SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL TEACHING ASSISTANTS’ DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND TEACHING SELF-EFFICACY

dc.contributor.advisorGardner, Grant E
dc.contributor.authorJia, Zhigang
dc.contributor.committeememberKaplan, Jennifer J
dc.contributor.committeememberJones, Ryan S
dc.contributor.committeememberBarnes, Maryann E
dc.contributor.committeememberWalck, Jeffrey L
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-11T01:05:30Z
dc.date.available2021-08-11T01:05:30Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.date.updated2021-08-11T01:05:30Z
dc.description.abstractA significant number of international graduate students teach undergraduates in science departments as teaching assistants, often as laboratory instructors. The compelling cultural differences between international teaching assistants (ITAs) and their students in the U.S. have led to profound communication problems, which was often referred to as the “ITA problem”. The findings from this dissertation provide insights into this persistent problem by examining science ITAs’ cross-cultural teaching experiences in U.S. classrooms from the lens of cultural competence and teaching self-efficacy. Following a brief introduction of the problem (Chapter 1), this dissertation starts with a literature synthesis on ITAs’ development of cultural competence using a cultural competence framework from healthcare (Chapter 2). The result of this synthesis was an adaptive framework for ITAs’ cultural competence development, which was used to construct a STEM GTAs’ teaching self-efficacy model into science ITAs’ context (Chapter 3), and as analytical framework to examine science ITAs’ teaching-related experiences (Chapter 4). Adopting a sequential explanatory mix-methods design, I conducted a cross-sectional survey and follow-up interviews to explore science ITAs’ development of teaching self-efficacy (Chapter 3). The results showed that science ITAs can develop their teaching self-efficacy with sufficient training for teaching and with ample teaching experiences. High-quality teaching professional development (TPD) in which ITAs can establish supportive teaching relationships with peers and supervisors is the key factor for science ITAs’ development of teaching self-efficacy. A phenomenological study was conducted to gain insight into science ITAs’ cross-cultural teaching experiences by conducting semi-structured interviews with ITAs with different cultural backgrounds (Chapter 4). The results provided validity evidence for the ITA cultural competence framework in Chapter 2 of this dissertation. Consistent to the findings in Chapter 3, cultural encounters, including ITAs’ experiences in teaching and TPD, were also the central components and the driving force for science ITAs’ development of cultural competence. This study draws attention to science ITAs’ unique, profound and variable challenges and conveys the urgency to support them in TPD that focuses on cultivating critical cultural skills such as English proficiency, pedagogy, and cross-cultural communication skills. This dissertation concludes with a brief summary of all the three studies and their collective implications for international graduate student instructional development (Chapter 5).
dc.description.degreePh.D.
dc.identifier.urihttps://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/handle/mtsu/6546
dc.language.rfc3066en
dc.publisherMiddle Tennessee State University
dc.source.urihttp://dissertations.umi.com/mtsu:11461
dc.subjectCross-cultural teaching
dc.subjectCultural competence
dc.subjectInternational graduate students
dc.subjectInternational teaching assistants
dc.subjectProfessional development
dc.subjectTeaching self-efficacy
dc.subjectScience education
dc.thesis.degreeleveldoctoral
dc.titleSCIENCE INTERNATIONAL TEACHING ASSISTANTS’ DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND TEACHING SELF-EFFICACY

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Jia_mtsu_0170E_11461.pdf
Size:
2.53 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
0 B
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: