Education Commons^™

Expanding Access To Undergraduate Higher Education For China's Ethnic Minority Populations, Yuqian Zhang, D. Eric Archer

Journal of Critical Global Issues

China has one of the world’s oldest and largest sets of minority affirmative action policies, which provide 125 million individuals from recognized ethnic minority groups with preferences in family planning, school admissions, employment, business financing and taxation, and financial subsidies. This paper aims to examine how China implements preferential policies for ethnic minority undergraduate applicants to its higher education institutions. Policies of preferential admissions in China are designed to compensate for inequalities in educational opportunity among different ethnic groups. This compensatory approach is based on the concept that equal treatment of differently situated groups may itself create inequality. Yet preferential …

The Role Of Education In Post-Conflict Kosovo: A Proposal For An Analysis Of How Experts Understand The Role That Education Has Played In Peacebuilding, Kristal Mitra

Capstone Collection

This study seeks to answer the following research question: What is the relationship between Kosovo's education system and the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia? This study uses a mixed purposeful sampling strategy that includes purposive sampling and snowball sampling. The researcher interviewed five different individuals from the following ethnic backgrounds represented in Kosovo which are one Bosnian, one Serbian, two Albanian Kosovars, and one Romani Kosovar. The results showed that education played many roles before, during and after the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo’s education system has historically been used as a tool to promote the political agendas of …

The Radical Imagination: Exploring The Intersection Of The Youth-Led Climate Justice Movement And Education, Calla Sneller

Capstone Collection

This paper explores the crossover of the youth-led climate justice movement and education, utilizing The Experiment Digital Climate Change & the Environment as a case study to investigate this crossover globally and locally. A 6-week virtual exchange program designed to connect 100 high school students from 23 countries, The Experiment Digital Climate Change & the Environment aimed to equip youth with radical tools to address the scale of the climate crisis. The study drew on the neo-institutionalism and systems thinking approaches to globalization. Employing qualitative research methods, including a questionnaire and individual interviews, the findings revealed that international relationships improved …

Education Policy And Practice In Nepal: An Exploration Of Education Quality Of Private Primary And Secondary Education In Context Of A Decentralized Education System In Kathmandu, Nepal, Tashina Mcneil

Capstone Collection

As a strategy for improving the country’s education sector and meet national development initiatives, the government of Nepal has implemented decentralization measures. Similarly, the government has committed to the Sustainable Development Goal 4, the premise of which is ensuring by 2030 all Nepalese school aged boys and girls have access to quality education. Decentralization, as defined, is the transfer of authority over school management to local governments, the private sector, and local communities. Decentralization, however, is not a panacea for all and when incorrectly implemented the consequences can be deleterious.

Therefore, this study sought to answer this research question: In …

Australian-American Fulbright Alumni: An Analysis Of The Impact Of The Australian-American Fulbright Program On American Awardees, Maya Kozarsky

Capstone Collection

The Australian-American Fulbright Commission was established in 1949 in Canberra, Australia. Remarkably, the Commission had never before conducted an alumni impact report in its 72-year history. Thus, it was vital to carry out this study as soon as possible so as to hear from as many alumni as are willing and able to participate at this time. This study sought to answer the following research question: How have Australian Fulbright scholarships impacted the lives and careers of the American alumni? The research drew on the analysis of secondary survey data and through semi-structured interviews. The major findings of the study …

Supporting Lgbtq International Students Through Resource Visibility: Examining Washington State Community Colleges, Abigail Fredrickson

Capstone Collection

College is a time when many students begin exploring their sexual orientation and gender identity. Washington State, and Seattle in particular rank high in support for the LGBTQ community, according to the Municipality Equality Index put out by the Human Rights Commission. The schools that are represented in this study serve approximately 2,000 international students annually.

LGBTQ international students are a demographic that inhabits two minority groups – international students and LGBTQ students, and there is a lack of ongoing support and access to resources to aid these students in their personal growth during their time in community college. This …

Beyond Field Trips: Partnerships Between Schools And Tribal Museums, Lauren Cooke

Capstone Collection

This study emerged from a desire to understand how schools and tribal museums collaborate with one another to increase access to tribal museums for K-12 students. For this project, I had the opportunity to work with the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Sky City Cultural Center & Haak’u Museum, and the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center to further understand each institution’s educational programming and partnerships. The question examined was, how do schools and tribal museums collaborate with one another to increase access to tribal museums for K-12 students? Interviews were conducted with staff members to discuss the work of these …

Foodways In Chile: A Bridge Back To Nature, Kayla Weiss

Capstone Collection

As the area of food studies continues to develop and evolve it has been recognized that, not only is food a necessity to life, but it is uniquely tied to understanding culture, history, and other aspects of a society. This study arose from recognizing this influence and importance and I took the opportunity to better understand how Birchwood College might be an optimal site for a short-term study abroad program based in food studies. I conducted a needs assessment through landscape research, surveying students, and interviewing food studies faculty and international educators at Birchwood College. The research findings offered insights …

Navigating The Necessary Evils: Contemplating The Topic Of Sustainability In Study Abroad, Megan Zacher

Capstone Collection

Travel is a defining feature of education abroad, instrumental in exposing students to experiences and countries beyond their campus community. The cultural exchange implied in travel aspires to benefit both host communities and students’ home institutions. However, education abroad has negative environmental impacts incongruent with many sustainability efforts. The education abroad sector aims to address this reality by advancing the use of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in program design and execution. In this study we conducted semi-structured interviews with representatives of higher education institutions, third-party study abroad providers, and professional associations to assess how stakeholders perceive this incongruency …

Virtual Free-Writing Journal Portfolios In An Intensive English Program In Iraq, Charles Mckinney

MA TESOL Collection

Middle-Eastern English language learners (ELLs), specifically Iraqi students, are often not well equipped to succeed in university settings where English is the medium of instruction (EMI) for their intended graduate and undergraduate studies. Oftentimes, they are weaker in their academic literacy skills, when compared to listening and speaking, and need extra scaffolding and/or remedial instruction to develop their reading and writing dexterity for overall academic success. One way to support their writing development is to implement free-writing journal projects that will enable them to cultivate an original writer voice, to think quickly and critically in the L2, and to integrate …

The Ethics And Philosophy Of Outdoor Education: Hidden Lessons Within The Leikskoli Curriculum In Isafjordur, Iceland, Cici Conroy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Icelandic curriculum structures itself amongst six pillars: “literacy, sustainability, health, and welfare, democracy, and human rights, equality and creativity” (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, 2014). The United States national standards for their state public schools focus on two central points: math and English language learning (Participant 6, personal communication, 2022). The way these structures are upheld reflect values, goals, and systems of knowledge. Depending on where a child is raised, the skills learned in the classroom will result in a completely different attitude toward environment, place, and success. In the United States, success seems to be defined by …

Leveraging The Dynamics Of The Mixed Level Classroom: A Materials Collection, Emily Hampston

MA TESOL Collection

A number of studies have noted the rise in student demographic diversity and the heightened significance of the mixed-level classroom; however, a consensus on the appropriate methods and materials to address these developments remains to be reached. Educators are anticipated to address the needs of students with a variety of abilities, backgrounds, and interests in a singular class. Less proficient students face overstimulation whilst more proficient students face understimulation. How can the challenges of the mixed-level classroom be recast into strengths? The mixed-level classroom environment calls for student investment, real language, and familiar processes. Methods such as peer tutoring, cooperative …

Colombia Intercultura Study Abroad, Nadeen Black

Capstone Collection

The Colombia Intercultura (CI) summer study abroad program connects racially diverse students from the United States to lesser-known locations in Colombia to foster a unique and comparative educational experience. Most study abroad programs available to foreigners in Colombia are offered in big cities like Bogotá and Medellín. The goal of this program is to facilitate intercultural learning for globally minded learners in various locations off the beaten track in Colombia. A growing economy, improved security, and greater access to social services are among some of Colombia’s most notable achievements towards growth in the last two decades. The civil war that …

Student Mobility In The Wake Of Covid-19: The Mainland Chinese Parent Perspective, Anna Profatilova

Capstone Collection

This study explores the perspectives of mainland Chinese parents on outbound international student mobility (ISM) following the COVID-19 pandemic. A narrative study situated in the qualitative paradigm, this study is informed by the push-pull theory of international student mobility and employed a socio-cultural framework based on the traditional Confucian value system and recent developments in mainland Chinese education. Through semi-structured interviews, the following research questions were addressed: What are mainland Chinese parents’ perspectives on outbound student mobility post-COVID-19? How has the pandemic transformed their motivations, needs, and expectations of international education?

Findings revealed that parents have sustained interest in sending …

Study Abroad Program For The University Of Glasgow: A Short-Term Life Sciences Program To Indonesia, Shannon Tobin

Capstone Collection

The Life Sciences Indonesia Program (LSIP) is a two-week program for University of Glasgow students interested in the fields of Human and Animal Biology, Biomolecular Science, and Infection and Immunity. This study abroad program will provide students interested in these degree areas the opportunity to study at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Sieman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. LSIP is grounded in the theories of self-authorship and Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, providing students with the opportunity to curate their own learning experience, learn through real-world experiences, and connect course material to real-life applications. The program is open to all students to apply, but …

Pathway Provider Programs: The International Student Experience, Aaron A. Mendez

Capstone Collection

As part of their commitment towards internationalization, many higher education institutions seek new recruitment practices to increase international student enrollment, to both enhance cultural diversity and increase the potential for revenue. Partnering with third-party pathway providers offers international students an opportunity to refine their English language skills, all while taking for-credit-bearing academic courses that ultimately prepare them for their second year upon matriculating into their degree-seeking programs. One difference between direct-entry international students and pathway program international students is the additional level of support for the latter.

This study explores the following research question: What are the experiences of international …

Approaches To Narrative Instruction For Second Language Learners, Mathew Peters

MA TESOL Collection

Narratives have reemerged as a dominant form of rhetoric over the last fifty years. This dominant use of narrative discourse has only increased with the rise of social media. Walther Fisher (1987) proposed the narrative paradigm as a unifying theory of human communication. His major claim is that people are inherently storytellers and that people use a narrative rationality and a logic of good reasons to inform their beliefs, values, and actions. This paper utilizes his theories, along with recent findings in neuroscience, to establish an argument for greater inclusion of narratives into second language teaching. Narratives can have a …

Supporting Latinx College Students Study Abroad, Nicole Melendez

Capstone Collection

Low participation of Latinx students in study abroad is something U.S. educators should be aware of and start to address. As the Latinx student population grows in higher education, growth of this population in study abroad should follow. The purpose of this research is to compile best practices and supports that can be implemented by international education professionals to support Latinx students who study abroad at their institutions. The research will answer the following research questions: how can international educators support Latinx students to study abroad? How can the current supports in place for Latinx students (in higher education) be …

Refugee Perspectives On Transitioning From Higher Education In The United States To Life Post-Graduation, Jessica S. Clarkson

Capstone Collection

In 2019, only 3% of refugees had access to higher education. Using qualitative research methods of surveys and semi-structured interviews, this study explores the perspectives of two student affairs professionals and six individuals with formal refugee status granted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and in possession of a refugee travel document, who have not yet been resettled and are pursuing higher education in the United States. It focuses on the students’ preparation for and transition to life post-graduation, since UNHCR supposes that pursuing higher education abroad may be a viable ‘complementary pathway’ toward resettlement, self-reliance, and/or …

Strategies Of Higher Education Admissions Professionals To Adapt To The Recent Drop In Foreign Student Enrollment At Us Universities, Peter Plass

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this capstone is to explore strategies employed by graduate-level admissions professionals to counteract the recent fall in international student enrollment as reported by the US Department of State in November of 2018. The US depends heavily on foreign students for economic gains nationally and financial stability at the institutional level. Through the semi-structured interviews with five international admissions professions, this qualitative research study examined the factors that may drive international students away from the US. The findings of this study demonstrate that the cost of education, violence, bigotry on campus, the national anti-immigrant discourse, and the inability …

Influencing College Choice: Enrollment Factors For International Students At A Private Research University In The Northeast, Erin Slocum

Capstone Collection

This study aims to understand the factors that influence international students' decisions to enroll at a private research university in the Northeast. Through interviews with current students and staff members at the university, the study gathered data about trends in enrollment, how students learned about the university, obstacles faced by international students in the application process, and finally what factors were most important in their enrollment decisions. The most important factors in an international student's decision to enroll in the university were cost, environment, and recommendations. Due to the limited diversity in the demographics of the student participants, there is …

Integrating Education Abroad: Fostering Critical Reflexivity In Students, Cara Masullo Ekwuabu

Capstone Collection

This Capstone research aimed to address a need in higher education internationalization, which was to bring more intentionality and integrated learning around education abroad. The research explored the ways in which educators help students effectively process and make meaning of their lived experiences abroad. The following questions were addressed: how can educators help students to critically reflect on what they gained from their education abroad experience, and on who they are in a larger global society? How can educators foster this critical reflexivity in students for life-long learning?

The conceptual framework explored key theories in student development, adult learning, and …

Identifying The Gaps In Resources For Education In Emergencies, Kate Chung

Capstone Collection

When children are thrust into emergencies, either by natural disasters or man-made conflict, education has until recently always taken a backseat. The field of humanitarian aid which focuses on the delivery of material assistance to people in emergency settings, has become more professionalized over the past two decades as conflicts become more complex. Humanitarian aid has always involved the provision of food, shelter and medical care. In the past few decades, however, education for those affected by emergencies that focuses on the practical provision of livelihood skills while also conveying conflict resolution and peace-building skills has become an increasingly important …

Robotics In Japan: A Program Design For The Experiment In International Living, Allison Barnes

Capstone Collection

“Robotics in Japan” is a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) based program design for The Experiment in International Living (The Experiment). This design is for a four-week program for high school students. It is grounded in The Experiment’s mission and basic program structure. The purpose of Robotics in Japan is to add a STEM-based program to The Experiment’s portfolio in one of The Experiment’s most popular and marketable countries. In addition, this design adds a computer and technology theme, an area within STEM that has even less representation in The Experiment’s portfolio. In this paper, all necessary aspects to …

Creating Global Citizens Through Returnee Programming, Kristen Foos

Capstone Collection

The purpose of study abroad is to facilitate students’ journey to global citizenship and a large part in doing this is having effective returnee programming. This research focused on what type of program models best facilitate this goal and are of interest to students at Washington State University (WSU). To answer this question, 12 WSU peer advisors, 4 global learning advisors at WSU, and 5 global learning advisors at other institutions were all interviewed. Along with that, a survey was sent out to all WSU student who had studied abroad within the past year. The results demonstrated that when WSU …

Reimagining The College As A Safe Haven: The Marlboro Community Asylum Seekers Project, Emma Huse

Capstone Collection

This paper introduces a program design for Marlboro College in Marlboro, Vermont that combines a credit-bearing course on asylum, displacement, and community-engaged learning with a collaborative initiative to host asylum seekers who might otherwise be held indefinitely in immigration detention at the college. Inspiration for the Marlboro Community Asylum Seekers Project arose from a campus-community partnership working to bring asylum seekers to Marlboro in 2019 and the acknowledgement by many stakeholders of the learning potential for all parties, including students at the college. The program curriculum is grounded in experiential and critical service learning theory and reflects a preliminary needs …

Online Learning As An Alternative Form Of Education For Individuals Impacted By Conflict, Wynter Oshiberu

MA TESOL Collection

Through a small case study, this paper investigates one on-line learning organization devoted to providing ESL education to persons affected by conflict. Through interviews with administrators and tutors, and through survey data collected from participants, the paper will explore how administrators and tutors:

1) determine suitability of material when deciding what to teach in this virtual classroom format

2) foster reflection skills in this format

3) assess language acquisition

4) measure the benefits of technology in one on one instruction

Paper Airplanes consists of about five hundred to eight hundred students and around 800 hundred tutors (Wimer, 2018). It is …

Music As A Cultural Gateway: A Short-Term Folk Music Program In Albania, Catherine Pierattini

Capstone Collection

Folk songs have been described as a musical representation of a society’s entire culture. The field of ethnomusicology combines aspects of music and anthropology, and the study of folk music can give considerable insight into worldviews, histories, and traditions. Yet there are few study abroad program providers using this discipline as an approach to cultural analysis and exploration.

The proposed Middlebury Music Studies in Albania program would introduce diverse folk music traditions in three distinct cities, giving students the chance to learn the basics of the Albanian language, understand the historical, geographical, and social influences on the music in the …

The Short-Term Youth Exchange Program, Kristia Grandison

Capstone Collection

The study abroad world is constantly changing and adapting to the diverse needs of the global market. One current trend in France is the demand for students to begin studying abroad at a younger age, when many people believe it is easier to learn new languages and develop intercultural skills. Informed by needs assessment with members of the community at Saint-Denis International School, located in Loches France, I designed the short-term French youth exchange program. This three-week program will take place during the academic year and was designed for preadolescent students in 6^th and 7^th grade (ages 10 …

Beyond The Buzzwords: A Framework Of Inclusive Excellence For Leader Hiring And Training At The Experiment In International Living, Chelsea Johnson

Capstone Collection

“Beyond the Buzzwords” examines practices in group leader hiring and training at The Experiment in International Living (The Experiment) through a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion, focusing primarily on racial identity and whiteness. As members of the diverse Generation Z, Experiment students experience myriad manifestations of social identity, amplified by the context of their host countries. Their adult group leaders, who historically are majority white female, are the stewards of their educational experience, responsible for mitigating identity-related incidents while supporting all students’ learning and growth.

Drawing upon principles of experiential and transformative learning, social justice education, student identity development, …