Global Awareness and Student Engagement Program presented at

Global Awareness and Student Engagement Program presented at the 2011 ASHE Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina Allison Brcka. Lorenz Jim Gieser

Agenda • • NSSE and NSSE 2. 0 Purpose Literature Research Questions and Methods Results Implications What’s next?

NSSE • A snapshot of student experiences inside and outside of the classroom at four-year colleges and universities – Focus on behaviors (and some perceptions) • Survey items represent good practices related to desirable college outcomes • Focuses on indirect, process measure of student learning and development

NSSE 2. 0 • Time for an update! – New content areas – Revised items – New reports • First pilot administration complete • Second pilot administration in spring of 2012 • New version debuts in 2013

Purpose • Explore global awareness content for NSSE 2. 0 • Large-scale investigation of global awareness participation • Investigate relationships between global awareness and important outcomes such as engagement, deep approaches to learning, and self-reported gains

Literature • What do students need in an era of globalization? – Global is now local – Intercultural knowledge and understanding – Cross-cultural communication competence – Competitive global marketplace • Global awareness – Operationalized by various terms, definitions remain unclear – Nevertheless, agreement re. positive outcomes

Literature • Elements conducive to encouraging global awareness – Culturally diverse campus events – Opportunities for informal interaction with diverse others – Curriculum and faculty – Study abroad

Research Questions (Methods) 1. What globally-focused activities are students participating in most frequently and least frequently? Does this frequency differ by various student populations? (Frequencies, ttests/ANOVAs) 2. How does participation in globally-focused activities relate to student engagement, deep learning, and students’ reports of gains in college (Correlations, OLS regressions)

Variables Global Awareness Engagement Student Engagement • Level of Academic Challenge • Active and Collaborative Learning • Student-Faculty Interaction • Supportive Campus Environment • Individual NSSE items Deep Learning • Higher Order Learning • Integrative Learning • Reflective Learning Gains in College • Practical Competence • General Education • Personal and Social Development

Sample • 2011 administration of NSSE • 53 institutions • ~8000 first-years (45%); ~10, 000 seniors (54%) Institution Characteristics Control Public Carnegie Doctoral Classification Master’s Baccalaureate % 56 24 36 38

Sample Student Characteristics Female Transfer student Full-time enrollment Living on campus Race or ethnicity African American/Black Asian/Pacific Islander Caucasian/White Hispanic/Latino Other FY (%) 66 7 SR (%) 64 37 96 88 65 24 10 6 5 5 67 7 6 69 8 5

Results: Frequent Participation • Around half of students report: – Their coursework frequently encourages them to understand respect other world cultures – They frequently have serious conversations about cultures other than their own • Around 40% of student report: – They frequently have serious conversations about appropriate ways to communicate with people from other cultures

Results: Subpopulation Variation • 10% of Social Science and Education first-years are never encouraged by their coursework to understand other cultures compared to 20% of Biological Science and 30% of Engineering majors • Generally higher GAE for females, minority students, students living on campus, students with higher grades, and students in Social Science fields of study

Results: GAE and Engagement • Level of Academic Challenge (FY/SR: r=. 43) • First-years: – Gains in developing a personal code of values and ethics (r =. 470) – Gains in solving complex real-world problems (r =. 46) • Seniors: – Gains in understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds (r =. 56) – Including diverse perspectives in class discussion or writing assignments (r =. 50)

Results: GAE, Deep Learning, and Gains Integrative Learning Higher Order Thinking Reflective Learning ++ + ++ Gains in Practical Competence Gains in Personal and Social Development Gains in General Education ++ ++ Models controlled for gender, transfer status, enrollment status, fraternity or sorority membership, athletic participation, living situation, race or ethnicity, primary major field, grades, institutional control, and Carnegie classification. All variables were standardized before entry into models. Key: p <. 001; + unstd B >. 3, ++ unstd B >. 4, +++ unstd B >. 5

Implications • The campus environment matters • Changes to the curriculum can lead to greater global awareness – Faculty involvement is crucial – Greater focus within STEM fields is needed • Conversations about global and intercultural diversity – Campus events, classroom activities, diverse student body

What’s next? • Future research – Campus events and activities – Campus subpopulations – Study abroad participation • Suggestions from the audience

Questions and Comments Allison Brcka. Lorenz – abrckalo@indiana. edu Jim Gieser – jgieser@indiana. edu For a copy of this presentation, go to: http: //nsse. iub. edu/html/pubs. cfm