International Students' Experiences During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly across the globe and made visible current inequalities and injustices among international students. Sustaining the internationalization of higher education and international student mobility has become a challenge during this transitional period due to the challenges caused by COVID-19. Using data from 30 international college students in Turkey, this study argue that due to their language barriers, legal status, and national identities, these students are stereotyped as vectors of the disease and also face social, psychological, educational and financial problems during the pandemic. Understanding the experiences of international college students, and the set of challenges that students face in pursuing their studies in Turkey, may allow us to focus on avenues to mitigate these problems to make international student mobility more sustainable and resilient in the future. By taking into account the experiences of international students, we can reshape economic, educational, and social policies for a more just system of internationalization of higher education.

Coding Whiteness and Racialization: Living in the Space as an Insider-Outsider

“…Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many studies focused on how minorities' academic performance and well-being have been negatively affected by financial challenges, a lack of social connectivity, and a feeling of belonging (Firang, 2020;Lederer et al, 2021;Morris et al, 2020). However, the majority of studies ignored that Syrians are racialized as a threat to the security and economic crisis as well as public health and disease vectors, causing social marginalization and putting them at greater risk of being dismissed from their jobs (Elias et al, 2021;Karaman, 2020;Kurt, 2021). The problem of "politics of location" is vital to comprehending whiteness from a global perspective to a national one.…”