Heng, Tang Tang

Diversity is a socially constructed idea where differences are assigned values that are in turn shaped by local socio-political exigencies and narratives. Interpretations of diversity in Anglo-Saxon contexts tend to revolve around identity markers, such as race, gender, (dis)abilities and nationalities. Looking beyond Anglo-Saxon contexts, this paper examines how teachers in Singapore understand student diversity through their practices of differentiated instruction and, consequently, how these perceptions and practices engage with issues of equity. Teachers in our study interpreted student diversity primarily as academic readiness – shaped by students’ abilities, attitudes and families. These teachers’ experiences illuminate how analysing practices addressing diversity yields critical insights around dominant narratives and ideologies. In particular, findings point to a contextually situated construction of diversity and understandings of equity that are attuned to the national narratives of meritocracy, multiculturalism and academic excellence in Singapore.

This article contests the narrative of Chinese international students (internationals for short) as passive and problematic to reveal the complexity and fluidity of their experiences. Simultaneously, it troubles the overly linear approach of stage theory in understanding internationals’ adjustment. Following nine first- and nine second-year students in USA colleges over a year and involving them in semi-structured interviews and journal prompts, this research examined how they evolved. Findings show that while participants grew on academic and personal fronts, their experiences remained multi-dimensional, with second years being less sanguine and reporting challenges different from first years’. This article argues that seeing Chinese internationals’ evolution as an uneven ascent affords a more nuanced understanding compared to a U-shape stage theory as it recognizes that while internationals are evolving, new situations provide challenges which they learn to overcome. Consequently, Chinese internationals’ growth troubles the deficit discourse around them and departs from pre-existing research around postgraduates. Findings spell implications for how the college community should enhance transcultural understanding and how future research around internationals could develop.

The lived realities of agents involved in educational borrowing or transfer are often omitted as research and discussions reside predominantly at a macro level. Through the lens of a comparative educational change framework synthesising concepts in educational change and comparative education, this study examines the lived experiences of teachers in Singapore implementing differentiated instruction, a form of learner-centred education, borrowed from the U.S. Interviewing and observing teachers, we found that they experienced postmodern and political tensions around sociocultural expectations of teaching, learning, and learners. Simultaneously, they struggled with technological considerations like structural conditions in schools and insecurities around their competencies. These findings spell implications for how we support teachers involved in educational borrowing professionally, intellectually, and emotionally. Educational borrowing on the ground can benefit from the consideration of technological, sociocultural, political, and postmodern perspectives of educational change.

Scholars argue that higher education and international student research suffer from a lack of theoretical engagement and is epistemologically limiting. This is troubling as theory frames research design and findings and pluralizes our understanding of a phenomenon. Given the large number of Chinese international students worldwide (and related research), this article uses them as an analytic example to understand the role of theories in shaping qualitative research designs, focuses, and findings. I reviewed 43 qualitative research articles on Chinese international students’ experiences. Twenty-eight percent of the articles were found to lack theoretical engagement. When used, theories clustered around acculturation and sociocultural perspectives. Sixty percent of the articles foregrounded student challenges, as opposed to student agency or changes (40%). I discuss the consequences of a lack of theoretical engagement or diversity on how we understand and support international students, and conclude by urging scholars to increase, diversify, and generate theories as well as embrace cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaborations on research on international students.

As transfers of educational ideas across countries accelerate in the twenty-first century with globalization, studies on educational change have lagged in foregrounding the importance of cross-national contexts when ideas traverse borders. This qualitative study investigates 30 Singapore teachers’ perceptions of challenges involved in implementing differentiated instruction from the U.S., to sketch the contours around the intersection of educational transfer and change. Through analyzing classroom discussions and assignments of teachers enrolled in a Masters-level differentiated instruction course, we found that teachers’ perceptions of implementation challenges clustered around technological, sociocultural, and political concerns. Challenges associated with differing technological conditions (e.g., class size/space and teacher capacity) and sociocultural norms (e.g., emphasis on control, results, and teacher-centered teaching) bring to fore how perceptions of origin and destination contexts shape reception of educational ideas, like differentiated instruction. Postmodern ambiguities around norms, objectivity, and evidence in a globally porous world further complicate teachers’ concerns. In concluding, we propose a comparative educational change framework through which educational change and transfer can be viewed and argue for the need to scrutinize the influence of cross-national contexts when studying educational change across borders.

Higher education institutions have been criticised as neo-colonial entities that subjugate, other or silence international students. With a goal towards creating a more equitable and inclusive campus environment, this study aims to center the voices of international students and illuminate the heterogeneity of their perceptions of the campus environment. To this end, we investigated differences in 1681 international students’ perceptions of culturally engaging campus environments by intersections of identity and status. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) examined identity variables (age, race, region, social class, first generation, and disability) and status variables (degree level, field of study, living situation, and visa status) on perceptions of culturally engaging campus environments. Findings indicate that region, visa status, and social class had a significant relationship with perceptions of cultural relevance and responsiveness. The results indicate two-way interactions between living situations and gender identification, as well as degree level and race. The discussion explores the need to understand the intersectional voices of students facing multiple discriminations to begin to equalize power differentials embedded within the neo-colonial relationship between higher education institutions and international students.

Scholars have critiqued the current understanding of international students for glossing over its diversity, resulting in the reification of the “international student experience” as either homogeneous or clustered along nationality. Through a qualitative case study of eighteen Chinese international students, this article examines the heterogeneity of their experiences despite a common nationality. Findings reveal that Chinese international students’ communication in English, engagement with subject content, preparation for the future, and participation in extracurricular activities vary by year of study, field of study and, to a small extent, gender. Even within a single nationality, experiences of students are uneven and intersect across various categorical lines, suggesting the possibility that other international students may encounter diverse and intersectional experiences as well. Findings point to how we need to re-conceive and research international students by examining the heterogeneous nature of their experiences, and how higher education institutions can differentiate support given to internationals.