Chinese students' assessment and learning experiences in a transnational higher education programme

Abstract

Chinese universities are increasingly entering into transnational higher education partnerships with institutions in primarily English-speaking countries. With this increase in programmes, there is a growing body of research investigating both policy and practice. Our study contributes insight into how students in a China–Australia programme experienced assessment drawing on theorisations of sustainable assessment. We present findings from interviews with 10 Chinese students who shared stories and reflections of their experiences of assessment and learning that reveal the complex ways students negotiated qualitatively different assessment experiences, while displaying sophisticated levels of agency, between Chinese and Australian universities. In making sense of the interviews in relation to sustainable assessment, we evoke notions of cultural ignorance to illuminate aspects of a cross-cultural ignorance in teaching and learning practices. In doing so, we argue that conversations about cultural ignorance combined with principles of sustainable assessment can create space to support partners to better plan and coordinate for meaningful assessment and learning experiences for students in cross-cultural articulation programmes.     

A phenomenographic study of lecturers’ conceptions of using learning technology in a Pakistani context

While there are many studies exploring the phenomenon of lecturers’ use of learning technology within teaching practices in western higher education contexts, currently we know little about this phenomenon within less developed countries. In the paper, we discuss the findings from a phenomenographic study of lecturers’ conceptions of using learning technology in a Pakistani university context. We describe how lecturers’ use of learning technology is underpinned by their pedagogical understanding. Furthermore, we show that prevailing contextual socio-economic and technological limitations affect lecturers’ daily pedagogical practices and use of learning technology. The results of the study demonstrate the importance and influence of lecturers’ pedagogical understandings and of contextual limitations within daily teaching practices on their experiences of using learning technology. The findings have wider implications for our understanding of the variation in ways learning technology is understood and used within pedagogical practice in other developing and more developed contexts.     

Inequalities and Agencies in Workplace Learning Experiences: International Student Perspectives

National systems of vocational education and training around the globe are facing reform driven by quality, international mobility, and equity. Evidence suggests that there are qualitatively distinctive challenges in providing and sustaining workplace learning experiences to international students. However, despite growing conceptual and empirical work, there is little evidence of the experiences of these students undertaking workplace learning opportunities as part of vocational education courses. This paper draws on a four-year study funded by the Australian Research Council that involved 105 in depth interviews with international students undertaking work integrated learning placements as part of vocational education courses in Australia. The results indicate that international students can experience different forms of discrimination and deskilling, and that these were legitimised by students in relation to their understanding of themselves as being an ‘international student’ (with fewer rights). However, the results also demonstrated the ways in which international students exercised their agency towards navigating or even disrupting these circumstances, which often included developing their social and cultural capital. This study, therefore, calls for more proactively inclusive induction and support practices that promote reciprocal understandings and navigational capacities for all involved in the provision of work integrated learning. This, it is argued, would not only expand and enrich the learning opportunities for international students, their tutors, employers, and employees involved in the provision of workplace learning opportunities, but it could also be a catalyst to promote greater mutual appreciation of diversity in the workplace.     

Just for them to understand better: The impact of learning difficulties at university

Abstract

There has been much attention given to the needs of students with learning disabilities in Australian schools in recent years. The needs and experiences of university students with learning disabilities have received less attention. This article reports on the results of a small study of students who identified as having a range of difficulties with learning at one Australian university. Eight students across a range of discipline areas and year levels were asked about the nature of their difficulties, the kinds of adjustments they receive and their effectiveness, and for their suggestions about how these adjustments could be improved. The results pointed to the need for university lecturers to better understand the kinds of learning difficulties experienced by such students. Such an understanding can assist lecturers in knowing how to adjust their teaching and learning practices so these students can more fully participate and be successful in their university studies.     

Challenges to Stereotypes of International Students’ Prior Educational Experience: undergraduate education in India

The discourse concerning teaching and learning for international students in Australia has been dominated by a cultural‐deficit approach. Proponents of this perspective argue that many international students bring with them learning experiences which are inadequate in the Australian context. These experiences have favoured rote, reproductive, surface, teacher‐centred and dependent approaches to learning; which lack analytical and critical perspectives; and which have occurred in contexts dominated by examinations and substantially lacking in educational resources. More recently, other research has challenged these stereotypes of international students, particularly regarding students from Confucian‐heritage cultures. This paper examines these stereotypes in relation to international students from India, through the use of a review of the available literature on Indian higher education and the analysis of the undergraduate learning experiences of a group of postgraduate students studying at a large Australian metropolitan university. It concludes that while some aspects of the stereotype may apply to Indian undergraduate education, most aspects of the cultural‐deficit perspective are problematic in that context, and a more contextualised approach is of greater use in understanding and describing the diversity of undergraduate learning in India.     

Transitioning from a foundation studies program to university: a study of mainland Chinese students

ABSTRACT

Foundations studies programs (FSPs), sometimes termed pathways programs, seek to prepare international students for an undergraduate education. While enrolments in these programs continue to grow in Australia, there has correspondingly been little research exploring how FSP students experience their transition into university life and study. In seeking to fill a gap within the literature, this study investigated this issue by focusing on international students from mainland China. 23 FSP alumni were interviewed and asked to describe their expectations and experiences of secondary schooling in China, and their subsequent FSP and university studies in Australia. The analysis revealed that the most salient feature of participants’ transition into their Australian undergraduate courses was their emphasis on interpersonal relationships and social interactions. In particular, interviewees emphasised the importance of social exchanges with local peers and teaching staff, and their general disappointment or frustration with these interactions. While this study echoes previous investigations relating to international students’ (lack of positive) intercultural interactions within HE settings, it more importantly challenges the notion that FSPs can be assumed to adequately prepare international students for the nature of these relationships at university. Recommendations regarding FSP practices and policies are posed at the end of this article.     

Understanding international students’ in-class learning experiences in Chinese higher education institutions

Despite the dramatic rise in international student enrolment in Chinese higher education institutions, the classroom learning experiences of these students are not adequately reflected in the international literature. The present qualitative study explores the learning experiences of 33 international students in different types of classroom arrangements at Chinese universities. The findings show that the international students’ perceptions of teaching and learning approaches, their language difficulties, the type of classroom arrangement, the origin of the international students in the class, the more relaxed academic requirements for international students and the international students’ learning motivation all shaped their in-class experiences. Furthermore, the findings reveal that the international students’ personal traits and cross-cultural environment interacted with their psychological mechanisms to produce and influence their learning experiences. The article highlights the need to make sense of these complexities in order to understand international students’ in-class learning experiences. The implications of improving these experiences are discussed.     

The Adaptation of Chinese Split-Site Business Students to British Classrooms: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Chinese business education differs from British business education in many respects. On the whole, it focuses on the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, whereas British business education places far more emphasis on soft management skills and team-work. This paper examines a split-site business degree program offered by a Chinese international school and a British business school, and explores the attitudes and expectations of the Chinese participants and their Chinese and British lecturers from an “English for specific purposes” perspective. The study conducted classroom observation, semi-structured interviews, and a questionaire survey, and identifies areas of difficulty for Chinese business students in the UK, in particular regarding their beliefs about teacher and student roles, their learning priorities and learning strategies, and their “goal-oriented” approach to discussion, which is at odds with the more collaborative and exploratory Western discussion strategies. The findings have implications for pre-sessional and in-sessional English course design, the management of split-site business degree programs, the teaching of Chinese students, and the enhancement of learning experiences generally in international business programs.     

Neoliberal economic markets in vocational education and training: shifts in perceptions and practices in private vocational education and training in Melbourne,Australia

This article argues that the adoption of the competitive Vocational Education and Training (VET) markets in Australia resulted in shifts in institutional perceptions and practices. Using situated experiences and perspectives from quality assurance auditors, training managers, international students and VET teachers from seven commercial for-profit private VET institutions in Melbourne, Australia, the article suggests that there are emerging patterns of institutionalised market-based relationships, which can have long-term implications for pedagogy, learning and international students' outcomes in VET.     

Engaging identities in a regional university classroom

This paper examines the coincidence between how lecturers teach and what students expect to learn at a regional university in Australia. It looks outside cognitive and behavioural theories of motivation to find that both students and lecturers are driven by a common goal, but it is not a methodology. I examine the ways in which students and lecturers seek support for their identity, and how their desire for recognition can support or interfere with the aims of education. The paper proposes that one of the fundamental challenges in higher education is to understand what goes on in-between students and lecturers in the university classroom. While many lecturers in this study are already doing this, there continues to be only an intuitive understanding of what motivates the relation between learning and teaching.     

Investigating higher Education Students’ Professional Socialisation: a revised framework

Research on professional socialisation in higher education has been conducted in nursing, pharmacy, teaching and law, but there is a lack of studies on professional socialisation in tourism and hospitality education. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by revising the professional socialisation framework ‘Conceptualising Graduate and Professional Student Socialisation’ through the findings of a broader study on the professional socialisation of Chinese international students enrolled in tourism and hospitality degrees at a particular Australian university. The study examined diverse stakeholders’ perceptions of attributes needed by Chinese graduates with Australian university qualifications in tourism and hospitality management entering the Chinese hotel industry. The revised framework, ‘Higher Education Students’ Professional Socialisation Framework’, suggests different processes for enhancing the socialisation and career development of Chinese international students with an Australian tourism and hospitality management degree through work-integrated learning; language learning and communication; teamwork and mentoring; and interactions among different stakeholders. Furthermore, workplace socialisation emphasises mentoring and recognises different approaches to career development. Finally, the revised framework explains how the different stakeholders impact on the professional socialisation of students and graduates. The revised framework, which has a cross-cultural dimension, is generic and can be applied to other fields of study and to both international and domestic students in higher education.     

Towards Responsible Massification: Some Pointers for Supporting Lecturers

Teaching large classes poses many challenges to lecturers where massification is a reality in higher education. There are implications for both teaching and effective learning in this context. The need for accountability to learners in education provision served as motivation for a study of large classes in the largest faculty of one university where enrolment figures had recently increased. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 lecturers who teach on average over 500 students in one class. Lecturers reported challenges and experiences related to the higher education environment, resources and support, and teaching and learning. The article provides pointers for supporting lecturers who are teaching large classes based on their identified tensions due to challenges they face. Taking cognisance of lecturers’ experiences could guide institutions towards relevant support for academics in the large-class setting and ultimately contribute to accountability and responsible massification of higher education.     

Feedback-dialogues: exploring the student perspective

There have been many recommendations for dialogue to be part of the feedback process for students in higher education. In this paper, we report on the findings of feedback-dialogue practices among 17 history, politics and international relations undergraduate students. The study is based on findings obtained from semi-structured interviews and focus groups which sought to explore the extent to which students perceive feedback-dialogues to be part of their learning experience and subsequently the value they place upon them. The aim of the research is to develop strategies for encouraging dialogue between lecturer–student and student–student to enhance the students’ experiences of feedback. Analysis of the results indicates the existence of a ‘top-down’ approach to dialogue between lecturers and students and gaps in opportunities for these types of exchange. A range of strategies for creating models which address these two issues are proposed.     

International students using online information resources to learn: complex experience and learning needs

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that investigated 25 international students’ use of online information resources for study purposes at two Australian universities. Using an expanded critical incident approach, the study viewed international students through an information literacy lens, as information-using learners. The findings are presented in two complementary parts: as a word picture that describes their whole experience of using online information resources to learn; and as a tabulated set of critical findings that summarises their associated information literacy learning needs. The word picture shows international students’ resource use as a complex interplay of eight interrelated elements: students; information-learning environment; interactions (with online resources); strengths-challenges; learning-help; affective responses; reflective responses; and cultural-linguistic dimensions. In using online resources, the international students experience an array of strengths and challenges, and an apparent information literacy imbalance between their more developed information skills and less-developed critical information use. The critical findings about information literacy needs provide a framework for developing an inclusive informed learning approach that responds to international students’ complex information using experiences and needs. While the study is situated in Australia, the findings are of potential interest to educators, information professionals and researchers worldwide who seek to support learning in culturally diverse higher education contexts.     

Professional Development for Teachers Working with International Students

The commercialisation of education and the massive recruitment of international students across different vocational education and training (VET) systems including the US, UK, Canada and Australia have led to significant changes in the VET teaching and learning landscape. This situation compels the VET sector to design and develop new professional development programs to support the immediate and changing needs of teachers working with the diverse international student cohort. However, to date, teacher professional development in response to the growing population of international students has not been an explicit focus of empirical study and theoretical conceptualisation in VET research. This study responds to this paucity. It draws on a broader three-year research project funded by the Australian Research Council (2014–2017) that involves fieldwork, participation in and observation of staff professional development activities and interviews with 102 VET staff in Australia. It uses positioning theory as a conceptual framework to examine how VET teachers position themselves and their professional development needs in response to international students. The results call for a critical need to re-examine the focus of the current professional development programs offered for VET teachers. The current context requires teacher professional development in international VET to focus on developing teachers’ capabilities to re-examine their pedagogical beliefs and practices and to understand international students’ various needs and cultural backgrounds. The study also stresses the importance of ongoing professional learning to equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to appropriate their pedagogical practices in response to the critical need to prepare all students for the intercultural labour market and to use students’ diversity as a resource for teaching and learning.     

Australian academics and transnational teaching: an exploratory study of their preparedness and experiences

Australia is now the third largest provider of education to overseas students. Between 1994 and 2000 the number of overseas students taught by Australian universities increased by 150% to 107,622. It is estimated that 41% of the recent growth in international education has been in offshore enrolments, with each of Australia’s 38 universities now providing offshore education. This paper reviews recent Australian literature on transnational teaching and presents an overview of a study with academics who teach transnationally and who are drawn from nine Australian universities. The study covers the professional development and teaching experiences of these academics and their perceptions of the induction/orientation and ongoing professional development needed to support the delivery of quality trans‐cultural education offshore.     

Constructing an academic identity in Australia: an autoethnographic narrative

This paper examines the process of academic identity construction experienced by a Chinese PhD student in an Australian university from 2010 to 2014. The researcher draws on his diaries written in Australia and uses some stories of the relationships with his supervisors and other scholars to unfold the process of his academic identity construction in a host academic community. Two years on, the researcher reflects on the challenges confronted during his candidature, exploring the Australian PhD education system from within. This study will help educators and supervisors to understand an international higher degree research student’s gradual academic identity construction as a cultural Other in the context of globalized higher education systems, and it will contribute to the mutual understanding between supervisors and international research students, as well as supervisors’ professional supervision in a globalized higher education context.     

‘I’m not like that,why treat me the same way?’ The impact of stereotyping international students on their learning,employability and connectedness with the workplace

A significant body of literature on international education examines the experiences of international students in the host country. There is however a critical lack of empirical work that investigates the dynamic and complex positioning of international students within the current education-migration nexus that prevails international education in countries such as Australia, Canada and the UK. This paper addresses an important but under-researched area of the education-migration landscape by examining how the stereotyping of students as mere ‘migration hunters’ may impact their study and work experiences. It draws on a four-year research project funded by the Australian Research Council that includes more than 150 interviews and fieldwork in the Australian vocational education context. Positioning theory is used as a conceptual framework to analyse how generalising international students as ‘mere migration hunters’ has led to the disconnectedness, vulnerability and marginalization of the group of international students participating in this research.     

Educational experiences of post-critical non-place

This ethnographic small-scale interpretive study investigates four international Study Abroad (SA) students’ mobile experiences of local coastal/beach sites, as part of a semester-long undergraduate outdoor environmental education unit ‘Experiencing the Australian Landscape’ (EAL) offered at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Their individual and collective experiences of the coast in EAL highlighted the problematic status of uncritically assuming and accepting place pedagogy in education practices. With a specific focus on the lived time experience of the four SA students, this study examined how the participants negotiated their meanings of the Australian landscape over the limited duration of the EAL unit. Three temporal themes related to non-place experience were identified: transitory; creative; and re-normalising. In discussing these findings, we recommend that any (eco)pedagogical conceptualisation, practice, and research of ‘place’ needs to attend empirically and theoretically to the non-placeness of the body-time-space-relation and their increasing abstraction within globalising processes.     

Role of health-promoting behaviours for on-campus and distance education students

University students are likely to experience high rates of stress, which has the potential to negatively affect academic performance and their experience of study. Research with on-campus students has found positive benefits of health-promoting behaviours such as stress reduction and academic achievement; yet no research has examined these relationships with distance education students (and in comparison with on-campus students). Distance education students are a growing cohort in Australia higher education and elsewhere. This paper aims to redress this imbalance by comparing the relationships between stress, strain and coping, academic outcomes, and health-promoting behaviours in tertiary students (on-campus and distance education students). The study involved 242 on-campus and 399 distance education students at a regional Australian university. A path model was developed comparing both cohorts, and relationships were found to be similar, indicating no significant difference. Online interventions for distance education students which could be used to enhance coping are discussed.