Draft research question

I am studying the transitional experiences of domestic undergraduate students at Simon Fraser University who are admitted  from the international pathway programs because I want to find out what are the unique but unmet needs of those students during their transitioning into a Canadian post-secondary institution, in order to better understand why the existing new student orientation program fails to provide sufficient transitional support and services to this student group so that we will know more how to develop a specific orientation program for them aiming to offer positive learning experiences and improve student persistence from an institutional point of view.  


Comments

  1. Kieran11 February 2018 at 10:36

    Hi Hui,

    It looks like you have identified a real “problem” / need for action here.

    I’m not entirely sure who the students in question might be; am I right in thinking that they might have come to Canada from abroad to finish high-school and so are “domestic students” in that sense but are also “international students” in terms of their exposure to living in Canada? If this is the case, I can see how these students could fail to get the support they need to adapt to study at SFU as they fall between the domestic / international categories.

    Have you found a reading related to this area that could give you more ideas and direct you to other people who have looked at this issue?
    Is this something that is an issue only at SFU or does this also happen at other universities?
    Could this problem be solved simply by reclassifying these students as “transitioning international students” including them in on-boarding and orientation program for regular international students or even just making this an option for those that feel they need extra guidance / support?

    I think it’s a great topic as it could actually have a very practical and beneficial application.

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  2. Crystal Cheng11 February 2018 at 18:37

    Hi Hui,
    I also feel confused about the "students". Do you mean that they are international students and study in Canada? International students really face lots of challenges and inconvenience when they first come to another country, such as the language barriers, different cultures, and feel isolated from native students. They need to adjust their life path and mentality as soon as possible. If the school could help them to figure out the problem, it will be better. You could compare what are the students want and what could school provide to complete the research. I am curious about what kind of methodology you want to use in your research.
    Crystal

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown12 February 2018 at 01:54

    Hi Crystal and Kieran,

    Thank you for your comments and you both have raised a very good question. I probably should have provided a better clarification on the definition of “domestic students from the international pathway program” in my draft research question.

    At SFU, students who are canadian citizens, canadian permanent residents, refugees are defined as domestic students. Domestic students who attend the high school outside of Canada and have not attended any other Canadian institutions fall under the category of “domestic students from the international pathway program”. For instance, a student who is a permanent resident, immigrated to Canada with his parents under the skilled worker class. He attended his high school back in his home country. This student fits the definition of domestic students from the international pathway program. Another example is that a Canadian citizen who was born abroad and has been living abroad since then and is now returning to Canada for his/her post-secondary education also fits this definition. This group of students are facing quite unique personal, social, and academic challenges when with their transition into a post-secondary educational institution in Canada. Sadly, these needs are oftenly overlooked or neglected as they were expected to be the same as the local students. This phenomenon is present at other universities as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Haynam12 February 2018 at 19:07

    Thank you for you clarification Hui!

    This is a problem I did not realize before. As you mention the existing program "fails to provide sufficient transitional support and services", are there already a lot of complains about the program? Or is it the problem you identify by yourself? Also I am curious what standard people use to identify the program as a failure? Students' comment? Students' academic performance? Rate of drop-outs or failed in the program?

    I do believe that your research would be very meaningful!

    ReplyDelete

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