Abstract:
The number of international university students in Australasia is set to increase dramatically over the next five to ten years, making the integration of this group increasingly important to the region. In addition, much of university students’ communicative behaviour continues to shift to Social Network Sites (SNS), namely Facebook (FB). The current study examines the emerging social space created at the crossroad of these two dynamics. Utilizing a large battery of FB-related and academic integration questions, this study asks four research questions (RQs). RQ1 asks, How do the FB-related items function to explain students’ FB-related behaviour? RQ2 asks, How do the institutional integration items function to explain students’ integrative behaviour? RQ3 asks, What systematic model best represents the role of FB-related and institutional integration factors for international students’ commitment? And, RQ4 asks, What role does demographic play in the model? Results are based on survey data (N = 491) from a Web-response driven sample of fulltime degree-seeking international students enrolled in universities across Australasia. For RQ1, international students’ FB-related behaviour can be understood in terms of six factors: FB Intensity-i, FB Affiliations, FB Maintaining, FB Information Seeking-i, Same FB Group Engagement, and FB Initiating-i. For RQ2, institutional integrative behaviour can be understood in terms of five factors: Peer-Group Interactions, Interaction with Staff, Staff Concern for Student Development and Teaching, Academic and Intellectual Development, and Goal and Institutional Commitment. For RQ3, a Dual-Path Model of International Student Integration is presented that illustrates two parallel paths to improved commitment: (a) the Staff-Academic System where informal social interaction with staff improves international students’ academic progress, and commitment; and, (b) the Student-SNS System where strategic integration of FB contributes to the on- and offline maintenance of close friends and commitment. For RQ4, findings suggest that (a) younger students are more inclined to use FB to maintain on- and offline connections with close friends, and (b) Islamic-influenced students exhibit higher levels of commitment. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.