Centering The Voices Of International Students In Family Studies And Family Therapy Graduate Programs

Abstract

In this article, we report the results of a survey that accessed the perceptions of family studies and family therapy international master's and doctoral students across the United States. Our goals included giving collective voice to the experience of international students and gathering their suggestions for improving programs. Themes that emerged from responses to open- and closed-ended questions included feeling (mis)understood and (de)valued; forming personal connections and experiencing marginalization; the importance of including international perspectives in curricula; considering the relevance/transferability of knowledge; and attending to barriers to learning. Based on the results, we share suggestions for improving family studies and family therapy graduate programs relative to program planning, curricula revision, teaching strategies, and faculty development.

Needs and Acculturative Stress of International Students in CACREP Programs

“…Previous research suggested that language was a primary barrier that international students face in the United States (Bresnahan & Cai, ; McDowell et al, ; Mori, ; Zhai, ). Our results are consistent with those of McLachlan and Justin () who reported that international students had difficulty acculturating due to their relatively low English language ability.…”

“…Perceived discrimination is the subjective view that one has been treated unjustly because of racial or ethnic reasons (Major, Quinton, & McCoy, ). International students report experiencing perceived discrimination in the United States (Lee & Rice, ; McDowell et al, ; McLachlan & Justin, ; Mittal & Wieling, ; Wadsworth, Hecht, & Jung, ). International students from non‐European countries experience more perceived discrimination than those from European countries because of the difference in their appearance (Hanassab, ; Hanassab & Tidewell, ; Poyrazli & Lopez, ; Yeh & Inose, ).…”

“…However, little is known about the experience of international counselor education students studying and living in the United States. Preliminary inquiries into this area exist in academic fields such as social work (Lough, 2009;Rai, 2002;Zunz & Oil, 2009), mathematics (Bresnahan & Cai, 2000), and marriage and family therapy (McDowell, Fang, Kosutic, & Griggs, 2012;Mittal & Wieling, 2006); however, there is a paucity of research on this topic in the counseling profession. To date, two published articles on this topic are available.…”

Mentoring and Supervising International Students in School Counseling Programs

“…The first year for ISCSs is often used to gain familiarity with the American culture, teaching, and learning style. This is evidenced by reports of international students' adjustment struggles with acculturation (Hanassab & Tidewell, 2002;Hirai, Frazier, & Syed, 2015;McDowell, Fang, Kosutic, & Griggs, 2012). To further complicate issues, most of the ISCSs (like their domestic colleagues) have the responsibility of finding school sites for field experience.…”

“…Acculturation to the U.S. culture has proven to be a significant source of stress for most international students. Adjustment (McDowell et al, 2012), psychological and sociocultural (Hirai, et al, 2015), and academic challenges (Hanassab & Tidewell, 2002) are among some of the documented acculturative stresses. International counseling students are not exempt from these identified acculturative stresses (Behl et al, 2017).…”