Thesis advisor: Lillie R. Albert / Those who choose to pursue international education can be viewed as cultural ambassadors, ones who can play meaningful roles in bridging the gaps that divide us if they are afforded supportive, inclusive, and identity affirming learning experiences during their formative college years. However, the cultural and linguistic knowledge and global perspectives that many of these students bring to their campuses seem to be undervalued, overlooked, or misunderstood by domestic students, instructors, and community members. Research has also indicated that many international students who study in the U.S. higher education system struggle to adjust to the academic, social, cultural, and linguistic norms upheld by their host institutions. This thematically-linked three-paper dissertation aims to address these issues by critically examining international student experiences and institutional barriers that this population faces within a specific U.S. university context from individual, classroom, and institutional levels. The first study is a longitudinal case study focusing on the multilingual identity development of three Korean international graduate students. The second study is a multiple case study analysis of faculty and administrative leaders’ beliefs and attitudes concerning support for international students and the culturally engaging nature of their campus. The final study utilizes a survey to explore the racial, linguistic, social, and cultural dynamics of a higher education institution from international student perspectives. The studies revealed that Korean graduate students experienced numerous instances of marginalization in academic and social settings because of social status and language characteristics. Critical views of faculty members and student affairs professionals showed that, for decades, international students in the study’s context have been othered academically and socially, and their linguistic and cultural identities are often ignored or underappreciated. The survey results indicated that self-reported language experiences are a predictor of marginalization, overall satisfaction, and satisfaction with interacting with domestic students, and that previous education is a predictor of perceptions of mainstream racial and immigration related ideologies. These findings from this research indicate a need to internationalize closeminded curricula and pedagogical approaches, to create structured opportunities for positive intercultural exchange and understanding, and to foster a commitment among all campus stakeholders to embrace their roles in realizing a more identity-affirming culturally engaging learning environment. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Globaliseringen har lett till en markant ökning av internationella studenter. Tidigare forskning tyder på att det är en utsatt grupp vars behov skiljer sig från nationella studenters. Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka stressorer som internationella studenter vid Mälardalens universitet upplever, vilka typer av stöd som studenterna upplever bidrar till deras välbefinnande samt vilka stödinsatser de anser saknas. Nio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes som analyserades med tematisk analys. Tre teman relaterades till upplevda stressorer: språkbarriärer, skillnader i kursupplägg samt finansiella stressorer. Fyra teman kopplades till stöd som hjälper: emotionellt stöd, värderande stöd, informativt stöd samt instrumentellt stöd. Resterande två teman relaterades till avsaknad av stöd: bristfällig integration mellan internationella och svenska studenter samt stöd från universitetet. Resultatet visade att de upplevda stressorerna har en direkt eller indirekt påverkan på studenternas välbefinnande, att socialt stöd är väsentligt för stresshantering samt att avsaknaden av stöd ledde till ökade stressnivåer och ett försämrat välbefinnande hos respondenterna.

This study examines how perceptions of various challenges of international students in professional psychology, from different regions in the world, differed from pre to post enrolment. While previous studies have explored challenges for this population in isolation, this study explored multiple domains of challenges such as language and academics, culture, finances, mentoring and supervision, and career opportunities. The comprehensive survey was distributed to Directors of Clinical Training in APA accredited clinical, counseling, school, and combined psychology programs. Results from study indicated students experienced significant challenges in the financial domain from pre to post enrollment which continued to increase over time. Although not significant, challenges in career opportunities also increased overtime and remained to be the most challenging domain pre and post enrolment. Additional findings indicated that the greatest number of participants in clinical, counseling, and school psychology programs were from the Western Pacific region. Other questions are also examined in this study that generate critical implications to training programs to modify their recruitment strategies with hopes of increasing the representation of racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity in training programs.

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