Abstract
This paper investigates the perceptions of members of our international student community by giving them a voice and a platform to explore their feelings as part of a Higher Education institute in the UK and whether they consider that the university is a global environment. Our data is based on a series of structured interviews with twelve students from twelve different countries, inclusive of four postgraduate research students. Our findings reveal that our international students commonly feel part of multiple smaller communities but interestingly, they were less sure of their part within an institute-wide community. The postgraduate students’ perceptions of community were quite divergent when compared to the undergraduate perceptions, which we will continue to explore in our future work. Our data supports the perception from international students that their university is a global community, but there were distinct differences in how individuals defined it and some limitations to consider. Some defined it as students and staff of different nationalities being present at a university whilst other definitions relied on cultural characteristics within the institution as a whole. We reflect upon the implications of our research as these perceptions shape international student opinion of Higher Education institutes and what is understood by the term ‘global community’.
Highlights
Coming to any Higher Education (HE) institute to study is a life-defining moment for any student, even more so for international students, who face the same experiences of acclimatisation, academic development and social growth with the added complexity of cultural and/or language challenges (Surdam & Collins, 1984)
The stakeholders were asked: How they interacted with international students as part of their role, what they understood the main issues facing international students to be and how they thought that the international student experience could have been improved within their particular sphere
The Advice and Support team at Keele University Students’ Union (KeeleSU) noted that their main experiences of interacting with international students were advising them on issues relating to visas, housing and academic misconduct
Summary
There are a host of other real-life requirements that all students face but that international students in particular are vulnerable to, for example housing contacts and interactions with landlords, healthcare provision and even, in some cases, education to source medical care (Kandiko & Weyers, 2013) It is in these logistical needs that the institute has a leading role to play in ensuring fairness and supporting these learners in getting set-up quickly and successfully to begin their studies. Our work is based upon structured interviews with twelve international students from twelve different countries, inclusive of four international postgraduate research students
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