+

USC Student Affairs Assessment SymposiumDr. Sonja G. DanielsJune 16, 2011

+Who are our International students?

Review of study on International students from China and Hong Kong Implications for our programs and services supporting International students and their student experiences

International Student DataInstitute of International Education Open Doors Report 2010

+Top U.S. Institutions

University of Southern California – 7,987

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign – 7,287

New York University – 7,276

Purdue University Main Campus – 6,903

Columbia University – 6,833

IIE Open Doors Report 2010

International Student DataIIE Open Doors Report 2010

Top Fields of Study Business and Management – 21.1 percent Engineering – 18.4 percent Physical and Life Sciences – 8.9 percent Math and Computer Science – 8.8 percent Social Sciences – 8.7 percent

Primary Source of Funding Personal and Family – 61.9 percent U.S. College or University – 24.1 percent Home Government or University – 4.6 percent

+Record high number of International students in the U.S. Chinese student enrollment increased 30 percent from 2009 report

Graduate enrollment up 4 percent and Undergraduate enrollment up 2 percent

Six percent increase of students in non-degree programs (certificate and exchanges, less for English language)

International students contribute 20 billion to U.S. economy

IEE Open Doors 2010

University of Southern California International Student Data

USC at a Glance

International Student Population

China – 28.1 %

India – 21.6 %

South Korea – 10.4 %

Taiwan – 6.8 %

Canada – 4.3%

Hong Kong – 2.8 %

+

The Diversity Course Project Faculty: Dr. Darnell Cole, Dr. Melora Sundt, Dr. Patricia Tobey Researchers: Emily Caviglia, Sonja Daniels, Mark Pearson, Matthew Nelson,

Wendy Stewart, Karen Ravago and Kevin Bolen

Diversity Course ProjectPurpose Is the diversity requirement meeting its intended goals?Is what we could count what we ought to count?How do we parse out “learning outcomes” in diversity courses?

+Diversity Course Project Project Components:

Diversity Course SyllabiDiversity Courses Typology Instructor and Course RatingsFaculty InterviewsStudent Focus Group InterviewsIndividual Student InterviewsInstitutional Surveys:

Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP),College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ), Senior Survey

Transcript and Admissions DataCollegiate Learning Assessment (CLA): Online & In the

Classroom Diversity Survey

+ Study SiteWestern University (WU)

33,500 students, 16,500 undergraduate, 17,000 graduate

Tier one institution founded in the 1800s

45 %

25 %

14 %

7 %

6 % 51 %49 %

Diversity Course Typology

Five requirements of a diversity course:

1.Dimensions of human diversity2.1/3 of the course addresses diversity3.Personal reflection on students’ attitudes4.Syllabi reflect contemporary issues5.Analytical thinking about diversity

+

The Effect of Diversity Courses on International Students from China and Hong Kong: A Focus on Intergroup Peer Relationships

Importance of the Study

U.S. is the top destination for international students.

China represents the largest population of international students.

Contribute to the literature beyond transitional issues.

Understand how international students experience U.S. diversity.

Outcomes of diversity courses for international students.

Understand how diversity courses support intergroup peer relationship.

Research questionsHow do student perceptions of diversity courses contribute to students’ intergroup peer relationships?

How do student perceptions of intergroup peer relationships vary by students’ level of acculturation

Conceptual Framework Diversity Typology – Cole

and Sundt (2008) Introductory Basic Intermediate Advanced

Bennett’s (2001) Genres of Research in Multicultural Education Classroom climate Cultural styles in teaching

and learning

Intergroup Contact Hypothesis – Allport (1954) Conditions of: equal status

interactions, common goals, intergroup cooperation & support of authorities

Friendship Potential (Pettigrew, 1998)

Gurin, Dey, Hurtado and Gurin (2002) Informal Interactional and

Classroom Diversity

Acculturation Framework (Berry, 1980) Integration, separation,

assimilation and marginalization

Data Source

12 Student Participants

Years in School

Majors

Diversity Courses

Diversity & the Classical Western Tradition, Los Angeles & the American Dream, Social Problems, Minority Mental Health, Social Issues in Gender, Changing Family Forms, Social Inequity: Class, Status & Power and Sociology of Childhood

Acculturation Scale for Asian International Students (ASAIS) – Gu, Han and Hu, 2006

Key Themes from Student Interviews

1. Influence of media

What I know of the ethnicity of people in the U.S. would be from movies because that was my sole connection to the states not being here… and TV shows also.

-Brittany, Senior Psychology major from Hong Kong

2. Changing attitudes

He is very nice, and he changed my ideas to black people…With women I am ok but with Black guys I feel scared… but the guy from my discussion is very nice and before discussion I don’t talk to Black people… he just changed my mind about Blacks.

-Lisa, Senior Business major from China

1. Defining diversity

2. Prior U.S. diversity knowledge

3. Diversity course understanding

4. Intergroup peer relationships: Classroom related

5. Intergroup peer relationships: Intra/inter personal related

Key Themes from Student Interviews

Findings – Acculturation ScaleSubscale Mean Standar

dDeviation

CronbachAlpha

Min.Score

Max Score

Separation (8 Items)

33.08 9.37 .89 12 42

Integration(5 Items)

28.42 2.71 .51 25 33

Assimilation(8 Items)

27.67 11.91 .94 13 45

Marginalization(12 Items)

19.17 6.31 .79 12 29 Separated Group - China Students (4) changed to:

Assimilation, 35.75 M; 12.84 SD Integration, 29.75 M; 2.99 SD Separation, 25.5 M; 11.09 SD Marginalization, 22.25; 5.85 SD

Discussion Influence of the media on students prior knowledge and

significant knowledge about diversity provided by the courses (Cheung, 2001; Cheung, 1998)

Positive effects of diversity courses on students: Openness to cultural awareness, interest in racial understanding and reducing prejudice (Astin, 1993; Hurtado, 1996; Chang, 1999)

Significant peer interactions facilitated by group projects and assignments and the positive role of the TA (Allport 1954; Gurin, et al. 2002; Saenz, Ngai, & Hurtado, 2006)

Students more open to racial/ethnic groups, gays and lesbians, gender, religion and U.S. society diversity. Change in beliefs and stereotypes held prior from interactions with diverse peers: Diversity courses provide supportive environment to challenge values and

attitudes (Laird, Engberg, & Hurtado, 2005) Diversity courses support sociopolitical views and new ways of thinking about

human differences (Henderson-King & Stewart, 1999) Intergroup contact decreases intergroup bias (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2000)

Discussion General friendships - Some with domestics students; more

with Asian and Asian international students:

Friendship potential and stages of time (Pettigrew, 1998)

Interracial friendships occur in a close interpersonal environment (Antonio, 2001)

International students prefer friends who are from their own country or region of the world (Furnham & Alibhai, 1985)

Acculturation level supported student responses:

Depends on degree of adaptation with host and home country (Berry, 2003)

Depends on contact with domestic students (Frey & Roysicar, 2004)

For short duration, integration and marginalization not identified in international students (Chataway & Berry, 1989; Sodowsky & Plake, 1992)

Caution on Integration due to low Cronbach Alpha score

Implications

Support for international students taking diversity courses; choosing courses and advising

Changes to the classroom environment; smaller class sizes

Hands-on delivery of materials and teaching styles; training faculty on effective pedagogy to support students in diversity courses

Continued support for class projects and activities; use of media and popular culture to educate students

Challenge remains for international students to make friends with domestic students; preference for friends from own country or region

Future research on international student experiences such as leadership, involvement and service-learning to broaden scope of literature

Limitations

Focus on students only from China and Hong Kong – Broad diversity of International students

Small sample size of 12 students

Gender composition; only one male student

Western University’s campus environment, number of international students and domestic student racial/ethnic diversity

Specific Diversity requirement of Western University and Diversity Typology categorization

ASAIS: new instrument and small sample size

+Implications for Student Affairs Practice•Diversity education does not simply occur within the classroom. How can student affairs departments implement diversity interventions outside the classroom to benefit students? (i.e. training sessions, diversity retreats, crisis response to campus conflicts…)

How do we involve international students in these experiences?

•How do we encourage international students to engage in co-curricular experiences to support adjustment and building of peer relationships? How might this differ for an increasing number of graduate students?

Leadership opportunities, civic engagement, student organizations, mentoring, etc.

Open Question and Discussion Period