Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

International Student Connectedness and Identity pp 41–60Cite as

International Student Connectedness with Local Teachers and Peers: Insights from Teachers

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 2527 Accesses

Part of the book series: Cultural Studies and Transdisciplinarity in Education ((CSTE,volume 6))

Abstract

The mobility processes associated with the dynamic formations of locality shape and reshape international students’ connectedness with teachers, peers, families, institutions and the broader community. This chapter considers the academic and social connectedness of international students in vocational education and training (VET) from teachers’ perspectives. This research includes 155 interviews with international students and staff as well as fieldwork in Australian dual-sector universities and VET colleges. The chapter draws on Vertovec’s idea of transnationalism and Hall’s notion of identity to examine international students’ connectedness with teachers and peers in international VET classrooms. The findings of the research point to the ways VET teachers view their relationships with international students and the connectedness among all students through a functional lens. Placing the functional goals of developing students’ vocational and cultural skills and hands-on experiences at the centre of their pedagogy, these teachers engage in practices to foster the interaction of international and domestic students inside and outside the classroom. The research found that meaningful connectedness in international VET spaces moves beyond the mere condition for interaction between domestic and international peers to the real opportunities for international students to share, negotiate and contribute to building practical hands-on skills, vocational knowledge and cultural experiences on a more equal basis. This process enhances not only vocational capabilities but also mutual learning for all.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • AEI. (2016). End of year summary of international student enrolment data – 2015. Retrieved from https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/International-Student-Data/Documents/Monthly%20summaries%20of%20international%20student%20enrolment%20data%202015/12_December_2015_MonthlySummary.pdf

  • Bennett, R. J., Volet, S. E., & Fozdar, F. E. (2013). “I’d say it’s kind of unique in a way”: The development of an intercultural student relationship. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17(5), 533–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, C. K., & Yue, X. D. (2013). Sustaining resilience through local connectedness among sojourn students. Social Indicators Research, 111(3), 785–800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collett, D. (2007). Coming together: Power, rank and intercultural interaction. Developing inclusive approaches in higher education. International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities & Nations, 7(5), 17–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crose, B. (2011). Internationalization of the higher education classroom: Strategies to facilitate intercultural learning and academic success. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23(3), 388–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalglish, C. L. (2006). The international classroom, challenges and strategies in a large business faculty. International Journal of Learning, 12(6), 85–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dippold, D. (2013). Interaction for learning in the Anglophone university classroom: Mastering interactional challenges through reflective practice. Journal of Academic Language and Learning, 7(1), A14–A25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gargano, T. (2009). (Re)conceptualizing international student mobility: The potential of transnational social fields. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(3), 331–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glass, C. R., & Westmont, C. M. (2014). Comparative effects of belongingness on the academic success and cross-cultural interactions of domestic and international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 38, 106–119. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.04.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, Q., Schweisfurth, M., & Day, C. (2010). Learning and grwoing in a ‘foreign’ context: Intercultural expereicnes of intrnational studbets. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 40(1), 7–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, S. (1990). Cultural identitty and disporas. In J. Rutherford (Ed.), Identity: Community, culture, difference (pp. 222–237). London: Lawrence and Wishart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, S. (1996). Introduction: Who needs identity? In S. Hall & P. D. Gay (Eds.), Questions of cultural identity (pp. 1–17). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, A. (2009). Shifting the boundaries of cultural spaces: young people and everyday multiculturalism. Social Identities, 15(2), 187–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jon, J.-E. (2013). Realizing internationalisation at home in Korean higher education: Promoting domestic students’ interaction with international students and intercultural competence. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17(4), 455–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingston, E., & Forland, H. (2008). Bridging the gap in expectations between international students and academic staff. Journal of Studies in International Education, 12(2), 204–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leask, B. (2009). Using formal and informal curricula to improve interactions between home and international students. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(2), 205–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mead, G. (1910). Social consciousness and the consciousness of meaning. Psychological Bulletin, 7(12), 397–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, C., & McDowell, L. (2009). Social networks and the international student experience: An international community of practice? Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(4), 455–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakar, S. (2013). Understanding VET teachers’ challenges in providing quality education to international students. International Journal of Training Research, 11(1), 79–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens, A. (2008). “Fitting in” in a “stand out” culture: An examination of the interplay of collectivist and individual cultural frameworks in the Australian university classroom. Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development, 5(1), 70–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pasura, R. (2015). International students in the private VET sector in Melbourne, Australia: Rethinking their characteristics and aspirations outside the deficit model. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 67(2), 203–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peelo, M., & Luxon, T. (2007). Designing embedded courses to support international students’ cultural and academic adjustment in the UK. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 31(1), 65–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pham, L., & Tran, L. (2015). Understanding the symbolic capital of intercultural interactions: A case study of international students in Australia. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 25(3), 204–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyne, C. (2015). Education exports worth $18.1 billion. Media release. Retrieved from https://www.pyneonline.com.au/media-centre/media-releases/education-exports-worth-181-billion

  • Rienties, B., Héliot, Y., & Jindal-Snape, D. (2013). Understanding social learning relations of international students in a large classroom using social network analysis. Higher Education, 66(4), 489–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rienties, B., Nanclares, N. H., Jindal-Snape, D., & Alcott, P. (2012). The role of cultural background and team divisions in developing social learning relations in the classroom. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17(4), 332–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, D. A., Russell, J., & Thomson, G. (2007). Social connectedness among international students at an Australian university. Social Indicators Research, 84(1), 71–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, J., & Viete, R. (2009). Respectful interactions: Learning with international students in the English-speaking academy. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), 303–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sawir, E. (2011). Academic staff response to international students and internationalising the curriculum: The impact of disciplinary differences. International Journal for Academic Development, 16(1), 45–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, M., & Han, J. (2010). Peer review, Bourdieu and honour: Connecting Chinese and Australian intellectual projects. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(2), 185–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2008). Unpacking academic practices: International students in Management and Education disciplines in Australian higher education. Higher Education Research and Development., 27(3), 245–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2009). Making visible ‘hidden’ intentions and potential choices: International students in intercultural education. Language & Intercultural Communication, 9(4), 271–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2010). Embracing prior professional experience in academic writing: Views from international students and academics. Educational Review, 62(2), 157–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2011a). Committed, face-value, hybrid or mutual adaptation? The experiences of international students in higher education. Educational Review, 63(1), 79–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2011b). Turning the spotlight to international students’ internal negotiations: Critical thinking in academic writing. In L. H. Phan & B. Baurain (Eds.), Voices, identities, negotiations, and conflicts: Writing academic English across cultures (pp. 59–74). Bingley, UK: Emerald.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2012). Transformative learning and international students’ negotiation of tertiary education. In M. Blythman & S. Sovic (Eds.), International students negotiating higher education: Critical Perspectives (pp. 124–141). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2013a). Teaching international students in vocational education and training: New pedagogical approaches. Camberwell, UK: Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2013b). Internationalisation of vocational education and training: A learning curve for teachers and learners. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17(4), 492–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. (2013c). International student adaptation to academic writing in higher education. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T (2015). Mobility as ‘becoming’: A Bourdieuian analysis of the factors shaping international student mobility. British Journal of Sociology of Education, (ahead of print). doi:10.1080/01425692.2015.1044070.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T., & Nyland, C. (2011). International vocational education and training – The migration and learning mix. Australian Journal of Adult Learning., 51(1), 8–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T. & Pham, L (2015). International students in transnational mobility: Intercultural connectedness with domestic and international peers, institutions and the wider community. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, (ahead of print). doi:10.1080/03057925.2015.1057479

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, L. T., & Vu, T. T. P. (2016). ‘Responsibility in mobility’: International students and social responsibility. Globalization, Societies and Education. doi:10.1080/14767724.2016.1195729.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vertovec, S. (1999). Three meanings of ‘diaspora’, exemplified among South Asian religions. Diasporas, 7(2), 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vertovec, S. (2001). Transnationalism and identity. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27(4), 573–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wakimoto, A. (2007). Peer networks of international medical students in an Australian academic community. In H. Marriott, T. Moore, & R. Spence-Brown (Eds.), Learning discourses and the discourses of learning (pp. 10–16). Clayton, VIC: Monash University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiers-Jenssen, J. (2003). Norwegian students Abroad: Experiences of students from a linguistically and geographically peripheral European country. Studies in Higher Education, 28(4), 391–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeh, C. J., & Inose, M. (2003). International students’ reported English fluency, social support satisfaction, and social connectedness as predictors of acculturative stress. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 16(1), 15–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge with thanks the valuable contributions of the teachers and students participating in this study and the Australian Research Council for funding this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    Ly Thi Tran

  2. Department of Sociology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Lien Pham

Authors
  1. Ly Thi Tran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lien Pham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ly Thi Tran .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

    Ly Thi Tran

  2. RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Catherine Gomes

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Tran, L.T., Pham, L. (2017). International Student Connectedness with Local Teachers and Peers: Insights from Teachers. In: Tran, L., Gomes, C. (eds) International Student Connectedness and Identity. Cultural Studies and Transdisciplinarity in Education, vol 6. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2601-0_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2601-0_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-2599-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-2601-0

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation