ISANA

Mr Wai Ken Wong, Mr Douglas Tsoi, Ms Wesa Chau, Mr Amgad Elmahdi, Mr Darren Li

Abstract: International students studying in Australia bring with them a diversity of cultural views, values and
observations. Adapting to a country such as Australia poses as a challenge for international students
due to the difference in culture and values. Not only are they faced with the issues of becoming
accustomed to a different set of views,…

Prasuna Reddy

Abstract: As the number of international students in Australian increases, there is a greater need to understand their values and attitudes toward equal opportunity issues such as sexual harassment. The current study investigates cultural differences in student attitudes toward harassment in the Australian context. Participants included 47 Asian women students and 47 non-Asian women local students; all participants were undergraduates in major Australian universities. The results show a range of attitudes toward sexual…

Felicity Fallon

Abstract: The Confucian-heritage background, the country of origin and the age of the students in this study have all been found to contribute to the problems experienced by these students, the sources of help they use, and how they relate to these problems. These things must then be considered in providing support services for these students. In particular, the importance of these students’ friends in the help-seeking process must be noted…

Chong Zhou, Guiyun Chen

Abstract:   In this study, the researcher intends to make some contributions to the research literature regarding
the analysis of secondary students’ cross-cultural adjustment through investigating a group of
Mainland Chinese students’ experiences in secondary schools in South Australia. The study
explores the perceptions of Chinese students in a more naturalistic way through conversations with
them in their own language. It focuses on the cultural challenges faced by…

Bobbie Matthews

Abstract:  A longitudinal study was undertaken to investigate whether CHC students’ approaches to learning were retained or modified in a Western social, cultural, and educational environment. A bilingual version (Chinese and English) of the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1987) (SPQ) was used to measure sojourner students’ approaches to learning on five occasions over two years in Australia. A two-level analysis was undertaken at the intra and inter student levels to see…

Jirayu Chotimongkol and Deborah Jones

Abstract : Student clubs available at the universities are an obvious site for students, especially Asian international students
to learn and develop leadership skills through real life experience. However, it is still uncertain how Asian
international students learn and develop the skills through participating in the clubs.
This paper describes a qualitative study which explored a perception of Asian international students on club
participation and how…

Dr Zakir Rahmani

Abstract: In late 2006 AEI embarked on a benchmarking nation-wide survey of international students studying in Australia across all sectors. The international student survey sought information about international students ’e xperiences in Australia with respect to: their choices to study in Australia; their level of satisfaction with their education; pastoral and support services; social integration; and life in general. It also examined the future plans and aspirations of international students.

The paper…

Rachel Baron and Rodney Carr

Abstract: Student peer mentor programs are recognised as a valid component of a multi-faceted strategy to
improve student engagement within higher education. This paper reports some preliminary results
from research investigating how such programs help support diverse student needs in a multicultural
environment.
Our results are from a study of a pilot postgraduate student peer mentoring program set up to support
new students in the…

Jill Clark, Trish Baker

Abstract: This paper presents the findings of a research project examining New Zealand experiences with collaborative learning. International research on collaborative learning is very positive about the educational benefits of working in diverse groups but much of this research has been carried out with diverse students from the same society. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the current New Zealand situation is different as International students come from many different societies. Additionally,…

Vivienne Anderson

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…

Anne Suryani

Abstract: Previous studies suggest that young people are the majority of internet users. Most research has focused on what people do on the internet, but has not considered how the use of internet relates to other aspects of their lives. This paper examines how the Indonesian students take up with the new media and use the internet in relation to their academic studies. A mixed method approach is applied in this study, using…

Cathy Dickson, Assoc. Prof. Linette Lock, Dr. Michael Carey

Abstract: International students enrolling in undergraduate nursing courses in Australian universities are an increasing presence. The literature in regard to enhancing international student success has concentrated on theoretical, or class room learning. For nursing, and other practice based disciplines, success is also required in the practical learning experience. Clinical practice experience is recognised within the profession world wide as an essential element of nurse education for…

Sarah Ahern

Abstract:  International education is a major contributor to the Australian economy. By the end of
2007, it was ranked third, after coal and iron ore, as an export earner, having overtaken
tourism to become the most successful service industry in Australia. The financial
success of the industry, however, overshadows other aspects of the trade in education.
In this paper, I focus on the role of government policy in international…

Cathy Saenger

Abstract: Being a mentor to International Students in the Faculty of Business and Computing at a polytechnic in New Zealand, the author has experienced the trials and tribulations of International Students first hand. They begin fresh faced with many expectations, but very soon find that things are not as easy as expected. Some graduates have indicated that they have found it nearly impossible to find jobs and that they are not…

Jo Byng and Anna Rees

Abstract:  In response to the Educational Services Overseas Student (ESOS) Act 2000, Macquarie International undertook the task of implementing an academic performance monitoring project to assist those students who were not progressing satisfactorily and to help students at risk resolve problems which could impede successful completion of their study. International students studying on a student visa must achieve an academic result that is certified by the education provider to be…

Helen Farrell, Cristina Pastore, Neera Handa, Joanne Dearlove, Ed Spalding

Abstract: Peer mentoring, a collaborative program offered at University of Western Sydney, may enhance the educational outcomes and the first year experience of many first year university students. Learning Advisors, Counsellors and academics work together to train and support peer mentors from various Schools within the University. In training mentors, lecturing and content teaching is kept to a minimum. The group process, that is most…

Dr.V.K.Varughese

Abstract:  This research study investigated approaches by international students from vastly
different educational, cultural and linguistic backgrounds to learning and their academic
performance in Foundation Studies (FS) at RMIT University. This paper explores the
effect of the interactions between various demographic variables and learning traits on
students’ performance under Traditional method of Teaching and Learning (TTL) and
Problem Based method of Learning (PBL). Most universities around the world run Read more...

Vivienne Anderson

Abstract: International education research has long been preoccupied with the question of how to foster interaction between
international and local students. ‘Integration’ is imagined as a desirable endpoint of interaction, where international students become part of the broader social network and local students are accepting of and open to international students. However international-ness and local-ness are problematic categories. Numerous commonalities and differences are subsumed within them, and by considering ‘interaction’ and ‘integration’…

Anne Ellerup Nielsen, Peter Kastberg, Ph.d.

Abstract:  Recent years have seen a gradual burring of boundaries between core academic disciplines such as linguistics, economics, politics, sociology, etc. There are many factors which have contributed to this change, for example our global economy where networking, transparency, learning, and knowledge management seem to be the key to capital, consumers, the press, etc. Such developments point towards increasingly interdisciplinary knowledge. Some universities have reacted to this demand for…

Lynda Lawson

Abstract:  This paper will consider the experience of two Australian exchange students at the Grenoble Ecole de Management ( GEM) through a short film that I made about them while I was on staff development leave at this institution during the first 3 months of 2005. I will show the film, discuss how the film was made and then discuss some of the themes it raises in terms of the value that such…