The International Foundation Year and first year transition: building capital, evolving habitus, developing belonging, preparing for success

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on research into international undergraduates’ transition experiences when starting UK higher education (HE). The study explored ways in which combined experiences of university learning, teaching and support and International Foundation Year (IFY) attendance at a pathway international college influence first year international undergraduate students’ transition. The research adopted a mixed-methods approach including in-depth interviews and a survey that compared groups including previous IFY and non-IFY students and pre and post 1992 UK universities. The Bourdieusian constructs of ‘capital’ and ‘habitus’ are presented as a theoretical lens that highlights ways in which attending an IFY helps first year international undergraduates to develop belonging, resilience, student identity, academic confidence and success.

KEYWORDS:

• International Foundation Year
• first year transition
• habitus
• belonging
• capital

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank colleagues from UKCISA, KAPLAN and students and staff from participating universities and international pathway colleges for their contribution to and help with the research presented in this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 International Foundation Year is a generic name for a one-year foundation course at a pathway college, which prepares international students for the first year of their undergraduate degrees. This may be referred to differently in different pathway colleges.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) under UKCISA Grants Scheme for International Education (2015–2016).