Project Investigator: Henry Yu, Associate Professor & Principal, St. John’s College, Department of History & Vice-Provost (International)
Project Description
The project is a qualitative study of the impact of residential living in a multicultural international graduate student residence on postgraduate education and development and global citizenship education. We aim to conduct semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews with former UBC graduate students who lived in St. John’s College during their previous graduate study in UBC. The qualitative and narrative data about their lived experiences will form the basis of a multi-dimensional analysis of how living in St. John’s College affected their well-being and their learning and development as graduate students and as global citizens.
Project Questions
To what extent did residential living in an international graduate student college: (1) improve graduate student time-to-
completion, reduce graduate student drop-out or attrition, advance graduate student well-being and welfare; (2) help graduate students become global citizens through learning about other cultures and societies and developing inter-cultural competences and knowledges; (3) help graduate students acquire and develop a spirit of service to their own communities and others; (4) facilitate experiential learning that develops graduate students’communication, interpersonal, community-building, and conflict-resolution skills. Research questions 2 and 3 are critical for UBC’s strategic interests in producing global citizens citizens and leaders who serve communities locally and globally.
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
The findings will help inform UBC about the impact of its previous investment in, and increasing emphasis on, residential learning communities on campus. It adds to Dr. Jennifer Phelps’ previous study, which revealed the various ways UBC’s highly internationalized and multicultural academic and social environments shaped international doctoral students’ experiences transnational identities and sense of belonging (Phelps 2016). This study did not focus on the impact of UBC’ graduate student colleges on the experiences of international students in UBC. The project offers additional insights on how UBC can advance graduate student well-being and development and produce committed, knowledgeable, and community-engaged global citizens, in line with its strategic goals and institutional priorities.