Purpose: Responsive educational approaches focus on a set of well-designed practices intended to create engaging, social cohesion, better knowledge outcomes and excellent students’ experience. Therefore, this paper aims to engage in the discourse of the intersection of psych-sociology of learning and student’s engagement, connected to the sense of belonging and theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Design/methodology/approach: By applying an ethnographic approach and interviews of 45 international students from three UK business schools, it proposes that a sense of “belongingness” is a prerequisite for learning, personal and professional development. Owing to the exploratory nature of the subject, the use of qualitative methodology turned out to be particularly useful. Indeed, the conduct of in-depth semi-structured interviews, participative observation enabled us to access perceptions of students and compare different points of view. Findings: The findings indicate that international students measure their experience by “sense of belonging”, integration and engagement on many interrelated and influential factors. English proficiency and employability skills are the major concerns. The kinds of support they received from their faculties and the quality of feedback from tutors are important for international studies integration and sense of belonging. Originality/value: The findings of the critical elements of the engagement and experience of international students have both policy and practical implications given the high demand for UK universities by foreign students. Although, this paper is based on findings from UK higher education institutions, the insights are of relevance to many countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, France and the USA, who have a significant proportion of overseas students. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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