A practice brief by Mianmian Fei
In my recently published article, Fei (2024), I reviewed 11 studies that explored the micro-narrative of international students in the U.S. to re-examine the Learning Race in a U.S. Context emergent framework (Fries-Britt et al., 2014) a decade after its publication. The article concluded with three theoretical implications, suggesting that the framework expand the scope of ethnic/racial encounters, emphasize the influences of home country context, and maintain flexibility regarding racial learning outcomes. While several empirical studies on international students’ racial learning and racial identities have touched on practice implications, no article to date has systemically discussed practice-orientated recommendations for supporting international students’ racial learning. Drawing on additional literature, this practice brief fills that gap and provides actionable insights for higher education practitioners.
Racial Learning of International Students in the U.S.
As highlighted in Fei (2024), empirical studies on international students’ racial learning over the past ten years reveal that most international students enter the U.S. with limited understanding of race in the country’s context. Their racial learning is generally informal and experiential, which can either prompt them to examine their racial identities within the U.S. context or reinforce preexisting racial stereotypes from their home countries. While some students attempt to resist dealing with race or accepting the racial identities imposed upon them, the ubiquity of race in everyday life in the U.S. often leaves them feeling confused or frustrated. Moreover, international students’ stereotypical views of certain racial groups can potentially harm their racially minoritized peers and jeopardize efforts to foster an inclusive campus climate.
Practice Implications
Drawing on existing literature, the following sections present practice implications regarding higher education administration, curricula, and student affairs programming for supporting international students’ racial learning.
Administrative Implications
Higher education institutions around the country tend to aggregate international student data solely based on geographic origins while neglecting their racial/ethnic identities, following the example of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System of the National Center for Education Statistics (Buckner et al., 2021; Hou et al., 2023; Jiang, 2021). Even when race is mentioned in institutions’ internationalization strategies, it is typically framed as a global issue rather than an institutional concern, reinforcing the othering of this population and overlooking their struggles with race in the U.S. (Buckner et al., 2021). U.S. higher education institutions must acknowledge international students’ racial/ethnic identities along with their national identities. Doing so would be an important first step toward recognizing their racialized experiences on campuses and thus incorporating them into discussions of racial diversity and multiculturalism policies (Jiang, 2021; Yu, 2024).
Curricular Implications
Coursework on American history, particularly its racial foundations, is one widely recommended practice in existing literature (Mitchell et al., 2017; Ritter, 2016; Yu, 2024), although whether such courses should be required remains a topic of debate (Althen, 2009). Beyond credit-bearing courses, creative alternatives like for-credit intergroup dialogues, which combine classroom instruction with conversations and community action projects, offer flexibility and practical relevance (Mitchell et al., 2017; Ritter, 2016). While ethnic studies courses available in most universities and colleges address race-related content, their focus on U.S.-based racial-ethnic groups may limit their relevance for international students from different cultural and historical backgrounds (Ham, 2023; Jiang, 2021). Jiang (2021) therefore proposed joint coursework between ethnic studies and international studies, making discussions about race in the U.S. context more relevant for international students. Additionally, specifically regarding economically privileged Chinese international students, Yu (2024) called for civic education curricula that address the intersections of race, nativity, and class. Such curricula aim to encourage students to reflect on their intersecting yet inconsistent social identities, ultimately fostering a commitment to social justice.
Programmatic Implications
The most common practice recommendation in the literature is to formalize international students’ racial learning through student affairs programming. These programs can include initiatives to foster meaningful connections between international students and racially diverse domestic students, faculty, and staff (Fries-Britt et al., 2014; Jiang, 2021; Mitchell et al., 2017; Ritter, 2016; Yu, 2022, 2024), facilitated space where international students can ask questions and engage in discussions without fear of reprisal (Yao et al., 2024; Yu, 2024), and targeted orientations for international students which openly address racial issues in the U.S. (Jiang, 2021; Yao et al., 2023; Yu, 2022, 2024).
Surveying the programming efforts of international students offices across the U.S., Althen (2009) found that higher education institutions in urban settings with racially heterogenous populations often offered limited programming on racial learning, assuming that international students would acquire racial knowledge from daily interactions with diverse campus populations. Fei’s (2024) findings, however, underscored the need for such programming regardless of an institution’s geographic location, since even international students in diverse states like California might retain problematic racial biases against certain minority groups, shaped by perspectives from their home countries. Althen (2009) also found that some institutions only offered programming for international undergraduate students, assuming that international graduate students were uninterested in anything beyond their academic pursuits. However, research has shown that international graduate students also face challenges stemming from their lack of racial knowledge in the U.S. context (Bardhan & Zhang, 2017; Feraud-King & George Mwangi, 2022; Jiang, 2021; Mitchell et al., 2017; Okura, 2019; Ritter, 2016). While they might be less inclined to spend time learning about race in the U.S. context, insufficient knowledge to cope with racist encounters could distract them from their academic goals and negatively impact their overall well-being.
At the institutional level, recognizing the intersecting identities of international students, Feraud-King and George Mwangi (2022) and Yao et al. (2023, 2024) recommended fostering collaboration between offices responsible for international students and those overseeing multicultural affairs. Such partnership would allow student affairs professionals to leverage the expertise of multicultural affairs offices in developing race-related programming while addressing the intersection of nativity and race in supporting international students’ racial learning (Althen, 2009). Feraud-King and George Mwangi (2022) further advocated for restructuring student support services beyond these two offices, emphasizing the need for integrated approaches that transcend silos based on social identities.
It is important to stress that the burden for racial learning should not rest solely on international students. Fries-Britt et al. (2014) and Yao et al. (2024) advocated for formalized learning opportunities for faculty and staff, particularly those working in departments with a high proportion of international students. These opportunities can equip educators and administrators with an understanding of how race is perceived differently outside the U.S., enabling them to better support international students as they navigate racial learning. Malcolm and Mendoza (2014) also highlighted the prevalence of U.S.-superiority attitudes among domestic students in their interactions with international peers, calling for programming efforts that foster global awareness and sensitivity. Similarly, Jones et al. (2020) emphasized the responsibility of faculty and the institution to cultivate an appreciation of cultural diversity and to encourage thinking beyond U.S.-centric cultural norms in domestic students. This is especially important as U.S. higher education institutions increasingly rely on graduate students––many of whom are international––to fulfill teaching duties.
Conclusion
In conclusion, drawing on existing literature, this practice brief recommends that U.S. universities and colleges support international students’ racial learning by recognizing their racial/ethnic identities in institutional data and providing relevant coursework and student affairs programming for both international and domestic students and faculty.
References
Althen, G. (2009, June). Educating international students about ‘race.’ International Educator, 18(3), 88–93.
Bardhan, N., & Zhang, B. (2017). A post/decolonial view of race and identity through the narratives of U.S. international students from the Global South. Communication Quarterly, 65(3), 285–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2016.1237981
Buckner, E., Lumb, P., Jafarova, Z., Kang, P., Marroquin, A., & Zhang, Y. (2021). Diversity without race: How university internationalization strategies discuss international students. Journal of International Students, 11(S1), 32–49. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v11iS1.3842
Fei, M. (2024). Re-examining Fries-Britt’s Learning Race in a U.S. Context emergent framework drawing on the micro-level narratives of international students in the United States. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 16(5). https://doi.org/10.32674/etcvg369
Feraud-King, P. T., & George Mwangi, C. (2022). “I don’t feel oppressed at all”: Foreign-born Black college men’s perceptions of U.S. racism. Journal of African American Males in Education, 13(2), 1–16.
Fries-Britt, S., George Mwangi, C., & Peralta, A. (2014). Learning race in a U.S. context: An emergent framework on the perceptions of race among foreign-born students of color. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 7(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035636
Ham, S. (2023). Understandings of race and racism in globalizing higher education: When East Asian international student perspectives resonate with color-blindness. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2023.2257138
Hou, M. H., Yu, J., & Katsumoto, S. (2023). Methodological approaches to the study of international students. Critical Internationalization Studies Review, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.32674/cisr.v2i1.5372
Jiang, S. (2021). Diversity without integration? Racialization and spaces of exclusion in international higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 42(1), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2020.1847635
Jones, V., Kim, Y., & Ryu, W. (2020). Intersecting roles of authority and marginalization: International teaching assistants and research university power dynamics. Journal of International Students, 10(2), 483–500. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10i2.757
Malcolm, Z. T., & Mendoza, P. (2014). Afro-Caribbean international students’ ethnic identity development: Fluidity, intersectionality, agency, and performativity. Journal of College Student Development, 55(6), 595–614. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2014.0053
Mitchell, D., Steele, T., Marie, J., & Timm, K. (2017). Learning race and racism while learning: Experiences of international students pursuing higher education in the Midwestern United States. AERA Open, 3(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858417720402
Okura, K. (2019). There are no Asians in China: The racialization of Chinese international students in the United States. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 28(2), 147–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2019.1663053
Ritter, Z. S. (2016). International students’ perceptions of race and socio-economic status in an American higher education landscape. Journal of International Students, 6(2), 367–393. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v6i2.362
Yao, C. W., Gause, S., Hall, K., & Dou, J. (2024). “Why is this still happening?”: International students of color’s racial sensemaking and perceptions of racial conflicts and racial movements in 2020. The Journal of Higher Education, 95(4), 450–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2023.2203627
Yao, C. W., Oates, E. Q., Briscoe, K. L., Buell, K. J., & Rutt, J. N. (2023). Re/negotiating race and racialization for international students of color in the US. Journal of College Student Development, 64(1), 79–95. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2023.0003
Yu, J. (2022). The racial learning of Chinese international students in the US: A transnational perspective. Race Ethnicity and Education, 28(1), 154–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2022.2106878
Yu, J. (2024). “I don’t think it can solve any problems”: Chinese international students’ perceptions of racial justice movements during COVID-19. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 17(5), 775–786. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000457
About the Author
Mianmian Fei, M.A., is a Ph.D. Candidate in Higher Education and Studies Affairs at The Ohio State University’s College of Education and Human Ecology. She also works as a Graduate Research Associate at the QualLab research center and an Editorial Assistant at the Review of Higher Education. Her research interests revolve around international and comparative higher education, particular global student mobility.
Critical Internationalization Studies Network 