scholarly journals ‘You went to Europe and returned different’: Transformative learning experiences of international students in Portugal

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 696-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cosmin I Nada ◽  
Catherine Montgomery ◽  
Helena C Araújo
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
International Higher Education ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Educational Spaces

Despite the increase of research on international students, the complexity of their learning experiences is yet to be fully understood. This study seeks to provide an expanded vision of their learning by considering students’ experiences beyond formal educational spaces, focusing especially on their out-of-classroom experiences. To achieve this, the narratives of 12 international students in Portugal were analysed in light of the theory of transformative learning. The results indicate that all students experienced particular forms of learning as an outcome of their international experience and were engaged in transformative learning processes. Moreover, the theory of transformative learning proved to be an appropriate analytical tool for understanding the learning narratives of international higher education students. Through the analysis of the transformative effects of engaging with a foreign cultural context, this paper makes a contribution to the ongoing debate on transformative learning and the experience of international students in the European context.

Portraits of the Activity Systems of International Higher Education Students in Online Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 172-204
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
International Students ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
International Higher Education ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Activity System ◽  
Activity Systems ◽  
System Data ◽  
Memorial University Of Newfoundland

This chapter presents findings of a study of the activity systems of seven international students enrolled in online learning at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The seven students were interviewed using questions focused around the components of an activity system. Data were analyzed using a coding protocol designed for the study and based on Activity Theory. Findings are presented as seven individual portraits of the activity system of students. Each portrait is summarized according to the following components: subject, object, tools, norms, community, division of labour, outcomes.

scholarly journals Transculturality in higher education

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-60
Author(s):  
Heidi A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Ability To Work ◽  
Local Students

One way in which higher education has responded to globalisation and the emergence of transculturality has been to expand its focus on internationalisation at an unprecedented rate. Traditionally this occurred through international students and their contact with local students. A longitudinal case study into the student experience of transculturality in the Erasmus Mundus Transcultural European Outdoor Studies Masters programme found transcultural self-growth and transcultural capabilities of resilience, intelligence and the ability to work through fatigue to be central to their experience. Using Kemmis and Smith’s (2008a) themes related to praxis (doing, morally committed action, reflexivity, connection, concreteness and a process of becoming) this theoretical article explores the place of critical transcultural pedagogical praxis in supporting transcultural learning experiences of higher education students.

Portraits of the Activity Systems of International Higher Education Students in Online Learning

2018 ◽  
pp. 658-692
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Murphy ◽  
María A. Rodríguez-Manzanares
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
International Students ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
International Higher Education ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Activity System ◽  
Activity Systems ◽  
System Data ◽  
Memorial University Of Newfoundland

This chapter presents findings of a study of the activity systems of seven international students enrolled in online learning at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The seven students were interviewed using questions focused around the components of an activity system. Data were analyzed using a coding protocol designed for the study and based on Activity Theory. Findings are presented as seven individual portraits of the activity system of students. Each portrait is summarized according to the following components: subject, object, tools, norms, community, division of labour, outcomes.

International Higher Education Students and Educators Psychological Experiences of Covid-19 in an Emerging Country

2021 ◽  
Vol 09 (02) ◽  
pp. 33-48
Author(s):  
Kayi Ntinda ◽  
Nomazulu Ngozwana
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
International Higher Education ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Psychological Experiences

The Coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) is hastily spreading, bringing pressure and challenges to international students and educators in a higher education institution who were locked down on campus during the COVID-19 outbreak. We sought to explore psychological experiences of international higher education students and educators during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted. Participants were 20 conveniently selected international higher education students and educators who were locked down on Campus from March 20 to September 25, 2020. The interviews were conducted face to face. Data were thematically analysed. The study was informed by the ecological systems theory. The psychological experiences of international higher education students and educators during COVID-19 pandemic were categorized in to four themes. Frist negative emotions present in early stages involving discomfort, anxiety and helplessness caused by isolation, fear and concern for safety. Second self-coping strategies included psychological and life adjustments, social distancing, acceptance of wearing of masks, hand sanitizing and online/blended learning. Third we reported growth under the crisis which included affection for family members, peers and self-reflection. Finally, we reported that positive emotions occurred concurrently with negative emotions. During the COVID-19 crisis positive and negative emotions of international higher education students and educators intertwined and co-occurred. Self-coping strategies and psychological growth played a crucial role in maintaining mental health of the students and educators. The international students and educators in a higher education institution appeared to be thriving in coping with the COVID19 crisis and lockdown situation which enhanced their participation in online/blended learning.

Profiles of engagement: An investigation of transformative learning experiences

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Pugh ◽  
Cassendra M. R. Bergstrom ◽  
Bryden Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences

scholarly journals Characterizing Mathematics Learning in Colombian Higher Distance Education

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
pp. 1740
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Martinez-Villarraga ◽  
Isabel Lopez-Cobo ◽  
David Becerra-Alonso ◽  
Francisco Fernández-Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Mathematical Knowledge ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Mathematics Learning ◽  
Sequential Design ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Approach To Learning ◽  
Conditional Knowledge

The aim of this work is to characterize the process of constructing mathematical knowledge by higher education students in a distance learning course. This was done as part of an algebra course within engineering degrees in a Colombian university. The study used a Transformative Sequential Design in mixed methods research. The analysis also determined the kinds of mathematical knowledge attained by the students and its relationship to the Colombian social and cultural context. The students acquired declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge, while the learning strategies were often superficial. In a context where power is distant, students take on a passive approach to learning despite being highly respectful towards the educator. Thus, the educational system has the educator at the center.

scholarly journals The Perils of Commercialism: Australia's Example

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Altbach ◽  
Anthony Welch
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
International Education ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Academic Integrity ◽  
International Higher Education ◽  
Recent Policy

International higher education has become a major income producer for Australia for more than two decades. The prime goal of internationalization was moneymaking, which resulted in creating problems in ethics, quality, and academic integrity. The recent policy change in reducing international students has affected institutions that had been too dependent upon high proportions of international enrollments. All of this is a predictable outcome of commercialism shaping international education.

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