Navigating Barriers and Embracing Transformation: The Academic and Social Experiences of Bangladeshi Female Graduate Students in the United States
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article examines transformative education by focusing on the experiences of Bangladeshi female graduate students navigating academic and social challenges in higher education in the United States. This examination aligns with Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory, which emphasizes critical reflection on lived experiences as a pathway to personal transformation (Mezirow, 1991). The article is drawn from a large phenomenological study that examined the experiences of South Asian female international graduate students as they pursue their academic studies in the United States. More specifically, the focus is on the experience of female Muslim students from Bangladesh and the impact of academic and linguistic barriers as they pursue advanced degrees at Midwestern universities in the United States. Data were collected through a series of interviews and was analyzed using transcendental phenomenology. The findings reveal that the students faced difficulty in communication and in understanding the American accents. Findings also indicated that the students faced difficulty in writing academic papers due to language barriers. Despite the academic and social challenges, these female students perceived the experience of studying in the United States as an empowering and a transformative one. The paper ends by acknowledging the potential limitations of the research and suggests specific measures to help such students improve their experience in the United States.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Global Journal of Transformative Education (the “Publisher”) and the Author(s) agree as follows:
1. Publication and Promotion: In consideration of the Publisher’s agreement to publish the Work, Author hereby grants and assigns ¬to Publisher the non-exclusive right to print, publish, reproduce or distribute the Work throughout the world in all possible formats by any method now known or hereafter developed, including electronic and print formats, and to market or sell the Work or any part of it as Publisher sees fit. Author further grants Publisher the right to use the Author’s name in association with the Work in published form and in advertising and promotional materials.
2. Copyright: Copyright of the Work remains in Author’s name.
3. Prior Publication and Attribution: Author agrees not to publish the Work in print or electronic form prior to publication of the Work by the Publisher. Author agrees to cite, by author, title and publisher, the original Global Journal of Transformative Education publication when publishing the Work elsewhere.
4. Author Representations: The Author represents and warrants that the Work: (a) is the Author’s original Work and that Author has full power to enter into this Agreement; (b) does not infringe the copyright or property of another; (c) is accurate, and that any research or investigation conducted for the purpose of the Work abides by the guidelines and regulations of the Institutional Review Board and/or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; (d) contains no material that obscene, libelous, defamatory or previously published, in who or in part, except when written permission for reprinting is provided from another publisher. Author is responsible for requesting and providing such permission to the Publisher. Author shall indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss of expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.
5. Licensing and Reuse: Unless another option is selected below, reuse of the published Work will be governed by a Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial NonDerivative 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode). This license lets other us contents of the Work without revision, although new works must acknowledge the original Global Journal of Transformative Education publication and be non-commercial; they do not have to be licensed on the same terms. (Author understands that this license permits other users to modify the Work in copies shared publicly.)