The role of an International Student Tutor in a UK law school: a case study

Abstract

International students arriving in the UK for the first time often experience an acute sense of disorientation.1 The reasons for this response to their new surroundings are not hard to find. They are confronted by a new social and academic culture. They have to find their feet in a new institution. And they are expected to meet the demands of a higher degree. Students in this situation need reassurance. To know that a tutor has put herself in your shoes is reassuring. Newcastle Law School has sought to meet this need by appointing an International Student Tutor whose job it is to offer guidance on how to respond to the challenge of a radically new situation. This post has existed (first as a pilot) since 2004. Since that time, the School has gathered statistical data that support the conclusion that support on the model offered in Newcastle can facilitate learning and enhance the student experience more generally. At a time when British universities hold themselves out as offering international students a rich and rewarding experience, initiatives that may help to turn this into a reality deserve to be taken seriously.2 This article is a contribution to a debate on the initiative implemented by Newcastle Law School for new first year international students in ensuring both their social and academic needs are supported during the initial academic year. Initiatives of this degree ought to have a place in British higher education. The paper undertakes both qualitative and quantitative analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme initiated; questionnaires (open questions) are collected from students from 2006 to students doing their first year. 1See Y. Zhou, D. Jindal-Snape, K. Topping, J. Todman, “Theoretical Models of Culture Shock and Adaptation in International Students in Higher Education” (2008) Studies in Higher Education 33(1), 63–75, which focuses on contemporary theoretical approaches, namely “culture learning”, “stress and coping” and “social identification”. Also, see B. Leask, Teaching NESB and International Students of the University of South Australia, Teaching Guide (Adelaide, University of Adelaide, 2000). Leask describes overwhelming emotions held by international students by using a card game. 2D.M. Peterson, P. Briggs, L. Dreasher, D.D. Horner and T. Nelson, “Contributions of International Students and Programs to Campus Diversity” (1999) New Directions for Student Services 86, 67–77 states “Higher education institutions that take international students for granted, as ‘cash cows,’ do so at their peril”.