鈥淭his was an excellent opportunity for scholarship and professional development for educators and researchers who are interested in educational issues, and trends and policies through comparative, cross-cultural, and international perspectives,鈥 Bista said.
鈥淚 met scholars from Japan, Korea, and South Africa who were interested in collaborative research and exchange programs, as well as some from other universities in the United States. We will be working together in a joint project during the fall.鈥
Bista chaired the special interest group (SIG) session, 鈥淪tudent Perspectives on Higher Education Experience,鈥 and presented his research paper titled, 鈥淒o academic and social experiences predict sense of belonging? Comparison among American and international undergraduate students.鈥
In his research, Bista analyzed the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data to examine whether academic and social experiences of undergraduate international students influence their sense of belonging in the U.S.
Sense of belonging is a feeling of connectedness that reflects the social support that students perceive on campus. Results were compared between international students and students from the U.S.
Bista鈥檚 areas of interest include international student studies, multicultural education, and leadership practices. He teaches graduate classes in educational leadership and curriculum and instruction.
His recent publications appear in the 鈥淛ournal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Leaning;鈥 the 鈥淚nternational Journal of Doctoral Studies;鈥 the 鈥淛ournal of International and Global Education;鈥 鈥淐ollege Teaching;鈥 and 鈥淭he Educational Forum.鈥 He is also associate editor of the 鈥淛ournal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education.鈥