Exploring the Shared Knowledge Repositories Program to Reduce International Credit Transfer (ICT) Students' Academic Stress

Abstract

Exposed to a completely different learning environment, international credit transfer students tend to experience severe symptoms of academic stress. Moreover, the lack of research and treatment related to students’ academic stress-coping makes it difficult to measure their stress levels. This article reports on a study that explored the use of shared knowledge repositories to reduce the exchange students’ symptoms of academic stress. Data were collected using a quantitative method in naturalistic settings of three departments at one of the universities that followed the international credit transfer program to Taiwan and India. An inventory test was accordingly adapted to measure changes in the participants after a shared knowledge repositories program was conducted. A total of 20 ICT students from two groups were selected as the sample for the research. Findings were gathered through document analysis, followed by an inventory t-test to investigate changes in the participants after the sharing session program. In this case, the results of the t-test and document analysis suggested that an improvement was seen in the degree of students’ stress coping system. The results indicated that the program requirements for the participant to constantly create and share learning resources and strategies might have reduced students’ stress related to academic expectations and examinations. Besides, the stage of observation and reflection might have contributed to students’ ability to cope with stress in academic self-perceptions. Keywords: shared knowledge repositories program, ICT students, academic stress