Transition and Induction

Design of Inclusivity Pages

All of the Inclusivity pages are designed following the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). You will find a combination of text, video and images, along with some points of reflection, practical examples and case studies.

You can choose to read the text or access an audio recording of the same material. The recordings are at the bottom of each page. Alternatively you could use the Microsoft Immersive Reader, which has the ability to set preferences or use the 'read aloud' function .You can also attend a workshop on the topic.

Transition and Induction

Top tips for induction

Make contact before modules or programmes begin, introducing yourself and sharing key information about the module and expectations. Signpost students to support that is available to them.
During lectures or seminars encourage students to share experiences and create peer support opportunities for both the discipline and wider university experience.
Signpost students to university support services such as academic services as well as wider information on the local area and what is on offer.
Encourage students to embrace mixing with others as a natural and positive learning experience (again, this can be through informal meets e.g. end of term together)

Universities offer a wide range of induction processes for students with a focus on transitioning them successfully into the new educational culture. However, when discussing transition, we do not just mean the first few weeks of university but how students navigate the student journey and transitions in, through, and out of university.

The process of transition in the broadest sense is complex and includes a huge range of stakeholders and intersectional identities. Students find the transition process challenging (Kift et al, 2010), and research suggests that for international students the process is even harder to navigate (Wu & Hammond 2011). Induction plays an important role in the success of students climatising to their new context and minimising the effects of culture shock. It can also help students form a network that becomes the basis for teamwork within the academic setting and peer support for the wider student experience.

Below you will find advice based on Bell’s (2016) dimensions of the international transition support model.

Transitions can happen throughout the student journey and when successful can lead to the development of identities and new ways of knowing (Beach 1999, in Ecohard and Fotheringham 2017:101). Ploner (2018) discusses academic hospitality which focuses on the reciprocal exchange between ‘host’ and ‘guest’. When you apply this concept to international students you are reframing the deficit narrative and moving towards the notion of actively valuing and learning from different cultures.

Students entering university will have mixed experiences and expectations. International students traveling to study have already demonstrated a commitment to studying in another country. However, the reality can be very different from the expectation. For a home student, the process of entering a new context can be challenging in many ways. The additional dimensions of acculturation and adjustment within the process of transition create an extra challenge for international students. These need to be considered when planning induction and transition processes. Bridging the gap between prior experience and expectations to ensure that all students can perform to their potential does not mean changing what we ask of students, but it does mean recognising the scale of the transition for some students (Scudamore 2013).

Scudamore (2013: 10) identifies several phases to transition that can last over a few months, some or all might be experiences by students:

4 blue rectangles flow map. 1. Euphoria. 2. Disorientation 3. Rejection by and/or of the new culture. 4. Reintegration.

Figure: Stages of transition (Scudamore 2013 p10)

Dimensions of adjustment

Broadly the literature presents 3 dimensions of adjustment for international students

3 overlapping circles venn diagram: Academic, Linguistic and Socio-cultural

Here is an example of some challenges international students may face when adjusting to university:

Academic	Linguistic	Sociocultural
Teaching practices	Communicating with native speakers (speed, accent, register, body language and colloquialism etc)	Navigate new city, work out public transport, find accommodation
Classroom dynamics	A mismatch between standardised proficiency tests and reality	Make new circle of friends
Core traditions of L&T (e.g. student centred learning)	Understanding and producing academic texts	Join healthcare system
Core values (e.g. concepts of success)		Adapt to food, weather, social conventions
Assignments and assessment methods		Deal with financial pressures

References

Ecochard, S. and Fotheringham, J. (2017). International students’ unique challenges – Why understanding international transitions to Higher Education matters. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 5:2, 100-108

Héliot, Y., Mittelmeier, J. and Rienties, B. (2020). Developing learning relationships in intercultural and multi-disciplinary environments: a mixed method investigation of management students’ experiences. Studies in Higher Education, 45: 11

Lomer, S. and Mittelmeier, J. (2023). Mapping the research on pedagogies with international students in the UK: a systematic literature review. Teaching in Higher Education, 28:6, 1243-1263,

Lomer, S., Mittelmeier, J. and Carmichael-Murphy, P. (2021). Cash cows or pedagogic partners? Mapping pedagogic practices for and with international students. Society for Research into Higher Education (Research Report). University of Manchester.

Lomer, S. (2017). Recruiting International Students in Higher Education Representations and Rationales in British Policy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Marlina, R. (2009). ‘I Don’t Talk or I Decide Not to Talk? Is It My Culture?’- International students’ experiences of tutorial participation. International Journal of Educational Research 48:4, 235–44.

Newsome, L. and Cooper, P. (2016). International students’ cultural and social experiences in a British university: “Such a hard life [it] is here”. Journal of International Students, 6:1, 195-215

Rhoden, M. (2019). Internationalisation and intercultural engagement in UK Higher Education – Revisiting a contested terrain. In International Research and Researchers Network Event. Society for Research in Higher Education.

Scudamore, R. (2013) Engaging home and international students: A guide for new lecturers. The Higher Education Academy.

Straker, J. (2016) International student participation in Higher Education: Changing the focus from “International Students” to “Participation”. Journal of Studies in International Education, 20(4), 299-318.