Engagement For All? International Students’ Perceptions of NSSE

1. Engagement For All?International Students’ Perceptions of NSSE March 15, 2011 at 12:15 pmMichelle SudermanThe University of British Columbia

2. Student Engagement Theory • What students do matters more than who they are or where they attend • Time and energy on specified tasks is the single best predictor of development • Institutions which engage their students in activities that contribute to desired outcomes can claim to be institutions of higher quality (Kuh, 2001)

3. International Students By the numbers: • 2.9 million worldwide1 • 3.7 million by 20252 • $12 billion into the U.S. economy3 Primary clients of higher education institutions Retention and learning critical to institutional success • intellectual breadth • economic benefit • internationalization goals 1 Atlas of Student Mobility, 2008 2 Banks, Olsen & Pearce, 2007 3 Davis, 2003, in Altbach & Knight, 2007

4. This study considered how students from abroad perceive their engagement with their institution and how home culture may impact those perceptions

5. Does “what matters in college” (Astin, 1993) for U.S. American students matter for students from abroad?

6. Hofstede’s (2001) Dimensions of Culture • Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) • Power Distance (PDI) • Individualism (IDV) • Masculinity (MAS) • Long-Term Orientation (LTO)

7. Research with International Populations • Cultural informants can reduce barriers to authentic responses • Home language can increase validity • Pilot, pilot, pilot • Differences in power distance and direct/indirect communication help or hinder • If an outsider, use to your benefit: listen, listen, listen

8. Methods • International 1st and 4th year undergraduates at UBC Vancouver • Bilingual home country focus groups conducted by undergraduate home country research assistants • UBC NSSE 2008 results disaggregated by international student status • Random sample stratified by gender, faculty/college, commuter/non-commuter • 18 focus groups with 77 participants (Feb. – Apr. 2009) • Citizens of People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan • Contrast groups of Canadians

9. Data and Conclusions: Quantitative Data • Institutional analyses of international and domestic UBC Vancouver student responses to NSSE 2008 • Statistically significant differences • Student-faculty interaction (benchmark) • Out-of-class interaction with faculty • Use of technology • Diversity

10. Data and Conclusions: NSSE and the Research About NSSE • Answers inaccurate approximations • Non-standard interpretations of the items • "faculty members“ = “other students in my faculty” • “faculty member outside of class” = “someone who is not teaching or taking my class” Appreciation for the research • Strong desire for institutional change • Most important that the university ask for student input and act on the results

11. Data and Conclusions: Role of Faculty • Sensitive to professors' busyness • Contact with approachable, effective teachers is significant motivator for learning • Felt that faculty should be approachable • HEI: take more seriously the role of faculty in retention and learning for international students

12. Spotlight on Culture Faculty as guru in high Individualism cultures Faculty as expert in high Uncertainty Avoidance cultures International participants wanted more contact with faculty Importance of a professional network involving faculty

13. Data and Conclusions: Diversity • Conversations with people different than themselves an important part of university life • Canadians did not see race as an issue • International students keenly aware of race and spend time with similar culture/language or other international • Diversity-related NSSE items confusing and of questionable validity • Uncertainty Avoidance and Individualism help explain the struggle with heterogeneity • Korean students cited a lack of expected networks • HEI: consider the needs of specific subpopulations

14. Spotlight on Culture Low Individualist cultures favour strong in-groups High Uncertainty Avoidance cultures favour clear social norms Heterogeneous groups unsettling as the rules are unclear

15. Data and Conclusions: Active and Collaborative Learning • Missed potential for learning • Could not identify the learning value in key behaviours • Behaviours underused or misused by faculty • HEI: explicate for new students the value of key behaviours and ways they can gain full benefit from them • Increase faculty awareness and effective use of NSSE behaviours

16. Data and Conclusions: Supportive Campus Environment • Finding unique to international participants • Positive campus environment important • Participation based on classroom environment • Do it if others are doing it • Concern about standing out • Professor a key player in setting classroom environment • HEI: take a holistic approach to crafting experiences • Ensure faculty and staff are equipped

17. Spotlight on Culture Individualism helps explain importance of environment Group harmony requires attention to environment and mood of leader and group Environment and subtle cues speak louder than words

18. Data and Conclusions: Social Networks Rely on multi-layered social networks to navigate learning • Clarify academic issues and assignments • Develop their intellectual ideas • Cope with stress and discouragement • Gain broader perspectives • Manage academic overload regarding readings and assignments • Develop professional networks Not all are successful in making these connections • HEI: Leverage first year experience programs • Help students build intentional, multi-layered social networks • Faculty to create learning events that facilitate social interaction

19. Key Learning • Cannot assume that international students experience NSSE or engagement behaviours in the same way as domestic • International students’ perceptions of engagement differ from domestic in subtle but important ways • Attending to international students’ perceptions of engagement is critical to achieving individual and institutional goals

20. Conclusion To retain and support the learning of international undergraduates, institutions must • Clearly explicate their own cultural expectations • Recognize the power of home culture • Create academic and student affairs contexts in which international students can achieve desired outcomes

21. Questions?