From Deficit to Contradictions: A CHAT-Inspired, Design-Based Intervention to Support International Student Success in Canada

This research examines how Canadian higher education institutions can design learning environments that meaningfully support international students’ academic success. Guided by cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) and implemented through a design-based research (DBR) approach, the study investigates the contradictions that emerge as international students negotiate a new academic culture. Rather than viewing these tensions through a deficit lens, the study interprets them as historically produced, culturally situated contradictions that create possibilities for transformation and serve as entry points for designing supports that enrich students’ learning experiences. The intervention was implemented in an “Introduction to Business” course at a private university in Ontario with 30 first-term international students over an 11-week term. A mixed-methods methodology combined thematic analysis of five working sessions, task and content analysis of the Step-by-Step Assignment Guideline (SSAG) tool, survey data analysis, and reflexive analysis of conjecture-mapping and research journals. Four central contradictions were identified: (a) understanding assignments as processes requiring sequenced steps, rather than as products, as is typical in test-based assessment cultures; (b) redefining collaboration as legitimate knowledge building rather than cheating; (c) re- positioning APA referencing as an epistemic practice that shapes inquiry, rather than as a set of technical formatting rules; and (d) navigating the persistent tension between academic expectations and students’ urgency to secure employment. While the first three contradictions were partially resolved through the intervention, the fourth intensified, revealing the structural limits of pedagogical design when academic and labour systems intersect. Drawing on these findings, the study offers clear design guidelines for institutions seeking to strengthen international students’ academic success, including designing assignment instructions as boundary-crossing, institutionalizing peer mentorship as collaborative scaffolding, teaching APA as a way of entering scholarly dialogue, and aligning academic support with structured pathways that acknowledge students’ broader life conditions. The intervention opens promising avenues for future research, particularly in exploring hybrid CHAT systems, boundary objects as epistemic mediators, and the evolving, “liquid” nature of research questions within DBR cycles.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education Graduate Program – Educational Research

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Torres-Arends, Irene

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jacobsen, Michele

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Brown, Barbara
• Clark, Douglas
• Sesma-Vazquez, Monica
• Zhou, Guoqiang (George)

• International Students
• Cultural Historical Activity Theory
• Design-Based Research
• Contradictions
• Canada

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51177

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/124335