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Research Article
Beyond Recruitment: How International Students Navigate Institutional, Financial, and Immigration Regimes in U.S. Higher Education
Alexandria Rose Wiesel-Brown*
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 3, June 2026
Pages:
87-94
Received:
13 April 2026
Accepted:
22 April 2026
Published:
8 May 2026
Abstract: International students are often celebrated as symbols of global engagement and institutional diversity in U.S. higher education. Yet behind these narratives lie restrictive immigration policies, rising tuition, limited employment opportunities, and uneven institutional support that shape students’ educational experiences and future opportunities. This qualitative study examines how former F-1 international students experienced and responded to intersecting institutional, financial, and immigration systems while enrolled at a private performing arts college in the United States. Using a transformative framework and Critical Policy Analysis, the study draws on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 10 former international students who completed their degrees between 2015 and 2023. Thematic analysis identified key patterns in participants’ narratives about their educational trajectories, financial challenges, institutional interactions, and immigration-related concerns. The findings revealed four major themes: (a) constrained choices and trade-offs shaped by financial and legal pressures, (b) ongoing financial and legal precarity, (c) emotional strain and fractured senses of belonging, and (d) inconsistent institutional support offset by peer-based networks of care. Participants described how visa restrictions, tuition burdens, and unclear institutional processes limited their options, increased their stress, and often made them feel like conditional members of the campus community rather than fully included students. The study challenges dominant narratives of internationalization that emphasize recruitment, diversity, and student mobility while overlooking the structural inequalities that international students face. By highlighting legal violence, conditional inclusion, and epistemic injustice, the findings suggest that institutions must move beyond symbolic commitments to internationalization and instead adopt more equitable policies, coordinated support systems, and inclusive practices that better reflect international students’ realities.
Abstract: International students are often celebrated as symbols of global engagement and institutional diversity in U.S. higher education. Yet behind these narratives lie restrictive immigration policies, rising tuition, limited employment opportunities, and uneven institutional support that shape students’ educational experiences and future opportunities. ...
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Research Article
Aisthetic/Aesthetic Experiences in School Education: Cultivating Discernment in Response to Artificial Intelligence
Martyn Rawson*
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 3, June 2026
Pages:
95-102
Received:
13 April 2026
Accepted:
29 May 2026
Published:
9 June 2026
Abstract: The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) as an educational and informational tool has intensified the need for learners to develop discernment in evaluating the quality, reliability, and meaning of AI-generated knowledge. This paper argues that aisthetic/aesthetic education, understood in its original sense of aisthesis as knowledge grounded in sensory and embodied experience, provides an important foundation for cultivating such discernment. The study develops a theoretical framework that connects aesthetic experience with the formation of judgement and practical wisdom in educational settings. The paper employs a philosophical and historical analysis of aesthetic thought, tracing the concept of aisthesis from Ancient Greek philosophy through German Idealism and Romanticism, particularly the work of Schiller, Goethe, and Herbart, to the educational theories of Dewey and contemporary perspectives such as Ingold’s concept of attentionality. These theoretical perspectives are examined alongside the pedagogical practices of Steiner Waldorf education as an example of how aisthetic/aesthetic experiences can be systematically embedded across the curriculum. The analysis suggests that embodied engagement with materials, artistic processes, and sensory-rich learning experiences cultivates dispositions toward attentiveness, appreciation, and reflective judgement. Such capacities are essential for navigating complex contemporary environments shaped by AI and digital media. The paper concludes that aisthetic/aesthetic education offers a valuable pedagogical approach for fostering discernment, though further empirical research is needed to investigate its long-term educational effects and practical implications.
Abstract: The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) as an educational and informational tool has intensified the need for learners to develop discernment in evaluating the quality, reliability, and meaning of AI-generated knowledge. This paper argues that aisthetic/aesthetic education, understood in its original sense of aisthesis as knowledge groun...
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Research Article
Cultural Identity at the Crossroads of Virtual Worlds and Global Transformations: A Critical Inquiry
Ayoub Regragui*
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 3, June 2026
Pages:
103-109
Received:
6 May 2026
Accepted:
5 June 2026
Published:
18 June 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijecs.20261103.13
Downloads:
Views:
Abstract: This paper examines the transformation of cultural identity in the context of globalization, digital communication, and virtual societies. The accelerated development of information and communication technologies has reshaped human interaction and in so doing created new forms of social belonging that transcend not only the geographical boundaries but also the linguistic, and cultural ones. Within this line of thought, the study attempts to examine the emergence of virtual identity and its influence on local and traditional cultural identity (ies). In this regard, the paper adopts sociological, philosophical, and cultural theories proposed by scholars such as John Locke, George Herbert Mead, Stuart Hall, Pierre Bourdieu, Zygmunt Bauman, and Manuel Castells. More specifically, it discusses the complex dialectical relationship between identity, language, and culture and points out their interconnected role in the construction of individual and collective identity (ies). Furthermore, the study investigates the way virtual environments and network societies contribute to the construction, reconstruction and redefinition of citizenship, cultural belonging, and social interaction. In addition, special attention is given to the challenges dictated by globalization, intellectual affiliation, and the dominance of digital cultural norms, which could weaken local identities and cultural specificities. The paper, in this respect, adopts a critical theoretical approach grounded in cultural studies and sociology in order to analyze the complex tensions between authenticity, modernity, and virtual existence. The findings suggest that cultural identity is neither fixed nor static. On the contrary, it remains dynamic and subject to continuous reconstruction through social, historical, and technological transformations. Finally, the paper argues that while virtual spaces provide opportunities for intercultural openness and global interaction, they also raise urgent questions regarding cultural preservation, linguistic identity, and the future of authentic belonging in the digital age.
Abstract: This paper examines the transformation of cultural identity in the context of globalization, digital communication, and virtual societies. The accelerated development of information and communication technologies has reshaped human interaction and in so doing created new forms of social belonging that transcend not only the geographical boundaries ...
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