Thriving in the Academy: Thai Students' Experiences and Perspectives

Inthajak, Atinut

Thriving in the Academy: Thai Students' Experiences and Perspectives

dc.contributor.author	Inthajak, Atinut	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Powell, Katrina M.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Mueller, Derek	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Sano-Franchini, Jennifer	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Baniya, Sweta	en
dc.contributor.department	English	en
dc.date.accessioned	2022-06-22T08:00:14Z	en
dc.date.available	2022-06-22T08:00:14Z	en
dc.date.issued	2022-06-21	en
dc.description.abstract	In this dissertation, I investigate how Thai doctoral students adapt to and navigate academic expectations in their nonnative language. Through coded semi-structured interviews with eight participants from six different universities across the U.S., I analyze the lived experiences, stories, and challenges faced by Thai doctoral students in Humanities disciplines as students in Humanities are believed to rely more on writing as a mode of inquiry than students in STEM. I explore how, and to what extent, they cultivated agency to meet the expectations of the academy and how they assimilated into the U.S. academic culture. I initially hypothesized that writing was the most challenging skill, given that composition program and classrooms are virtually nonexistent in Thai curricula and students coming into the U.S. academy from such educational backgrounds would have limited exposure to formal writing instruction. Interestingly, through thematic coding schemes, I found that, while writing was challenging, there were other significant factors impacting their education. In my analysis, I found that students also had to navigate academic reading, participation in active classroom discussions, and acculturation into U.S. academic setting, all of which challenged their learning experiences. I argue in the dissertation that these complex social negotiations, not accounted for in most pedagogical structures in U.S. education, result in inequitable access to curriculum and undo hardships on students. By amplifying the voices of Thai students, this project highlights the ways that Thailand's educational system, deeply entrenched discourses of loyalty to Thailand's monarchy and the Criminal Code Act 112, impacts Thai students' formation and navigation of academic identity while encountering the U.S. Academy.	en
dc.description.abstractgeneral	In this dissertation, I investigate how Thai doctoral students adapt to and navigate academic expectations in their nonnative language. Through coded semi-structured interviews with eight participants from across the U.S., I analyze the lived experiences, stories, and challenges faced by Thai doctoral students in Humanities disciplines. I explore how, and to what extent, they cultivated agency to meet the expectations of the academy and how they assimilated into the U.S. academic culture. I initially hypothesized that writing was the most challenging skill, given that composition program and classrooms are virtually nonexistent in Thai curricula and students coming into the U.S. academy from such educational backgrounds would have limited exposure to formal writing instruction. Interestingly, participants revealed that, while writing was challenging, there were other significant factors impacting their education. In my analysis, I found that students also had to navigate academic reading, participation in active classroom discussions, and acculturation into U.S. academic setting, all of which challenged their learning experiences. I argue in the dissertation that these complex social negotiations, not accounted for in most pedagogical structures in U.S. education, result in inequitable access to curriculum and undo hardships on students. By amplifying the voices of Thai students, this project highlights the ways that Thailand's educational system, deeply entrenched discourses of loyalty to Thailand's monarchy, impacts Thai students' formation and navigation of academic identity while encountering the U.S. Academy.	en
dc.description.degree	Doctor of Philosophy	en
dc.format.medium	ETD	en
dc.identifier.other	vt_gsexam:35134	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/110846	en
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	Rhetoric	en
dc.subject	Composition	en
dc.subject	L2	en
dc.subject	NNES	en
dc.subject	Thai students	en
dc.subject	doctoral studies	en
dc.title	Thriving in the Academy: Thai Students' Experiences and Perspectives	en
dc.type	Dissertation	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Rhetoric and Writing	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	doctoral	en
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy	en