Human beings seek social belonging and recognition in community. International students also seek and require these communal goods, which are critical to educational persistence (Tinto, 1998; Zepke et al, 2006). A consistent research finding in U.S., Canadian, and Australian higher education institutions is that most CIS have strong social networks with compatriots, but weak links to local students and communities (Yuan, 2011; Yan and Berliner, 2013; Will, 2016; Su and Harrison, 2016; Heng, 2017; Yao, 2018). Creating integrated campus environments, during the current period of rapidly-expanding international student populations in many U.S. colleges and universities, has been a particular challenge. Although higher education institutions have invested resources into programs and structures to support international students, these programs have not been viewed as sufficient by faculty and students. These supports are overwhelmingly focused on conveying critical information to CIS related to their academic studies via orientation programs, newsletters, websites, and contact with international program administrators (Madden-Dent, Wood, & Roskina 2019). While essential, this prescriptive transference of training and information does not in and of itself enable CIS to establish the networks of belonging and community that are so essential to human flourishing and educational success. To answer the research question “how to design transformative educational practice in US higher education institutions to offer possibilities for enhancing integrative campus environments?”, this article explores transrational peace philosophy as a framework to offer possibilities for enhancing integrative campus environments. Transrational peace practices help fill a gap with international student integration because they are student-centered, challenge the mind-body dualism embedded in much rational educational practice, explicitly tap into emotional and aesthetic ways of knowing, and are based in relational, intersubjective frames. We reviewed three examples of campus support program types, including dialogue & shared inquiry programs, movement-based arts and sports programming, and wilderness and outdoor programs. These programs might help fill some of the gaps in our support for Chinese international students. In doing so, we aim to demonstrate the potential power of the transrational peace paradigm for international education.
Authors: Shuyan Yin and Dr. Kathleen Knight Abowitz
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Department of Educational Leadership
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