Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1962) reflects that students will want to feel comfortable and safe in their learning environments and respected by both peers and tutors before they can attend to their studies. From a human behaviour perspective, belonging and connection have special places. What does this mean for our international students?
Research over the last twenty years in the First-Year Experience and International Student and Transient Migrant domains provide a robust understanding and proposed way forward. Both domestic and international students share common elements of a first-year university experience, but successful transition for international students often hinges on the establishment of new connections, enabling students to build new communities and a sense of ‘home away from home’ (Gomes, 2021).
For international students, the communities they form are first and foremost related to their identity as foreigners studying in a place which is more often culturally, ethnically, linguistically and socially different from their own. Being foreigners, international students encounter similar lived experiences from the time they land in Australia, from the mixed emotions of anticipation, anxiety and exhilaration in living independently overseas and starting new education careers to the mundaneness and mania of completing assignments and balancing finances. These commonalities draw students together and help form communities of need (Gomes, 2021).
What this means for our international students is that deliberate attention to building a sense of belonging on our campuses is fundamental to their academic and personal success. It also assists our students as they juggle their co-existing identities in combination with forming their new identities:
- Pre-enrolment identity
- Tertiary student identity
- Professional identity
From a student support perspective, there are three predominant student experience factors proven to be influential in terms of international students’ sense of belonging:
- The relevance and helpfulness of student orientation
- Supporting students to settle into their institution; and
- Opportunities for successful peer-to-peer interactions
Orientation presents a critical opportunity to shape first impressions and set our students up for success. To be considered helpful and relevant and build a strong sense of belonging, your orientation program needs to offer an authentic sense of welcome and a sense of academic and social belonging through activities and events that provide opportunities for both students to connect and for students and staff to connect.
Empathetic, proactive and responsive student support – that doesn’t depend on students seeking it out – is essential to support a successful transition to study and a sense of belonging with your institution. Your support services must provide high-impact, multi-channel support when it is needed most. Support services must understand the diverse needs of international students as they transition to new living and learning environments and offer ongoing activities and events that highlight and celebrate the diversity of your staff and students.
Insights shared by international students through extensive focus groups, conducted by Professor Catherine Gomes, found that “students said they felt that only other international students understood what they were going through, and that only other international students offered them the practical help they needed, especially when they first arrived in Australia.” (Gomes, 2021). Institutions need to offer ongoing opportunities for peer-to-peer engagement that supports relationship building and a sense of belonging.
ISANA Conference
Belonging and connection are two of the core themes being unpacked at next week’s ISANA International Education Association Conference. The conference is being held at Rydges, World Square Sydney from December 6th-8th.
Professors Catherine Gomes and Sally Kift look at connection through curriculum and wellbeing lenses in their keynote addresses.
The Koala’s own Dirk Mulder facilitates a panel discussion on how the international student ecosystem can ensure opportunities for connectedness occur for our students and how we measure the success of such initiatives.
Anita van Rooyen from Confidence Hackers workshops why building belonging and connection for our international students has been so hard for so long and how we can make it easier for our students.
And I’ll be facilitating the international student panel which will encourage authentic and honest reflections from current international students on their transition experience.
It’s not too late to register – check out the full program at: https://isanaconference.com/program
