Asynchronous Online Peer Support: Barriers to Participation for International Students

Universities generally support students' learning with a significant range of facilities - on and off-line. These now also often include learning objects such as asynchronous peer support. Research has shown that such support can significantly contribute to student success, although there is as yet little research to prove that this is the case for international students - the focus of this research. This paper aims to illustrate the impact of asynchronous online peer support in general and identify reasons why international students might be reluctant to engage with this particular type of learning object. A review of literature reveals that learner acceptance depends on a significant range of variables, intrinsic and extrinsic, to which international students add new facets. To determine the impact of such variables, a survey was administered to test hypotheses using SPSS software analysis. It was found that commonly identified barriers to the use of asynchronous peer support are not valid in the case of international students. Based on these findings, an enhanced framework attempts to offer solutions. This work has implications for educational practice as it highlights emotional and knowledge based limitations of asynchronous learning which need to be mitigated if such learning objects are to be effective.