Canada has seen a 29% increase in international students attending higher educational institutions, from 2022 to 2023, which has followed a 63% growth over the previous five years and more than 200% over the last decade (CBIE, 2023). This, however, is changing. Universities Canada (The Canadian Press, 2024) reports that enrolment of international students fell in 2024, in some cases by more than 50%,  below the international student visa cap set by the federal government. Given this trend, we must ensure academic success and beneficial, appropriate, and resourceful study conditions for the international students studying at our institutions. One of the best ways of doing this is by enhancing international student engagement. In this blog, I introduce this topic and discuss ways we can all increase the engagement of international students in our classrooms.

International student engagement is international students’ active, ongoing effort to navigate and mediate the expectations and practices of their new academic environment (Kettle, 2017; Zimmerman, 2021). This concept views engagement as a social practice, where students interact with and respond to various elements such as actions, interactions, objects, values, expectations, and language. It emphasizes the students’ roles as active participants and experts in their own educational experiences, highlighting their strategies to adapt, succeed, and contribute to their academic and social environments. International scholarship on teaching and learning research shows that when international students feel connected and supported, they are more likely to dive into classroom activities, perform better academically, and build positive relationships with classmates and instructors (Freeman et al., 2014; Glass et al., 2015), and that engagement in the classroom is the strongest predictor of cognitive development for international students (Grayson, 2008).

Four interrelated types of engagement occur during learning activities, including behavioural, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement (Christenson et al., 2012). Behavioural engagement has been defined as participation in various activities (Finn, 1989), students’ positive effort, attention, and involvement in school (Skinner et al., 2009), and adaptive and maladaptive behaviour (Martin, 2010). Emotional engagement is generally conceptualized as comprised of positive and negative feelings toward school, teachers, and peers (Fredericks et al., 2004). Cognitive engagement has been described as beliefs and values about the importance of school and learning (Appleton et al., 2008; Martin, 2007) and self-regulation, strategy use, goals, and exerting effort (Martin, 2007).  Agentic engagement is when individuals try to actively enrich their learning experiences and take responsibility for them (Reeve & Tseng, 2011).

Sense of belonging in a higher-educational setting significantly impacts the engagement of international students (Cena et al., 2021; Glass et al., 2015). Previous studies have shown that international students report a lower sense of belonging than native students (Strayhorn, 2012; Van Horne et al., 2018), and that the type and amount of extracurricular/social involvement are related to the sense of belonging (Bowman et al., 2019; Maestas et al., 2007), with more frequent participation in extracurricular activities increasing the sense of belonging to the institution (Thies & Falk, 2023). International students who feel integrated into the university community through meaningful interactions are more likely to participate in social activities (Glass et al., 2015).

Engagement is also affected by students’ unwillingness to communicate, which is the long-term tendency to avoid and/or devalue verbal communication (Kadi & Madini, 2019). Several factors related to anxiety have been identified, including concerns that limited English-speaking proficiency can inhibit clarity (Aksak & Cubucken, 2020; Horwitz et al., 1986), fear of being humiliated (Chichon, 2019; Wen & Cle ́ment, 2010), lack of self-confidence (Kadi & Madini, 2019; Saadat & Mukundan, 2019), anxiety over potential errors (Kang, 2005), instructors’ excessive emphasis on grammar (Wen & Cle ́ment, 2003; Woodrow, 2006), and place of origin (Woodrow, 2006). Several motivation and related factors have been identified as engagement influencers, including personality (Hz, 2022; Mohammadian, 2013), discussion topic (Kang, 2005; Zhou et al., 2021), grade evaluation approach (Zhou et al., 2021), family support (Aksak & Cubucken, 2020; Aydin, 2017), and socialization demands (MacIntyre et al., 1998).

Institutional policies and practices, such as inclusive teaching practices, culturally sensitive curricula, and opportunities for social interaction, play a pivotal role in fostering student engagement (Glass et al., 2015). Instructors can engage in strategies to enhance in-class communication, including shaping a positive classroom environment that can relax international students and reduce their anxiety (Smith et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2021), developing workloads appropriate for international students (Zhou et al., 2021), adopting collaborative teaching approaches (Lee et al., 2019; Saadat & Mukundan, 2019; Zhou et al., 2021), involving students in peer teaching (Freemen et al., 2015; Yamauchi et al., 2016), engaging in problem-based learning to encourage students to solve real-world problems in collaborative settings (Freemen et al., 2015; Yamauchi et al., 2016), using group discussions for students to articulate their understanding, ask questions, and learn from their peers (Freemen et al., 2015; Yamauchi et al., 2016), preparing before class to expand their knowledge of students’ cultural backgrounds and traditions (Riasati, 2012; Zhou et al., 2021), conducting warm-up activities at the beginning of class (Zhou et al, 2021), applying supportive practices (Kinsella, 1997; Smith et al., 2019), and using culturally-responsive teaching methods (Gay, 2010; Zhou et al., 2017).

So, while we could lament the current decrease in international student enrolment facing most Canadian post-secondary educational institutions, there is much we can and should do to increase international student engagement leading to higher levels of success for those students able to enrol at our institutions despite the current regulatory approach to cap international student enrolments.

References:

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