Reconceptualizing Support for Bilingual International Students: An Integrated Pathway Model of School Counsellor Intervention

Abstract

The past few years have also seen an expansion of bilingual international students to international education systems, introducing many beneficial linguistic and cultural diversity to the education system at the same time experiencing some distinct adaptation and identity development challenges. Conventional school assistance is usually centered on deficiency neglecting the cognitive and cultural diversity of bilingual learners. This paper is based on institutional agency, linguistic capital, and the ABC model of acculturation as developed by Berry that teaches us to present an Integrated Pathway Model that illustrates the multidimensional and dynamic functions of school counsellors. The model focuses on three stages of interventions, namely, entry, adaptation, and integration, and counsellors support individuals to find emotional stability, access structural means, mediate between cultural-cognitive interpretations, and facilitate participation in the physical and digital social space. The given approach restructures bilingual students as proactive agents who can take advantage of their resources of intercultural resources to be successful with their academic performance and social inclusion. The research provides theoretical and practical implications of improving cross cultural counselling in the current education.