A Review on Cross Cultural Education throughout Europe: Identity Issues

Abstract

The past few decades have witnessed an increase in global mobility and an unprecedented number of exchange programs offered by various institutions and governments to enable students to receive education in foreign countries. The increase in the enrolment rates of international and exchange students has led many countries to reform their educational systems at curricular and practical levels to meet the needs of international students. European Council (2001), for instance, has developed a common framework of reference to enable students across Europe to travel for education with the hope of creating a common European identity. However, institutional reports and research findings show that in spite of the increasing opportunities and attempts to improve information and funding services to accommodate the needs of international students, the effectiveness of cross cultural education can be questioned. Among these predicaments, identity issues have been frequently reported (e.g., Andrade, 2006; Ho, 2009; Kuhn, 2012; Kim, 2014). In this respect, the present study aims to provide a review of recent studies and reports by focusing specifically on identity problems encountered by exchange students. The discussions presented and their implications are meant to contribute to improving the educational contexts for exchange students.