Kyanpasu no kokusaika to Ryugakuseisoudan (Campus internationalization and counseling services for international students: Developing culturally competent services for students)

Internationalization of university has been variously defined depending on how people understand it. This book approaches this concept by focusing on student support services and tries to identify the services that an “Internationalized University” should provide.
 
The book begins by examining internationalization policies in Japan’s higher education institutions, and how these have shifted over time and impacted on the development of international student support on campus.
 
In recent times, the rationale given by the government and universities for active enrollment of international students is that the diversity will foster the university’s internationalization process.

However, analysis result shows that while the current policy for internationalization did increase the number of international students, it probably failed to bring about the necessary changes on campus; thus, student support services have not been developed to meet the needs of diverse students.
 
Further, this book discusses how development of effective student support services is possibly based on data derived from practical research. International students’ needs are culturally diverse and rapidly evolving as their surrounding environment changes.

The book also focuses on the methodological issue of conducting research in a culturally appropriate manner so that voices of culturally minority students can be heard.
 
To ensure the effectiveness of student support services, a continuous systematic effort that first captures students’ changing needs and then adapts the services to those needs is required. Organizational level understanding and support are also essential for the development of such services.
 
By uncovering culturally minority students’ needs on campus, the author emphasizes that the role of student support services is to not only help each international student adjust to a Japanese university but also foster organizational level changes for students’ changing needs.  
 
The author wishes for the book to be a small step toward making members of the university community aware of their role in the process of creating such a campus where differences and diversity are seen and respected.
 

(Written by ONISHI Akiko, Associate Professor, Center for Research on Counseling and Support Services / 2019)