International students’ cultural representations and their influence on the academic experience in Australia

Authors

  • Quentin Thomas Maire The University of Adelaide

Abstract

The cultural dimension is frequently stressed as an essential component of the study abroad learning experience, be it for short-term or long-term student mobility. However, there is a lack of understanding of what international students mean when they talk about their ‘cultural experience’ abroad. Moreover, these representations can directly affect the academic situation abroad, by influencing these students’ engagement and interactions. Focusing on the salient concepts and representations they use to narrate their cultural experience abroad, this study reveals some related representations that can directly influence the academic practices.

This paper relates the results of a case study carried out with both short-term and long-term international students in an Australian university in 2012. Conducting semi-structured interviews with fourteen international students from very different cultural backgrounds, a thematic analysis was performed to identify the significant concepts used to talk about their cultural experience. The argument focuses on three emergent perceptions with a potential influence on students’ learning in the Australian context: the notions of community, social relations and identity. Precisely, these views can have some repercussions on abroad students’ learning, on intercultural learning possibilities as well as on teaching for a multicultural student population. International students offer a possibility for enhancing intercultural learning for the student population in general, and this chance deserves to be seized.

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Author Biography

Quentin Thomas Maire, The University of Adelaide

School of Education

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Published

2014-12-30

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