A developmental model for international students and multiple ecologies

Abstract Traditional ecological models are promising for making sense of international student experiences, but the assumed monolithic nature of the structuring systems is inadequate for explaining development that occurs across multiple systems. We present and expand a model called the Spanning Systems Model that recognizes multiple ecologies. The model organizes ecologies in terms of home and host countries, arguing the systems are in some ways independent and in others intertwined. Student experiences are thus structured by both the systems in which the school is located as well as the systems from which the student is coming. Conceptualizing ecologies in this manner shifts the goal of a successful transition into higher education away from acculturation and towards a more complex, case‐specific project of identifying areas of alignment and contradiction and tailoring experiences to each student's unique ecologies. Practical Takeaways This expanded ecological model is intended to theoretically explain development for students whose experiences cross multiple ecologies, for example, multiple countries. While originally designed for international students, the model is applicable to any student with formative experiences in different macrosystems, like study abroad, or some first‐generation students. Academic, faculty, and career advisors who regularly work with international students should make a concerted effort to understand the different ecologies of each student. Rather than presenting an ideal model for acculturation into US higher education, advisors can use this model to identify alignments and contradictions and plan accordingly. New student orientations for international students can use this model as an organizing device. For example, potential contradictions between ecologies, like academic integrity and intellectual property rights, can be presented to students in the context of a holistic discussion around the rights‐based justice system in the United States. The model can be given directly to students as a worksheet to help make sense of their experiences and frame their thinking. Students can fill in directly the different systems in which they are situated and can begin to make decisions about how they can make changes.