Exploring Resiliency Among International Students

  • Objective 1: Document the Reasons for and Processes of ISM to Canada by focussing specifically on those who arrive from the same sending country to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Canada, but attend different types of institutions (i.e., universities/colleges) within the same city12
  • Objective 2: Identify the factors that influence their socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, economic class, disciplinary backgrounds, and language proficiencies) differentiated by the types of institutions (i.e., universities/colleges) they attend within the same city;
  • Objective3: Compare the Similarities and Differences in the challenges they may face in their settlement process, the type of support (e.g., from their institutional/social networks) they may need on and off campus, and the availability and accessibility of those resources

Specific Research Questions:

  • RQ 1: How Diverse are the ISs from India Pursuing a Bachelors’ Degree in the GTA: Differentiated by the type of institution attended (Universities and Community Colleges) and their Geographical Locations within the GTA (Downtown/Inner and Outer Suburbs)? What is the volume of ISM from India to the GTA between 1981 and the present (at the time of data collection)? What are the socio-demographic characteristics of ISs from India in the GTA (e.g., gender and age at migration, the province/village/city in India, specific disciplinary backgrounds/ types of institutions attended prior to migration, language proficiency), and how are they differentiated by the type of institution (i.e., Universities and Community Colleges) and their geographical location within the GTA (Downtown/Inner and Outer Suburbs)? How and why do Indian ISs choose which type of degree they should pursue, which institutions to apply for and where? How does the selection process affect the socio-demographic profile of ISs from India to the GTA? What strategies do institutions adopt to attract ISs from India to the GTA? Are there any differences between the universities and the colleges in this regard? What role do transnational institutional and social networks play in the recruit process as well as in ISs’ own decision making?
  • RQ 2: What are the Similarities and Differences in the Barriers Faced by ISs from India Pursuing a Bachelors’ Degree in the GTA: Differentiated by the type of institution attended (Universities and Community Colleges) and their associated Geographical Locations within the GTA (Downtown/Inner and Outer Suburbs)? What are some of the similarities and differences in academic and non-academic barriers faced by Indian ISs attending Universities and Community Colleges in the GTA? Does the geographical location of the institution have an impact on enhancing/minimizing the barriers? What role do transnational institutional and social networks play in mitigating some of these challenges faced by this specific cohort of ISs from India?
  • RQ 3: What types of Settlement Service are Needed/Available/Accessed by ISs Students from India Pursuing a Bachelors’ Degree in the GTA: Differentiated by the type of institution attended (Universities and Community Colleges) and their associated Geographical Locations within the GTA (Downtown/Inner and Outer Suburbs)? What types of on and off campus services are needed/available/accessed by Indian ISs living in the GTA? How do these differ by type of institutions and their geographical locations within the GTA? What role do transnational networks play in providing support to this specific cohort of IS from India?

By June 2019 data collection for all three research questions will be completed.

  1. Student Research Papers and MRPs: The undergraduate student RA will be encouraged to write their 4thyear research paper using the research findings, while the MA students will be encouraged to write their undergraduate research papers and MRPs on a related topic.
  2. Research Briefs and Journal Articles: The PI will write co-authored research briefs and journal articles with co-PIs and the community partners.
  3. Workshops: The PI will organize one-day workshops at the premises of the community organization and at the universities/community colleges in collaboration with the international students’ organizations, to disseminate the research findings.
  4. Domestic and International Conferences: The research findings will be presented at domestic (CAG) and international conferences (AAG).

Project Director:

  • Sutama Ghosh, sutama@ryerson.ca
Co-investigators:
  • Dr. Alex Bozheva)
Community Partners:
  • Rexdale Women’s Centre (other organizations to be contacted as research progresses)

What is our approach?

Proposed Research Methods:

Given the nature of the research questions, using a ‘mixed’ method with qualitative and quantitative data sources and techniques is deemed to be most appropriate. As shown in Table 1, RQ 1, contains five sub questions. Of these, for the first two sub questions(i.e., volume of ISM from India to the GTA 1981 to present and their socio-demographic characteristics), quantitative data will be collected from several data sources, such as, CBIE, UIS, Statistics Canada OECD, and Project Atlas19.  Using these data, descriptive statistics will be calculated to analyze the data and maps will be made using GIS techniques.