Colleen Ward is Professor of Cross-cultural Psychology and the Founding Director of the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research at Victoria University of Wellington. Her studies on crossing cultures, spanning over 30 years, are amongst the most internationally cited programmes of research on this topic. Professor Ward has also designed and delivered intercultural training to meet the needs of international students, immigrants, and expatriates.

Session description

• The importance of social inclusion: Understanding the challenges for cross-border learners

• Creating diversity-receptive environments for psychological well-being and constructive intercultural relations

• From sentiments to frameworks: practical strategies for assisting learner integration and enhancing positive outcomes.

This session will highlight the importance of social inclusion and the challenges faced by many cross-border learners, a longstanding issue well-attested in international education literature. It will explore pathways to enriching the experiences of cross-border learners through an acculturation lens, exploring how two or more cultures (e.g., the local student services regime and incoming cross-border learners) interact and the changes resulting from those interactions. Successful early interventions that have assisted cross-border learner integration will be profiled and critiqued.