Education: Collaborative Discussions and Inclusion Research Paper

Introduction

Inclusive education involves integrating all small social groups into learning processes. Students may encounter difficulties that cause their integration to slow down. In particular, international students in law programs in U.S. schools encounter problems maintaining cultural identity and declining mental and social health (Kim, 2018). In addition, they may feel uncomfortable and less likely to participate actively in discussions. The solution may be to hold small group discussions to promote student inclusion. Thus, the study aims to determine how small group work can improve the condition of international students, maintain cultural identity, and what indirect support tools are appropriate. The research questions determine the extent to which collaborative discussions will support inclusion and how they will support international students.

Search Strategy

Google Scholar and EBSCO databases were used to search the literature on the topic of the study. In addition, individual journals and their repository databases, such as Sage or JSTOR were used. The search was also conducted within the library of the University of Midlek using keywords. The most used terms were: international law students, inclusion, and diversity. First, the methods used to filter the search were the year of publication – mostly older than 2017. Second, the specifics of the journals – legal, psychological, and educational.

To broaden the search, the topic was expanded to include international students and, in general, the behavior of foreigners in an unfamiliar educational environment. In addition, articles on cultural identity and its preservation were reviewed. The inclusion or exclusion of literature was based on the following criteria. First, the connection to the topic could be traced in at least a few parts of the text. Second, the quality of this information – date, place of publication, degree of authorship. These criteria were used to assess the quality and the availability of the information base in the studies – the quality of literature and its quantity.

Review

The relevance of the problem of international students’ adaptation to U.S. universities is determined by the further effectiveness of their training as future specialists. The arrival of international citizens brings changes in their way of life; years of established communication ties are lost, and adaptation begins (Frykedal and Chiriac, 2017). It is understood as a complex, multi-component process of adjusting an international student to the conditions of the new environment. It is essential to know how this process occurs and what difficulties students from foreign countries encounter when adapting to another social setting. Considering the specifics of the specialty – law – the integration process is even more complicated and requires efforts from both students and professors.

Preserving Cultural Identity

In the most general sense, identity refers to the specific stability of individual, sociocultural, national, or civilizational parameters and their self-identity, allowing one to answer the questions: who I am and who we are. Cultural identity is related to the language and behavior patterns that international students try to observe in a new environment (Engel, and Fritzsche, 2019). Integration within the educational space can be seen as a positively dynamic relationship of participants in the educational process in a micro society. Familiarity with the new culture leads to new identity criteria or patterns that international students begin to use in everyday practice (Peng, 2019). It can be thought of as a mimicry effect because adaptation processes are sometimes too complex. Similar patterns can help international students realize their potential in practice.

However, it is worth noting that there is no complete change in cultural identity; it only expands and modifies. Ballakrishnen and Silver note that only a fraction of students can fully accept the new environment and use it for socialization (Ballakrishnen and Silver, 2019). In addition, the author points out that the other part, on the contrary, feels increased anxiety due to the mismatch of cultural perceptions. Wulansari believes that the cultural background of international students is a push mechanism for integration because it creates the preconditions for communication (Wulansari, 2020). Peng adds that not all international students are fluent in English because they want to preserve their identity. Still, they are happy to engage in individual communication with peers or teachers (Peng, 2019). Consequently, the issues of cultural identity remain relevant and require new solutions to preserve it.

Within law schools, cultural integration is complex for several reasons. First, an entirely different environment plays a role – international students are less likely to understand the functions of U.S. law. For example, students from the Asian region, where the law is different, may feel oppressed by their cultural identity when entering a society where the law is precedent. It may be due to a second factor, another way of thinking about the law (Wulansari, 2020). American students are likely more accustomed to the environment in which they grew up and did not see learning as an aggravating factor in their identity (Ballakrishnen and Silver, 2019). For international students, this environment can be uncomfortable and can also be detrimental to their identity due to sociocultural characteristics (Engel, and Fritzsche, 2019). In addition, since identity is a fluid factor, there is a risk of switching to another one, which will cause students additional rejection and increased stress.

Maintaining Social, Emotional, and Mental Health

Students’ experiences within law schools differ from other educational institutions. It is primarily due to the specifics of the subject professional activity. Svarney notes that the law school experience shows increased anxiety about employment because the subject matter is narrow (Svarney, 1989). When planning to study, foreigners are anxious about the job ahead, so they experience increased stress and try to fit into society. The U.S., like any other nation, is concerned about whether its students will benefit the country in the future (Skead and Rogers, 2015). Retaining intellectual power and building it up is one of the goals of the Department of Education, so programs to keep foreigners employed must be included (Merola, Coelen and Hofman, 2019). It is facilitated by creating special classes or courses in which students learn about the culture and the new society.

A well-rounded educational experience guarantees to maintain the health of international students. Adding such topics to legal practice leads to a healthy attitude from native to international students (Dennis, 2010). It is noted that such education promotes the exchange of experiences and facilitates socialization, with cultural identities preserved in virtually their original form.

Emotional health varies between student types due to general stress tolerance and temperament. Although the United States is multicultural, not all international students will be comfortable in such an environment. Monocultural societies are rare in law schools, so a new emotional environment can provoke increased stress and overwhelm (Ballakrishnen and Silver, 2019). There can often be depressive or borderline states, which international students do not tolerate well. Emotional stress (e.g., an energetic and vivid temperament) creates barriers that make learning harder for students.

Law students experience elevated levels of psychological stress, even if they study at native universities. In the case of international students, the problem is magnified because the focus of studying is superimposed on the social strain of adjusting and the emotional burden of conforming to a new environment (Skead and Rogers, 2015). As a result, international students lack coping mechanisms that could help them cope with stress. Workload, peers, and low instrumental support affected students the most (Flynn, Li and Sánchez, 2019). Based on this data, a revision of counselor behavior within colleges is suggested. First and foremost is the introduction of modern tests that could identify current mental health conditions and the underlying factors that affect students the most (Skead and Rogers, 2015). The second is expanding the concept of discussion and the subject matter, which would be created specifically for international students.

Small Group Discussions

Small group discussions are communication in large numbers but with a limited number of participants. Often discussions are moderated by faculty members, mentors, or university staff responsible for integrating international students. Diversity in U.S. law schools is relatively high, and many people from different parts of the country are based at large universities, which forces the creation of discussion clubs. Reynoso and Amron point out that a detailed approach to them is needed – simply creating an inclusive space is not enough because of the specifics of learning (Reynoso and Amron, 2002). In addition, the authors suggest their vision for such discussions: to include as many sources and resources as possible to be used in the meetings and to change the setting of the discussions periodically. The process of international students’ adaptation to the university’s educational environment should be organized, purposeful, and comprehensive (Dennis, 2010). Otherwise, students will not be able to feel safe and perform any activity with confidence fully.

An example of research in an environment similar to that of the United States should be considered. Australian law schools also have an unresolved diversity problem, reflected in the lack of mechanisms to help students (Israel et al., 2017). The study’s authors point out that the influx of international students into Australian universities will increase, so ways to support them are needed, and small discussion sessions are a great opportunity.

Small group discussions are elements of learning at all levels of education. However, the practice of law school is more dominated by individualism, which makes it more difficult for foreigners (Reynoso and Amron, 2002). The introduction of group discussions of up to 20 people allows for exchanging information and opinions on various topics. It is a chance for internationals to practice their cultural identity in a new environment. American students find it much easier to approach their fellow students or professors, while international students mainly interact with professors (Yildirim, 2017). Differences are also evident in the type of responses students use, with international students more likely to use short answers (perhaps due to a lack of language practice or cultural sensitivity). Nevertheless, international students can discuss with other international students, even if they are from different countries (Dennis, 2010). It establishes that overcoming these barriers requires putting students in a critical situation where they need to communicate immediately with the group.

When organizing a discussion, the attributes of business game simulation are often used, creating a situation of positional role confrontation. In pedagogical practice, one can observe a complete mixing of a business game and a discussion in this connection. Simulation of professional activities for international students is an opportunity to experience how trials are held in the United States and what potential difficulties there might be (Flynn, Li and Sánchez, 2019). Mastering professional skills involve communicating and finding a way out of critical situations. Setting a goal and expressing an informed opinion are essential for law students. To avoid caveats due to nationality or other criteria of cultural identity, foreigners should learn these skills in a discussion or business game format, where they will learn the rules of behavior in U.S. judicial culture and express their professionalism.

The Effect of Small Group Discussions

Discussions involve constant communication to discuss the condition of international students and the format for answering the questions that most concern them. It has been noted that mentoring does make it easier for international students to open up and interact with professors (Ragavan, 2013). It creates psychological comfort, which subsequently leads to student retention at universities and an increase in their willingness to engage in dialogues with their peers (Chikara et al., 2019). A roundtable discussion can have the most significant effect. In such an activity, there is a mutual exchange of opinions between all process participants, not including the head. A characteristic feature combines a thematic discussion with a group consultation, where all participants exchange their ideas. The effect is expressed in the necessity to express the opinion irrespective of one’s desire (Lewis-Kipkulei et al., 2019). Thus it is not a compulsion – it is an invitation to discussion. Every thought has weight, and it is just as crucial for international students to be heard as it is for native students.

It is known that participation in teamwork promotes socialization and enhances all types of vasomotor behaviors. Author, 10 points out that team-based learning (TBL), is an opportunity to significantly improve the foundation of the program in law schools (Balsam, 2019). The authors also point out that TBL is a format appropriate for diverse communities and that monocultural teams are less effective. Small group sessions lead to academic and social benefits (Frykedal and Chiriac, 2017). Such classes have also been observed in pre-university education: for example, foreign children understand and speak English better after small-group experiences (Hotmaria, Pardede and Sinurat, 2019). These results show that when small group experiences are transferred to international law students, they can significantly improve their language practice and socialization.

Small group discussions are a tool for developing critical thinking. It is also one of the best ways to process material, which allows you to absorb information better and faster. Small group discussions will enable students to process new information more effectively and reinforce it (Chikara et al., 2019). Students can create more sustained forms of reasoning and gain interpersonal skills (Wester, 2020). In addition, there is an increase in the active participation of a more significant proportion of students in this format than in individual work (Arja et al., 2020). Analyzing this fact, one can see that small groups become an opportunity to integrate first into a small group for foreigners. Then, as the team expands, students feel more comfortable in society.

Indirect Support Tools

U.S. schools that teach law are often inclusive of people with disabilities. Creating an inclusive, broad space and accessible environment allow other groups to feel comfortable (Ochoa, Fernandez, and Washburn, 2019). Although a complete connection between inclusive education and international students has not been fully proven, it is in a diverse society that all students are noted to have reduced anxiety. Reynoso and Amron point out that diversity is the foundation of a healthy society, so it is impossible not to pay attention to every aspect of international student socialization (Reynoso and Amron, 2002). Thus, it is possible to ensure that students receive all the support requested and can more safely share their successes and participate more actively in university activities.

Adaptation agents play an essential role in the course of sociocultural adaptation. They help the subject master the situation, i.e., by providing the necessary information, helping in getting new social functions and establishing social contacts (Ragavan, 2013). For international students, such agents are the dean’s office for work with international students, university professors, student group teams, compatriots, and other foreign citizens (Kroesen, 2020). For international students, the university provides various adaptation programs to the university environment, living in the dormitory, and life in the big city (Balsam, 2019). For example, faculty members who work with international students in the preparatory department invite first-year American students to their classes to introduce them to the generation of a different culture (Ochoa, Fernandez, and Washburn, 2019). University professors organize excursions that promote group cohesion, broaden the horizons of international students, and familiarize them with the city’s sights.

Indirect support tools can be expressed in the myriad activities universities organize for international students. For example, Beth Greenwood is responsible for the international law and student exchange programs at UC Davis Law School in the United States (The UC Davis School of Law is one of the most diverse in the US, 2021). She points out a J.D. program for students that aims to integrate foreigners into the educational process fully. Greenwood also notes that the school is a highly diverse environment, promising that there are clubs for every student. According to official documents, a similar experience is seen at Maurer Law School in Indiana, and the school creates institutional resources for inclusion (Parris, Ochoa and Nagy, 2021). In addition, 19% of the student body comprises small groups of different ethnicities. The authors of the document also point out that their bases for creating diversity are consistent with the principles of social, emotional, and psychological adjustment.

Conclusion

Thus, in the modern practice of legal education, there is a problem with integrating international students into the educational process. Among the difficulties students encounter is discomfort due to the mismatch of cultural identity with the American environment. In addition, increased anxiety in the background of unstable emotional and social health is detrimental to learning. Introducing small discussion groups – small clubs to integrate students into the learning process and develop critical thinking – will reduce anxiety and instill professional skills. The observed changes in behavior after attending small group discussions show that their effectiveness is high. Consequently, using such practices in conjunction with general integration programs in law schools can accelerate the inclusion of international students in education.

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