International Undergraduate Student Choice of Alberta for Post-Secondary Education

In this chapter, the author provides an overview of the decision-making process that international students will go through when choosing a country, province, and ultimately, an institution for their international higher learning education. After conducting exploratory qualitative research from an Alberta perspective, it was determined that international students are influenced by (1) safety, (2) quality, (3) knowing someone locally, (4) jobs and strength of the economy, and (5) cost. Subsequently, the author will also consider the factors that would influence international students to enjoy or remain in a province after their studies. Having an understanding of the factors that influence international student choice can help the reader understand some of the marketing implications of recruiting international students to institutions and how international students end up studying in the Canadian post-secondary system.

Chinese International Graduate Students' Perceptions of Classroom Assessment at a Canadian University

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate Chinese international students' perceptions of classroom assessment in Canadian higher education. Data collection for the study took place in a Canadian university and was comprised of two parts: an online survey for the collection of quantitative data, and semi-structured interviews for the collection of qualitative data. Sixty-two participants (n=62) voluntarily finished the online questionnaire and ten interview participants took part in semi-structured interviews. The exploration into the participants illustrated that Chinese graduate students held positive perceptions of classroom assessment at the Canadian university where the study was conducted, in terms of congruence with planned learning, authenticity, student consultation, transparency, and diversity.

Understanding Intercultural Socialization and Identity Development of International Students Through Duoethnography

This chapter looks at how two international PhD students (re)constructed and (re)negotiated their identities, and intercultural socialization through the sharing their personal stories and experiences. This chapter employed a duoethnography research methodology. Duoethnography is a collaborative research methodology in which two or more researchers engage in a dialogue on their disparate histories in a given phenomenon. The use of duoethnography allowed the researchers to revisit their lives as sites of research to determine how their different experiences and backgrounds informed the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their identities in the face of multiple and competing identities and their subsequent participation in the new culture. Through this process, the researchers acted as the foil for the Other, challenging the Other to reflect in a deeper, more relational and authentic manner as they sought to achieve a balance between participating in a new way of life and maintaining their cultural and personal identities.

Learning at Half Capacity

First, this chapter provides an overview of current research on international students' academic acculturation under the lens of self-determination theory in relation to international students' psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Next, the authors report on a recent study that explored academic acculturation experiences using musically enhanced narrative inquiry, a unique form of arts-based research that produces musical representations of the stories of six international student participants studying at a Canadian university. Lastly, the authors propose future directions for Canadian higher education stakeholders to become more supportive and inclusive of international students on Canadian university campuses.

Increasing Awareness

The authors situate student food experience as a key source of tension for international students. Multicultural food learning activities (MFLAs) are positioned as spaces for cultural connection and knowledge exchange. Through a review of relevant literature, three themes emerge: 1) food, diet and culture, 2) acculturation and identity through social connections with food, and 3) the implications of lack of food on culture, identity, and well-being. Reflecting on the authors' personal applications of MFLAs within nutrition curricula and a student-led society supporting cultural integration, the implications of such a learning platform are illuminated. In response to emergent themes, the authors share observations and make recommendations for university-based programming and future research. The authors urge academic communities to consider the complexity and impact of student food experiences when contemplating the international student experience in Canada. Food learning and experience-based platforms are opportunities to support student culture and identity.

Beyond Recruitment

In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of internationalization efforts and the impact of substantial immigration policy shifts to support, recruit, and retain international students in Canada. Consideration is given to how higher educational institutions, and other key stakeholders play a role in supporting career exploration as well as the factors that influence international students' ability to stay in Canada post-graduation. Future directions and research are explored to further highlight the importance of understanding the international student lifecycle in the Canadian context.

Within Discipline and Within Culture Advanced Academic Writing for Asian International Students

The purpose of this chapter is to challenge the Western education system to better understand the needs of international students, particularly from Asian countries. Higher education has become a big business, and many schools have popped up to meet the demand. North America's traditional universities are now well and truly dependent upon international students to fund full programs, and universities have come to rely on international dollars. International students are looking to the West for high-quality education, but may arrive in the West unprepared to face the challenge of writing advanced academic essays.

Internationalization Through NNES Student Recruitment

It can be difficult to decipher the extent to which Canadian university internationalization efforts have been corralled to actualize mostly through non-native English speaking (NNES) foreign student recruitment. Although international surveys often report that an overwhelming majority of foreign students endorse Canada as a study destination and are satisfied with their Canadian study experience, the voices of students who experience a different reality are often overlooked. This chapter begins with an overview of internationalization values. The author then reviews the ways in which neoliberal ideology reshapes higher education as a good and places NNES foreign students as consumers in competition. Next, the foreign student recruitment is aligned with the internationalization rationales of generating revenue and migrating skills to benefit Canada's national economy. The reported realities of NNES foreign students are shared, followed by questions to springboard dialogue on identifying and mitigating gaps for NNES foreign student university study on Canadian campuses.

Teaching and Learning Professional Development for International Graduate Students

In this chapter, Bakhtin's metatheoretical framework of dialogism is offered as a frame in which to consider the work of Centres for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) on university campuses. Dialogism keeps front and centre the co-construction of student learning and teaching and the ways in which international graduate students' knowledges and experiences enhance and inform university teaching and learning. The chapter outlines CTL professional development activities that support the scholarship of international teaching assistants (ITAs). A discussion of the differences and tensions between learning a language and using language to learn is offered. CTLs are often seen as sites for instrumental and pragmatic instructional purposes, rather than the sites where ITAs are invited into the teaching and learning scholarly community; this later idea will be highlighted throughout.

International Turkish Student Experience in Canadian Higher Education

This study explores and discusses the experience of students from Turkey in Canadian higher education. It is known that international student experience is a complex and multidimensional issue and is influenced by various fixed or unfixed factors that vary at individual and national levels. Drawing on Jones's classification of international student experience (i.e., academic, pastoral/living, social experience) and the factors affecting these types of experience (i.e., personal, familial, institutional, and national milieus), the qualitative research method, namely in-depth interview, was used to acquire detailed knowledge about the issue by using the purposive sampling technique. The findings of this study basically indicate that personal, institutional, and national dimensions have a strong effect on the experience of international Turkish students in Canadian higher education.