International Students In Australia Research Articles

“It was protected, except, it wasn’t [with] a condom": a mixed-methods study of BBVs/STIs protective practices among International University Students in Sydney, Australia

BackgroundA number of previous sex-related studies among international students in Australia and other Western societies may be limited by conflating students from conservative and non-conservative sexual backgrounds. Such conflation leads to situations where nuances and complexities around sex-related experiences are lost or, at most, tangentially investigated. To address this research problem, this study used a mixed-methods design to examine protective practices against blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections (BBVs/STIs) among Sydney-based East Asian and sub-Saharan African international students.MethodsThis mixed-methods study generated quantitative data using anonymous online survey (n = 149), and qualitative data through in-depth interviews (n = 20). The main recruitment strategy involved advertising the study through paper and electronic flyers. Quantitative data were analysed using logistic regression, while interviews data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsSelf-reported BBVs/STIs protective practices in the last 12 months include abstinence (28.7%), consistent condom use (19.9%), occasional condom use (18.7%), single partner fidelity (25.1%), other strategies (1.8%), and nothing (5.8%). Further, findings from the bivariate analysis showed higher BBVs/STIs prevention knowledge, lower acculturation into Australian sexual culture, greater access to sexual health information, less conservative sexual norms, greater emotional social support and older age were significantly associated with increased protective practices. Variables significant at bivariate level were entered into a logistic regression. The model was statistically significant, (X2(6) = 31.33, p < 0.01) and explained 33.1% of the variance in BBVs/STIs protective practices. However, only acculturation to sexual norms in Australia (OR = 0.883, 95% CI = 0.820–0.952) was found to be independent predictor of BBVs/STIs protective practices.The results of the study based on the quantitative data, indicated condom use (consistent and occasional) was the most reported BBVs/STIs protective behaviour among sexually active participants. Therefore, interviews data was used to explore condom-use motives and practices. The interviews results showed participants primary concern as regards condom use was around pregnancy and not BBVs/STIs. Thus, some participants described safe sex largely as contraception, with BBVs/STIs constituting a secondary concern or no concern at all.ConclusionsBased on the results of this study, tailored sexual health interventions for international students; which incorporate strategies for modifying perceived sexual norms in Australia, are advocated. In addition, this study recommends sexual health interventions that promote dual protection of condoms for both contraception and BBVs/STIs.

Working Toward Becoming Doctoral Researchers: A Collective Autoethnography of International Students in Australia

It is well established that international education can profoundly influence a student, including identity and agency formation and the acquisition of knowledge and culture. This study applies the concept of self-formation to reconceptualize the international student experience. It captures the development, changes, and operation of identity and agency during self-formation. Utilizing collective autoethnography, the authentic experiences of three international students studying in Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic were collected. These stories illustrate their transformation from international students to student researchers. Through thematic analysis, three phases have been identified in this study, which are self-exploration, self-positioning, and self-determination and shedding light on the role of agency and hybrid identity. A further scholarly investigation is advocated to enrich the discussion of self-formation and add a nuanced investigation into the variability of individual experiences.

Contraceptive decision making among Chinese international students in Melbourne: findings from a qualitative investigation

Compared to their non-Chinese peers in Australia, Chinese international students have very low rates of effective contraceptive use and this combined with other factors impacts unintended pregnancy rates. There is limited research exploring Chinese international students in Australia’s decision-making with respect to contraceptive choices. In early 2020, 26 individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18-25-year-old Chinese international students to explore factors influencing their contraceptive choices. Using both deductive and inductive analysis, seven primary themes were identified. Of note was the identification of the strongly expressed cultural value of 爱惜 (ài xī, cherishing). Cherishing was used to describe the promotion of self-protection and the protection of loved ones from any negative outcomes related to contraceptive methods. Findings suggest that cherishing has an important role to play in Chinese students’ decision-making around contraception. In particular, notions of cherishing may make it difficult for Chinese international students to accept and trust the advantages of hormonal contraceptives. Moreover, the confusing and inconsistent terminology students use to describe contraceptive options may hamper their ability to access effective forms of contraception in Australia.

A personalised autonomous model to resolve a prolonged dilemma in international students’ English language needs in higher education

ABSTRACT This article sets out to introduce a Personalised Autonomous (PA) model as a holistic and sustainable model to address the issue of international students’ English Language Proficiency (ELP) in Australian higher education. This model was embedded in a credit-bearing course entitled Personalised English Language Enhancement (PELE). Both quantitative and qualitative data collected over the five years from 2016 to 2020 have revealed that the course has significant impacts on students’ confidence, self-efficacy, motivation and sense of belonging. Data have also shown that such positive impacts lead to behavioural changes in social and academic contexts. It is hoped that this article will add a note of optimism to the ELP issue that remains the most common and dominant challenge for international students in Australia despite various approaches attempted over several decades.

Australian policy on international students: pivoting towards discourses of diversity?

As the third-largest export industry, international education occupies an important place in the Australian economy and society. Employing Bacchi’s “What is the Problem Represented to be” (WPR) approach, this paper critically analyses four key policies pertaining to international students in Australia since the 1990s. Drawing upon theorising of the globalisation of international education policy, we uncover contestation and problem representation in discourses around the economisation of education and of international students’ experiences. The findings reveal multiple discourses of the problematisation of diversity at play, including a “pivot” towards protection of international students’ rights as consumers and as potential future citizens, and increased attention to the intrinsic value of international students as people, and not simply as economic agents. The findings have implications for other national contexts, in which international students contribute to the economic viability of education, and in which internationalisation of education in universities has the capacity to foster enhanced cross-cultural understanding.

Perceived Discrimination as a Threat to the Mental Health of Chinese International Students in Australia

In this study, a brief instrument (the Mental Health Change Indicator Scale, MHCIS) was developed for use in assessing the impact of a negative event on mental health. The instrument was then used to compare the reported impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Chinese university students studying either in China (n = 734) or Australia (n = 108). Perceived discrimination and social support were also evaluated as possible mediators of the relationship between country of residence (Australia vs China), and mental health impact. Results suggested that the 10-item MHCIS was unidimensional and psychometrically sound, and that the pandemic had a significantly (p &amp;lt; 0.001) more negative impact on the mental health of Chinese students studying in Australia than on those studying in China. Perceived discrimination was identified as a key mediating factor in this relationship. Possible implications for higher education institutions in Australia are discussed.

Precarity Before and During the Pandemic: International Student Employment and Personal Finances in Australia.

There is mounting evidence of increased international student financial and work precarity over the last decade in Australia. Yet, there has been a little scholarly analysis of which students are most affected by precarity and its sources. Drawing on two surveys of international students in Australia's two largest cities, conducted before and during the pandemic, we investigate the financial and work vulnerabilities of international students. We demonstrate that vulnerability is related to characteristics which describe particular cohorts of students: being from low-income countries, working class families, seeking a low-level qualification, enrolled in a non-university institution, and being without a scholarship. The concepts of "noncitizenship" and "work precarity" are used to explain how the mechanisms of each characteristic heighten vulnerability, thereby contributing to a broader evidence-base about the causality of international student precarity.

Acculturation and alcohol: Exploring experiences of alcohol for Asian international students in Australia

Acculturation can be a challenging experience for Asian international students moving to Western countries for study. The majority of international students are young adults, a population that has recently entered the legal alcohol purchase age, and who might not be familiar with new regulatory contexts and socio-cultural environments where drinking is common. Informed by theories of acculturative stress, ethno-identity conflict and adaptation, we explored 15 Asian international students’ lived experiences of alcohol in Australia, and the social, cultural and religious contexts within which these experiences were situated. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken, with an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis exploring subjective experiences of alcohol and acculturation processes. Participants articulated numerous and varied experiences of their transitions, however, did not draw connections between stressful transition experiences and subsequent drinking. Most participants reported having increased their drinking since arrival in Australia, and although many participants had adapted to Australian patterns of drinking and socialising, they also reported it was challenging to navigate different cultural and social expectations and values around alcohol that were strongly rooted as a part of their ethnic heritage. Our participants’ experiences may be useful to inform future research on this much under-studied topic, as well as being used by universities to consider appropriate strategies for addressing alcohol-related acculturation processes as part of orientation curriculum with international students.

Higher Education, Exclusion, and Belonging

Generations of migrants from Asia since the 1800s have endured challenges in locating their place and belonging in Australia due to systemic racism and discrimination against the cultural and religious ‘other’. These persistent issues have intensified during the pandemic, especially towards Chinese communities, including international students. This paper investigates the impact of the pandemic on Chinese, Indian and Russian international students in Australia. It reveals how, throughout the first year of the pandemic, international student, ethnic and religious community organizations implemented multiple and overlapping coping strategies to assist international students in Australia, who had been left vulnerable by a lack of government support and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. By highlighting the religious dimensions of these strategies of connectedness and belonging, it contributes new insights in an under-explored aspect in studies on international students in Australia, pointing the way for further investigation.

The Importance of “Motivation” in Studying English as a Second Language of International Students in Australia

People nowadays try to improve their English competency in many ways. Accordingly, enhancing English proficiency by studying abroad is considered the most effective strategy. However, learning a second language which is not your mother tongue always gives you a lot of challenges. Therefore, to achieve the best outcome in exploring any new language, particular English, this requires language learners to have high motivation, a clear goal, and to be aware of its importance. This is because there is no success without effort or determination; trying is hard but giving up is too easy. This paper aims at exploring into motivation, especially discussing its impacts on language learning to figure out how important it is to international students in Australia. This paper is to help increase international students’ awareness of the importance of motivation, an indicator of success. The results have shown that motivation has both positive and negative impacts on studying English language.

Budaya – A Social Enterprise Business Model

The article illustrates the business plan of a social enterprise - Budaya. This business is based on the recent visible trends of the growing number of international students in Australia. One of the main problems they face is getting work opportunities in the country due to work restrictions or lack of Australian work experience. Also, Australian companies prefer to hire locals. Moreover, small and medium companies (SME’s) are trying to explore the international markets to diversify their business. It requires information about the international markets and its preferences. Thus, there is an unmet need on both sides. To meet these demands, we have come up with a platform called Budaya to match both these unmet needs. Based in Brisbane, Budaya is a platform to provide international students work opportunities in the form of internships in local SME’s based on their cultural knowledge and skills and to some degree, this behavior will also help companies to understand the different culturally diverse markets by employing international students. Our purpose is to help international students find working opportunities and local companies get foreign markets information. Thus, Budaya is a social enterprise, as the income generated from the business shall be invested back into the business to make it grow.

Undergraduate international students’ challenges in a flipped classroom environment: An Australian perspective

ABSTRACT Flipped classroom approaches have increasingly been adopted in the Australian higher education sector. However, current research on this approach is predominantly quantitative and focused on domestic students. Little is known about the flipped classroom learning experiences of undergraduate international students in Australia. This paper sets out to investigate undergraduate international students’ challenges in a flipped classroom environment, based on thirty-two semi-structured interviews with undergraduate international students at an Australian university. We identified several challenges, including language issues, barriers to autonomous learning, as well as technical and technological challenges. International students in our study also provide constructive recommendations to improve the design of the flipped classroom. This paper contributes new insights into the nuances of undergraduate international students’ challenges in a flipped classroom environment.

Health and Employment Experiences of Chinese International Students in Australia

Chinese international students represent a significant social, economic and cultural force in Australian society. Research has demonstrated that Chinese students enrich Australia not only through their economic contribution, but through soft diplomacy and cultural links. Despite this, and the recent rapid growth in the number of Chinese international students to the country, only a small number of studies have focused specifically on understanding the health and employment experiences of Chinese students in Australia. This paper examines interview data from an ethnographic study involving ten Chinese international students pursuing higher education in New South Wales, Australia. Topics concerning work rights and exploitation, migration, and cultural differences are touched upon within their health and employment experiences. This paper provides insights for those working with Chinese international students in the areas of health education and promotion, diversity and inclusion, employment and mobility studies. The results contribute to broader insights into the inward/outward mobility of higher education students and Australia’s National Strategy for International Education 2025.

Motivations and Career Decisions in Occupational Therapy Course: A Qualitative Inquiry of Asia-Pacific International Students in Australia

PurposeThis study aims to understand the motivations of academic voyage and post-graduation career decisions of occupational therapy international students in Australia. The following two research questions guided this study: why do international students choose to study in Australia instead of ones in their own countries? And why do international students choose to study occupational therapy program(s) in Australia instead of ones in their own countries?Patients and MethodsA qualitative design with phenomenology was employed to recruit 20 participants for the data collection procedures, including interview sessions, focus group activity, and member checking interview. The participants were studying one of the accredited occupational therapy programs in Australia as international students.ResultsSix themes were yielded. All participants expressed that due to the excellent education, reasonable tuition fees and living standard, and the positive career opportunities, almost all expressed their positive experiences of their Australian voyage as international students and tended to stay in Australia after they gained the registration career development. More importantly, the notions of contribution to Australian communities are captured as many considered Australia as an important place in their lives.ConclusionUniversity leaders may wish to take action in upgrading their international students’ services, particularly career development services. Government agencies may take this study as a blueprint for upgrading the current regulations for international students, particularly in establishing a targeted immigration visa for recent graduates who want to establish their own businesses or invest in Australia.

Teaching Gender and Cultural Studies in Australia as Part of Asia: Reflections on Classroom Politics and Pedagogies

ABSTRACT Gender and cultural studies is, at its core, a pedagogical project for social and political change. Students are invited to new ways of thinking and acting in the world, shaped by intellectual traditions evolving from various social movements around race, class and feminism in mostly Western nation-states. Our students’ imaginations are very much captured by these political possibilities, including international students whose reception and interpretation of these knowledges are filtered through different cultural contexts and in different language registers. Teaching gender and cultural studies in Australia with increasing numbers of international students from Asian countries presents a range of practical, intellectual, and ethical questions. How might we translate different intellectual traditions and languages across local and international student groups, in ways that enhance learning for both cohorts? How might we be implicated in the reshaping of international students’ imagination of their own genealogies, and their futurities? What colonising logics might unwittingly be reproduced in our curriculums that are expressly committed to the rhetoric and activism of decolonialism? Through the perspective of two classroom practitioners, this article investigates the challenges and possibilities of teaching Gender and Cultural Studies to local and international students in Australia.

Политика в отношении иностранных студентов в принимающем сообществе: кейс Австралии

Studying the problems associate with international students in host communities seems to be an extremely urgent scientific task of our time, attention to which is paid from the standpoint of economics, sociology, psychology, pedagogy and a number of other sciences;not the last place in this order is occupied by political science. Russian Federation, along with long-term leaders represented by the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and France, was actively involved in the struggle to attract foreign students, which became possible, not least due to the inclusion of domestic universities in the struggle for advancement in international academic rankings, as well as staging within the framework of the National Project, tasks to increase the export of education. Despite the obvious advantages of such a solution, expressed in the form of an increase in the international status of Russia as a center of science and education, economic benefits, there are also significant risks both for students (international and Russian) and for the host community. In this regard, the main aim of the work is to identity the main problems faced by international students in Australia, a state that is one of the generally recognized leaders in the export of education, which has experienced a significant quantitative increase in recent years. The choice of Australia as a research object is associated with a number of factors: a jump-like growth of foreign students similar to Russia in a short time;the sustainability of the higher education system has become dependent on one importer (China);emerging problems, specific cases, are raised for discussion both by the state (for example, in the form of open government reports) and by the media, which does not happen in other leading countries. As a result of the study, the following conclusions were obtained Australia has experienced an exponential and very ill-considered increase in the number of international students in recent years. The reliance on attracting students from China, thanks to which the main growth was ensured, and the change in the order of public funding, put universities in serious dependence on Beijing, with which political tensions continue to grow. Reorientation to other markets (for example, India and Nepal) leads to a decrease in the level of students' training, including language, which, as a result, has a devastating effect on the level of Australian education in general. In the current crisis situation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian government made international students «unwelcome guests» which also has significant image losses. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Рассматривается политика, проводимая австралийским правительством и университетами в отношении ино- странных студентов. На основе открытых источников выявляются основные проблемы, с которыми сталкиваются иностранные студенты в Австралии - одном из мировых лидеров по интернационализации системы высшего образования, где произошел в последние годы существенный рост. Делается вывод, что австралийская система, поставленная в жесткую зависимость от Китая, находится в неустойчивом положении, требуя диверсификации. Обеспечение стабильного роста количества иностранных студентов приводит к существенному снижению их уровня, что наряду с позицией правительства во время коронакризиса подрывает имидж австралийского образо- вания. (Russian) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Tomsk State University Journal of History is the property of Tomsk State University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paradox of Whiteness: Neoliberal multiculturalism and the case of Chinese international students in Australia

Since its formal inception in the 1970s, Australian (ethno-) ‘multiculturalism’ has been a source of debate over the nation’s imagined trajectory. This internal or national discourse has, inter alia, critiqued the unchanging racialised power relations between groups, where ethnocultural plurality becomes subsumed under a predominant White governmentality. In this article, however, we consider a particular difficulty in sustaining a ‘truly’ multicultural narrative of contemporary Australian society from an extra-national perspective. To do so, we draw from in-depth interviews with 28 Chinese international students (CIS) in Australia to examine how a White Australia is constructed and normalised from outside the state. We utilise these perspectives to argue for the importance of considering extra-national factors in maintaining this racialised imaginary of Australia as a White nation. This argument also foregrounds the challenge of Australia’s neoliberal multiculturalism project in capitalising on a normative multiculturalism on the international stage, highlighting an extra-national difficulty to fully commit to a multicultural re-imagining of the nation that is divorced from a racialist narrative. This further presents a conundrum for the Australian state racialised as White. That is, the need to relinquish a White face to engender better social cohesion amongst its ethnoculturally diverse populations paradoxically exists in tandem with the need to maintain a White face for the attraction of more diversity, at least for economic benefits in this globalised, neoliberal era.

'We Might not Be Citizens but We Are Still People': Australia’s Disregard for the Human Rights of International Students during COVID-19

Globally, in 2020, the health, social and economic consequences of lockdown laws that were enacted to contain the pandemic disproportionately disadvantaged temporary migrants. In his now infamous statement to visa holders in March 2020, the Australian Prime Minister contrasted “good times” during which “it’s lovely to have visitors to Australia” with “times like this” in which non-residents were no longer welcome in Australia. Despite its relative global affluence, Australia excluded temporary visa holders from virtually all government wage subsidies and other financial support packages. Against the backdrop of Australia’s human rights obligations to migrants in its territory, this article empirically examines the impact of Australia’s response to the pandemic on international students in Australia, the largest group of long-term temporary visa holders who, with their limited work rights during their studies, have become a de facto low wage migrant workforce in this country. It presents new large-scale data from a July 2020 survey of over 5,000 international students and recent graduates reflecting widespread inability to pay for essential needs (including food and medical needs), lack of access to secure housing, lack of access to emergency support, and their experiences of racism, discrimination and social exclusion in Australia during the pandemic. The article concludes that there must be a national and global reckoning with the immediate and long-term impact of government policies on migrants during the pandemic and reinvigoration of the relevance of the human rights framework during “times like this”.

Sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of Chinese international students studying abroad (in Australia, the UK and the US): a scoping review.

International students within Australia are disproportionately affected by adverse sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes. Chinese international students represent the majority of international students in Australia, and a large proportion of students in other high-income countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, making them an important priority group. However, the SRH issues of this priority group have received little attention from international researchers. This review provides an overview of global studies surrounding the SRH knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of Chinese international students studying abroad. Ten articles were deemed relevant and findings from both the qualitative and quantitative data synthesis were categorised into six codes: (1) knowledge; (2) sources of information; (3) attitudes; (4) behaviours; (5) barriers; and (6) recommendations. The findings provide valuable understanding to inform the development of targeted, culturally sensitive and inclusive health promotion initiatives and policies. It is recommended that further research is conducted in this field to reduce evident health disparities.

“Behind the white curtain”: Indian students and researchers in Australia, 1901–1950

PurposeAcademic scholarship on the White Australia Policy (WAP) has highlighted the history of Asian migration, early perceptions and policy-making initiatives. Prominent scholars have also pointed out the impact of the British Empire and WAP on Australia–India relations and early Indian migrants in Australia. Drawing on the debate concerning international students in Australia, our purpose in this article is to recover the role of Indian students in the story of Australian–Indian connections.Design/methodology/approachThe article aims to highlight the reasons behind the involvement of the Australian government in the provision of scholarships and fellowships to Indian students and researchers at Australian universities during the period of WAP. To achieve this, it uses contemporary Australian newspaper reports to explore the popular representations of sponsored Indian students and researchers in Australia from 1901 to 1950.FindingsThe article concludes that the prevalence of this racially discriminatory immigration policy created a dissatisfaction among Indians, and some Australian sources of agitation, that helped chip away at the Australian government’s admission policies and the gradual demise of WAP.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the historiography and the effects of colonialism on Australian–Indian relations and debates on policy formation based on ideas of whiteness.