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Open research questions in International Student and Expatriate Challenges

903 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 8,184 International Student and Expatriate Challenges papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • One challenge identified is the lack of institutional guidance and support for academic staff to develop intercultural competence. Another challenge is the persistence of ethnocentric norms and assumptions of cultural neutrality in higher education institutions. The study also highlights the need for structured opportunities for professional learning that address the ideological underpinnings of intercultural work.

    Tracing paths of development of intercultural competence: Trajectories of academics in international(ised) contexts in Australia · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to explore the impact of IC on student outcomes, - Research should investigate the effectiveness of structured programmes in supporting staff professional development

    Tracing paths of development of intercultural competence: Trajectories of academics in international(ised) contexts in Australia · 2026 · DOI

  • Immigrant teachers face systemic inequities that limit their integration and professional development opportunities. The study identifies challenges such as lack of access to supportive school environments, individual effort, and compensatory resources. The research highlights the need for policy and institutional reforms to address these challenges.

    ‘I was treated as a deficit’: Immigrant teachers' career progression in Australia · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research into the career progression of immigrant teachers, - Investigation into the impact of institutional and structural constraints on immigrant teachers' career development

    ‘I was treated as a deficit’: Immigrant teachers' career progression in Australia · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies the challenges faced by Chinese international students in adapting to the US culture, including dealing with unpleasant Americans and coping with differences in environmental protection. The research also notes the challenges of measuring sociocultural adaptation, including the need for a valid and reliable instrument. The study highlights the importance of considering the specific characteristics of the research population when assessing sociocultural adaptation.

    Sociocultural adaptation of Chinese international students in the United States and its influencing factors · 2025 · DOI

  • The study used a convenience sample - The sample size was limited to 199 Mainland Chinese students - The study only focused on Chinese international students in the US

    Sociocultural adaptation of Chinese international students in the United States and its influencing factors · 2025 · DOI

  • The mechanisms through which cultural intelligence influences multicultural literacy remain underexplored. Scholars increasingly recognize that cultural intelligence alone does not automatically translate into intercultural competence or multicultural literacy without supportive contexts and enabling behavioral mechanisms.

    Exploring the impact of cultural intelligence on multicultural literacy in university students: a serial mediation model of cultural exposure and cross-cultural communication skills · 2025 · DOI

  • Examine the effects of short-format trainings compared to long-term or mobility-based interventions, - Investigate the effects of the training on other outcomes besides CQ, - Control for other variables that could influence CQ development, - Examine the effects of the training on different populations, - Develop more effective training programs based on the findings of this study

    Are some individuals more susceptible to intercultural education than others? Multicultural personality predicts the effects of an intercultural training on cultural intelligence · 2024 · DOI

  • International students’ engagement in racial justice activism remains understudied.

    Crossing Borders and Telling Stories: A Narrative Inquiry of Asian International Students’ Engagement in U.S. Racial Justice Activism · 2026 · DOI

  • Responding to the under-explored international students’ temporal and spatial dimensions of abroad experiences, this study addresses this empirical gap by exploring four Chinese postgraduate students’ experiences at a UK university through the lens of temporal positioning.

    Rethinking student experience through temporal positioning · 2026 · DOI

  • Research limitations/implications The study’s sample, limited to Asian women in Malaysian and Indonesian contexts, may introduce bias and limit the applicability of results to other settings, such as Western cultures.

    I want to control my destiny: a narrative analysis of female foreign executives of local organisations in Malaysia and Indonesia · 2025 · DOI

  • Given the non-random sampling, findings may not be generalizable beyond the study population.

    Intercultural sensitivity, challenges, and perceived value in multicultural group work among third-year medical students at Alexandria university, Egypt (2023–2024) · 2025 · DOI

  • Given the limited research on the demographic, cultural, and psychosocial variables that influence international students' mental health, and the scarcity of studies on the use of machine learning algorithms in this area, this study aimed to analyse data to understand the demographic, cultural factors, and psychosocial factors that impact mental health of international students.

    Mental health analysis of international students using machine learning techniques · 2024 · DOI

  • Although research in this area is lacking, cognitively complex persons may have narrower cognitive catego ries than cognitively simple persons.

    Cognitive Complexity and Intercultural Effectiveness: Perceptions in American–Japanese Dyads · 1986 · DOI

  • The digital age poses challenges for multinational corporations in emerging economies. Cross-cultural collaboration is a critical change point for global competitiveness. Inclusive workplace spaces need to be rethought in the digital age.

    Organizational Justice, Cultural Intelligence and Workforce Inclusion in Digitally Transformed Multinationals: A Systematic Integrated Review of Expatriate and Hybrid Workers in Emerging Economies · 2026 · DOI

  • Further empirical work is needed to examine the relationships between organizational justice, cultural intelligence, and workforce inclusion in digitally transformed multinationals. Longitudinal studies and cross-cultural comparisons are suggested as future research directions.

    Organizational Justice, Cultural Intelligence and Workforce Inclusion in Digitally Transformed Multinationals: A Systematic Integrated Review of Expatriate and Hybrid Workers in Emerging Economies · 2026 · DOI

  • Employee disengagement in the hotel industry. The need for employees to display emotional engagement during interactions with guests. The challenge of managing a culturally diverse workforce.

    CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AS A PREDICTOR OF WORK ENGAGEMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN HOTELS · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of the relationship between cultural intelligence, servant leadership, and work engagement in the hotel industry. The study aims to explore the predictive effect of cultural intelligence on work engagement, mediated by servant leadership.

    CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AS A PREDICTOR OF WORK ENGAGEMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN HOTELS · 2026 · DOI

  • The study only examined international students at a Central European university. The sample size was limited to 20 students. The study did not explore the experiences of international students in other regions or contexts.

    Worlds apart, learning together · 2026 · DOI

  • Future studies could explore the experiences of international students in other regions or contexts. Research could investigate the effectiveness of support services for international students. The study's findings could be used to inform the development of targeted interventions to support international students.

    Worlds apart, learning together · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of research on the adjustment of South Asian students in South Korea. The study aims to address this gap by examining the impact of pre-arrival cultural familiarity, perceived ethnic discrimination, and post-arrival cultural experiences on adjustment.

    Cultural familiarity, ethnic discrimination, and adjustment of South Asian students in South Korea · 2026 · DOI

  • The finding that advanced technological systems enhance academic competence but amplify daily-life stress under discrimination requires longitudinal tracking of stress markers, academic performance, and technology usage patterns across different domains (academic vs. daily life) to isolate whether the stressor amplification is technological-system-specific or a function of general discrimination exposure.

    Cultural familiarity, ethnic discrimination, and adjustment of South Asian students in South Korea · 2026 · DOI

  • Most of the literature is based on Western contexts, limiting the generalizability of the findings to China. Few studies disaggregate data by academic level or discipline, thereby overlooking group-specific needs.

    Cultural adaptation and academic success of international students in Beijing · 2026 · DOI

  • Standardized measures for cross-cultural comparisons in international student adaptation are lacking. Development and validation of culturally invariant measurement instruments would enable differentiation between universal acculturation challenges and context-specific challenges across different higher education systems.

    Cultural adaptation and academic success of international students in Beijing · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to understand the relationship between cultural intelligence and social interaction anxiety among Chinese international students in the UK. Prior research has not fully explored the mediating roles of psychological resilience and fear of negative evaluation in this association.

    Cultural intelligence and anxiety in English-mediated social interaction among Chinese international students in the UK: mediating roles of psychological resilience and fear of negative evaluation · 2026 · DOI

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903 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 8,184 International Student and Expatriate Challenges papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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