Understanding the Indian international student experiences, expectations, challenges, and support interventions in UK higher education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/p0f5az50Keywords:
Indian students, international students, student expectations, student challenges, university interventionsAbstract
In recent years, the number of Indian international students studying in institutions in the United Kingdom (UK) has significantly increased. While pursuing higher education in the UK provides Indian international students with substantial benefits, adapting to a new academic and sociocultural environment presents them with significant challenges. Drawing upon the literature, this literature review provides a comprehensive summary of the specific challenges faced by Indian international students at UK universities compared with their initial expectations. The findings reveal significant challenges in both academic and non-academic domains, encompassing language barriers, unfamiliarity with academic culture and writing conventions, hurdles in securing employment, and sociocultural and psychological stressors. Furthermore, the review also identifies the existing helpful interventions provided by higher educational institutions in overcoming these challenges, which emphasizes the need for tailored support systems to address difficulties more effectively and to ensure positive experiences for Indian international students.
References
Abbas, J., Alturki, U., Habib, M., Aldraiweesh, A., & Al-Rahmi, W. M. (2021). Factors affecting students in the selection of country for higher education: A comparative analysis of international students in Germany and the UK. Sustainability, 13(18), 10065.
Ammigan R and Jones E (2018) Improving the student experience: Learning from a comparative study of international student satisfaction. Journal of Studies in International Education 22(4): 283–301.
Bailey C (2013) Negotiating writing: Challenges of the first written assignment at a UK university. In: Sovic S and Blythman M (eds) International Students Negotiating Higher Education. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 173-189.
Basu S (2016) Expectations and experiences of Indian students in Australia: Findings from a survey and focus group study. Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association 47: 1–12.
Campbell AC, Kelly-Weber E and Lavallee C (2020) University teaching and citizenship education as sustainable development in Ghana and Nigeria: Insight from international scholarship program alumni. Higher Education 81(1): 129–144.
Campbell, F., Blank, L., Cantrell, A., Baxter, S., Blackmore, C., Dixon, J., & Goyder, E. (2022). Factors that influence mental health of university and college students in the UK: a systematic review. BMC public health, 22(1), 1778.
Cao, C., Zhu, C., & Meng, Q. (2021). Chinese international students’ coping strategies, social support resources in response to academic stressors: Does heritage culture or host context matter?. Current Psychology, 40(1), 242-252.
Chennamsetti P (2020) Challenges faced by Indian international students in the US. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education 9(2): 258–272.
Chhetri, B., Goyal, L. M., Mittal, M., & Battineni, G. (2021). Estimating the prevalence of stress among Indian students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study from India. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 16(2), 260-267.
Collings R, Swanson V and Watkins R (2016) Peer mentoring during the transition to university: Assessing the usage of a formal scheme within the UK. Studies in Higher Education 41(11): 1995–2010.
Damanhouri M (2018) The advantages and disadvantages of body language in intercultural communication. Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 21(1): 68–82.
Divan A, Bowman M and Seabourne A (2015) Reducing unintentional plagiarism amongst international students in the biological sciences: An embedded academic writing development programme. Journal of Further and Higher Education 39(3): 358–378.
Ecochard S and Fotheringham J (2017) International students’ unique challenges – Why understanding international transitions to higher education matters. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice 5(2): 100–108
Górska W (2013) Ways with writing: International students' perspectives on responding to academic writing requirements in UK higher education. In: Sovic S and Blythman M (eds) International Students Negotiating Higher Education, 1st ed. Abingdon: Routledge, pp.19.
Heng TT (2017) Voices of Chinese international students in USA colleges: ‘I want to tell them that … ’. Studies in Higher Education 42(5): 833–850.
Hercog M and Van de Laar M (2016) Motivations and constraints of moving abroad for Indian students. Journal of International Migration and Integration 18(3): 749–770.
King R and Sondhi G (2017) International student migration: A comparison of UK and Indian students’ motivations for studying abroad. Globalisation, Societies and Education 16(2): 176–191.
Kundu, A., & Bej, T. (2021). Experiencing e-assessment during COVID-19: an analysis of Indian students' perception. Higher Education Evaluation and Development, 15(2), 114-134.
Lillyman S and Bennett C (2014) Providing a positive learning experience for international students studying at UK universities: A literature review. Journal of Research in International Education 13(1): 63–75.
Lomer, S., & Mittelmeier, J. (2023). Mapping the research on pedagogies with international students in the UK: A systematic literature review. Teaching in Higher Education, 28(6), 1243-1263.a
McDonald I (2014) Supporting international students in UK higher education institutions. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education 18(2): 62–65.
Marom, L. (2022). Outsiders-insiders-in between: Punjabi international students in Canada navigating identity amid intraethnic tensions. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 20(2), 221-235.
Nachatar Singh JK (2018) What are the factors that contribute to postgraduate international students’ academic success? A Malaysian qualitative study. Higher Education Research & Development 37(5): 1035–1049.
Nachatar Singh JK, Holmes H and Gupta S (2023) South Asian postgraduate international students’ employability barriers: A qualitative study from Australia and the United Kingdom. British Journal of Educational Studies 71(4): 373–391.
UKCISA and BUILA (2011) National Code of Ethical Practice for UK Education Agents. Available at https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/national-code-of-ethical-practice-for-uk-education-agents-2021.pdf (accessed 14 March 2025).
Pawar, S. K., & Dasgupta, H. (2024). International student support service components that add value from the student’s perspective: the case of Indian higher education. Cogent Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2363163
Pallela K and Talari S (2016) Plagiarism: a serious ethical issue for Indian students. In: 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS), Kollam, India, 21–22 October 2016, pp. 1–6. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Perry CJ, Lausch DW, Weatherford J, Goeken R and Almendares M (2017) International students' perceptions of university life. College Student Journal 51(2): 279–290.
Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) (2023) Supporting and enhancing the experience of international students in the UK. Report, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Available at: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/international/supporting-and-enhancing-the-experience-of-international-students-in-the-uk.pdf?sfvrsn=8e39ab81_4 (accessed 13 June 2024).
Raymond LY and Choon TT (2017) Understanding Asian students learning styles, cultural influence and learning strategies. Journal of Education & Social Policy 7(1): 194–210.
Read J (2022) Test review: The international English language testing system (IELTS). Language Testing 39(4): 679–694.
Sadiki H (2020) Non-verbal barriers to cross-cultural communication. International Journal of Research in Engineering, IT and Social Sciences 10(12): 25-34.
Sidhu, R., Cheng, Y. E., Collins, F., Ho, K. C., & Yeoh, B. (2021). International student mobilities in a contagion: (Im)mobilising higher education?. Geographical Research, 59(3), 313-323.
Singh JK and Fan SX (2021) International education and graduate employability: Australian Chinese graduates’ experiences. Journal of Education and Work 34(5–6): 663–675.
Tavares, V. (2024). Feeling excluded: International students experience equity, diversity and inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(8), 1551-1568.
Taylor G and Ali N (2017) Learning and living overseas: Exploring factors that influence meaningful learning and assimilation: How international students adjust to studying in the UK from a socio-cultural perspective. Education Sciences 7(1): 35.
Thomas C, Jayagopi DB and Gatica-Perez D (2019) BookTubing across regions: Examining differences based on nonverbal and verbal cues. In: Proceedings of the 2019 ACM International Conference on Interactive Experiences for TV and Online Video, New York, 04 June 2019, pp.145–156. New York: Association for Computing Machinery.
UniAcco (2024) UK universities with most Indian students. UK Universities with Most Indian Students | A Complete Guide. (accessed 14 March 2025).
Unjore S (2014) Excitement or anxiety? A case study of Indian postgraduate sojourners at the University of Nottingham. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling 42(5): 557–567.
Van de Vijver FJR (2017) Nonverbal communication across cultures. The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication, 1–10.
Where do HE students come from? (2023) HESA - Experts in higher education data and analysis. Available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-from (accessed 13 June 2024).
Yuerong C, Susan LR, Samantha M, Joni S and Anthony TS (2017) Challenges facing Chinese international students studying in the United States. Educational Research and Reviews 12(8): 473–482.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Malavika Jalaja Prasad, Julia Terry, Zi Hong Mok
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
