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1. What is inclusion?
“Diversity is when everyone is invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.”
Decades of practice and research show that a sense of belonging is key to every student’s success. Yet students from diverse backgrounds often feel pressure to minimise or give up their cultural identities and practices in order to ‘fit’ the expectations of their learning environment. This has a negative impact on wellbeing and learning outcomes.
How well does your institution understand its diversity? How well are these students’ voices represented and heard? See Gathering and using student voice for more on understanding the diversity of international students at your institution.
The next step is to adapt learning environments to include that diversity. Inclusive learning environments improve wellbeing and learning outcomes for all students.
Inclusive learning environments:
- Make sure that students are not excluded from learning because of who they are
- Do not require staff or students to become or ‘pass’ as mainstream in order to succeed
- Welcome diversity and see diverse staff and students as enriching the institution
- Work to become a place where all students and staff can thrive
- Recognise that the playing field is not level and that they need to take action to create an inclusive institution.
Ward model (Ward & Kim, n.d.) - Shows that international students have higher wellbeing where three factors are present:
- Culturally diverse groups that regularly interact with each other
- Demonstrated appreciation for cultural diversity as a valuable asset
- Policies and practices that support diversity
2. How inclusive is your institution?
For all students, the classroom is the main site where most of their interaction and experience will take place— whether online or onshore. See Support international student transitions and Working with the teaching profession to support international student needs to assess inclusion in learning and curriculum.
Beyond the learning content and experience, institutions also create inclusive communities through their wider policies and practices. How well do you think your institution embraces its diversity? Consider how you would score your institution against these statements (Ward & Kim, n.d.):
At our institution:
- It is easy for students to meet others from different cultural backgrounds.
- Our staff come from many different cultural backgrounds.
- All students are encouraged to maintain and share their cultures.
- There are opportunities for students to learn about the diverse cultures represented in our student population.
- It is likely that you would interact daily with people from several different cultures.
- We have events to showcase our multicultural student population.
- Most staff and students agree that multiculturalism is a good thing.
- Most staff and students think it is important for students from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds to get along with each other.
- Most staff and students value the views of culturally diverse students.
- Most staff and students believe it is a good thing to be exposed to culturally diverse perspectives.
- Most staff and students want to learn from other cultures.
- Most staff and students think that it is good to have friends from different cultural backgrounds.
3. What should institutions do to improve inclusion?
International students are the ‘experts’ on their own experiences, and what works to help them to feel included. See Student voice for more on making sure international students have a role in improving inclusive practices.
The Youth19 research group brought together students, academics, and community organisations to research how to create more inclusive secondary schools across Aotearoa. One segment of this work surveyed over 7,000 East Asian, South Asian, Chinese and Indian secondary students across the country. Their 2021 report on their findings (Peiris-John, Bavin, Dizon, Singh, Clark, Fleming and Ameratunga, 2021) makes critical recommendations for all schools in Aotearoa:
- Create safe and inclusive spaces (physical and social) where young people of all ethnic groups can safely connect over issues of importance (i.e. climate emergency, bullying, social justice, racism, etc.) and discuss concerns and create solutions together.
- Establish or strengthen school policies on diversity and inclusion, anti-bullying, racism and discrimination.
Address racism and biases:
- Increase awareness of unintended or implicit biases (i.e., the unconscious association, belief, or attitude toward any social group).
- Implement approaches that value the engagement and contributions of migrant communities in New Zealand society.
- Increase awareness and responses to the challenges faced by young people who face discrimination due to multiple sources of difference, e.g., ethnicity, (dis)ability, non-binary gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Strengthening professional development of educators, professional staff and members of the Board of Trustees
- […] Regular professional development training for all educators and support staff to promote cultural competence (similar to the eCALD training for health professionals).
These recommendations require significant and long-term effort, which institutions can and should apply in-depth to their context. Let’s also explore some of the immediate steps that institutions can take to improve inclusivity.
4. Where can we start?
As noted above, supporting inclusive practices to grow at your institution requires long-term, sustained effort, tailored to your context. This section explores just some of the steps your institution can take right away to begin fostering inclusion.
Names
Pronouncing students’ names correctly is a critical step to affirming their identity, and including all students in their learning communities. It should be straightforward to practice and model pronouncing names correctly. Yet students in Aotearoa still consistently report some staff not making an effort to pronounce their names properly – including international, Māori, Pasikifa, migrant, and other diverse students.
“My Mandarin name comes first…Mandarin names have two syllables, two words but it’s separated—so I always get like half of my name or …just weird combinations of my name coming up—so every time someone calls me I don’t even know it’s my name” (Singaporean med student as cited by Furnari, 2016).
Your institution will not be able to embrace students’ full identity or create belonging without first understanding the deep cultural and personal importance of their names.
Take a look at this powerful poem from Mohamed Hassan, an Egyptian-New Zealander poet about ‘unlearning’ his teachers’ incorrect pronunciation of his name (Hassan, 2018)
Classrooms
The main space where student interaction and learning takes place is the classroom. Prioritise inclusive practices in the classroom with these strategies:
- Use measures that affirm bi/multilingual environment (avoid slang, provide contextual cues (eg. Why are we learning this topic and why is it important?), pace of speech, etc.)
- Clarify expectations for the learning environment (e.g. everyone is expected to participate in discussions - ‘come prepared to share something about [topic] in our next class’)
- Recognize students come from a range of educational experiences; don’t assume their experiences are different from New Zealand
- Foster opportunities to facilitate communicative confidence & discover shared understanding
- Provide feedback on what students do well and what they need to improve
- Provide opportunities to share, without being singled out (Provide opportunities for students to share experiences from their own culture, which may or may not be different from New Zealand practices. This gives students a voice to inform domestic students.)
Draw on students’ personal experiences:
- ask students about interests and personal experiences
- learn about the cultural background of your students
- use students’ interests to support the selection of materials and contexts for learning
- enable learners to see and connect to their culture e.g. signs, choice of texts, poetry, art and music
- enable learners to use their first language, e.g. providing texts in the different languages fiction and non-fiction books and magazines
- work with learners to give agency, voice and choice over content.
“We received feedback in 2020 that one student felt she had experienced racism. From this we implemented a unit of work on racism in social studies at Year 9. At the time, the co-director of internationals was on the senior leadership team so change was easy” (International education practitioner).
See Support international student transitions and Working with the teaching profession to support international student needs topic for more.
Remove common barriers for Muslim students
Many international students have religious practices that can be at odds with young people’s social norms, such as drinking alcohol. Religious practices for Muslim students are especially important, because these students need to be able to maintain the tikanga (protocol) that is a core part of their everyday life. Institutions can support this with a few key provisions:
- Provide halal food options, and adjusting meal service for Ramadan.
- Make sure students have access to the facilities needed for daily prayer - considered reconfigurations of space can be low-cost and transform students’ experience.
“I think we need a place for prayer and water in restrooms at the health center because many Muslims go there. They miss prayers [because of the lack of facilities], including myself and a few of my friends. I will be happy to see a place for prayer for women and water in restrooms as well as a place where we can feel secure to practice ablution. I do not want to have to think a hundred times before I leave home; it is stressful and unjust. I will be very happy if the health center would know about this issue. What we ask for, I think, goes perfectly with health: being clean, physical exercise, and praying. Muslims’ prayer consists of physical movements and meditation, so it is a perfect activity for good health .” (Student cited in Tanhan, 2020).
Recognise the diversity within ‘International’
Institutions often have a large cohort of international students from one or two countries, such as India and China. It is excellent for staff to increase their cultural competence and inclusion of those cohorts.
Nevertheless, take caution that your institution’s engagement with these groups does not overshadow the wide diversity of backgrounds and cultures that sit within the ‘international’ label.
“I can’t find the flag of my home country every time there is a cultural event where the school hangs the flags from around the world. This makes me really furious. I feel like I’m being ignored.” - Source
5. How do intercultural groups bring students together?
As noted above, students are the ‘experts’ in their own experiences. Creating opportunities for genuine and sustained interactions between international and domestic students can be the most effective way to boost all students’ intercultural competence, interactions, and even friendships.
Student Ambassadors
Student Ambassadors foster understanding of and between students of different backgrounds and cultures. Providing leadership development and intercultural training for Student Ambassadors builds understanding and teamwork among the student ambassadors. These Ambassadors can be deployed to give presentations to school, community or civic organisations. They can also work cooperatively on service projects. In this way programmes can bring students from different schools across a region together.
James Hargest College International Friendship Club
The International Friendship Club at James Hargest College has a goal to ensure international students feel welcomed and organise social events that foster friendship. IFC members support incoming international students during their first weeks at school and in class. They also host social activities such as Ice Skating in Gore, lunchtime pop quizzes and paintball. This year international students gave presentations such as origami and Thai Kick Boxing that helped New Zealand students learn more about other cultures and countries.
See Enhance the international student experience topic for more.
6. How can institutional policies and practices foster international student inclusion?
Colleen Ward’s model for inclusive schools (Ward & Kim, n.d.) stresses the importance of institution-wide policies on inclusion, as well as strong everyday practices.
Clear messaging, policies and practices to address harassment and racism
Institutions should have clear, appropriate signage that explains that harassment in any form (physical, sexual, and racial, etc.) is not tolerated. These messages should also make clear to members of the school community who students can go to if they experience harassment.
International students are often reluctant to come forward if they have experienced harassment. There need to be a myriad of touch points within the school community (e.g. student support, school counsellors, student health, academic advisers, religious groups, etc.) to maximise the opportunity for students to report to a trusted ‘other’ if they do not feel safe or have experienced harassment. There also need to be clear processes for reporting and follow up of harassment incidents.
Provide a variety of food choices
Institutions can foster inclusion by providing food choices that appeal to students from a spectrum of international cultures and cuisines (e.g. Japanese, halal meats, Middle Eastern, and vegetarian choices). Adjusting to differences in foods in a new culture can be challenging for recent arrivals. Food courts providing a variety of foods from different regions of the world can help students to feel more comfortable in a new environment.
Accommodation materials and choices
Providing variety in the types of accommodation (eg. same sex accommodation, alcohol free, family and single accommodation, disability access) that speak to the needs of a wide variety of students. In addition, the language used in application forms can also reflect inclusiveness by indicating options for female, male, and non-binary students.
Ensure the learning environment is conducive to international students’ participation
Increasing inclusiveness in the classroom and online learning environment promotes international students’ psychological adaptation and maximises the potential for success, satisfaction and contentment.
Teachers need support and encouragement to develop course materials, assignments, and learning strategies that foster positive relationships between international students and host culture students (e.g. scaffolded group work and/or partner activities).
For schools see Developing an inclusive classroom culture
For tertiary institutions see Resources for inclusive teaching
Partner with community and civic organisations
Schools can partner with organisations in their community to combat racism and foster understanding and a welcoming environment for international students.
Example: Safer Student Campaign In 2009 three tertiary institutions in Christchurch partnered with the Christchurch City Council, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and local police to address harassment of international students. Members met with students to get their input on how they could help students feel more welcome and safer in Christchurch, and what measures would encourage students to report experiences of harassment. Based on student feedback, a website was built to encourage students to report instances of harassment. This information regarding harassment was given to police who then identified problem areas and times so that additional staff could be deployed at those times and places around the city. In addition, posters depicting a hongi with different nationalities of international students were developed and posted on campus and around the city at bus stops at the start of each semester to create a message of welcome to New Zealand.
7. Case studies: Common challenges for inclusion
The following case studies describe situations that commonly occur in New Zealand schools and institutions. You can use or adapt these for training staff or student volunteers. Have them read the case study, and take time to think about how they would resolve the situation. This can be a useful exercise for staff or students to do as a group, to compare and discuss perspectives and potential options.
Then read on to learn some suggestions or possible actions to address the situation. Note that these are only suggestions and they do not constitute an exhaustive list of all of the actions you might need to undertake, depending on the particular circumstances.
Orientation mismatch
An orientation for international students ended with a reception on Friday afternoon. Dignitaries and school leaders attended this catered reception. School officials and staff were disappointed to find that Muslim students new to the school did not attend.
Why do you think Muslim students did not attend the orientation reception?
Friday is the Muslim sabbath, the day when Muslims come togeher to worship. Typically Friday prayers are held at 1:00pm at the local mosque. Students feel obligated to attend Friday prayers where the imam presents a weekly sermon.
Possible solutions would be to hold the orientation later in the afternoon of Friday to avoid conflicting with Friday prayers. Involve international students in the planning of events and social activities and seek their input and advice. In this way, school staff can learn about potential conflicts or barriers and schedule activities to maximise international student participation.
Classroom conundrum
Mrs. Hatch teaches history at a high school in Christchurch. She enjoys having classroom discussions on topics that the students have read about and should come prepared to discuss. Mrs. Hatch is often frustrated with international students who are reluctant to participate in classroom discussions. They either avoid eye contact with her or make little effort to contribute when called on in class. They often fade into the background and are not active participants in class.
Why do you think the international students might be reluctant to contribute in class?
In many cultures the classroom culture is hierarchical with the teacher in a position of authority and considered the ‘fountain of knowledge’. Students may be used to a passive role in the classroom where it is presumptuous for a student to speak up and share their ideas and insights.
In addition, they may be used to an emphasis on learning facts versus learning how to think and analyse. This can vary from a New Zealand classroom where students are expected and encouraged to participate and share their ideas and opinions.
It takes time for international students to adjust to a new learning environment, gain confidence to speak up and take an active role in classroom discussions. It is important for teachers to clarify their expectations for students to participate and share ideas and/or opinions (e.g. clarify expectations you have for student participation - “come prepared to share something you found interesting about the topic we will discuss’).
Pairing students with a buddy to discuss their ideas prior to the ‘all class’ discussion can give international students an opportunity to test out their ideas and practice what they will say thus increasing their confidence to share.
Asking students to share about how issues or practices are approached in their family or region, allows students to draw on their personal experience to share with the class without implying they speak for everyone in their country or culture.
Once international students adjust to the new classroom culture in New Zealand they may feel it is liberating and enjoyable.
8. Summary
This topic outlines the most significant factors and recommendations to create inclusive learning institutions, specific to our context in Aotearoa New Zealand. Through regular interaction between culturally diverse groups, demonstrated appreciation for cultural diversity, and supportive policies and practices, institutions can create the conditions that help all students feel valued, welcome, and connected.
A clear recommendation for achieving this is increased and ongoing cultural competence training for educators and all staff at your institution. Across Aotearoa, social services, government advisors, and ethnic communities within and beyond education all recognise the vital role that this training plays in growing everyday inclusion across society.
Inclusion is a long-term and multi-faceted process. This topic also highlights other key practical steps that institutions can take now to create more welcoming environments for international students, recognising the importance of their names, their religious needs, and the activities inside and outside the classroom that encourage students from different backgrounds to connect.
References
Anderson, V. (2014). “World-travelling”: a framework for re-thinking teaching and learning in internationalised higher education. Higher Education, 68(5), 637–652. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9736-y
Bethel, A., Ward, C., & Fetvadjiev, V. H. (2020). Cross-Cultural Transition and Psychological Adaptation of International Students: The Mediating Role of Host National Connectedness. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.539950
Chou-Lee, M. (2020). Through the lens of acculturation: International students separated by design. https://doi.org/10.1386/tjtm_00019_1
Community Research. (2022). Engagement for the new Ministry for Ethnic Communities. Retrieved from: https://communityresearch.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CommunityEngagamentSummary.pdf
Hassan, M. ( 2018, Sep 26). Unlearning my name [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU6m_sIZGoI
Irish Council for International Students (ICOS). (2015). Diverse voices: Listening to international students. Retrieved from: https://www.internationalstudents.ie/training-and-events/icos-training-services/diverse-voices
Peiris-John, R., Kang, K., Bavin, L., Dizon, L., Singh, N., Clark, T., Fleming, T., & Ameratunga, S. (2021). East Asian, South Asian, Chinese and Indian Students in Aotearoa: A Youth19 Report. Auckland: The University of Auckland. Retrieved from: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bdbb75ccef37259122e59aa/t/60d3a4202b2d4a2ddd6b7708/1624482883718/Youth19+Report+on+South+Asian%2C+East+Asian%2C+Chinese+and+Indian+student.pdf
Storr, E. F. (2013). International Medical Students: factors that enhance and inhibit learning (Thesis). University of Otago. Retrieved from https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/3904
Stuff. (2022). Majority of Kiwis support diversity and inclusion NowNext survey finds. https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300568898/majority-of-kiwis-support-diversity-and-inclusion-nownext-survey-finds?fbclid=IwAR37I5v23etpSD-1f7aHB2Ib9mXFuZ_ldjYRNycjbo-3K6_EkiSDEG2m_mY
Tanhan, A. & Strack, R.W. (2020). Online photovoice to explore and advocate for Muslim biopsychosocial spiritual wellbeing and issues: Ecological systems theory and ally development. Current Psychology 39(6), 2010–2025. Open access: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340292243_Online_photovoice_to_explore_and_advocate_for_Muslim_biopsychosocial_spiritual_wellbeing_and_issues_Ecological_systems_theory_and_ally_development
Ward, C., & Kim, I.K. (n.d.). Does Diversity-Receptiveness in Educational Institutions Predict International Students’ Psychological and Social Well-being? Report to Oakley Mental Health Foundation. Unpublished manuscript. Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research,
Victoria University of Wellington
