title: "We need the chance to speak for ourselves": Exploring the social wellbeing, connectedness and belonging of international students in Australian secondary schools
Creators: name: Hurem, Aida
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Belonging
subject: Social Wellbeing
subject: Connectedness
subject: Online Connectedness
subject: Social Connectedness
subject: International Students
subject: Secondary Education
subject: Gender

description: International education has been one of the major non-resource exports, and the largest service export, for economic growth in Australia over the past 20 years. With the majority of international students studying in Australian universities, little attention has been paid to the experiences of international students in Australian high schools, and even less research has focused on their lived experiences and their sense of belonging and wellbeing. To bridge this gap, this research aimed to investigate the unique needs and experiences of this under researched student population as part of a larger Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project. The study was conducted using an online survey, with 225 international students in Australian independent private and public high schools Years 10-12 (93 males, 129 females, 3 other gender identities) who completed quantitative and qualitative components of the survey. The results were supplemented with interview data from the wider project (7 transcripts). Students’ sense of belonging to their home country, to Australia, the quality of their face-to-face and online friendships, and their sense of connectedness to their host school were entered as predictors to explain students’ social wellbeing. Each explained variance in social wellbeing, with school connectedness and sense of belonging in Australia the strongest predictors. The qualitative findings demonstrated that international students had a strong desire, but also barriers, to forming friendships with domestic students and a greater need for social support and assistance. International students recommended more shared activities and cultural sharing events to help bridge the language and cultural barriers, as well as the sense of otherness that prevents the formation of such friendships. Together, the quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that international students’ social wellbeing can be promoted through inclusive and proactive strategies for engaging international students with their school community, with teachers and students, as well as the broader Australian community. Further, analysis of the time that students were in Australia suggested that there were key periods (after 2 months but before 5 years) where belonging and connectedness were reduced. This suggests that orientation activities are not sufficient and ongoing opportunities should be provided to share their own, and be a part of Australian, culture. In addition, the results revealed no statistically significant differences in the way students connected to others (either face-to-face or online). Students also reported that, despite some negative online experiences, online connection brought about more benefits than harms. When considering gender differences, females reported greater use of social media, email and online phone calls, as well as stronger online friendships than males, while males reported significantly more negative experiences online. While not all students experience negative online encounters, the significance of these encounters (e.g., racism, sexism, harassment, and other acts of cyberbullying) suggest that even rare experiences should be considered seriously. International students are exposed to negative experiences that relate to their race or language barriers, which may hamper their social wellbeing through heightened fear, self-doubt, or reluctance to engage. As such, cybersafety and diversity and inclusion actions can be implemented at school and policy levels to protect students from diverse backgrounds whether they are engaging online or in-person. The thematic analysis produced six key themes regarding ways in which international students’ lives could be made happier. These were through greater 1) friendships and support, 2) support and recognition of academic pressures, and 3) acceptance of diversity in culture and language, 4) autonomy and control over their lives in homestays, school, and personal expression, and through mitigating the negative impacts of 5) racism and negative ethnic stereotypes, and 6) the stressor of students’ moral responsibilities and obligation, especially towards family and academic achievement. It must be noted that the study was designed to promote the individual voices of students, and as such may not be representative of all international students. The responses demonstrated a great deal of diversity of experience, as well as diversity of backgrounds. Despite this, the current findings do provide a deeper understanding around the experience of international secondary school students in Australia. Schools, policy makers, and the wider Australian community can use the current findings to assist international students in their quest to belong, form meaningful relationships, and complete their education with the best possible academic and emotional outcomes.