Improving Interactions Between International Students and Domestic Students, Faculty and Staff

Download or read book Improving Interactions Between International Students and Domestic Students, Faculty and Staff written by Daniel P. Marschner and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This mixed methods research study used an action research framework to consider the interactions between international and domestic students at a medium sized, liberal arts, Catholic university. This institution has a small but growing number of international students, and the university community is grappling with the benefits and challenges of increasing the population of international students. Postcolonial theory was the theoretical lens for this investigation because it emphasized the power dynamics present in intercultural activities and therefore provided insight into the campus environment. The action research framework incorporated a group of international students who participated in the study throughout its duration, acting as co-researchers and enhancing the validity and trustworthiness of the findings. This study explored the attitudes and perceptions of domestic students, faculty and staff towards international students. The investigation also explored the most common interactions between international students and domestic faculty, staff and students, and sought to identify ways to improve the acculturation process for international students. This exploratory sequential mixed methods study had two strands: the quantitative phase consisted of a campus climate survey, and the qualitative strand consisted of Photovoice with international students. The campus climate survey sought to document experiences with and perspectives towards international students on campus. The results of the quantitative strand informed the development of the subsequent qualitative strand. The qualitative portion of the study used Photovoice to encourage international students to express their perspective through visual imagery to the wider campus community. The combined quantitative and qualitative results were presented in a central location in the student center with the goal of demonstrating similarities and differences amongst the various campus constituencies and fostering an enhanced dialogue about campus internationalization. The results of this study supported enhanced resources for international students to acclimate to the university environment and stressed the importance of international students' perspectives to augment global connections within higher education.