CULTURE AND FOOD HABITS: ISSUES SURROUNDING FOOD WITH NEW INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
| dc.contributor.advisor | Berenbaum, Shawna | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Whiting, Susan | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Anderson, Alan | |
| dc.creator | Soni, Aarti | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-12-19T15:46:37Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-12-19T15:46:37Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1999-11 | |
| dc.date.submitted | November 1999 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to describe the issues, adjustments and factors surrounding the international student population at the University of Saskatchewan. The study included new graduate and undergraduate international students from a variety of cultural backgrounds upon entering the University of Saskatchewan to begin their studies September 1998. Three research questions guided the research study: (1) what issues surrounding food do international students cope with upon immigrating to Canada to study at the University of Saskatchewan, (2) what adjustments do international students anticipate having to make or what adjustments have they made regarding their food behaviors since arriving in Canada, and (3) what factors do international students feel have or will have an influence on their food habits and food behaviors. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Two phases of data collection and analysis were conducted: closed ended questionnaires mailed out to graduate and undergraduate international students in year one registration (phase 1), and personal one-to-one interviews between the researcher and international student (phase 2) selected by quota sampling. The questionnaire obtained information on the food practices since coming to Canada and changes in food consumption (food frequency) from the home country to Canada. The purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain baseline data in order to help develop questions for the in-depth interviews. By quantitative analysis, the main findings of the questionnaire included missing foods from the home country, finding different foods available in the grocery store, finding more expensive foods in Canada, having never or hardly ever cooked before coming to Canada, and finding difficulty shopping or knowing how to select foods. Fifty personal one-to-one interviews were used to further explore the main food issues and food habits from the questionnaire. The personal interviews were qualitatively analyzed to find themes and patterns which emerged across cultural backgrounds and within cultures. The main issues included food shopping (i.e., differences in shopping system between the home country and Canada, canned/ frozen/ convenience foods, unfamiliar and new foods, and availability of traditional foods), cooking, and changes in eating habits. Methods for adjusting to these issues included food substitution and maintaining traditional tastes of foods. The factors which influenced food habits included economics, gender roles, friends and/or family, and previous experiences prior to coming to Canada (i.e., attending university, eating fast food, and living abroad or away from home). Changes in eating habits due to the length of time in the new country was assessed by interviewing ten international students from a variety of cultural backgrounds living in Canada for more than one year. Verification of the methods was ensured by using the techniques of member checking, prolonged engagement, peer debriefing, reflexive journal, thick description, and audit trails. These techniques established the qualitative criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of the findings which parallel the quantitative criteria of internal validity, external validity, reliability and objectivity, respectively. This study was significant because it provided information for nutrition educators and health professionals to develop appropriate nutrition education programming which takes into account cultural background. The information gathered from this study may be useful in developing and providing nutrition education to international students at the University of Saskatchewan. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10388/15369 | |
| dc.subject | international students | |
| dc.subject | food habits | |
| dc.title | CULTURE AND FOOD HABITS: ISSUES SURROUNDING FOOD WITH NEW INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS | |
| dc.type.genre | Thesis | |
| thesis.degree.department | Nutrition and Dietetics | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Saskatchewan | en_US |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (M.Sc.) |