Social Inclusion and International Students

This research aims to create a framework for social inclusion among international students. International students continue to be an important stakeholder in the Australian higher education sector and a growing proportion of these students enter Australian universities through alternative pathways of entry (university-backed, guaranteed entry foundation study programs). Enrolments into guaranteed entry foundation studies are appealing to international students as they enable students to enroll into tertiary education with lower English language requirements as well as academic entry scores.

However, previous research shows that the low level of language fluency and literacy skills that characterize many of these students, as well as their concomitant interactions with the larger University student community, tend to become barriers to success. This is further confounded often with high levels of pressure from their families to do well in these courses. This is alarming, as prior international research found that acculturative stress, social exclusion, and both academic and financial pressures are linked with depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction among international students.