ISANA

Kate Borrett and Ania Zysk

Abstract: Talking about sexuality, relationships and friendships may be perceived as a ‘taboo’ topic of conversation in many cultures. This poses a challenge for engaging international students and in providing education on sexual health and the negotiation of healthy relationships. As part of their orientation activities, commencing international students at UniSA were invited to attend a forum…

Anita Perkins

Abstract:  The main aim of this paper is to investigate the ways in which language is used in the
discursive construction of national identities. Specifically, the object of analysis is interview
data in which six international students from Germany and Japan enact their early study
abroad experiences to a young (mid-twenties) New Zealand researcher. It has been found that
the students often construct their experience in terms of perceived…

Shereen Ghobrial

Abstract: Each year, the University of Queensland opens its doors to thousands of new international students.
Although Student Support Services at the University of Queensland introduce international students to some essential safety issues relating to their new environment within the first few days after arrival, it has become apparent that given the number of avoidable critical accidents over the past few years, more specific information was needed to ensure students are made…

Negotiating trust and respect: relationships between staff members at La Trobe
University International College and Middle Eastern Students

Usha Rao

Abstract:  This presentation is based on a very small action research project undertaken by the author at
La Trobe University International College (LTUIC) early this year when there were over 200
students from the Middle Eastern countries in ELICOS at LTUIC. The findings were first
presented in May, 2008 at the…

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…

Heather Bigelow, Mary Kerstjens

Abstract: At the ISANA Victorian Branch State Conference in October, 2005, Heather and Mary, together with our esteemed colleague, Lila Kemlo, presented our ‘students at risk’ project, designed to identify and provide an holistic, integrated program to enable Business Portfolio students to gain essential skills for academic and social success. A major feature of this program was the collaboration between members of academic staff of the Business Portfolio, the Learning Skills…

Tryphena Jacqueline Tan and Cecelia Winkelman

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate how stress level, coping styles and personality traits contribute to international students' academic performance. Participants comprised of 100 international students across undergraduate and postgraduate levels from universities in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were aged 18 to 40 years old. Using a single sample survey design, all 100 participants completed a background information sheet, the Coping Skills Inventory, the Social Avoidance Distress…

Usha Rao, Karen Demirtel

Abstract: Participants in this workshop will work in small groups, having chosen a leader to provide feedback to the whole group. Each group will be involved in the following:

• Reading a short narrative text on a real-life case study of a student or students from La Trobe University International College.
• Discussing and deciding with group members the Standards (of the National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of…
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• Promoting Global Citizenship: Educational Travel and Study Abroad Programs in the South Pacific
  04:55 - 18.01.2009 Articles >> Study Abroad

  Michael A. Tarrant and Laura Sessions

  Abstract:  Most institutions of higher education in the U.S. acknowledge that the future workforce of America depends on a
  citizenry that is sensitive to, and aware of, global issues. The broad assumption in academia is that studying
  abroad promotes such a worldview, yet there is a lack of theoretical applications supporting this assertion. We
  propose a conceptual framework (based on the value-belief-norm models of behavior) for…

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• Assessment: The master key unlocking deep learning and language
  00:00 - 01.12.2004 Articles >> Cross-cultural Communication

  Dianne Jonasson

  Abstract:  When International students from non-English speaking backgrounds (INESB students) choose to study in an Australian university, they come, like any student, with hopes, expectations, and understandings. Their teachers also have hopes, expectations, and understandings regarding these students. In fact, it appears that students and teachers are generally hoping for the same things, namely, that students will pass their subjects, understand the concepts, and improve their English. However, while both parties appear to…

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• Income security of international students in Australia
  00:00 - 01.12.2006 Articles >> Student Support

  Helen Forbes-Mewett, et al

  Abstract: Growth in the number of international students studying in English language countries has slowed in recent years and this development has generated extended debate amongst university managers and policy makers. In these discussions much attention has focussed on whether the slow down is to be explained by currency realignments, visa requirements, the quality of education, or the increasing competitiveness of the international education market. But what has attracted little attention…

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• An examination of changes in the approaches to learning of Confucian heritage culture (CHC) students
  00:00 - 01.12.2004 Articles >> Academic

  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…

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• Initiating the new battlers
  00:00 - 01.12.2004 Articles >> Student Support

  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…

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• Empowering International Students to Prepare for their Working Life
  00:00 - 01.12.2006 Articles >> Student Support

  Greg Calvert
  
  Abstract:  The paper draws on research of 110 international fee-paying students studying Science and Engineering courses in the Schools, Vocational Education and Training, and Higher Education sectors in nine institutions in five Australian states and territories. The research identified that 68 percent of the sample had not had career advice before coming to Australia. This has implications for students’ understandings of Australian education and training, especially entry procedures into…

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• International Students - A Segregated and Vunerable workforce
  00:00 - 30.11.2007 Articles >> Student Support

  Chris Nyland, Helen Forbes-Mewett, Simon Marginson, Gaby Ramia, Erlenawati Sawir, Sharon Smith

  Abstract: The growth of the international education market has generated a community of student-workers that is vulnerable, growing and under-researched. Drawing on interviews with 200 international students, we show that a very high proportion of these students are employed and that this workforce is segmented and that while all student workforces are segmented, many international students must accept forms of work and levels…

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• Ongoing academic orientation: Bridging the academic and cultural gap
  00:00 - 01.12.2004 Articles >> Student Support

  Gillian O’Neill and Grant Harris

  Abstract: This paper first outlines a 12 week programme of Ongoing Academic Orientation (OAO) which was trialled in the Waikato Management School (WMS) during the 2004 A and B semesters and then reports the results of a questionnaire survey given to the students who followed the programme in A semester 2004. The questionnaire had three functions: to gather data on the trial programme’s efficacy, content, timing, and length;…

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• Working Together to Build Complete Homestay Solutions
  06:01 - 18.01.2009 Articles >> Student Support

  David Bycroft, Peter Spolc, Chris Everson, Sylvia Lewohl

  Homestay is a wonderful, educational experience that provides an ideal opportunity to learn about another
  culture. Each year both Australia and New Zealand open their doors to thousands of new international
  students, many apply for homestay, believing it to be the very best way to experience a new environment.
  Each student must have a safe, supportive place to live and each student must be…

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• Fostering intercultural interaction among women at a tertiary institution
  00:00 - 01.12.2005 Articles >> Cross-cultural Communication

  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…

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• What else did I need to bring with me? International students and their dilemma
  00:00 - 01.12.2004 Articles >> Study Abroad

  Neera Handa

  Abstract:  Australian universities, providing higher education to the multicultural cohort of their local as well as international students mirror the plethora of colour and creed of Australian society. Multitudes of international students besides bringing their diverse culture along bring substantial monetary benefits to this country. Many Asian students continue to choose Australia as their first choice to study abroad because of its proximity to Asia as well as because of its cheaper dollar.…

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• Weekend Break Program: Encouraging intercultural community connections
  05:37 - 18.01.2009 Articles >> Student Support

  Clare Cunnington and Olivia Reid

  Abstract:  Exit surveys and feedback from Returning Home programs indicate that many
  international students have an unmet desire for a ‘real Australian experience’. Those
  students that lived on their own or with other international students while studying in
  Australia reported that, despite completing a degree here, they had not had the
  opportunity to be invited into an Australian home. Related findings from A Growing
  Experience…

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