Abstract: Working with international students – both long term and short term Study Abroad groups from abroad across a section of countries, as provided Campus Living Villages (CLV) with a general understanding of international students ’ wants and needs in terms of their housing and lifestyles. Going forward, as a company dedicated to providing innovative and supportive accommodation solutions on university campuses, CLV seeks to achieve an ongoing recognition of shifting generational trends, and to address the resultant implications for student accommodation and the guest or enhancement of the living learning environment.
Using current Generation Y thinking and the emerging ‘Millennial Model ’, we will explore the changing nature of student generational psyches. Using substantiated research and anecdotal accounts as base we will then discuss cross cultural implications, focusing on community, technology, and options of family: What are the expectations and the values of the Millennials especially in terms of their life (and lifestyle) experience, and how should we, as a score service provider, seek to address the wants and needs of the ‘next ’ generation of residents on our campuses? Furthermore, with a keen focus in the international student in our midst, how will we identify the specific and non specific cultural variances despite having similar generational status),, which have the potential to impact on the overall ‘study abroad ’ experience of the international?
What strategies should we be seeking to engage, in an attempt to create ideal living learning spaces in the world of tomorrow?
Keywords: international students, Generation Y, study abroad, learning environment, accommodation issues
Abstract: International students invest large sums of money when choosing to study in English speaking Universities. They are hoping for opportunities to immerse themselves in English language and Western style culture. Local students attending the same university have completely different expectations. Frequently a cultural divide occurs between the two groups typified by awkward silences, unmet expectations and stereotyping. This widely documented phenomenon has inspired Academic staff to devise clever strategies as desperate attempts to create more inclusive working environments with their students. But the gap still exists. An essential link is missing in these attempts to bridge the cross cultural communicationdivide. This is the addition of a psychosocial perspective. Including this perspective helps everyone develop an understanding of what is really happening when a cultural divide occurs.
This presentation will explore the theory and practice of a psychosocial perspective by explaining methods which actively involve students. Change occurs through focusing on the personal thoughts and experiences always present in interactions and allowing participants to explore their own actions and reactions. Practical exercises will provide opportunities for participants to build their own understanding and capacities for bridging this communication gap.
By demystifying intercultural communication dynamics both staff and students at UniSA are gaining insight and skills necessary for effective communication which enhance learning opportunities and cultural understanding for all.
Abstract: Previous studies have indicated that local/international students intervention programs are beneficial in order to help international students make local friends (e.g., Ward et al 2001). However, no study was found which assessed the effect of multicultural interactions such as activities for international students. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of a bus excursion on international students. Ninety six international students from 12 countries completed surveys one month and four months after the bus excursion. Results found that students who participated in the program tended to have a greater number of overall friends particularly local (Australian) friends, showed decrease in their Asian identity, and maintained both home culture maintenance and local culture recognition.
These results suggest that they are better adjusted in their new environment. It was concluded that education providers are encouraged to organise greater numbers of such multicultural intervention programs for international students.
Key words: multicultural interactions, social activities, social interactions, intervention programs, international student adjustment
Abstract: International students in New Zealand are positioned within internationalisation and export education discourses reflecting market rather than human concerns. These discourses position international students as consumers and commodities rather than people. In order to change this, there is a need to reinstate human agency and human imagination in relation to international education and the global marketplace. Gibson-Graham’s (2003) ‘ethics of the local’ is a framework that facilitates this. It allows us to question the assumptions underlying current internationalisation and export education discourses, and to recognise the heterogeneity of both ‘international’ and ‘New Zealand’ students. It provides a rationale for the creation of spaces where students as people can be ‘together-in-difference’.
Recent research has suggested the need to attend to the diversity of New Zealand’s international student population; consider international students in relation to New Zealand students; and implement and evaluate initiatives to foster interaction between international and local students. To date, women have remained largely absent from international education literature, especially women who are international students’ partners. The current project aims to attend to the perspectives and experiences of women who are international students and/or partners of international students in the University of Otago student community. An intercultural group (Women Across Cultures) has been established for international and New Zealand women, and data is being gathered through participant observation and in-depth interviewing across two years. This paper discusses the theoretical basis for the project, its key aims, and theoretical and methodological issues encountered to date.
Key Words: globalisation, neoliberalism, international students, women, agency, discourse
Abstract: Many factors are involved in the way an individual gains an understanding of Mathematics. Their cognitive style i.e. the way they code information for further processing in the brain is one of these. Riding and Rayner (1998) have a developed a model for the whole learning process which contains two dimensions of cognitive style.
This study investigates the effect of cultural factors on cognitive style, looking particularly at the cultures of South-East Asia and Australia and the cognitive styles of students undertaking a first year university Mathematics course. Students from South-East Asia tended to have a more visual cognitive style than Australian students, particularly when they learnt to read first in a character-based language.
Key Words: Cognitive style, Students from South-East Asia and Australia
