Perceived discrimination and international students' learning: an empirical investigation

Abstract

At a time when the number of internationally mobile students worldwide has been growing steadily, the US share of this market has been declining. Since, as it is often claimed, international students are the best ambassadors for their host countries, an effective recruitment strategy is to enhance their learning experience, with the expectation that others will hear about it. In a post 9/11 environment, we focus on the importance of non-discriminatory environments to bring about successful learning outcomes, which we construe as academic performance and perceived quality of educational experience. We hypothesise that student engagement acts as a mediator in this relationship. We also investigate the moderating effect of perceived English proficiency in the relationship between discrimination and engagement. We find that (1) perceived discrimination has a strong, negative impact on educational experience, (2) the mediation primarily occurs through active and collaborative learning and (3) perceived English proficiency dampens the negative effects of discrimination on engagement. Our findings have important implications for university administrators involved in recruitment efforts.

Education Quality and Learning Outcomes in Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan

“…Engagement manifests in students' involvement in their work, enhanced commitment in spite of obstacles and challenges and concerted and visible efforts in achieving learning outcomes (Fletcher 2005 ;Kenny et al 1995 ;Kuh et al 2008 ;Newmann 1992 ;Taylor and Parson 2011 ;Vandewalle et al 1995 ;Willms 2003 ). Strong evidence is found in literature that quality education significantly affects students' engagement (Karuppan and Barari 2011 ;Kuh et al 2008 ;Stukalina 2011 ;Yam et al 2013 ).…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Among International Students: Implications for University Support Offices

“…For example, increased discrimination has been associated with higher rates of depression among Asian students, above and beyond general everyday stress (Wei, Ku, Russell, Mallinckrodt, & Liao, 2008). Additionally, studies have shown that perceived discrimination lowers students' satisfaction with attending a U.S. university (Wadsworth, Hecht, & Jung, 2008) and can negatively impact students' educational experience (Karuppan & Barari, 2011).…”

Experience of International Education of East Asian Students in English-speaking Countries: A four-dimensional approach

“…This difference in academic training poses immense challenges which, when not overcome, may result in other non-academic issues. Inability to overcome the language barrier does not only lead to poor academic performance (FassHolmes & Vaughn, 2014) but also leads to diminished self-reliance (Hung & Hyun, 2010), and increased perception of discrimination (Karuppan & Barari, 2011). More serious psychiatric issues have been linked to academic difficulties and poor language skills among East Asian students (Mitchell, Greenwood & Guglielmi, 2007).…”