how does the level of homesickness experienced by students at jacobs university bremen influence...

How Does the Level of Homesickness Experienced by Students at

Jacobs University Bremen Influence their Level of Social

Integration on Campus?

By Jonathan Laetsch, Anastasia Murusidze, Helena Herzberg, Annie Mumladze

Jacobs University Bremen

Fall 2015

This Case Study Project was prepared for:Logic of Comparative Research: Case Studies

Taught by Prof. Margrit Schreier

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The Relationship Between Homesickness & Social Integration at Jacobs University Bremen

Table of Contents

Introduction..................................................................................................................... 2

Research Justification................................................................................................... 3

Theoretical Background.............................................................................................. 4

Methodology.................................................................................................................... 5

Data Collection................................................................................................................ 6

Case selection.................................................................................................................. 7

Methods of Analysis....................................................................................................... 7

Results............................................................................................................................... 7

Maria: Germany....................................................................................................................... 7

Peter: Colombia........................................................................................................................ 8

Frances: Senegal...................................................................................................................... 9

Table of Results (Table 1)......................................................................................... 10

Assumptions vs. Actual Findings............................................................................11

Evaluation...................................................................................................................... 12

Conclusion & Future Research................................................................................13

Appendix and References......................................................................................... 14

Interview Guide..................................................................................................................... 14

Utrecht Homesickness Scale....................................................................................17

Informed Consent Form............................................................................................ 18

References..................................................................................................................... 19

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1.0- Introduction

Today’s world is marked by an underlying pressure to pursue successful careers and the dream of financial security. Thus, with expectations mounting and job opportunities scarce, one finds themselves on the path of Social Darwinism, an academic Hunger Games, a ‘survival of the brightest’.

Thus, to increase their chances on the job market, the majority of today’s adolescents that successfully complete their secondary level of education continue to pursue a Bachelors Degree at University. Some do so in their hometown, while others move across countries or to the other end of the world in order to make their dream a reality. Whether familiar or unfamiliar with the novel cultural environment, the necessity to belong is an ingrained human need and immediately evident. This feeling of belonging can be measured through both the level of homesickness or the level of social integration experienced by an individual.

The concept of ‘home’ itself is widely disputed and varies across individuals. Factors that indicate the extent to which one feels at home include relationships to friends and family, consistency of staying in touch and desire to partake in familiar activities. The success or failure rate of these factors result in a particular scope of homesickness. The scope can further be understood by exploring the values, desires and behavior of the particular case.

‘Social integration’ is also conceptualized differently across cultures. Factors that indicate the extent to which one feels socially integrated are explained by the degree to which a student becomes part of and contributes to the community, including the number of friends one has or the number of social events one partakes in. This scope too can be further understood by exploring the values, desires and behavior of the particular case.

This research report aims to identify the various factors that contribute to both level of social integration and level of homesickness experienced by Students of Jacobs University Bremen in an effort to clarify the similarities and differences between the two factors and provide an answer to the following research question:

How does the level of homesickness experienced by students of Jacobs University Bremen influence their level of social integration on campus?

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1.1- Research Justification

Jacobs University Bremen is highly diverse community, with over 100 nationalities present. The interpretations of home and social integration must henceforth also be heterogeneous. Like any other student, we have encountered these differences and experienced their interconnection first hand, fostering a heightened sense of curiosity in each of us. How do students from different world regions feel when they come to study at Jacobs University? Does one’s region of origin determine the level of homesickness or social integration experienced on campus or is this derived by chance? How do students from Germany perceive the situation? This curiosity, personal experience, as well as the easy access to cases drove us to ensue with our case study, molding our methodology, case selection and research question along the way.

2.0- Theoretical Background

Homesickness

Throughout history, Homesickness has been subject to different explanations and causes. Whereas organic explanations of the subject remained popular until the end of the 19th century, as the 20th century approached, the psychological aspect dominated the sphere of academia. Frost (1938), one of the first researchers to view homesickness through the lens of psychology, considered homesickness a ‘reaction to conflicts between family ties and herd instincts’, whereas McCann later viewed it as ‘an emergency emotional behavior’ to which introverts were especially susceptible (Carden & Feicht, 1991). Since the middle of the 20th century, Homesickness has been widely regarded, recognized and researched in the field of psychology.

A plethora of psychological literature demonstrates that in an academic environment, the effects of homesickness can be detrimental. As students experience a sudden change of ‘daily routine, student support networks, and student perception’, homesickness is a common consequence and phenomenon among university students. Perceived as harmless, if not treated acutely, homesickness can lead to ‘isolation, alcohol and drug abuse and disruptive behavior,’ (Carden & Feicht, 1991). Furthermore, homesick students are three times more likely to drop out of college than non-homesick students (Terry, Leary, & Mehta, 2012).

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Social Integration

In a parallel to homesickness, researchers also point to social integration, the extent to which an individual ‘interacts with fellow peers and professors’, as another important factor in higher-level education (Mannan, 2001). This interaction, as homesickness, serves to ‘strengthen the student’s commitment to his or her educational goals and the institution’ and is of crucial importance in relation to college continuation (Mannan, 2001). The degree of social integration of the individual into the college system thus influences the commitment to the specific institution and to the goal of college completion (Mannan, 2001).

As portrayed above, both homesickness and social integration play an essential role in future academic performance and education. While literature holds the position that a relationship between the level of social integration and level of homesickness exists, published studies fail to address to what extent this relationship exists and are ‘(often) dated and represent a smattering of separate attempts to answer common questions’ (Carden & Feicht, 1991).

In an effort to fill this gap, we follow the hypotheses of both Carden & Feicht (1991) and Urani (2003) who assert that the relationship, on university campuses, between social integration and homesickness is negative.

Urani defends her argument by asserting that ‘students who exhibit signs of insecurity and poor social skills prior to entering university life have greater tendency to exhibit signs of homesickness’, while Carden & Feicht reiterate that ‘high levels of homesickness demonstrate a weak social maturity and low social skills’ (Urani, 2014) (Carden & Feicht, 1991).

As a result of our research, we hope to derive at the same conclusion as Urani (2014) and Carden & Feicht (1991) with the aim to clarify the relationship between homesickness and social integration on the campus of Jacobs University Bremen and to accurately describe the working mechanism behind the relationship.

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3.0- Methodology

In order to explore the mentioned relationship, we chose multiple–case study method. According to Yin’s (2014) research methodology, a multiple case study is appropriate for our project as the initial nature of the research question primarily addresses ‘how’ an occurrence of one event influences the other (p.9). In addition, a clear focus on the contemporary character of the topic of interest and the lack of control of behavioral events needed pinpoint to the use of a multiple case study as an appropriate method of research (p.9).

3.1- Data Collection

In further development of the research design, three data collection methods were chosen for each case. Before embarking on the case study we had participants fill out an informed consent forms (see appendix 3). To start of the project we conducted semi-structured interviews, as the ‘[f]lexibility of semi-structured interview methods ensures that through the careful use of words, valid and reliable data can be obtained’ (Barribal & While, 1994, p.330). Prior to conducting the Interviews, we developed an Interview guide (see appendix 1) , which provided a clear set of instructions for interviewers in order to obtain reliable and comparable qualitative data. The interview guide was divided into 3 parts: a) introduction, where the interviewer would introduce him/herself while also gathering general information about interviewee followed by b) a set of questions regarding homesickness and a c) set of questions regarding social integration (Chapman & Pascarella, 1983).

These semi-structured interviews were further complemented by a scale measuring the level of homesickness experienced by the study participants. After conducting extensive research on the topic, we chose the Utrecht Homesickness Scale (see appendix 2), which was developed by Stroebe et al. in 2002 as it provides the most comprehensive account of homesickness data available to date. It evaluates five different factors of homesickness: extent of missing family, adjustment difficulties, extent of missing friends, level loneliness and ruminations about home. Participants are asked to rate these items from 1, ‘never’, to 5, ‘very much’. A higher cumulative score indicated the higher level of homesickness.

Another method of data collection used was that of public observation. The participants were observed in a social setting in order to measure the respective level of social integration on campus. For our study we decided to

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choose the serveries (at lunch time) as the location for the public observation as they are one of the most socially active areas on campus and have manifested themselves as part of the daily routine for the majority of Jacobs University Students. The observation lasted throughout the whole course of the meal (lunch). Upon beginning difficulties, as the action was a novel experience for both, the researchers subsequently disguised their note-taking expertly, in the confines of a notebook or their mobile phone. Throughout, comprehensive notes were made about a participants’ social interactions, the number of people they talked to, their dynamic in a group setting and visible comfort.

3.2- Case Selection

A one-phase approach (Yin, 2014, p.95) was applied to the candidate cases’ screening process for the multiple-case study. Interviewers recalled their knowledge of possible expressions of homesickness among their fellow students and chose candidates accordingly. The screening process was conducted with the intention of theoretical replication (Yin, 2014), which ‘predicts contrasting results, but for anticipatable reasons’ (p.57). Another important criterion was to select the cases that were geographically representative. Thus, the origin of participant was also an important driver during the case selection process. Three participants were selected: two males, from Colombia and Senegal and one female from Germany, all assumed to have different levels of homesickness.

3.3- Methods of Analysis

Due to embedded nature of conducted case studies, with primary intention to try to answer questions about certain behavior, the ‘ground up’ strategy was utilized in an effort to analyze the data swiftly and effectively (Yin, 2014, p.136). The inductive strategy gave opportunity to explore the patterns that occurred during interviews and were previously unknown to researchers - the self-reported definitions of ‘home’ and ‘social integration’ were kept in mind to see how the perceptions of the researched phenomena were reflected in participants’ lifestyles and feelings. The analysis proceeded with the ‘triangulation’ of three different kinds of available data on the two-dimensional level (the first half of the interview data synthesised with the corresponding quantitative homesickness results and the other half - with the field notes from researchers’ observations) - the use of this technique guaranteed increased internal validity of our research (Jick, 1979, p.602). Lastly, with the help of pattern matching techniques the across-case analysis was conducted that

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prepared the ground for discussion. Consequently, we identified several important similarities and differences across the cases that have been put into a table for illustration purposes (see Table 1).

4.0- Results

Maria: Germany

Maria was assumed to be the least homesick participant because of the geographical proximity of her hometown to the campus. She described ‘home’ as an abstract concept: ‘I find it hard to define home, because for the past year my materialistic house was empty and my family lived abroad. Therefore, I cannot say that home is Hamburg [..], but rather where my family and friends are’. She reported that she attempted to replicate the environment and design of her family home in her small Jacobs room and to play similar sports on campus, but the limited sports activities available and her small room have hindered her to feel comfortable, struggling to perceive her new environment as home.

She keeps in touch with the family daily, despite the fact that she visits her house whenever she gets free time on weekends, as a way to get away from the hassle of University.

To Maria, the meaning of social integration is: ‘To get involved to some extent. […] I guess the way you see yourself in response to others as well’. This is a rather one-sided perspective, focusing on the individual rather than the community. She does not feel a sense of belonging to a bigger Jacobs community and feels like Jacobs Spirit is not present on campus. She classifies herself as an outgoing person, who has a good relationship within her major and her resident college with all kinds of people and personalities.

On the Utrecht Homesickness Scale she accumulated 14 points out of 25 –clearly indicating that she experiences a high level of homesickness–in her second year of studies at Jacobs. Maria still experiences ‘little’ (score of 2) adjusting difficulties that is the highest score reported on this item.

The synthesis of our field notes about Maria’s social interactions in the servery proved our assumption that there is a negative relationship between the level of homesickness and the level of social integration. Maria sat with a large and interactive group, but kept her conversations with one or two individuals at a time, seemingly comfortable sitting in silence, reserved and private.

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Peter: Colombia

Peter was chosen as a presumably homesick participant. His home country is Colombia. He described home as a physical concept, stating that: ‘Home is a place where I feel the most comfortable- Jacobs is my new home’. He misses general concepts about home such as an open and warm attitude of the people and the good weather. Peter participates in the same sports (running and football) as he did back home in an effort to bring back the feeling of ‘home’.

He communicates with his family on a weekly basis and describes himself as independent individual, visiting home once every year.

The definition of social integration to Peter is the following: ‘To be accepted and included in social groups’, portraying a perspective that values the outlook of the social group more than the individual effort and perspective. He feels that he is a part of the Jacobs community and attempts to attend as many social events on campus as possible, noting that the Jacobs spirit is the ‘glue that holds together such a diverse and multi-cultured community’.

Peter reported 9 points out of 25 on the Utrecht Homesickness Scale – as a result of triangulation of data, we have classified him as a non-homesick person that has the slightest sense of loneliness (gave score of 1 on the item) and misses his friends the least among the participants.

The synthesis of the second part of his interview results and researcher’s field notes was also successful. Peter proved to be communicative and friendly in a social environment, actively and loudly engaging in general discussions with as many people as possible, often emerging as the central figure in group discussions.

Frances: Senegal

Lastly, we selected Frances as a person that we did not have a predefined classification for and presumed he had a neutral outlook on his home country Senegal. He simply stated: ‘Home is where the family is…’. Logically, his family is what Frances misses the most about home and he communicates with them on daily basis. In contrast, perceives going back home as ‘not a wise decision’ as he wants to ‘explore the world’.

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Frances keeps photos of his family members on his room walls and sometimes wears his traditional clothes; furthermore, he plays the same sports, all of these material objects and activities remind him of his belonging to his family, community and the whole Senegalese society. As he cannot imagine his home without the setting of his community and his country, he takes the spirit of the African nation with him wherever he goes, making every place his new home.

To Frances, social integration means: ‘To feel good around the people in your community…’ - his definition is of a rather holistic nature, not stressing the importance of either individual or societal side, but attending to the importance of integrity. Instead of choosing friends with the same interests, he chooses friends with the similar personas and identifies himself as a private, but outgoing person. Frances enjoys the big events, but thinks that colleges have more distinguished spirit than the whole Jacobs itself. He assumes that the lack of Jacobs spirit and also, the lack of spirit in his particular college is caused by a small amount of events held.

Frances accumulated 13 points out of 25 on the homesickness scale – thus was put on the second and most neutral position among the participants. He indicated the highest possible score on the item of ‘Missing Family’ and rated the item ‘missing friends’ with an intermediate score of 3.

As a result of our observations, we noticed that Frances dined in a group of people that were close to him. They stayed at the table for a long time and Frances would usually be the initiator in conversations, sometimes making well-received jokes. For the case of Frances, the triangulation method has merged our presumptions on both dimensions perfectly, proving that moderate level of homesickness, especially as experienced in the first year of his studies, did not prevent the process of Frances’ social integration.

5.0- Table of Results (Table 1)

Data Collection method

Maria Peter FrancesClass of 2017/Germany Class of 2017/ Colombia Class of 2018/ Senegal

1. Homesickness Scale (Higher score -

more homesick):14 9 13

2. Public Silent Observations

Servery: Sat with a large and interactive group, but kept her conversations with one or two individuals at a time. She initiated new conversations and topics, but seemed to feel just as comfortable

Servery: Several conversations in native language, communicative; discusses social events, weather complaints; initiator of new topics, comfortable in his surroundings; speaks loudly and

Servery: Dining with different nationalities, conversation in English, communicative, initiator of new topics, active and positive, displays signs of strong connection with the people at the

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sitting in silence - rather reserved and private.

engages with everyone. table.

Interview-A-Homesickness

Home is… A place where family and friends are. ‘I find it hard to define home, because for the past year my materialistic house was empty and my family lived abroad…’

‘Home is a place where I feel the most comfortable- Jacobs is my new home’ ‘Home is where the family is’

Family: Very strong ties to family provide her with a support she can’t necessarily get on campus. Uses all the means of online communication to update them on details of her daily activities, because of proximity visits them on weekly basis.

Good relationship with the family, systematic contact via skype on weekly basis; not dependent on his family. Visits once a year.

Very close relationship with his family, communication via skype on daily basis. Visits once a year.

Language: German native speaker Had hard times in the beginning, now able to small talk

Does not speak German

Longing for: Family, misses everyday interaction like cooking, misses them being around. Everything in her room is similar to her home.

Way of life – warm and open; food, traditional attributes.

Family, studies same as his father - classes reminds him of his father; friends remind him of siblings. Occasionally wears traditional clothes.

Hobbies: Tries to resumed the same sports and continues to follow up with her interest in arts.

Tries to resume same sport activities as at home (sports).

Tries to resume same activities as at home (sports) - as it reminds him of his brothers.

B-SocialIntegration

Social Integration is…

‘To get involved to some extent. [..] I guess the way you see yourself in response to others as well’.

‘To be accepted and included in social groups’

‘To feel good around the people in your community…[..] And the community is where different ideologies come together…’

Friends Friends with people of similar interests and values.

Friends with people of similar interests, same major, however - different cultural/linguistic background, communicates in English.

Friends from different cultures and with different interests – although, they share the same values and character traits.

Activities Participates in vast number of extracurricular activities and sports, sometimes even overwhelmed by them.

Enjoys College Office events, goes to intercultural events to discover new people.

Participates in sport activities mostly; will be working on campus from the next year.

Jacobs Spirit/Community/ ‘The Bubble’

Does not attend campus wide events, prefers small college office events. Dislikes the concept of Jacobs spirit, not sure even if it exists… Feels the need to leave the Bubble often, and leaves on weekly basis.

Enjoys events, attends most of them, Believes in Jacobs spirit as a representative of student body. Leaving the bubble for traveling and to keep balance

Enjoys events, attends most of them, Believes in Jacobs spirit as representative of student body.

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6.0- Assumptions vs. Actual Findings

It is widely recognized both within and outside academia thats ‘distance from home’ and the level of homesickness are positively correlated (Fisher, 2012). Thus, while selecting our cases, we considered this notion and asserted that out of the three participants the participant with the largest distance away from home (Peter- Cali, Colombia) would perceive the highest level of homesickness while the participant with the shortest distance away from home (Maria- Hamburg, Germany) would experience the lowest level of homesickness. Additionally, we made assumptions about who of the three participants would experience the highest level of homesickness (and in turn possibly the lowest level of social integration).

The first assumption about the positive relationship between the geographical proximity of home and the experienced level of homesickness was not supported by the interview/scale data as Maria from Hamburg experienced high levels of homesickness, while Peter experienced below average levels of homesickness.

However, the second assumption about the negative relationship between the level of homesickness and the level of social integration on campus proved to be evident in all three cases as Maria’s level of social integration was low and she generally did not believe in the existence of Jacobs University spirit. Lacking deep social ties on campus, Maria often visits her home engaging in a relentless cycle, since traveling off campus does not encourage the fostering of social relationships on campus, her initial reason to leave campus as often as possible. In contrast, Peter’s level of social integration was high as he praised the Jacobs University spirit as part of the ‘open-minded and non-judgmental’ campus mantra. Euphoric about life on campus, Peter attends all the on-campus events, has an extensive social group and spends as much time as possible on campus. Frances is a unique case, and contradicts the second assumption to a certain degree. Although Frances’ level of homesickness was moderate, he indicated high levels of social integration, demonstrating that a neutral level of homesickness is able to effect the level of social integration experienced positively, or negatively.

7.0- Evaluation

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Limitations

There were numerous limitations present in the case study, which became apparent throughout the process of obtaining data and afterwards, during the process of applying theoretical frameworks.

A lack of the cases can be seen as an important limitation in this study. Although advised not too choose more than three participants, a larger number of cases would have resulted in a more adequate representation of the student body, allowed for a stronger pattern matching during the analysis and thus stronger empirical evidence in the conclusion.

Secondly, the study lacked any form of pre-test in the case selection process. We chose participants for our study based on our assumptions of their level of homesickness. These initial assumptions were proven wrong, altering the course of the data analysis, results and conclusion section of our study, our unpreparedness towards the differing results making the overall process more ambiguous than anticipated.

Likewise, carving more time for observation of the participants to study their social behavior on the campus would have produced a richer spectrum of the field notes that would contribute to the pattern-matching process in the analysis. In hindsight, deriving a complete perception of one’s behavior during a one-time analysis at Lunch time is highly ambiguous, as the person could have been having a particularly good or particularly bad day which would have affected his social skills dramatically. To ensure that this skew in behavior does not occur, we could have observed the participants on multiple occasions in either the same or different settings.

Generalizability

As a result of these factors, the findings of the study are neither generalizable to a general student population, nor to the students and inhabitants of the Jacobs University campus. This case study is not fully representative of connection between general homesickness and social integration.

8.0- Conclusion & Future Research

Conclusion

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While literature upholds the position that a relationship between the level of social integration and level of homesickness exists, published studies fail to address to what extent this relationship exists and are ‘(often) dated and represent a smattering of separate attempts to answer common questions’ (Carden & Feicht, 1991). In an effort to fill this gap, we followed the hypotheses of both Carden & Feicht (1991) and Urani (2003) who assert that the relationship, on university campuses, between social integration and homesickness is negative. Student’s such as Maria, who demonstrated high levels of homesickness experienced low levels of social integration and Peter, who demonstrated low levels of homesickness and high levels of social integration reinforce the hypothesis that levels of homesickness and levels of social integration are negatively related. In a more spectacular fashion, our study revealed that students experiencing moderate levels of homesickness, such as Frances, are still able to experience high levels social integration, as the importance of personal character traits gain importance.

Future Research

Our case study, while reinforcing this hypothesis asserts that the level of social integration is a result of the level of homesickness. In order to truly claim that a relationship exists between homesickness and social integration researchers need to expand on the claim and tackle the hypothesis from the other end, that level of social integration results in the level of homesickness. This will lead to the possibility of a cross-study comparison; more well rounded information gathering and thus, a more comprehensive analysis of the topic, enlightening meticulously on the relationship between homesickness and social integration for the students at Jacobs University Bremen.

9.0- Appendix and References

Interview Guide

Research Topic: Homesickness and Social Integration experienced at Jacobs University Bremen

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Research Question: How Does the Level of Homesickness Experienced by Students at Jacobs University Bremen Influence their Level of Social Integration on Campus?Researchers: Helena Herzberg, Jonathan Laetsch, Anastasia Murusidze, Annie MumladzeAffiliation: Jacobs University BremenDuration: Approximately 20- 40 min

Interview Plan

1. ‘Introduction of the Interviewer’- The interviewer introduces himself/herself and reminds the respondent of the topics that will be discussed during the interview. In this way, the respondent knows exactly what the interviewer’s expectations are.

2. Main Content- Various questions about Homesickness and Social Integration

3. Concluding the Interview- Reiterating the answers of the Interviewee in order to assure all answers noted, were accurate

Interview QuestionsIntroduction:

‘Today, I will be conducting a semi-structured interview with you that will last about 20-30 minutes discussing the topics of Homesickness and Social Integration. This interview aims to research the following question: “How does the level of homesickness experienced by students of Jacobs University Bremen influence their level of social integration on campus?” For Research purposes this interview will be recorded in its entirety. Let us Begin…’

Introductory Questions

- First off, some basic questions about yourself:

- What is your name?

- What is your nationality?

- What is your major?

- What year of your studies are you?

Homesickness

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- What does home mean to you? Is there anything about home that you miss here at Jacobs?

- Do you think of home a lot? Does it happen out of the blue that you think of home or is there a certain context or situation in which you think of home in particular? How is your reaction when you think of home?

- How is your relationship to your family? In what situation do you communicate with friends/family from home? Do you have an organized schedule or do you call them spontaneously? How has modern technology (Social Media) affected your distance to home?

- Many Jacobs Students travel home every chance that they get… When and under what circumstances do you travel to your home country? If I were to give you a ticket to travel anywhere right at this moment, when would you redeem it and -more importantly- what would your destination be?

- What do you miss the most about home? Do you have any material objects around you that remind you of home?

- Do you participate in actions that you did back home such as eat traditional food, participate in religious traditions and partake in sports?

Social Integration

- What does Social Integration mean to you? Do you feel that you are a part of the campus community or not? What makes you say so? In what way?

- Have you made any friends since the beginning of your studies here at Jacobs? Can you tell me about them? Are your friends from the same background or are their backgrounds different from your own?

- Would you describe yourself as outgoing or shy? What is your relationship towards your classmates? How is your relationship towards your professors? Do you interact with your professors outside the classroom? In what way?

- One characteristic of Jacobs Students that is highly noticeable is that students find time beyond their studies to focus on extracurricular activities on campus such as playing in a band, being a part of Undergraduate Student Government and interacting and aiding with the Refugees that live in containers near campus. Student’s also spend their free time working on-campus at the ‘Pulse’, in the Library or as a Teaching Assistant. Are you taking part in any Extra-Curricular Activities or on-campus jobs at the moment?

- Jacobs University also offers many Student-run events such as ‘Dance

Stoned’, ‘Piano to Forte’ and ‘Deepawali’ which are aimed at offering students a platform to showcase their talent hidden talents and bringing the University closer together. How likely are you to attend student-run events on campus? What is your take on these events? Do you feel that they prevent or nourish the Jacobs Spirit?

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- How do you feel towards the Jacobs Spirit on campus? Does it only show at certain events or is it always present? Are you or have you contributed to strengthening the Jacobs Spirit on Campus? If so in what way?

- Many students feel the need to escape the ‘bubble’ of Jacobs University and go on Weekend trips to other European cities? Do you spend your weekends on campus or off campus? If so, doing what?

Links

Homesickness

http://www.refreshedperspectives.com/homesickness-questionnaire-homesick/

http://www.ttbook.org/book/transcript/transcript-susan-j-matt-homesickness-american-history

Social Integration

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00976509#page-1

http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/migration/archives/documentation/Series_Community_Relations/Measurement_indicators_integration_en.pdf

Utrecht Homesickness Scale

Scale:

1- Never 2- Little 3- So-So 4- Much 5- Very Much

Missing Family

1 2 3 4 5

Loneliness

1 2 3 4 5

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Missing Friends

1 2 3 4 5

Adjustment Difficulties

1 2 3 4 5

Rumination About Home

1 2 3 4 5

______________________ ____________

Name, Date Signature

Informed Consent Form

Research Topic: Homesickness and integration on Jacobs University Bremen

Campus

Researchers: Helena Herzberg, Jonathan Laetsch, Natia Murusidze, Ana

Mumladze

Affiliation: Jacobs University Bremen

Description: You will be asked a series of questions by the interviewer

regarding your personal experiences on campus. The conversation will be

recorded. Furthermore, you will have to fill in a homesickness scale and will be

observed by the researcher in your interactions during one servery meal.

Time Involvement: Your participation will take approximately 20 minutes.

Subject’s Rights: Your participation is voluntary, and you have the right to

withdraw your consent or discontinue participation at any time without

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penalty. You have the right to refuse to answer particular questions. The

information you provide will remain confidential in all written and published

data resulting from this study.

This study is supervised by Prof. Dr. Margrit Schreier.

Name:

Date:

Signature:

References

Balkis, M., & Duru, E. (2013). The Psychometric Properties of the Utrecht Homesickness Scale: A Study of Reliability and Validity. Eurasian Journal Of Educational Research (EJER), 52, 61-78.

Barriball, K.L., & While, A. (1994). Collecting data using a semi-structured interview: a discussion paper. J Adv Nurs, 19(2), 328-335.

Chapman, D., & Pascarella, E. (1983). Predictors of academic and social integration of college students. Research In Higher Education, 19(3), 295-322.

Jick (1979) Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods: Triangulation in action. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 602-611.

Stroebe, M., Van Vliet, T., Hewstone, M. &Willis, H. (2002). Homesickness among students in two cultures: Antecedents and consequences. British Journal of Psychology 93 (2) 147 – 168.

Yin, R. (2014). Case Study Research - Design and Methods. Sage Publications.

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Carden, A., & Feicht, R. (1991). Homesickness among American and Turkish College Students, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 100-142

Mannan, M. (2001). An Assessment of the Academic and Social Integration as Perceived by the Students in the University of Papa New Guinea. Higher Education. 10-54

Terry, M., Leary, M., & Mehta, S. (2012). Self-Compassion as a Buffer against Homeseickness, Depression and Dissatisfaction in the Transition to College. Self & Identity. 143-220

Urani, M. (2014). Homesickness in socially anxious first year college students. Loyola University Chicago. Loyola University Chicago Press. 5-15

Fischer, S. (1989). Homesickness, Cognition and Health. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 5-10

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