Academic Adjustment: The Other Side Of The Export Dollar

Abstract

Asian students bring to Australia a very different educational and intellectual experience from that which awaits them in tertiary studies here. Traditional attitudes to knowledge and styles of learning can lead to severe problems of intellectual culture shock, especially in approaches to knowledge and academic authority. If these students are to make a successful adjustment to the styles of teaching and learning in Australia, they need specific assistance in methods of study and language development. Academic staff may also have to recognize these problems of transition by adapting their own styles of teaching. If in the course of their studies here these students do not become capable of independent thinking and a critical approach to their area of expertise, they may not be able to adapt their new knowledge to the needs and constraints of their home country on their return. This paper is based on the experience of the Study Skills Unit at the Australian National University in working with postgraduate and undergraduate overseas students, and on two extended study tours in Southeast Asia and Burma to gain understanding of the cultural and educational backgrounds of students from this region. It draws attention to the need for academic institutions to provide adequate support systems for any increased intake of overseas students.