They Are Not Mixing With Others - Finnish Lecturers’ Perspectives on International Students’ (Mis-) Encounters in Higher Education

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

Intercultural learning in higher education often treats meetings with “others,” especially so-called “local” students, as evidence of successful international integration. This study centers lecturers’ voices, arguing that educators shape student experiences through sustained in- and out-of-class contact. Using thematic and social network analysis of interviews in Finland, it examines privileges, limits, missed opportunities, and hierarchies in how encounters are narrated.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

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Design/Approach/Methods

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Introduction

“They Are Not Mixing With Others”: Finnish Lecturers’Perspectives on International Students’(Mis-)Encountersin Higher Education Carlos Mendoza University of Helsinki Fred Dervin University of Helsinki Mei Yuan (袁梅) Minzu University of China Heidi Layne University of Helsinki ECNU Review of Education 2022, Vol. 5(1) 89–115 ª The Author(s) 2021 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/2096531120976653](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120976653)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120976653)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: Meeting “others,” especially so-called “local” students, is usually seen as a sign of success for intercultural learning and integration in research on study abroad and internationalization of higher education. Previous studies have focused on how international students themselves describe their (mis-)encounters. In this article, the authors consider lecturers’ voices about this phenomenon. Lecturers have an influence on the students’ experiences since they spend a lot of time together in and outside class. Design/Approach/Methods: Using a thematic analysis and social network analysis of interview data with lecturers, and a critical perspective toward the dichotomy of “local” versus Corresponding author: Fred Dervin, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, siltavuorenpenger 5A, Helsinki 00014, Finland. Email: [fred.dervin@helsinki.fi](fred.dervin@helsinki.fi) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). “international” students, a university in Finland, a popular destination thanks to its positive image in global education, serves as a case study. Findings: The article identifies privileges, limits, and (missed) opportunities of encounters, as shared by the lecturers in focus group discussions. Furthermore, the lecturers created hierarchies in the way they described the encounters between different kinds of students. Some signs of pluralizing both local and international students were also found in some lecturers’ discourses. Originality/Value: The article ends with recommendations for institutions regarding the lecturers’ problematic role of gatekeepers in student encounters and the limiting categories used in institutions of higher education to refer to students. Keywords Encounters, Finland, international students, internationalization, system network analysis Date received: 15 October 2020; revised: 2 November 2020; accepted: 5 November 2020 Introduction The more people I meet the happier I become. (Beckett, 1970, p. 20) Although internationalization of higher education is often presented as a typically contemporary phenomenon, discussions and research on the experiences ofthe homo peregrinus academicus go back centuries. As such, in Europe, the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus traveled extensively during his lifetime to study and do research (Lacarrière, 1997) . Sophists and Socratics also traveled intensively since mobility was considered as one of the ideals of education (Verger, 1973, p. 15) . It is also important to note that this was not just a “Western” phenomenon. At the birth of higher education in Europe, the very word university, from Latin Universitas, referred to people coming together from different parts of the world (Sallinen, 2003) . Interestingly, each historical period has produced i

FAQs

Why does the article focus on lecturers instead of only international students?

Lecturers spend substantial time with students in and outside class, so their perspectives shape how students experience (mis-)encounters.

What methods are used to analyze the interview data?

The article applies thematic analysis and social network analysis to lecturers’ interview data.

What does the study find about encounters between “local” and international students?

It identifies privileges, limits, and (missed) opportunities, including hierarchies in lecturers’ descriptions, along with some signs of pluralizing both student groups.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk