Taking stock of international students’ academic literacy experiences in a year-long study abroad program
Presentation by: Ryan Deschambault, Reginald D’Silva
Session C | 10:25 – 10:45 | Room 204A
Abstract:
According to the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE; 2014), an overwhelming majority (80%) of Canadian tertiary institutions consider internationalization among their top five priorities. At the same time, because almost 60% of the 336,497 international students currently studying in Canada are enrolled in post-secondary institutions (CBIE, 2014), “the need to identify and measure the learning outcomes of students participating in study abroad programs” (Vande Berg, 2001, p. 31) is becoming increasingly important. The need to appraise students’ experiences in such programs is linked, perhaps paradoxically, to a desire to provide students with meaningful educational experiences and the need for such programs and institutions to position themselves in a global educational marketplace of education providers.
Recognizing this paradox, in this presentation we take stock of a cohort-based, year-long study abroad program in a university in western Canada. Drawing on student survey responses collected over a three year period, we examine some of the potential factors that influence the growth of sojourning international students’ academic literacy skills. We situate this examination in a larger discussion of the program’s emplacement in a global educational marketplace, with a focus on contextual factors which have influenced program participants, size, curricula, and design over these years.
