An Investigation of the Potential Microaggression International Students Experience on a Canadian Campus

• In Event: Belonging and inclusion in higher education: Students' experiences at home and abroad (I)

Proposal

Problem Statement
With an increasing number of international students coming to Canadian universities every year (Statistics Canada, 2019), the retention of international students has been a significant topic for administrators and researchers. Literature has demonstrated that the persistence of international students is largely predictable based on their sense of belonging which is associated with multiple factors, such as academic support, socialization, etc. Among these factors, discrimination and racism can be significant (Smith, 2021). While no universities allow discrimination and racism in their policies, the daily practice on campus can be a different story (Guo & Guo, 2017).
Research Questions
1. What experiences do international students have with potential micro-discrimination?
2. How does micro-discrimination influence international students’ sense of belonging to their new learning and living environments?
3. How do international students cope with such discrimination?
4. What do international students think universities should do to minimize discrimination and racism?

Literature Review
High education institutions in North America are eager to take in international students for various reasons. While language barriers, cultural differences, and past educational experiences create difficulty for international students to merge into the campus community, there are other factors that we cannot overlook for the effort of internationalization. Smith (2021) identified racism and discrimination, along with language and culture, as the top themes in a study of the factors that contribute to international student retention at a mid-sized, Canadian university. Guo and Guo (2017) reported that international students from Asia and the Middle East felt that they were not well received and often felt alienated. Leask (2009) reported that international students felt that domestic students often avoided working with them inside class and very rarely interacted with them outside class. Guo and Guo (2017) found that students rarely encountered materials that reflected their experiences, and when they did, the materials tended to be dated or skewed.

Methodology
Research participants were recruited by distributing newsletters, emails/flyers, and posters over university, international student society, and international student center bulletin boards. A snowball method was used to identify further potential participants. Recruitment was discontinued once 20 participants were reached. Each participant was provided with a $20 gift card as an incentive for participating in the research project.
A qualitative research design was employed. The researchers interviewed 20 international students at a mid-sized, comprehensive university in Ontario, Canada, using a semi-structured interview approach (60-90 minutes) to provide them with an opportunity to tell their stories. Research participants represented different faculties, genders, and levels of study. Data was collected regarding questions about whether they encountered or perceived to be the target of discrimination in the areas of daily life on campus, experience in the classroom, communication with instructors and staff, communication with domestic students, daily life in the larger community, etc. Data were also collected about how such discrimination influences their sense of belonging to the new learning and living environment and how international students cope with such discrimination and expect the university to provide better support for them. Pseudonyms were used during the transcription process. Transcriptions were stored in a password-protected computer. Audio transcripts were transcripted using the Descript transcription software, and then member-checked and thematically coded. The final report will be provided to research participants through the institutional research ethics board website.

Findings
Major findings include the following:
• Discrimination: Students had limited or brief microaggression experiences on campus. Students do not realize or have an awareness that they are probably discriminated against. Coping with discrimination is personal. Participants did not have a prior understanding of whether behavior shown toward them would be considered microaggression or not. Participants identified that faculty demonstrate respect for diversity and that diverse faculty representation was visible as seen through professors from China, Russia, Africa, Pakistan, and France.
• Language: Students mentioned their accent is judged or at least commented upon by native English speakers.
• Sense of Belonging: Students feel like they belong to campus despite the microaggression they experience, if at all. Accents make students feel they do not belong to Canadian society. The creation of open events to break down further barriers would be seen as beneficial to their sense of belonging.
• Canadian Culture: Some participants stated it is their responsibility to learn Canadian culture so that microaggressions would be minimized or averted.
• Support Services: Services on campus should serve to acknowledge and recognize international students. Further support and initiatives from the university can help to minimize discrimination and racism. Work needs to be done to provide student support services to enable students to discuss microaggression occurrences. Further opportunities should be created to encourage students to intermingle with native students.

Significance to Higher Education
Research results should assist higher education institutions to deepen their understanding of the student's experiences and develop educational programs responsive to their needs, creating a more inclusive environment for international students, and providing professional development to educators. It should also add more student voices to the literature, contribute to the scholarly work regarding potential micro-aggression and discrimination, and encourage related research.

Limitations
• We examined international student microaggression experiences on campus, and not in other settings. Research participants identified several off-campus microaggression experiences they encountered.
• Our research was unable to determine how pervasive or pronounced the impact of subtle or blatant microaggression will be in differing settings.
• Most students were taking only courses (not physically on campus); therefore, potential microaggressions in person were limited.

Further Research Topics
• Explore how to initiate efforts to raise awareness to support international students. Education is important in bringing these issues to the forefront.
• Look at institutional hiring practices of faculty to reflect equity, diversity, and inclusion as seen through the perspective of international students.
• Explore what international students should do to best prepare for life in Canada, particularly attending the university, so they can avert, if possible, microaggressions.
• Identify anti-racism pedagogical practices for teaching international students.

Authors

• Clayton Smith, University of Windsor

• George Zhou, University of Windsor