In the intriguing context of international education, this study aims to explore the multifaceted lives of students from different countries studying in Canada. It will be guided by the ideas of community transformation and attention to uneven social and historical phenomena that C. Wright Mills espoused. Through personal troubles, I was forced to acknowledge that individual fierceness is often closely interconnected with societal frameworks, which I will examine in this study. In this circumstance, students face challenges like having financial restraints, adjusting to new cultures, and meeting demanding academic requirements as they try to acclimatize to their new setting. The research endeavors to achieve the purpose by juxtaposing individual narratives with sociological theories; by doing this, it seeks to present a holistic and well-rounded picture of the complex factors that determine the experience of international students in the Canadian academic setting.
While studying in Canada, I encountered three significant personal troubles: monetary difficulties, cultural adaptation, loneliness, and grade-death. Symbolic interactionism from the humanizing level represents the micro-level bargaining inherent in acquiring such a role and in pursuing financial interaction processes, highlighting that symbols influence the approach to financial difficulties (Mills, 2008). Finally, the critical theory focused on the global institutional system that contributed to the multiculturalism problems and enlightened the shortages of integration programs (Horowitz, 1985). The representatives of symbolic interactionism and critical theory were the pioneers in striving to raise this problem and show how micro things and the macro law of the educational process and institutional political factors I wrote play many roles in the personal troubles of the students. This sociological analysis, far beyond the relationship between individual experiences and perceived social forces during my education in Canada, is addressed in the essay.
My experiences while studying in Canada, which included economic fatigue, cultural precipitation, and intense pressure in school years, became the topics of public discussions impacted by universal social barriers. The educational burden, which often involves high tuition costs and fewer employment options, is a tri-trigger of society’s problem with international students’ access to professions (Trevino, 2011). Cultural assimilation repercussions and loneliness were brought about by the lack of integration programs and the difference in social norms, so it is a social issue equal to the struggles to merge cultures and integrate those from different cultures. Furthermore, the pressure emanating from academics being a factor affecting the individual’s mental health forms the outline of a deeper problem with the whole education system; thus, educational progress and take-over recall for these reforms include student well-being as a package. Briefly spoken, such issues manifest the underlying problems, asking for joint reactions that society should provide.
I could not pass up the opportunity to tell you how my cultural background determined that I led the way while I was an international student in Canada during my study period, and since there was the interaction between personal experiences and sociological theories such as symbolic interactionism and critical theory. Symbolic interactionism makes it visible how cultural facets shape my coping steps at a grade of micro-processes, for instance, my search for the nearest community support to deal with the financial crisis (Gerth & Mills, 2014). Hence, an interdisciplinary is helpful in my study, and critical theory offers me the chance to systematically evaluate societal systems influencing difficulties, such as the conflict between individualistic Canada’s norms and my communitarian culture, which also affects the adjustment process. The two theories reveal the intricate interconnection between perception and environment through the experiences gained while living abroad, therefore giving a broader understanding of my identity as an international student.
This documentary was touching for me as it provided a clear picture of the problems I had been thinking about for a long time. Such documentaries ( movies) narrated the lives of the students who were victims of exploitation, extortion, and inferior education (Kelley, 2022). The students, including myself, were familiar with these issues throughout my educational venture. For instance, it is evident that schools that admit students through dishonest practices and disregard the latter as mere captives of revenue pools occur throughout the system and harm the reputation of IEs on a large scale. Normative in nature, symbolic interactionism offers a potent framework for studying different experiences of individual life. The essay looks at the hidden aspects within the international student group, symbolizing their network’s bonds and spotlighting the power structures that might make them vulnerable.
Moreover, cultural aspects of the society, such as context, norms, conditions, and editions, should also be considered when addressing the barriers during international students’ adaptation process to the educational system and the society of the foreign country. To a divided country or region, the two sections mirror the favoravoring diversity and thus evicting students from their mother culture. (Geary, 2009). For the record, critical theory leads the way to the mindset that mental peace is an essential part of the academic stress on campus; it is evident that one of the most critical factors is creating a conducive learning environment. These theories and challenges manifest as a difficult comprehension of a multidimensional picture of the connection between the lives of individuals and the texture of the social fabric, which is a source of the Canadian educational system. The communities are made more wholesome and receptive to others, then everyone can find a place in their society.
Conclusion.
The road of my international student Canadian spiced together private stories and big social organizations into a pattern. Facing financial, cultural, and academic performance conflicts becomes the metaphor of the self-other conjunction through socio-logic imagination. Functionalist, symbolic interactionism, and critical (levels of analysis) give a universal picture of the dynamics of micro and macro levels structures, which puts ahead my challenges. My cultural background is an instrument that drives me to different ways of thinking and responding to situations, allowing me to gain strength and engage with my community. This narrative is an example that pleases an end of academic writing tasks: an essay or article. It highlights dealing with systemic problems to achieve a fair and equal educational community that encompasses equitable and collective experiences rather than an individualistic storyline.
References
Geary, D. (2009). Radical Ambition: C. Wright Mills, the Left, and American Social Thought. In Google Books. University of California Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Z4yNnGJLHU8C&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=the+international+students%27+educational+and+cultural+adaptation+challenges+wright+mills&ots=TX4UdV3Dlf&sig=MQ2YinzPjL70JMyte3OGAQCVSJM&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Gerth, H. H., & Mills, C. W. (2014). From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. In Google Books. Routledge. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=t2R9AwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Explore+the+role+your+own+culture+and+socialization+played+in+influencing+your+reactions+and+coping+strategies+in+C+wright+mills&ots=cnxJXQK8Hq&sig=FyP-3JbqB0sXggYu8V1qwbTLknY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Horowitz, I. L. (1985). C Wright Mills An American Utopia. In Google Books. Simon and Schuster. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=B3bdI_drWPkC&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=how+mills+experiences+personal+toubles+in+c+wright+mills+book&ots=jKt-r1Ue8u&sig=RRS9ve4wnQEXFERAS-BS8n0saww&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=how%20mills%20experiences%20personal%20toubles%20in%20c%20wright%20mills%20book&f=false
Mills, W. (2008). Practising Public Scholarship (K. Mitchell, Ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444307375
Trevino, A. J. (2011). The Social Thought of C. Wright Mills. In Google Books. SAGE Publications. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=INN1AwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=how+personal+troubles+were+shaped+by+broader+social+structures+in+C+wright+mills&ots=X7shMZJZke&sig=-qGqxbTsltOn0bwAeL0lMupeCS0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Kelley, M. (Director). (2022). How recruiters in India use false promises to lure students to Canada – The Fifth Estate [Film]. CBC NEWS
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