Living-Learning Communities: Impacts on Exchange Students' Social Integration
Degree Name
MA in International Education
First Advisor
Karen Blanchard
Second Advisor
David Shallenberger
Abstract
This research study compares the social outcomes of exchange students who decided to live in an International Living-Learning Community (I-LLC) and the social outcomes of exchange students who decided to live in a traditional residence hall at Presbyterian College in South Carolina. The study focuses more on the students living in the I-LLC. A survey and interview questions were created through the following main question, “How does living in an International Living-Learning Community impact the exchange students in terms of their social integration on campus?” This study uses the “input-environment-output” framework and the Student Involvement Theory, both which are works of Alexander Astin. Through the survey and interview questions, a large number of students report that participating in an I-LLC does not provide them with the appropriate social integration on campus. However, the same students report that participating in an I-LLC does provide them with the appropriate social integration within their own community in their residence hall. On the other hand, students who lived in traditional residence halls report that their residence hall has forced them to seek social integration themselves, because of the lack of other exchange students around them. Results from this particular study suggest the need to reevaluate and modify the programs organized by the I-LLC in order to provide the appropriate social support.
Disciplines
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Higher Education | International and Comparative Education | Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Recommended Citation
Alhakam, Sara, "Living-Learning Communities: Impacts on Exchange Students' Social Integration" (2014). Capstone Collection. 2659.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2659