Times Higher Education .Supplement. Retrieved September 17, 2005, from http://www.thes.co.uk/search/storyaspxéstory_id=85249 189 Szapocznik, J., 81 Kurtines, W. (1980). Acculturation, biculturalism, and adjustment among Cuban Americans. In A. Padilla (Ed), Acculturation: Theory, models and some newh’ndings (pp. 139-159). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Taylor, D. (1991). The social psychology of racial and cultural diversity: Issues of assimilation and mulitculturalism. In A. Reynolds (Ed), Bilingualism, mutrculturalism, and second language learning (pp. 1-19). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Tilak, J. (2002). Privatization of Higher Education in India. International Higher Education, 29, 11-13. Tomlinson, J. (2003). Globalization and cultural identity. In D. Held 81 A. McGrew (Eds), The Global transformations reader: An introduction to the globalization debate (pp. 269-277). Maldan, MA: Polity Press. Tomlinson, J. (1991). Cultural Impen'alism. London: Pinter Publishers. Torres, V. (1999). Validation of a bicultural orientation model for Hispanic college students. journal of College Student Development; 4&3), 285-298. Torres, V. (2003). Influences on ethnic identity development of Latino college students in the first two years of college. journal of College Student Development, 44(4), 532-547. Trimble, J. (2003). Introduction: Social change and acculturation. In K. Chun, P. Organista, 81 G. Marin (Eds), Acculturation-Advances in theory, measurement and applied research (pp. 3-13). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. UNESCO (2002, February 21). UNES C Q Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Retrieved December 5, 2005, from, http://www.unesco.org/education/imld_2002/unversal_decla.shtml Van Damme, D. (2001). Quality issues in the internationalization of higher education. IhgherEducation, 41, 415-441. Vidich, A., 81 Lyman, S. (2003). Qualitative methods: Their history in sociology and anthropology. In N. Denzin 81 Y. Lincoln (Eds), The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (pp. 55-130). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Wallerstein, I. (1975). The present state of the debate on world inequality. In I. Wallerstein (Ed), World Inequality (pp. 156-164). Montreal: Black Rose Books. wa Thiong'o, N. (1981). Decolonising the mind. Portsmouth: Heinemann. 190 Webster’s Dictionary. (1989). The Newlexicon Webster’s Dictionary of the English language: Encyclopedic Edition. New York: Lexicon Publications. Weinreich, P. (1983). Emerging from threatened identities. In G. Breakwell (Ed), Threatened identities (pp. 149-185). New York: Wiley. Yeh, C., 81 Hwang, M. (2000). Interdependence in ethnic identity and self: Implications for theory and practice. journal of Counseling and Development, 7&4), 420- 430. Yew, L. (n.d.). Neocolonralrsm. Retrieved February 2, 2006, from the National University of Singapore, University Scholars Program Web site: http://www.postcolonialweb. org/poldiscourse/neocolonialisml .htrnl Young, G. (1935). Speeches of lord Macauley with his minute on Indian education. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Yule, A. (1996). Canada-India Institutional Cooperation Project: lntemational partnerships in education. Presented at the 19’“ annual C CID Conference, Eebruary 4-6. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED390488) Ziguras, C. (2001). Educational technology in transnational higher education in South East Asia: The cultural politics of flexible learning. Educational Technology and Society, 4(4), 8-18. 191 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII [Jim [itJJJJJ‘JJJJJ[[1]] 3193 0 845 8424