MORE Information
Websites
What's Up With Culture? - Welcome Back! Now What?
This is a comprehensive online training program consisting of three modules intended to teach students about cultural awareness, how to prepare for their study abroad trip and what to expect upon returning home. Module 2 - "Welcome Back! Now What?" covers everything related to preparing to return home as well as advice for a returnees' family and friends. Each module includes various interactive exercises for students to apply what they are learning as they progress through the training. The School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific developed this resource.
Re-entry and Reverse Culture Shock
This is a quick, one page overview that was developed for Cornell students, but provides short descriptions on some of the common re-entry reactions to include boredom and restlessness, identity issues and compartmentalization of the experience.
Twelve Tips for Welcoming Returnees Home
This is a short reference for parents to better understand in what ways they can help to assist in the readjustment and transition period of the re-entry experience for their students returning home.
My World Abroad
This website provides tips and resources to help students get started in a global career. The site requires a subscription, however, so be sure to check in case it is available to you through your school at no extra cost.
Books
Going Home: Perceptions of International Students on the Efficacy of a Reentry Workshop by Laurie K. Cox
This book discusses an interesting research study conducted at a private research institution in California. The study surveyed 250 international students to determine their perception of a re-entry workshop, specifically concerning how well they believed it effectively prepared them for reacculturation to everyday life upon returning to their home countries.
Re-Entry Returning to Your Home Country? (Duke University)
While most of the content in the booklet was excerpted from materials from the Boston Area Study Abroad Reentry Conference, it is intended for a variety of audiences, from study abroad students, to international students and scholars and their spouses. This practical guide outlines the stages of re-entry and offers coping strategies and tips for dealing with reverse culture shock.
Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner
Riding the Waves of Culture is popular guide to "leading effectively in an international business context." The book is not too dense, and combines theory and research with graphics, vignettes and stories to illustrate cultural differences, and tip sheets for effective cross-cultural interaction. The book is a valuable tool for understanding not only how culture impacts the way we do business, but also how culture shapes the way we interact with the environment, other people, and ourselves.
Burn-Up or Splash Down: Surviving the Culture Shock of Re-Entry by Marion Knell
This book addresses the re-entry process and reverse culture shock in a general sense, including advice on preparing to re-enter, the importance of reflection and de-briefing, and sources of re-entry. This book also devotes a section to the specific re-entry challenges faced by third culture kids, as well advice for friends and family members of returnees who are experiencing reverse culture shock.
Managing Cross Cultural Transitions: A Handbook for Corporations, Employees, and Their Families by Steven Shepard
This book is primarily aimed at easing the re-entry ad repatriation process for American's who have been working abroad and are returning to the U.S., either to continue a job with their company at home or to start a new career. In addition to providing resources and advice to returnees, the book offers advice to multinational corporations on how to assist and guide their recent returned employees. While the book does not explicitly target international students, many of the problems discussed and strategies to ease re-entry stress are relevant to a wider audience.
The Art of Coming Home by Craig Storti
This book outlines in detail what the author has determined to be the four specific stages of the re-entry process, which consist of leave-taking, the honeymoon state, reverse culture sock and re-adjustment. The author also acknowledges what types of different challenges certain populations may face such as exchange students, international volunteers, military personnel or veterans and their families as well as missionaries and their children.
(t)Here: Writings on Returnings by Brandi Dawn Henderson
This book is a collection of stories and essays written by people struggling with their re-entry challenges. The majority of stories are written by people who are returning to their home countries after an extended time abroad, but their are also stories about soldiers struggling to acclimate to civilian life and former addicts re-entering society after extended stays at psychiatric facilities.
Cross Cultural Re-Entry: A Book of Readings by Clyde Neal Austin
Cross Cultural Re-Entry is a compilation of essays on various topics related to the re-entry process. The book provides an overview of re-entry challenges and strategies for dealing with reverse culture shock, and then offers sections on the specific challenges faced by returned federal employees, business employees, missionaries, international students, and third culture kids/parents.
Counseling International Students: Clients from Around the World by Nancy Arthur
Written by a veteran higher education counselor, this volume is intended for use by counseling staff at universities and colleges, with the aim of "encouraging counselors to become more involved with international students on their campuses and to enjoy the many rewards of working with clients from around the world." It covers a wide range of topics, including myths about international students, culture shock, academics, discrimination and racism, career concerns, and the re-entry transition. In addition to offering theory and research based approaches and advice, the author includes her own personal experiences counseling international students and case studies addressing specific issues.
Beyond Abroad: Innovative Re-Entry Exercises
This book of interactive activities is intended for use by international education professionals and offers 14 exercises which are designed to "facilitate re-entry dialogue and action on your campus and in your community
Scholarly Articles
Arthur, N. (2003). Preparing International Students for Re-entry Transition. Canadian Journal of Counseling, 37:3. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ672649.pdf
This article focuses specifically on international students' re-entry education and the types of support services student counselors could provide before these students leave the host institution and host country. The author also includes a detailed discussion on how to approach creating a workshop to prepare international students for the re-entry transition.
Haines, D. (2013). “More Aware of Everything”: Exploring the Returnee Experience in American Higher Education. Journal of Studies in International Education. 17(1), 19 – 38.
This article explores the experiences of domestic students returning to a U.S. higher education institution to either pursue or complete a degree program. The interviews with these students are analyzed to determine what patterns, if any, are shared through the returnee experience as it relates to the students' notions of self identity as well as group identity.
Videos/Multi-Media
Coming Home: Reentry after Study Abroad - Institute for the International Education of Student (IES) Abroad
This is a short video aimed at domestic students returning to the U.S. after studying abroad, however, the interviewees cover many topics that are also relevant and helpful for international students to understand and apply to their own re-entry experiences in their home countries.
What's Up With Culture? - Welcome Back! Now What?
This is a comprehensive online training program consisting of three modules intended to teach students about cultural awareness, how to prepare for their study abroad trip and what to expect upon returning home. Module 2 - "Welcome Back! Now What?" covers everything related to preparing to return home as well as advice for a returnees' family and friends. Each module includes various interactive exercises for students to apply what they are learning as they progress through the training. The School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific developed this resource.
Re-entry and Reverse Culture Shock
This is a quick, one page overview that was developed for Cornell students, but provides short descriptions on some of the common re-entry reactions to include boredom and restlessness, identity issues and compartmentalization of the experience.
Twelve Tips for Welcoming Returnees Home
This is a short reference for parents to better understand in what ways they can help to assist in the readjustment and transition period of the re-entry experience for their students returning home.
My World Abroad
This website provides tips and resources to help students get started in a global career. The site requires a subscription, however, so be sure to check in case it is available to you through your school at no extra cost.
Books
Going Home: Perceptions of International Students on the Efficacy of a Reentry Workshop by Laurie K. Cox
This book discusses an interesting research study conducted at a private research institution in California. The study surveyed 250 international students to determine their perception of a re-entry workshop, specifically concerning how well they believed it effectively prepared them for reacculturation to everyday life upon returning to their home countries.
Re-Entry Returning to Your Home Country? (Duke University)
While most of the content in the booklet was excerpted from materials from the Boston Area Study Abroad Reentry Conference, it is intended for a variety of audiences, from study abroad students, to international students and scholars and their spouses. This practical guide outlines the stages of re-entry and offers coping strategies and tips for dealing with reverse culture shock.
Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner
Riding the Waves of Culture is popular guide to "leading effectively in an international business context." The book is not too dense, and combines theory and research with graphics, vignettes and stories to illustrate cultural differences, and tip sheets for effective cross-cultural interaction. The book is a valuable tool for understanding not only how culture impacts the way we do business, but also how culture shapes the way we interact with the environment, other people, and ourselves.
Burn-Up or Splash Down: Surviving the Culture Shock of Re-Entry by Marion Knell
This book addresses the re-entry process and reverse culture shock in a general sense, including advice on preparing to re-enter, the importance of reflection and de-briefing, and sources of re-entry. This book also devotes a section to the specific re-entry challenges faced by third culture kids, as well advice for friends and family members of returnees who are experiencing reverse culture shock.
Managing Cross Cultural Transitions: A Handbook for Corporations, Employees, and Their Families by Steven Shepard
This book is primarily aimed at easing the re-entry ad repatriation process for American's who have been working abroad and are returning to the U.S., either to continue a job with their company at home or to start a new career. In addition to providing resources and advice to returnees, the book offers advice to multinational corporations on how to assist and guide their recent returned employees. While the book does not explicitly target international students, many of the problems discussed and strategies to ease re-entry stress are relevant to a wider audience.
The Art of Coming Home by Craig Storti
This book outlines in detail what the author has determined to be the four specific stages of the re-entry process, which consist of leave-taking, the honeymoon state, reverse culture sock and re-adjustment. The author also acknowledges what types of different challenges certain populations may face such as exchange students, international volunteers, military personnel or veterans and their families as well as missionaries and their children.
(t)Here: Writings on Returnings by Brandi Dawn Henderson
This book is a collection of stories and essays written by people struggling with their re-entry challenges. The majority of stories are written by people who are returning to their home countries after an extended time abroad, but their are also stories about soldiers struggling to acclimate to civilian life and former addicts re-entering society after extended stays at psychiatric facilities.
Cross Cultural Re-Entry: A Book of Readings by Clyde Neal Austin
Cross Cultural Re-Entry is a compilation of essays on various topics related to the re-entry process. The book provides an overview of re-entry challenges and strategies for dealing with reverse culture shock, and then offers sections on the specific challenges faced by returned federal employees, business employees, missionaries, international students, and third culture kids/parents.
Counseling International Students: Clients from Around the World by Nancy Arthur
Written by a veteran higher education counselor, this volume is intended for use by counseling staff at universities and colleges, with the aim of "encouraging counselors to become more involved with international students on their campuses and to enjoy the many rewards of working with clients from around the world." It covers a wide range of topics, including myths about international students, culture shock, academics, discrimination and racism, career concerns, and the re-entry transition. In addition to offering theory and research based approaches and advice, the author includes her own personal experiences counseling international students and case studies addressing specific issues.
Beyond Abroad: Innovative Re-Entry Exercises
This book of interactive activities is intended for use by international education professionals and offers 14 exercises which are designed to "facilitate re-entry dialogue and action on your campus and in your community
Scholarly Articles
Arthur, N. (2003). Preparing International Students for Re-entry Transition. Canadian Journal of Counseling, 37:3. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ672649.pdf
This article focuses specifically on international students' re-entry education and the types of support services student counselors could provide before these students leave the host institution and host country. The author also includes a detailed discussion on how to approach creating a workshop to prepare international students for the re-entry transition.
Haines, D. (2013). “More Aware of Everything”: Exploring the Returnee Experience in American Higher Education. Journal of Studies in International Education. 17(1), 19 – 38.
This article explores the experiences of domestic students returning to a U.S. higher education institution to either pursue or complete a degree program. The interviews with these students are analyzed to determine what patterns, if any, are shared through the returnee experience as it relates to the students' notions of self identity as well as group identity.
Videos/Multi-Media
Coming Home: Reentry after Study Abroad - Institute for the International Education of Student (IES) Abroad
This is a short video aimed at domestic students returning to the U.S. after studying abroad, however, the interviewees cover many topics that are also relevant and helpful for international students to understand and apply to their own re-entry experiences in their home countries.