Exploring the Role of Cross-Cultural Friendships in the Internationalization of Higher Education in Canada: A Case Study Mackenzie Sillem | Masters of Adult Education (candidate)| St Francis Xavier University RESEARCH QUESTION BACKGROUND In 2017, there were 494,525 international students enrolled in Canada, a 119% increase since 2010 (CBIE, 2018). This phenomenon of students moving across borders to pursue education is known as Friendships with Canadian Students No Canadian Friends Canadian Friends internationalization. Through the integration of international and domestic students and their How is the integration of international and domestic students considered in institutional policies and procedures that relate to internationalization? What are the enablers of intercultural friendships between international and Canadian students? To what extent are supports and programs available at the case institution? What do international and Canadian students learn from their intercultural friendships? What difference do these friendships make? interactions in higher education settings, there is an expectation that both groups of students will transform How do cross-cultural friendships make a difference when it comes to a more holistic internationalization of post-secondary institutions? 44% 56% their perspectives of cultural others. However, realizing How do students perceive their role in the process of internationalization? PRELIMINARY FINDINGS Internationalization and Student Interaction in Policy Documents A review of three high-level policy documents at Vancouver Island University; The Graduate Attributes, The International Education Strategic Plan and the Academic Plan found the following: The term “Intercultural” is used 15 times in the three documents. Inconsistent use of the term may indicate that there differing understandings of what “intercultural” means to administrators. The term “integration” is used to describe desired international and domestic students relationships in the International Strategic Plan. However, neither the concept of integration nor the concept of students connecting with peers and forming positive relationships with each other is mentioned in the Graduate Attributes or the Academic Plan. Use of the Word “Intercultural” in Selected Documents internationalization as a mechanism for intercultural competence development or global citizenship International Education, 2015). The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore how learning in an informal setting of friendship between cultural “others” may contribute to transformational, intercultural-competence development Qualitative Case Study Qualitative research A case study is an in depth exploration of a phenomenon in a bound context. in students at a Canadian teaching university. ² THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS Case studies can answer “how” and “why” research questions with thick description and analysis of a single unit. They facilitate understanding through the deconstruction and reconstruction of a phenomenon (Baxter & Jacks, 2008). Document Analysis DOCUMENT ANALYSIS Grounding Theories for the Research • Triangulation or support of findings across data sets Critical Theory (Brookfield, 2012) METHODS (Mezirow, 2012; Cranton & Taylor, 2012) SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS Multiple Models of Intercultural Competence Development • Criteria established • Explore ideas, thoughts and experiences. Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennett, 1993) DATA EXTRACTION & ANALYSIS • Coding developed Process Model of Intercultural Competence (Deardorff, 2006) Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544-559. Figure 2. Word cluster presenting grounding theoretical frameworks for this study. Bennett, M. J. (1993). Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience 2nd edition, (21-71). Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. Brookfield, S. (2012). Critical theory and transformative learning. In E. Taylor. P. Cranton, & Associates (Eds.), Handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research and practice (131-146). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass CBIE (2015). The Integration Challenge: Connecting International Students with their Canadian peers. CBIE. Retrieved from: http://cbie.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2016/04/CBIE-Research-in-Brief-2-The-Integration-ChallengeEN.pdf Cranton, P. & Taylor, E.W. (2012). Transformative learning theory: Seeking a more unified theory. In E.W. Taylor, P. Cranton (Eds.), The handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research and practice (1st Ed). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Activities Table 1. Initial documents selected for analysis Clubs Interview Inclusion Criteria • Students who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at Vancouver Island University and are: • An international student who self-identifies as having a friendship with a domestic student. • NVIVO software for assistance in theme analysis of the documents and interviews. Global Citizenship Learning (Lilley, References In class supports • Strict criteria not set in order to allow flexibility. Transformative Learning Theory Barker & Harris, 2015) Figure 3. Use of the term intercultural in selected documents. OR • A domestic student who self-identifies as having a friendship with an international student. Associations Faculty and Staff Pro-D Fostering Citizenship in Students Figure 4. Suggestions found in documents for actions to support international student integration CBIE (2018). Facts and figures. Retrieved From https://cbie.ca/media/facts-and-figures/ Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241-266. doi:10.1177/1028315306287002 Garson, K. (2016). Reframing internationalization. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 46(2), 19-39. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.viuVancouver Island University.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest.com.ezproxy. viuVancouver Island University.ca/docview/1824510801?accountid=12246 Jackson, J. (2015). Becoming interculturally competent: Theory to practice in international education. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2015(48), 91-107. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.012 Lilley, K., Barker, M., & Harris, N. (2015). Exploring the process of global citizen learning and the student mind-set Journal of Studies in International Education, 19(3), 225-245. Mezirow J. (2012). Learning to think like an adult: Core concepts of transformative theory. In E. Taylor. P. Cranton, & Associates (Eds.), Handbook of transformative learning: theory, research and practice (pp.7395). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Template adapted from the work of frahna karim 2014 © https://www.behance.net/karimfrahna Jackson, 2015; Lilley, Barker & Harris, 2015). Figure 1. Percentage of International Students who reported having a friendship with a Canadian Student during their studies in Canada (Canadian Bureau of Suggested Actions to Support International Students learning is much more complicated (Garson, 2016; METHODOLOGY