Out of context: The significance of schooling environments and cultural values for education

Session Submission Type: Group Panel

Description of Session

This panel looks at the experience of ‘out of context’ students, or, students who are learning in an environment far from their home culture. Student mobility, or migration of students across borders, is on the rise across the globe (Bhandari and Blumenthal, 2011). As a result, schools worldwide from K-16 are reflecting a more diverse student population than ever. For this reason, considering the diverse needs of learners from a variety of backgrounds is imperative for all education professionals, in order to promote equality of education for all and facilitate social transformation. Research suggests that linking curriculum content to students' cultural backgrounds might enhance student learning and facilitate the maintenance of their cultural identity (Kanu 2007). Yet too often school environments do not accommodate cultural diversity. Moreover, international students who study abroad oftentimes get marginalized into international student pockets and do not gain access to the local community in which they are studying. In this panel, speakers will discuss the out of context educational experience of students in a refugee camp, in an English language program, and in a large four year private university, to consider the ways in which the learning environment impacts the experience of these students.
Each paper in this panel describes a case study of a unique educational setting in order to provide a rich context for the issues discussed. The first paper is an ethnographic study of a refugee camp in Lebanon. It describes how a rising number of people living in refugee situations demands a firmer commitment to integrate local voices into programming aimed at promoting peace and human rights awareness. The author argues that because the programs are mainly grounded in Western/ Christian principles, that they do not sufficiently reflect the values of their intended beneficiaries.
The second paper considers international students who have voluntarily enrolled in an English Language Program in the United States. In this paper, the author uses data collected through focus groups and surveys of international students to propose that maintaining an adequate support network is necessary in the context of monocultural programming in order to better integrate international students into their local environment.
In the third paper, the author also explores the experience of international students enrolled in a university in the United States. However, in this case, the author examines more carefully what factors might impact the attitudes of domestic students toward international students, and how these attitudes might relate to the overall experience of international students. Finally, the fourth paper compares the experience of international students who choose a major before they begin their undergraduate degree, and international students who change their major after starting their degree. The paper identifies ways that university administrators can help students meet their foreign study goals by removing barriers that create challenges to changing a major. As a whole, the papers on this panel illustrate that there is no one size fits all model. Each unique population requires a unique educational approach, and there are multiple factors that need to be considered which impact the overall educational experience for out of context students.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Rebecca Clothey, Drexel University

Individual Presentations

• Refugee youth on violence and peace: An ethnographic study of Shatila refugee camp schooling in Lebanon - Inga Storen, Drexel University

• The Importance of Effective Support Networks for Intensive English Program Students - Timothy Dinan, Drexel University

• Understanding Domestic Student Perceptions of International Students: The Impact of International Experience - Erica Sebastian, Drexel University

• Gaming the System: How International Undergraduate Students Choose an Academic Program of Study - Greta Kazenski, Drexel University

Discussant

• Rebecca Clothey, Drexel University