High-Impact Educational Practices to Promote International Students' Engagement and Development

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter was to investigate whether international students' participation in high-impact educational practices was associated with students' development of academic skills and academic engagement. Data from a multi-institutional survey of international students enrolled at 13 large, public research universities in 2013 were analyzed utilizing hierarchical multiple regression. Results suggest that participation in first-year seminars, learning communities, service-learning and community engagement, and common book reading programs are positively associated with international students' academic engagement and academic skills development. Enrollment in diversity-related courses was also associated with students' academic skills development while engagement in creative forms of scholarship was positively associated with academic engagement.

High Hopes: International Student Expectations for Studying in the United States

“…In the social realm, student affairs research has emphasized that for U.S. students, becoming more involved and engaged in campus life leads to more success at college (Soria & Lueck, ). This campus engagement can work for international students as well (Glass et al., ; Kovtun, ).…”

“…Also, becoming more involved on campus will most likely put the international student in more contact with students from the United States and other countries. This potential enhanced involvement would probably involve the international student speaking more English, generally leading to a better experience and greater success on campus (Aydinol, ; Soria & Lueck, ).…”

Exploring international student adaptation through a first-year experience course at Iowa State University

“…Student responses indicated a significantly higher level of participation in student activities by the end of the course. This emphasis in the course curriculum to have students involved in student life reflects the existing literature that illustrates the importance of student engagement in campus life and how that supports persistence and student success (Kuh, 2008;Soria & Lueck, 2016;Zhao, Kuh, & Carini, 2005).…”

“…An outgrowth of this has been the firstyear experience course or seminar (Greenfield, Keup, & Gardner, 2013;Barefoot, 1993). Soria and Lueck (2016) include first-year experience courses composed of both U.S. and international students as one of several high-impact educational practices having positive impacts on students' academic skills and academic engagement. In contrast, Kovtun (2010) emphasizes the value of international student-only first-year experience courses because the curricula can be focused specifically to the needs of international student transition who then feel less inhibited and more willing to participate.…”

“…Current literature points to the enhanced retention and persistence of international students who are better adapted to their university's academic and cultural environment. In addition to staying and graduating, students who are better adjusted and invested in their campus culture tend to be more successful (Farkas, 2005;Zhao, Kuh, & Carini, 2005;Soria & Lueck, 2016;Glass, 2012).…”