The International Classroom, Challenges and Strategies in a Large Business Faculty

Abstract

Abstract International Education in Australia has grown by an average of 15% every year since the late 1980s. This phenomenon is not unique to Australia. Tertiary education around the world is becoming 'internationalised' that is, there is an increasing mix of domestic and international students in classes from a wide range of countries and cultures. Despite this, and the fact that Australia is itself an extremely culturally diverse community, Australian higher education remains essentially mon-cultural in form and Anglo American in content. The teaching and learning implications of such a large, very diverse international student population have yet to be addressed at most institutions of higher education. The multi-cultural classroom provides an opportunity for students from different countries and cultures to bring their enormous range of experiences, knowledge , perspectives and insights to the learning - if the process is enabled. This raises challenges for teachers. International Education in Australia has grown by an average of 15% every year since the late 1980s. This phenomenon is not unique to Australia. Tertiary education around the world is becoming 'internationalised' that is, there is an increasing mix of domestic and international students in classes from a wide range of countries and cultures. Despite this, and the fact that Australia is itself an extremely culturally diverse community, Australian higher education remains essentially mon-cultural in form and Anglo American in content. The teaching and learning implications of such a large, very diverse international student population have yet to be addressed at most institutions of higher education. The multi-cultural classroom provides an opportunity for students from different countries and cultures to bring their enormous range of experiences, knowledge , perspectives and insights to the learning - if the process is enabled. This raises challenges for teachers.