Saudi international student's experience of transitioning from a gender segregated culture to a mixed gender environment: "Mixing gender is the best" An emerged theme from the interviews

One of the interesting phenomena in the context of Saudi international students undertaking their education in western countries is the transition from a segregated gender environment to a mixed gender environment. This paper draws on an ongoing PhD study that explores the experience of Saudi international students in adapting to a mixed gender environment. The research investigates the meaning that Saudi international students make of their experience in this new environment. The research methodology utilized a phenomenological approach and data was generated from four indepth interviews. Findings from two initial interviews from pilot study are reported in this paper. Six aspects of the participants' experience have emerged from these interviews (figure 2). However, in this paper, I am only reporting one aspect that has not been addressed in the scholarly research on Saudi international students, namely "mixing gender is the best". The findings weI;e based on in-depth interviews with two Saudi international students, a male and a female, who are studying at Australian universities. Both students have been here for more than one year and the preliminary analysis indicated that they have had a positive experience relating to two resilience characteristics of adaptation: personal independence and self confidence. These are the most invariant factors that have influenced the positive experience that has resulted from them living in a mixed gender environment.