International Student Belonging: Voices, Identities, and Lived Experiences Across Borders

2025-11-26

We invite scholars, practitioners, and graduate researchers to contribute chapters to this upcoming edited volume focused on the belonging experiences of international students worldwide. 

International Student Belonging: Voices, Identities, and Lived Experiences Across Borders examines the multifaceted experiences of international students as they navigate identity, connection, marginality, and community within higher education systems worldwide. Centering student voice, the volume brings together qualitative studies, narrative inquiry, reflective essays, and mixed-methods research that illuminate the complexity of belonging for mobile learners.

As international enrollment patterns shift and global competition intensifies, institutions increasingly recognize belonging as a critical factor influencing student success, well-being, persistence, and post-graduation outcomes. This book provides a timely scholarly contribution by amplifying the lived realities of international students across cultural, linguistic, and institutional contexts.

This volume will:

  • Highlight international student voices and experiences that are often overlooked in policy and practice.

  • Advance theoretical and practical understanding of belonging, identity formation, and marginality.

  • Bridge global perspectives by including research from diverse regions of the world.

  • Serve as a foundational text for higher education leaders, student affairs practitioners, scholars, and policymakers committed to inclusive international education.

Suggested Chapter Topics

  • Lived experiences of belonging and identity formation

  • Voices from marginalized subgroups (first-gen international students, refugees, LGBTQ+, students of color, multilingual learners)

  • Navigating cultural distance, language barriers, and academic expectations

  • Mentorship, advising relationships, and social integration

  • Community colleges, graduate schools, and professional programs

  • Digital belonging, virtual spaces, and social media

  • Racism, discrimination, and experiences of exclusion

  • Institutional practices that foster inclusive global learning

  • Student leadership, resilience, and community-building

  • Transnational family ties and emotional geographies of mobility

Tentative Book Structure Section I. Belonging, Identity, and Lived Experience

  • Lived narratives of cultural adjustment and identity shifts

  • Intersectional belonging: race, gender, language, disability, religion

  • Homesickness, isolation, and the emotional dimensions of mobility

Section II. Institutional Contexts, Practices, and Barriers

  • Campus climate, mentorship, advising, and faculty engagement

  • Experiences of marginality, exclusion, microaggressions, and bias

  • Belonging in community colleges, graduate programs, and STEM fields

Section III. Reimagining Inclusion and Global Learning

  • Strategies that strengthen belonging and well-being

  • Peer mentorship, affinity spaces, culturally relevant programming

  • Digital belonging, hybrid communities, and transnational relationships

  • Policy innovations and recommendations for global higher education

Submission Timeline

  • Abstract Due: March 1, 2026

  • Notification of Acceptance: March 20, 2026

  • Full Chapter Due: June 30, 2026

  • Peer Review Feedback: August 2026

  • Revised Chapters Due: September 30, 2026

  • Publication: Winter 2026

Chapter Requirements

  • 3,000–4,000 words (excluding references)

  • APA 7th edition

  • Original, unpublished work

  • Clear methodological and/or conceptual grounding

  • Inclusion of student voice is strongly encouraged

For questions and abstract submissions, reach out to us at sairagul.matikeeva-kinney@ung.edu

Bios

Dr. Sairagul Matikeeva-Kinney

Dr. Sairagul Matikeeva-Kinney serves as Assistant Director of International Student Services and Recruitment at the University of North Georgia. Originally from Kyrgyzstan, she brings more than 2 decades of experience across international education, political science, and global student services. Before moving to the United States, she taught international relations, political science, and gender studies for over ten years. She completed her PhD in Political Science in Kyrgyzstan. Since relocating to Atlanta, she has held multiple leadership roles in international student recruitment, admissions, retention, and federal compliance, including serving as Director and PDSO.

Dr. Matikeeva-Kinney holds a Master of Science in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Curriculum and Leadership from Columbus State University.  She remains deeply dedicated to advancing international student success, strengthening global learning environments, and amplifying students' voices and lived experiences worldwide.

Email: sairagul.matikeeva-kinney@ung.edu