Perceived Barriers to Academic Success for International Students Studying Dental Hygiene in the U.S.

Abstract

The number of international students coming to the U.S. for post-secondary education has been steadily increasing. Prior research has found that international students encounter many barriers to academic success, but this topic has not been previously studied for the discipline of dental hygiene. The aims of this study were to investigate the barriers and challenges to academic success faced by international students in U.S. dental hygiene programs and to explore the students' thoughts on the value they bring to those programs. The overlapping qualitative methods of semi-structured focus groups and one-on-one interviews with 12 students in three U.S. dental hygiene programs were used for this phenomenological study. In the results, six themes emerged: language proficiency, communication challenges with faculty and patients, ability to adapt to a new educational system, adjusting to cultural differences, feelings of belonging, and the value of diversity. The most significant barrier for the participants was comprehension of the English language. Didactically, these students reported that they needed additional time to study and to process examination questions. This study found that these international students studying dental hygiene in the U.S. had academic challenges similar to international students studying in other disciplines. Dental hygiene educators may need to evaluate their didactic and test-taking strategies to ensure the academic success of international students.