International Student-Athletes’ Perceptions of Belonging and Inclusion During Their First Year at an NCAA Division I Institution

Abstract

The number of international student-athletes (ISAs) who compete at the NCAA Division I level continues to grow. Research has shown that ISAs’ experience during their first year in collegiate athletics differs from their domestic student-athlete (DSA) peers. Given the well-known benefits of belongingness and inclusion, this study examined international and domestic student-athletes’ feelings of cultural isolation, cultural acceptance, belonging, and inclusion during their first year in college. It was hypothesized that when reflecting on their first year in college, in comparison to DSAs, ISAs would report higher levels of cultural isolation and lower levels of cultural acceptance, belonging, and inclusion. To test this hypothesis, an online survey was distributed to selected student-athletes at one university. Participants included 23 ISAs and 21 DSAs from Kansas Athletics Incorporated (KAI; n=44; 36 females, 8 males). Participants originated from 19 countries and 15 of the department’s 16 teams were represented in the sample. Newell’s (2016) First-Year Experience in Collegiate Athletics Survey was used and several items were added to assess cultural acceptance, belonging, and inclusion. MANOVA was used to assess mean differences between the two groups of ISAs and DSAs. As predicted, the ISAs reported higher cultural isolation and lower levels of cultural acceptance than the DSAs. Belonging and inclusion revealed no significant main effect based on international status. The findings indicate that DSAs and ISAs may experience similar feelings of belonging and inclusion during their first-year experience at KAI but the groups have experienced different levels of cultural isolation and cultural acceptance.