A comparison of international students' engagement and faculty perceptions of international student engagement

Abstract

With the exponential growth of international students pursing degrees at U.S. colleges and universities, an increasing number of faculty and staff have brought up questions and concerns about supporting international students' academic engagement and success. Although prior studies have explored the educational experiences of international students in the US, only a small number of them have investigated international student engagement at four-year institutions. Little is known about faculty's approaches to international student engagement and how they may differ from international students' self-reported engagement. Using large-scale and multi-institutional survey datasets, this quantitative study aims to explore international student engagement in learning strategies, collaborative learning, and student-faculty interaction, and to compare international student engagement from the perspectives of faculty and students. Recommendations on supporting international student engagement from an individual faculty level, department level, and institutional level are discussed in the end.