Socializing students to Academic Integrity (AI) in the face of great cultural, linguistic and socioeconomic diversity in the student population in higher education calls for innovative strategies that are aligned with equity, diversity and inclusion principles. Through a mixed method of quantitative analysis of learner engagement data from the Learning Management System (LMS) and analysis of anonymous evaluation survey, along with thematic analysis of students’ open-ended responses in the evaluation survey, the authors explored how students responded to AI Socialization during a 4-week non-credit, online co-curricular program called ‘Reading and Writing Excellence’ (RWE). Nine groups of undergraduate students (N=182) from 34 disciplines in different global locations during the COVID-19 pandemic were introduced to a curated set of AI online resources. Through a learner-driven, instructor-facilitated approach the AI Socialization also engaged students in language development and empowered them to communicate about their disciplinary course topics through written journal entries, receiving instructor feedback that increased their cultural and linguistic capital for further academic writing. This approach led to a high volume of written output (on average 6064 words per student written over a 4-week period). Nonparametric ANOVA was used to establish that low-proficiency students were able to produce as much written output as their more proficient peers. Survey results for various aspects important to academic integrity show students’ self-perception of readiness for academic writing: paraphrasing and summarizing (92%); organization of ideas (92%); critical thinking (93%); logic/argument (92%). Insights gained about educative engagement, language development and learner empowerment that can help students from diverse backgrounds to avoid Academic Integrity Violations (AIVs) and gain transformative access and success in higher education are incorporated into a set of recommendations that are applicable to a wide range of teaching contexts.

The increase in the number of newcomer students in countries across the world has underscored the importance of effective transition strategies in education. Many students encounter difficulties in acquiring academic knowledge due to initial limited language skills in the school language. Implementing appropriate strategies to facilitate this transition has shown positive outcomes. However, some obstacles remain to be addressed for newcomer students. In the Netherlands, standardized tests are utilised to monitor the academic progress of all students and determine the appropriate educational pathway. Our study, based on longitudinal assessment data from 51 newcomer elementary school students and 74 of their classmates, sheds light on how this system interacts with the transitions of newcomers. While newcomer students made greater progress compared to their peers, we found that their results were influenced by the application of test norms designed for younger age groups. The insights from this study provide valuable perspectives on educational pathways for newcomer students and prompt us to reconsider the implications of norm accommodation for these students. It highlights the needs to implement practices that enable newcomer students to effectively pursue their academic aspirations.