CAKES (Cultural Awareness and Knowledge Exchange Scheme): a holistic and inclusive approach to supporting international students (original) (raw)

Meeting new challenges in multicultural provisions for international students: implications for first year university transition engagements

Universities have traditionally maintained a central role in promoting international relations, increased solidarity and intercultural understanding. The essential part of this movement has been implemented through the internationalization of higher education (Ninnes & Hellstén, 2005). The rapid growth of a new form of international education has in the past 20 years made dramatic impact both on furthering intercultural academic exchanges and on its adherent economic prosperity (Altbach & Knight, 2007), especially in English speaking countries. The Australian higher education sector has been greatly sustained by internationalization which today contributes significantly to the overall funding of universities. Internationalization of higher education is one of the most successful recent enterprises in Australia and constitutes a major national export industry.

Living comfortably with diversity: International students’ transition practices

Queensland Review, 2014

Every year, over 30,000 international students study in regional Australia, in urban centres that lack the intercultural resources and cross-cultural literacies of metropolitan cities. The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) supports and brings together over 26,000 students studying both on campus and online, including a diverse international student population of 7,000 students. The university's enrolment of international on-campus students is the second highest in the Regional Universities Network, of which USQ is a member. This article analyses the experiences of international students as they encounter an unfamiliar Australian culture in the context of studying in Toowoomba, the regional city where USQ has its main campus. These students’ experiences of engaging, becoming familiar with and mastering new and unfamiliar cultural practices and academic literacies provides insight into the processes of acculturation that students undergo as they make their transition to life...

Learning at University: The International Student Experience 1

International Education Journal, 2004

This paper reports on research that explores internationalisation of the University's curriculum offerings and how this affects international students. The central focus of this paper is to highlight some of the student commentary on communication between teachers and students exemplifying the way it subsequently affects the quality of student learning. The paper concludes by raising some questions concerning how we may best meet the needs of international students by drawing on inclusive teaching philosophies. Inclusivity and diversity, international students, internationalisation and sustainability, transition experience

International student transitioning experiences: Student voice

Journal of Academic Language and Learning, 2016

As Australian higher education institutions seek to internationalise and increase enrolments of international students, the student experience is crucial for ensuring a sustainable future via delivery of quality learning, development of English language standards and retention of enrolments. This project aimed to capture student voice in order to better understand the early challenges students face, the support they value and the adequacy of current services benchmarked against the Good Practice Principles (GPP) (DEEWR, 2009). With a focus on English language proficiency, a mixed method approach surveyed 140 students across three campuses, followed by focus groups to capture student voice and provide a current snapshot of international student experiences and perceptions. The key findings confirm that international students are challenged with writing, speaking and listening and also that they believed more opportunities to interact using English would benefit them. Another finding ...

Cross-cultural teaching and learning for home and international students : internationalisation of pedagogy and curriculum in higher education

2013

Introduction Janette Ryan Chapter 1 Capitalising on a multicultural learning environment: Using group work as a mechanism for student integration Christine Edmead Chapter 2 Exploring new frontiers in an internationalised classroom: Team-based learning and reflective journals as innovative learning strategies Susan McGrath-Champ, Mimi Zou and Lucy Taylor Chapter 3 Developing capability: International students in doctoral writing groups Jeannie Daniels Chapter 4 Feedback or feed forward? Supporting Master's students through effective assessment to enhance future learning Sue Robson, David Leat, Kate Wall and Rachel Lofthouse Chapter 5 Internationalisation and quality in higher education: perspectives of English, Australian and Czech senior academics Patricie Mertova Chapter 6 The challenges of multi-lingualism for international students in Denmark Gordon Slethaug and Jane Vinther Chapter 7 Engaging students in academic transitions: A case of two projects using student voice and te...

Making the tacit explicit: rethinking culturally inclusive pedagogy in international student academic adaptation

Pedagogy, Culture, Society

The article proposes an approach, broadly inspired by culturally inclusive pedagogy, to facilitate international student academic adaptation based on rendering tacit aspects of local learning cultures explicit to international full degree students, rather than adapting them. Preliminary findings are presented from a focus group-based exploratory study of international student experiences at different stages of their studies at a Danish business school, one of Denmark’s most international universities. The data show how a major source of confusion for these students has to do with the tacit logics and expectations that shape how the formal steps of the learning cycle are understood and enacted locally, notably how learning and assessment moments are defined and related to one another. Theoretically, the article draws on tacit knowledge and sensemaking theories to analyse student narratives of their encounter with the Danish system. A framework is offered to help teachers conceptualise, and excavate, the tacit dimensions of local learning culture of which they may not be aware, and reflects on how and when these might best be communicated to international students.

Integrating International Students into Tertiary Education Using

2016

Increasing internationalization of higher education raises the question of how well institutions prepare their students to integrate into and benefit from cultural diversity on any university campus. The aim of this study was to assess an intercultural peer-to-peer training at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany, that aims to facilitate the integration of incoming students into the multicultural environment of this international university. The individual experience of eight undergraduate students was explored using qualitative in-depth interviews. The results suggest that motivation to participate and satisfaction with the training were highest among students with some intercultural experience compared to students with extensive or little intercultural experience. All students supported the overall training format and the peer-trainer scheme. It seems that the training has adequately addressed the issues related to the general social life on the multicultural campus. However, it shou...

Students in transition: Needs and experiences of international students in Australia

2002

This seminar presents case studies of international student experiences of Australian higher education. The paper provides insights into ways of understanding various implications of international students' transition into their new Australian study environment. The paper will explore aspects of enculturation, socio cultural adaptation, adjustment, language, communication and/or any learning difficulties encountered by the students. The seminar explores how students negotiate these aspects into their ethnic and cultural identities as well as their academic learning practices.

A practical look at the why and how of supporting international students: A checklist of teaching tips

Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 2020

This paper looks at a pilot of a strategy designed to help academic staff better respond to the inclusive teaching needs of its international students. The strategy was implemented by a School in a Western Australian University and offered academic staff evidence-based information on specific techniques for internationalising curriculum content and delivery. The extent to which international students perceived lecturers had implemented the suggested strategies was subsequently evaluated. While the evaluation found the School had performed adequately in the eyes of its international students across key areas of teaching practice, it also suggested that achieving greater inclusiveness required attention to things beyond classroom processes. These broader aspects included the University’s climate of belongingness and the extent to which the curriculum content took account of international perspectives.