RT Article
T1 Dare to Dream: Personal Values, Life Goals, and International Students in New Zealand
JF Journal of religion and health
VO 56
IS 5
SP 1503
OP 1514
A1 Zhang, Kaili C.
A2 Zhang, Abraham
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
YR 2017
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/156686349X
AB It has been well identified and supported in the literature that values and life goals are associated with one’s general well-being. However, there have been few studies on values and life goals among international students in New Zealand. This study addressed this lack of research by focusing on the life goals and personal values among international students in three tertiary institutes in New Zealand. Based on the literature review, the hypothesis of this study is that international students’ intrinsic life goals are positively correlated with their spiritual values. In contrast, extrinsic goals did not have similar effects. The Aspirations Index, which was used to assess life goals, and the Schwartz’ value survey, which measured the students’ personal values, were both distributed to the participants. Follow-up interviews with 24 of the participants were also conducted. Findings revealed that spiritual values were positively correlated with intrinsic goals and that extrinsic goals did not have similar effects. As the research findings showed that spiritual values were positively correlated with intrinsic goals, helping international students to find meaning and purpose in life may promote their well-being, and the learning and growth of international students can be improved by incorporating spiritual values and cultural aspects in college education. The authors also argue that a holistic approach to college education for international students is needed.
K1 Well-being
K1 Higher Education
K1 international students
K1 Life goals
K1 New Zealand
K1 personal values
DO 10.1007/s10943-016-0307-7