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Question 38: What are the Barriers and Facilitators to Societal Participation in the Host Country for International PSE Students?

Overview

What are the Barriers or Facilitators to International Students’ Participation in the Society of their Host Country?

The purpose to the scan was to determine how the academic literature defined barriers and facilitators associated with international students’ participation in the society of their host country. Key thematic areas within the literature were identified in order to highlight the diverse range of factors affecting the integration of international students.

Five academic databases and 24 websites were searched, resulting in a final capture of 1659 citations. Of these, 152 met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed for thematic content.

The barriers or facilitators determining societal participation for international students can be grouped into the following six themes within the literature:

  1. Integration - adapting to the culture of the host country and its post secondary institutions
  2. Integration - psychological difficulties associated with the stress of adapting
  3. Learning barriers
  4. Discrimination
  5. Governmental or institutional barriers
  6. Labour Market Participation

The majority of the literature is focussed on the two integration themes, examining international students’ struggle to adapt to life in a foreign culture at a foreign institution. Additionally, a parallel discussion within much of the literature focuses on the mental health vulnerabilities of international students caused by these transition difficulties.

International students’ learning challenges and accompanying pedagogical hurdles on the part of teachers occupy another large area of focus within the literature. Articles in this group either examined students’ difficulties in adjusting to new academic expectations and learning environments or described teacher perspectives on designing suitable teaching methods.

International students’ experience of discrimination, particularly in the United States since the attack on the World Trade Centres in 2001 is a more minor theme in the literature. However, this topic is reinforced by numerous articles focussing on the governmental and institutional barriers erected against international students after 2001.

Lastly, a small proportion of the literature focuses on labour market participation, with several articles examining both obstacles and strategies to finding a job after graduation.

 

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