Drawing with Difference: Challenges faced by international students in an undergraduate business degree

Abstract

The impact of the internationalisation of Australian Higher education is being experienced at all levels. Administrators and academic staff are attempting to develop policy and design, and implement 'internationalised' curricula. However, there is a lack of awareness and engagement with cultural diversity and the politics of difference when considering the skills and literacies needed by students in a changing world. Often, international students are overlooked and not given a chance for their voices to be heard. This paper presents a case study of three international students' social, cultural and study experiences in a Business Communication class in their undergraduate degree, and some questions and concerns they raised in this context. The study showed that the students not only have a pragmatic view of their education, but also have specific expectations and goals which in many cases are not being met. In a pedagogical process where the students are actively involved in a struggle for meaning this provides a space where their voices can be heard. To accomplish this we as educators need to think about different ways of planning and teaching programmes in Higher Education.

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