RUNNING HEAD: Research Review Paper

Research Review Paper

A Comparative Study of Student Engagement, Satisfaction, and Academic
Success among International and American Students
Kirstie Harsha
December 4, 2015
Educational Research - EDUR 7130
Georgia Southern University

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Research Review of A Comparative Study of Student Engagement, Satisfaction, and

Academic Success among International and American Students

Student Engagement, Satisfaction, and Academic Success

The article that I chose to evaluate focused on the differences between American college
students and International college students both attending an American institution for higher
education using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data. The researchers
(Nadia Korobova and Soko Starobin) saw the importance of International students on American
college campuses in several ways: increase diversity on campuses and communities, expose
American students to the globalized workforce they are likely to face after graduation, preparing
the next generation of effective leaders, and brining in different perspectives and financial
contributions to the US economy (Korobova, p. 72). I think the benefits of American students
working alongside International students does have the benefits that the researchers listed and
many more that were not listed in preparing all students for the working world. The foundation
of the study is one that I would support in efforts to raise awareness of a diverse college campus
and the benefits of working with a diverse range of student types.

Design
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student engagement,
student satisfaction, and academic success of international and American students using National
Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data. Specifically, it investigated how institutional type
(classification and control) and critical mass (percentage of international students and academic

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major) affect student engagement (represented by five NSSE benchmarks) and how student
engagement affects student satisfaction and academic success (Korobova, p. 72). Korobova and
Starobin clearly identified the purpose of their study in great detail. Having a detailed statement
of purpose allowed me, as the reader, to know the direction the study was going to take. The
researchers asked for college campus participation to complete a survey about first-year and
senior-year college experiences. I would have liked to see where the colleges were located in the
United States. If only the North West portion of the United States were studied, the responses
could be skewed. This would be the same if only one state was studied as well.

Sampling Technique Used

The researchers chose to use a random sample of 20% of first-year and senior-year
American students and a random sample of 20% of first-year and senior-year International
students from institutions who have agreed to participate in the study (Korobova, p. 75). In
theory, 20% seems relatively small, but most institutions have several hundred, if not thousand,
first-year students and senior-year students. I think using 20% was a good use of time and
resources by the researchers. In 2008, 769 institutions agreed to participate in the research study,
but only and average of 37% completed the survey which does seem a little bit low for a
response rate. International students represented 4.6% of the respondents and American students
represented 95.1%, for a total of 66,056 student participants. The researchers did include a chart
showing characteristics of both American and International students that participated in the
study.

Limitations

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Korobova and Starobin included a Limitations section within their research report to
show that their study was not 100% perfect and errors could be found due to the restrictions they
faced. The first identified limitation was that the students studied were only those from the
sample not the entire student body population from the 769 institutions that agreed to participate.
Had the researchers chosen to examine a different 20% than originally studied, the results could
look similar or completely different. Again, only those 769 institutions that agreed to participate
in the study were examined. If the researchers chose to look at other institutions that were not in
the 769, the results could be similar or completely different that originally found. The researchers
questioned the wording of question number 17 in regards to limiting the number of students who
could correctly answer based upon their citizenship status. The question read Are you an
international student or foreign national with the answer choice of yes or no (Korobova, p. 76).
From the answers to this question, the researchers were not able to differentiate international
students from foreign national students. The researchers should have had a choice of
international student, foreign national student, or neither to have enough information to compare.
After this question, the following question should have asked What is your country of origin?.
The researchers had no way to compare students by continent or country to American students.

Variables and Themes

The variables were clearly indicated in the Methods and Data Sources section of the
report. Student engagement was listed as the independent variable. The researchers identified
student engagement through several questions on the survey. Student satisfaction and academic
success were listed as the dependent variables of the study. Student satisfaction was measured
through question number 13, and academic success was measured through question number 25.

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Age, gender, nationality, race/ethnicity, year in college, institution type/Carnegie classification,
institution type/control, level of academic challenge, and supportive campus environment were
identified as controls/predictors of the study. Having the variables identified within the text mad
it much easier to decipher rather than guessing what the researchers used.
Validity and Reliability
Korobova and Starobin questioned the validity and reliability of the study early into the
article. With the data from the questionnaire being self-reported by the students participating, the
data could inputted by the students wrongly and inaccurately. This does raise a concern for the
findings of the study because of possible inaccurate information being used. If all students
participating in the study clicked random answer choices within the questionnaire, the entire
study would be ruined. Researchers must have faith in their participants to answer honestly so
that the results of the study will accurately reflect the purpose of the study.
Findings and Results
The results of the study found that the best predictors of satisfaction with the entire
experience at this institution and academic success measured by grades were the five
benchmarks of effective educational practice: level of academic challenge, student-faculty
interaction, enriching educational experiences, supportive campus environment/quality of
relationships, and supportive campus environment/institutional emphasis (Korobova, p. 72).
Some of the findings in this study did surprise me when a correlation could not be found. I think
the researchers detailed the findings and conclusion in great length. This was very helpful in
finding all correlations and no relationships found through the questionnaire. Overall, I found
this study to be very interesting for all who work in higher education.

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Meaningful Application
The results of this study should be meaningful to every college in the United States of
America that has international students enrolled and attending classes on its campus. The study
not only shows how international students affect American students, but how Americans, both
students and faculty/staff, influence those international students. Having knowledge on student
engagement, satisfaction, and academic success for American and international students could
help improve the student body in student engagement, satisfaction, and academic success on a
college campus that chose to use this information found by Nadia Korobova and Soko Starobin.

References

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Korobova, N., & Starobin, S. (2015). A Comparative Study of Student Engagement,
Satisfaction, and Academic Success among International and American Students. Journal of
International Students, 5(1), 72-85.