Apr 17, 2021 | Articles
Posted: Tuesday August 17, 2021
By: Johileny Meran – Mobility International USA (MIUSA), Clau Castaneda – SAI Study Abroad, Meghan Godding – London Metropolitan University
Throughout the pandemic, we have learned valuable lessons via trial and error on how to adapt and create successful virtual work and learning environments. We’ve experienced students, faculty, and staff around the globe adapting and connecting in ways they never considered before; we’ve seen technology and online platforms rapidly evolve, and we’ve witnessed etiquette and language for the online space expanded across time zones and oceans…
But has everyone been factored into the equation in this rapid period of change?
How inclusive and accessible has our virtual world been over the past year, in global education and the workplace? What lessons have we learned and what can we do to improve as we look toward a hybrid future?
Being thrust into the virtual landscape has exposed holes in places that many professionals hadn’t considered before, particularly when it comes to inclusivity and accessibility in online environments.
This article focuses on recommendations for good practices in hosting or participating in virtual events, from meetings to webinars to modules. It is based on over a year of observations of the “wins” and the shortcomings of online adaptation by three colleagues in international education, representing a study abroad organization, an overseas university partner, and an organization advancing disability rights globally.
We hope that faculty, staff, and students can use this as a guide for implementing new ways of incorporating small, but meaningful adjustments that make a significant impact when it comes to inclusivity online. We’ve broken it down into planning in three stages: pre-event, event execution, and event follow-up.
Pre-Event – Setting the Stage:
Johileny Meran learned through first-hand experience through coordinating the Joining Hands Virtual Symposium with Mobility International USA (MIUSA) in 2020 and 2021. Here’s her two cents:
Moving to a virtual space definitely presented some challenges, as well as advantages. Centering inclusive design for people with disabilities from the beginning stages allows for opportunities to engage with everyone. So how do you start? What steps can be taken to make your virtual events accessible and engaging to everyone?
The first step is to consider budgeting for disability-related accommodations and seeking input from the disability community about the best way to provide equal access to your event.
The second step is to find an accessible virtual platform. There are so many options available. One way to start learning is to research a platform’s accessibility features. Accessible virtual spaces that allow:
- Participants to have multiple ways to engage
- There is both computer and phone based audio
- Compatibility with assistive technologies such as screen reader software
- Method for participants to directly chat/contact staff for access needs
- Ways to provide live captioning or AI captioning
The third step is to work on your registration form and promote your event. Are you using welcoming and inclusive language that encourages people with disabilities to attend? Are you making sure your promotional materials are accessible? A couple of examples are:
- Is your Registration Form accessible using a screen reader?
- Do your social media posts include alternative text and/or image descriptions?
- Are your promotional videos captioned?
Final step: be sure to collect information in your registration form that will guide your planning and set up every attendee for success. For instance: What disability-related accommodations will you require and/or how can we make the event accessible to you?
The Main Event – Show Time!
Clau Castaneda of SAI Study Abroad and Meghan Godding of London Metropolitan University weigh in further on what they’ve learned on inclusivity in event execution, particularly when it comes to working with students across different time zones and cultures:
Coordinating complex virtual events like webinars, orientations, and symposiums can be daunting when taking into account the interlocking logistics behind-the-scenes. Combine that with the need to make them accessible to broader swaths of students, and hosting these activities becomes even more multifaceted.
Integrating inclusive elements into the foundation of any event is key. Whether virtual or not, events should include materials that are accessible, and language that is not only inclusive but also fosters a brave space where students are encouraged and supported to be their authentic selves.
We are all still learning how to host virtual and hybrid events that add value and validation to the student experience. Here are some critical good practices we have identified over the course of this last year:
Flexibility
Offering both synchronous and asynchronous options allows participants the flexibility to access information regardless of time zone or other responsibilities.
Inclusive Language
Consider making introductions with your pronouns standard practice; doing this and being mindful of gendering language in your presentation to ensure your presentation is inclusive of everyone. Learn more about inclusive language and Person-First language here.
Built-In Breaks
Provide mind breaks during events and presentations. Brain breaks are a short pause during longer events that allow attendees to refocus, reenergize, and calm their minds. Similarly, bio breaks built into event schedules give people the chance to momentarily step away to do things like use the restroom, move their bodies, and get a snack to avoid screen fatigue.
Accessibility
Ensuring materials and events are accessible to all participants, especially those with disabilities by providing alt text, closed captioning, and even describing important graphs and images verbally are steps we should all take when working towards inclusive global experiences. Diversity Abroad members can check out our Insights into the Field resource on supporting students with disabilities.
Curtain Close – Event Follow-up:
When following up with event participants ask, in what ways were you able to engage and access our virtual event? You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that the steps you took to make your event inclusive to those with disabilities improved the event experience for everyone, not just those with disabilities. This also opens up the conversation about what can be improved. Feedback loops are important to ensure that relevant folks have a safe space to advocate for their needs. Implementing suggestions to future events is just as crucial for continued improvement and accessibility.
All of these steps and processes still apply as we move back to in-person and hybrid events, and they are useful guidelines for engaging with both inbound and outbound students — and all of our colleagues in the field of international education. If we continue to be mindful that students have different learning styles, backgrounds, and personal realities, we can better tailor what and how we work with them.
Inculcating inclusive elements into virtual events creates spaces that weren’t there before, where students feel seen, supported, and validated. Share what you have learned about creating a supportive virtual environment on one of Diversity Abroad’s Community Resource Groups. Let’s continue this conversation and commit to growing and learning together as a collective community dedicated to advancing inclusivity and access.
Resources
Oct 28, 2020 | Articles
Posted: Wednesday, October 28, 2020
By: Beatrice D’alimonte – New York University
Alyssa Fox – FHI 360
Asia King – North Carolina State University
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact. From travel bans to university reopening plans and a race to develop a vaccine, the world has pivoted to transition operations from face to face interactions to virtual ones. In the Spring of 2020, many universities had to implement reactionary methods to ensure their campus communities’ safety. Extending spring break, impromptu training sessions on virtual learning for faculty, and canceling academic and student life activities, including alternative breaks, were just some of the ways campuses across the country were transitioning.
Over the summer, the focus was on fall planning. Some universities considered fully reopening, and others determined to go all online, while the rest chose a blended format. With the introduction of the 2020 SEVP Fall guidance, international students were also faced with the difficult decision to take in-person classes to maintain their immigration status in the U.S. or return to their home countries to complete the semester online. Combine these challenges with a trend of decreasing international student enrollment in the U.S., and it is clear that some changes are needed to both attract and retain international students and learn from the COVID-19 pandemic to serve their unique needs better.
While this article is aimed at U.S. based institutions, we hope global university sites and partner organizations will adapt the recommendations to fit the needs of their international student population.
Challenges Faced By International Students
International students are a vital part of the higher education community. They bring more than economic value but rich perspectives of the world, enhancing campus diversity and increased cultural competence for domestic students. However, when decisions, such as those related to the pandemic, are made, they are often one of the most disadvantaged groups.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, international students were already finding it challenging to navigate the college experience and build community with their peers, especially domestic students. According to a study completed by WES Research, 60% of international students surveyed said they are not actively involved in activities and events at their institutions (Skinner et al. 2019). One possible reasoning behind this is that international students are unfamiliar with the western educational culture, and therefore are unaware of institutional practices and resources available to them while they are on campus. Furthermore, student clubs, intramural sports, internships, alternative breaks, and other extracurricular activities are not frequently part of traditional college life in many countries. As a result, many international students report feeling overwhelmed with the number of activities and events on a college campus (Beckstein 2020).
The transition to understanding new institutional expectations are added on top of difficulties understanding new cultural and social norms. This could include language difficulties, difficulties adjusting to the U.S. social and academic culture, misunderstanding, and communication complications with faculty and peers. All of these factors contribute to an increased feeling of anxiety and isolation.
Because of these realities, international students especially have difficulty meeting and making friends with domestic students (Skinner et al. 2019). Different cultural expectations added to linguistic nuances may make it difficult for international students to connect with, build friendships, and community with domestic students.
Other additional challenges faced by international students occur within the academic setting. Studying, conversing, and asking questions in a different language may limit a smooth adjustment and transition for international students. International students may speak English as a second or third language and may not be proficient and, therefore, comfortable asking questions in English while attending a class. The effect of being a non-native speaker means that sometimes international students tend to participate less frequently within in-person class discussions and take less advantage of professors’ meeting hours than domestic students. Without keeping international students in mind throughout every step of the process, we risk alienating that population and failing to be the advocate and support system they need.
COVID-19 Implications
As mentioned, international students already struggle with many of these barriers while on campus, so when COVID-19 forced the campus learning and social experience to go virtual, this exacerbated these challenges. For example, international students are frequently excited about the opportunity to join clubs and explore extracurricular activities that are not offered in their home countries. With COVID-19, most of these activities were abruptly canceled. Even for those who were able to continue virtually, the experience lacked impact, and students were frequently disappointed.
Zoom fatigue is a reality for many students balancing virtual learning and the pandemic’s impact on their lives. The added struggle to learn new technology, manage time zone differences, and participate in virtual learning in a non-native language has amplified these already present challenges for international students. With a shift to all online classes, international students no longer benefit from in-person classroom dynamics, including more convenient access to the professor, non-verbal communication cues, and varied instruction modes.
For many international students, the U.S. culture is very different from their home country regarding beliefs, values, and lifestyles. For example, high-impact activities such as internships, volunteering, and alternative breaks may not be common in students’ home countries. Thus friends and family may question the value of students participating in these activities, even in a virtual format. After moving back home due to COVID-19, some students may be living in multi-generational families with more distractions and pressures to re-establish and maintain social relationships. Thus international students missed out on many of these critical social and cultural experiences that are in some ways unique to the United States.
Recommendation
Increase the frequency and types of virtual engagement opportunities. Offices, organizations, and international students’ support on campus can assist international students by offering more touchpoints for students to stay connected. While planning engagement opportunities, organizers should try their best to account for different time zones, class schedules, and other campus events. By providing an opportunity, like virtual trivia or a conversation club, a few times a week, international students have more opportunities to commit and engage with their peers and other campus community members. Additionally, different formats for participation will cater to international students who may not always participate in synchronous events. Encourage campus offices to not merely replicate on-campus events in an identical virtual format but consider adapting them to address some of the challenges mentioned in this article.
Be creative when it comes to collaboration. Institutions will need to be innovative when it comes to partnerships. Think outside of the box by partnering with other schools in your time zone to expand the reach for a particular event. Institutions can also leverage relationships with on-campus partners in a different way. If your office is short on bandwidth, consider serving as a guide to others on campus who may already be planning events and giving them insight into international students’ needs. Also, consider going beyond your campus and involving local non-profits or other community organizations in your virtual events.
Amplify the voices of international students on campus by advocating for their specific needs. Talk with offices that provide a wide range of services for all students, such as Student Activities, Alternative Breaks, Community Engagement, Information Technology, and Academic Support Services. Provide them with international student feedback and encourage these offices to tailor their services and information for international students.
Build flexibility into your virtual engagement opportunities. If we have learned anything from this past year, it is that things never go as planned. Consider creating back-up plans such as a virtual option for meetings and club activities. Use new formats such as broadcasting your Zoom meeting to Youtube for those unable to access the platform. Institutions should also consider tailoring local alternative breaks that help students explore their community and don’t rely on travel logistics or solely on in-person interaction.
Create more informal ways for students to interact with each other and with critical offices on campus. For example, consider hosting drop-in virtual student happy hours or coffee breaks that allow students to connect informally with a small group of their peers. Student services offices can host online office hours and combine it with a fun event such as trivia or a prize giveaway to attract students. These smaller group interactions are frequently helpful for international students who may be struggling to figure out how to stay involved on campus. Offices should also consider diversifying their social media and communication strategies, keeping in mind that students cannot access some platforms such as Twitter or Facebook from different countries, so they may not access posted information.
Conclusion
Despite the many obstacles our institutions may face, it is our responsibility to not only amplify the voices of our international students but also proactively advocate for their needs. While this article is not all-inclusive of the challenges international students may face, we choose to focus on a few specific narratives that are continually echoed by our students. Understanding the diverse and unique needs of international students in a changing COVID-19 era will be vital in supporting them through these challenging times and similar future events. The suggestions in this article of thinking outside the box when creating activities/events, developing new partnerships, and soliciting feedback from partners hopefully serve as a starting point in creating new initiatives to support international students and help them become more engaged in your organization/campus community.
References
Beckstein, A. (2020, July 24). How are international students coping with the Covid-19 pandemic? Retrieved from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/blogs/how-are-international-students-coping-covid-19-pandemic
Daiya, K. (2020, June 16). Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/06/16/colleges-need-help-international-students-now-opinion
Skinner, M., Luo, N., and Mackie, C. (2019). Are U.S. HEIs meeting the needs of international students? New York: World Education Services. Retrieved from wes.org/partners/research/
Oct 19, 2020 | Articles
Posted: Monday, October 19, 2020
By: Louise Michelle Vital, PhD – Assistant Professor, Lesley University
Mahauganee D. Shaw Bonds, PhD – Independent Researcher and Consultant
Introduction
This article will use the COVID-19 pandemic to contextualize international learners as a vulnerable campus population, and recommend promising practices for emergency preparedness that helps reduce these vulnerabilities.
The Local-Global Continuum
The local-global continuum helps us to understand that phenomena can have both local and global implications (Darian-Smith and McCarty, 2017). It is useful for understanding how conditions observed locally are not unique to the local context but provide an awareness of similar circumstances globally. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an issue that has both local and global implications. For instance, it has illuminated existing health disparities among minoritized communities in the United States, an outcome of structural racism. Egede and Walker (2020) explained that structural racism encompasses “the ways in which societies foster discrimination through mutually reinforcing inequitable systems” (para 2). In their reporting of the COVID-19 crisis, Human Rights Watch (2020) described the contextual factors related to structural racism that is experienced in communities of color: It shows up in discriminatory healthcare outcomes (Keshavan, 2020), disproportionate policing of Black and Brown individuals leading to increased detention and exposure to the virus (Green & Gaston-Hawkins, 2020), insufficient access to water for Native Americans (Baek, 2020), greater percentage of “COVID essential” workers of color in occupations requiring close contact with others (Chambers, 2020), and poor perinatal outcomes for mothers of color (CDC, 2019). These local health-related realities underscore how minoritized populations, often underrepresented in policy and planning in the United States and abroad, have experienced deepened disparities during the COVID-19 crisis.
Campus Crisis: Impact to Global Education
Campus crisis management scholars classify crises into three levels: critical incidents, campus emergencies, and disasters. COVID-19 registers as a disaster, and thus has caused significant disruption to campus operations. Most crises only interrupt business locally, but COVID-19’s global impact makes it a larger crisis than most educators will experience in their entire careers.
In past disasters, we have witnessed nations come to each other’s aid. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, every nation is impacted; thus, placing the response focus squarely on domestic populations and needs, rather than international support. Instead of opening borders, the pandemic has justified the closing of borders. This uniform international response not only dictates which people can access college campuses, but guides decisions about campus operations as the crisis continues. As COVID-19 began to disrupt operations, the initial campus responses—and the scramble to remedy the unintended consequences of that response—uncovered the most vulnerable subpopulations within higher education.
For instance, at the outset, attention was turned to where COVID-19 was first detected in China. Initial concern quickly led to xenophobic targeting of students of Asian descent (White, 2020). Those perceived to have Chinese ancestry experienced “verbal harassment, shunning, and physical assault” (Noel, 2020, p. 3) in the United States and across the globe. Further, COVID-19 has been referred to as “Chinese flu” and “Wuhan virus” by the U.S. president. These incidences have contributed to the othering and stigmatization of students of Asian descent (Lau, 2020; Reny and Barreto, 2020).
The pandemic has led to a critical juncture for the practice of global education, domestically and internationally, during a crisis (Altbach and deWit, 2020). The move to online instruction revealed the depth of educational inequities experienced by students across the globe (Bassett, 2020) who did not have access to personal computers, WIFI, and other resources necessary for academic success. Student mobility was affected; students studying abroad had to contend with travel restrictions and border closings (Al Jazeera, 2020), suspension of visa services in the U.S. (NAFSA, 2020), and government procedures for the repatriation of students or support for international students who decided to remain in their host countries (Marinoni and van’t Land, 2020). As these restrictions continue for the foreseeable future, approaches to international student recruitment will be changed in the United States, especially in light of the frenzy caused by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s now-rescinded decision that newly admitted international students would not be allowed to enter the country if their Fall 2020 courses were taught entirely online (Stuart and Sands, 2020).
Vulnerable Student Populations in U.S. Higher Education
There are two ways to view vulnerability within U.S. higher education as related to the COVID-19 response. The first is through the extensive scholarship on college-going students, their barriers to collegiate access, and their disparate campus-based academic and social experiences. This literature highlights students who are demographically marginal within the U.S. higher education system. This includes Black students, indigenous students, and other students with non-dominant racial and ethnic identities, international students, first-generation college goers, those who identify as LGBTQ+ or religious minorities, and students with disabilities, among other non-dominant subpopulations. Many of the challenges that marginalized students face related to college matriculation are exacerbated in times of emergency. Identifying student struggles in times of normal operation helps institutional leaders to identify concerns that are likely to surface during emergency operations.
The second way to identify vulnerable students is using the same social vulnerability measures used in disaster response (Flanagan, 2011). Made for use with the general population in any locale, social vulnerability encompasses multiple socioeconomic and demographic factors that are known to influence people’s ability and willingness to heed emergency warnings and instructions. While there are some factors institutions already record, like those related to socioeconomic status, disability, and race and ethnicity, there are others that may be harder to track, like family composition, language proficiency, type of housing, and transportation access.
Although institutions may not have all of these data points about their students, they have enough information on the campus climate and the student population to identify students with identity markers that are marginal in the campus environment. These are the students whose experiences administrators need to take into account when working on emergency management plans.
Lessons Learned
In the context of global education, COVID-19 has revealed new challenges and opportunities. Rather than waiting for a return to what was true before, we should view this “new normal” as an opportunity for reimagining the global education profession during and post-crisis.
As the new academic year begins, global education staff, indeed the entire institution, must update strategic plans and conduct analyses of existing units and services to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and trends (SWOTT) uncovered by COVID-19, including stakeholder impacts. Attention should focus on social justice implications, remote experiential learning and training, research productivity, international student recruitment and admission, and employee livelihood among other key issues.
Institutional decisions will need to be made regarding education abroad programs as there are still considerable border restrictions for most of the world. Given the competencies gained from possessing global perspectives, campus based global education practitioners should incorporate more “internationalization at a distance” (Mittelmeier, Rienties, Gunter, and Raghuram, 2020) activities in their curricular and co-curricular offerings. For example, they can leverage the virtual opening of borders (Sallent, 2020) to provide increased access to faraway places that might not have been accessible to some students pre-COVID-19.
Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic is a complex crisis that has disproportionately affected minoritized subpopulations, especially international students, and an array of institutional structures within higher education. Understanding the local-global continuum provides us with perspective to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on global education practices and the related implications for this work and for those served by educators across borders.
References
Al Jazeera (2020, June 3). Coronavirus: Travel restrictions, border shutdowns by country. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/coronavirus-travel-restrictions-border-shutdowns-country-200318091505922.html
Altbach, P. G., & deWit, H. (2020). Postpandemic outlook for higher education is bleakest for the poorest. International Higher Education, 102, 3-5.
Baek, G. (2020, May 8). Navajo Nation residents face coronavirus without running water. CBS News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-navajo-nation-running-water-cbsn-originals/
Bassett, R. M. (2020). Sustaining the values of tertiary education during the COVID-19 crisis. International Higher Education, 102, 5-7.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019, September 5). Racial and ethnic disparities continue in pregnancy-related deaths. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html
Chambers, L. (2020). Data show COVID-19 is hitting essential workers and people of color hardest. Data for Justice Project and ACLU Massachusetts. Retrieved from https://data.aclum.org/2020/04/07/covid-19-disproportionately-affects-vulnerable-populations-in-boston/?ms_aff=MA&initms_aff=MA&ms_chan=tw&initms_chan=tw
Darian-Smith, E., & McCarty, P. C. (2017). The global turn: Theories, research designs, and methods for global studies. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Egede, L. E., & Walker, R. J. (2020). Structural racism, social risk factors, and Covid-19—A dangerous convergence for Black Americans. New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2023616
Green, C. R., & Gaston-Hawkins, L. A. (2020). Policing and COVID-19 disparities: Discrimination, racism, and xenophobia [Commentary]. Psychiatric Times. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/policing-and-covid-19-disparities-discrimination-racism-and-xenophobia
Human Rights Watch (2020, June 10). US: Covid-19 disparities reflect structural racism, abuses. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/10/us-covid-19-disparities-reflect-structural-racism-abuses
Keshavan, M. (2020, June 9).‘The direct result of racism’: Covid-19 lays bare how discrimination drives health disparities among Black people. STAT News. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/09/systemic-racism-black-health-disparities/
Lau, J. (2020). Coronavirus sparks a rising tide of xenophobia worldwide. Times Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/coronavirus-sparks-rising-tide-ofxenophobia-worldwide
Marinoni, G., & van’t Land, H. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on global higher education. International Higher Education, 102, 7-9.
Mittelmeier, J., Rienties, B., Gunter, A., & Raghuram, P. (2020). Conceptualizing internationalization at a distance: A “third category” of university internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 1-17.
NAFSA (2020, August 14). COVID-19 restrictions on U.S. visas and entry. Retrieved from https://www.nafsa.org/regulatory-information/covid-19-restrictions-us-visas-and-entry
Noel, T. K. (2020). Conflating culture with COVID-19: Xenophobic repercussions of a global pandemic. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 100044, 1-7.
Reimers, F. M., & Schleicher, A. (2020). A framework to guide an education response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. Harvard Graduate School of Education and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved from https://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/en/library/a-framework-to-guide-an-education-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-of-2020
Reny, T. T., & Barreto, M. A. (2020). Xenophobia in the time of pandemic: Othering, anti-Asian attitudes, and COVID-19. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 1-24.
Sallent, M. (2020, July 9). Tourism in Africa: Virtual safaris kick in as countries slowly open to tourists. United Nations, Retrieved from https://www.un.org/africarenewal/web-features/coronavirus/tourism-africa-virtual-safaris-kick-countries-prepare-reopen-tourists
Stuart, E., & Sands, G. (2020, July 24). US won’t allow new students into country for online-only classes. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/24/politics/ice-newly-enrolled-students-online/index.html
White, A. I. (2020). Historical linkages: Epidemic threat, economic risk, and xenophobia. The Lancet, 395(10232), 1250-1251.
Oct 19, 2020 | Articles
Posted: Monday, October 19, 2020
By: Andrew Palmacci, M.A, Graduate Student – Lesley University
Louise Michelle Vital, PhD, Assistant Professor – Lesley University
As practitioners within global education, we recognize the need to ensure the continuity of our instruction during the uncertainty brought by COVID-19. With the pandemic as a backdrop, we take a narrative approach to discussing teaching in the midst of a global lockdown. We conclude with a discussion of the lessons learned for both individuals and organizations through the experience of pivoting for COVID-19.
Ruminating our Reactions
Professor in Global Education
In my role as professor, I ask my students to consider how global dynamics inform our profession. Teaching in a globally focused graduate program presented a unique experience, as the seriousness of COVID-19 became apparent worldwide. My initial response was to minimize change, demonstrate competence in teaching, and deliver a high-quality experience for my students. However, while attempting to role model for students how global education practitioners support students in need, I too was making sense of COVID-19. Questions I wrestled with included: How do I convey the appropriate message for international students whose distance from their families and home countries were now seemingly more distant, when I too was concerned for my family members who live outside of the U.S.? How do I help students make sense of the xenophobic centering of COVID-19 from senior U.S. officials, when my country of ancestry has also been criticized by the U.S. government ? How do I keep my students engaged during the transition to online learning, when their thoughts, like mine, were focused on the potential effects of the health crisis to loved ones? Eventually, I shifted, giving myself permission to acknowledge that we were indeed in a place of uncertainty. I learned to be okay with not knowing answers to students’ pressing questions, removing assignments because we all needed a mental break, and extending deadlines for course assignments. Perfection was not attainable—or wanted—and I had to be okay with things not being okay for the foreseeable future.
High School Re-Tooled
As a graduate student during the pandemic, the major change was not seeing my class in person. One assignment was changed from journaling about an in-person experience repositioning the student as the “other” to journaling about our implicit biases and reaction to documentaries about different cultures. My professor took pains to make assignments more feasible, time- and content-wise. Concurrently, COVID-19 and government directives necessitated a shutdown of the high school where I work as a teacher. I engaged students in the Manie Musicale de Mars with digital brackets and by watching selected music videos from around the Francophone world. As we transitioned to online learning via the already in-place Google Classroom and Suite, this softened our landing. Another invaluable resource for my classes were virtual tours. One student travel company offered them through in-country tour directors, who presented via slideshow on cultural and historical points—and even gave cooking lessons. I learned that students adapt highly successfully to online resources that bring the world to them in one click, drastically reducing costs for “visiting” cultural sites. As Spring 2020 unfolded, my teacher self took pages from my graduate professor’s book. She modeled for me how to globally educate in a crisis. As a result, I took a stance of support, gratitude and intentionally holistic distance teaching with my high school students, both domestic and international. I extended deadlines on some assignments, changed some assessments and waived others entirely.
Lessons Learned: A Way Forward
Inclusion & Belonging as Antidotes to COVID-19 Inequities
Tye (2014), explained that global education “involves learning about those problems and issues that cut across national boundaries, perspective taking,…and taking individual and collective action for social justice and the creation of a better world” (p. 858). The COVID-19 crisis can be characterized as a global social justice issue. Within the U.S., COVID-19 has uniquely impacted professionals from diverse backgrounds and presented challenges for institutions. The health disparities among immigrants and communities of color magnified the extent of health inequities for members of these groups (Clark, et al., 2020; Goody & Wood, 2020). Though there has not been robust data collected specifically on the effects of the pandemic on sexual and gender minorities, advocates have indicated that LGBTQ individuals are experiencing increased concerns related to mental wellness, chronic illness, loss of income, food insecurity, housing instability, and violence (The Trevor Project, 2020; Whittington et al., 2020). Scholars from ethnic minority groups have faced “extra emotional labor due to COVID-related racism” (Xu, 2020, p. 19) while international students have faced xenophobic and violent responses related to the coronavirus (American College Health Association, 2020).
To better serve international students and other BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color) learners, we highlight practices that promote the academic and socio-emotional success of these groups. We suggest providing academic accommodations for students who are experiencing personal/family health problems in light of the pandemic. Faculty may consider extending deadlines or waiving non-essential assignments all-together. These accommodations could also be applied to international students forced to return home, who may experience time zone differences, Internet problems or even government restrictions to LMS functionality. Considering the student holistically, we do not wait for them to reach out to us, but initiate connection; indicating what has been done, what is in process, and how to contact us. We speak to students directly; asking them what support they need. Critically, international and BIPOC students must know that they matter.
Challenges and Benefits to Virtual Internationalization
Drawing from internationalization at home opportunities, “the purposeful integration of international and intercultural dimensions into the formal and informal curriculum for all students within domestic learning environments” (Beelen & Jones, 2015, p. 69), we use virtual resources for education of the whole person, in and out of the classroom. We have found that making use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) and other digital tools is a crucial and effective response to crises and situations that require distance learning. The robust nature of online resources, as well as Internet sites that include virtual museum tours and e-visits of cultural sites, in 2020, gives the educational community the capacity to adapt to a fully remote or hybrid course environment, whether in the K-12 or university classroom.
Video conferencing has ensured the continuity of community engagement. Yet, zooming into the virtual lives of our colleagues and students raises privacy concerns. Individuals may be concerned about aspects of their identities being unwittingly revealed due to their homelife dynamics. Another unintentional outcome is that socio-economic concerns may be amplified due to unreliable WIFI and the sharing of technological resources among multiple family members. Community members working from home may have increased responsibilities to family members due to COVID-19 implications, but must also balance being ever present online. These realities provide opportunities for organizations to institute a “time out” from the endless and prolonged engagement online. Some faculty are already addressing these concerns by increasing asynchronous work to provide more freedom to students; senior administrative leaders can do the same. Just as institutions adjusted to operations having been moved online, they could now consider what of their online meetings can be adapted into “memo meetings” to diminish the constant need to meet virtually.
Learning from Teaching
Through this uncomfortable yet eye-opening global historical experience, we have gained some insights as teachers on supporting students and maintaining meaningful learning. We also learned what our own needs are. In our particular circumstances, we discovered the importance of teachers learning from their mentors, leaders, students, and their own instructors on how to teach and learn through global education in a crisis.
References
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Oct 19, 2020 | Articles
Posted: Monday, October 19, 2020
By: Qinyuan Gu – Editor, International School Online
Yuka Jibiki – EFL Lecturer, International Education Center of Tokai University
Introduction
The U.S. has been the most popular study abroad destination for decades even after social and economic turmoil like the 9.11 attacks and the 2008 financial crisis. While its popularity is still going strong, we have noticed a change in the education abroad trends. This research focuses on the study abroad curves of two sending places of origins of China and Japan, after crises in the past. It also measures how U.S. higher education institutions support international students in this time of global crises.
Global Crisis and Its Impact on Study Abroad
While the U.S. college enrollments witnessed a decline of Chinese international students in the year of a global crisis, the following year always showed a wave of increase (Fish, 2020; Redden, 2020). After the 2008 financial crisis, GDP in China continued to grow along with an increase of Chinese middle-class families, which paved way for the craze interest in studying abroad in the U.S.. To Chinese students’ delight, American universities and colleges expanded their international student enrollment. The cost of studying abroad was lower than before due to the exchange rate changes (Choudaha, 2017). Nonetheless, Japan was in a different picture. Despite strong reaction towards safety concerns from students and parents, Japanese universities did not stop operating their U.S. study abroad programs after the 9.11 attacks to meet students’ demands (Ota, 2006). Though, the student mobility has been slowly decreasing since the late 2008 (Open Doors, n.d.). Kobayashi (2011) analyzed that there were two reasons behind: declining population and financial crisis in 2008. The plummet of student demography in Japan may have influenced the numbers of students studying abroad. Besides, the 2008 financial crisis hit Japan hard. In 2010, the average income decreased by 7% compared to 2001, which hindered Japanese families from sending children to the U.S. for further education. However, non-U.S. countries are gaining popularity to study abroad among Japanese students in terms of affordability and safety (Kobayashi, 2011).
New Moves in Education Abroad
The different choice made by the two international student populations provokes thoughts about their motivation and purposes of education in the U.S.. While most Chinese international students have been enrolled in degree-seeking programs, their Japanese counterparts are more likely to participate in short-term English language study abroad programs (Bradford, 2015; ICEF Monitor, 2018; Mccrostie, 2017; Open Doors, n.d.; Suzuki, 2017). The different expectations have led to a new stage of the international education field during this Covid-19 pandemic.
Although most institutions approach online instructions in the 2020 fall semester (IIE, 2020), some U.S. universities offer China-based semester programs for Chinese international students who are not able to come back to the U.S.. For example, Cornell University (n.d.) provides seven Study Away Programs for Chinese international students to apply for. Michigan State University, Trinity College and Fordham University have announced a new partnership with Shanghai Fudan University for Chinese international students to continue their study (Lynch, 2020; New Channel, 2020). Syracuse University and University of Connecticut also launched a study abroad at home program with East China Normal University for international students in Mainland China (Hills, 2020; Syracuse University, n.d.). In addition, American universities that have campuses in China like Shanghai New York University have established new systems for Chinese international students to study at their local branches (New Channel, 2020).
Virtual education abroad programs have become popular in Japan since the pandemic broke out in the early 2020 to meet the needs of students who had to give up their study abroad plans (Okawa, 2020a; Okawa, 2020b). Implemented with the National Geographic, EC English Language Centers, an English language school headquartered in Marta, offers online English language learning and content-based programs called the EC Virtual to international students (EC, n.d.). British Council has provided online English learning platforms for English language learners around the world. Recently, British Council in Japan launched a 90-minute live English lessons called myClass online with access to one-on-one study advice sessions specialized for residents in Japan. (British Council, n.d.a; British Council, n.d.b). Japan is not alone in the booming virtual education abroad market. CAPA, the private learning abroad provider headquartered in Massachusetts promotes summer 2020 internship abroad online (CAPA, 2020). AIFS, another study abroad program provider, also brings forward virtual study abroad programs (AIFS, n.d.). Students at University of Massachusetts at Lowell can earn credits by taking virtual study abroad and internship programs (University of Massachusetts at Lowell, n.d.).
Recommendation
Undoubtedly, these new moves are smart for two reasons. On one hand, international students can relieve from the stress of the unsettled travel ban policies and public health concerns while taking face-to-face and/or online courses at home. On the other hand, American institutions are able to keep their international students active in their systems. However, such win-win strategies produce new challenges for universities to integrate international students into the campus community. Institutions need to cultivate a sense of belongings for students on top of serving emotional, social, and academic support even in a virtual format. (Moravec, 2020). International students who have meaningful contacts with people from the host culture are more satisfied with college experience, and have tendency to be more successful in academics (Bowman. 2012). To foster a sense of belongings to the campus community as well as an intercultural experience despite the time difference and physical distance, we suggest five activities: virtual campus and city tour, virtual student orientation, social media takeover, online panel talks and obligatory appointments with academic and international student advisors. These cross-cultural connections and bonds will help international students engage in traditional U.S. campus life while studying away at home.
Conclusion
Crisis means danger and opportunities both in Chinese (危机) and Japanese (危機) characters. Though the Covid-19 pandemic has caused tremendous barriers to international travels, it has stimulated mutual support, knowledge sharing and multi-lateral cooperation. International education professionals also take the chance to learn from each other and help build a better world for students from all walks of life (Dietrich, 2020). International education will keep thriving as long as professionals stay creative and caring for international communities. After all, united we stand; divided we fall.
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