Studying media, communication and management in Australia: What chinese postgraduates really think.

Daymon, C. (2013) Studying media, communication and management in Australia: What chinese postgraduates really think. In: 2013 MLeague Forum. 'Global Development of Higher Education in Media and Communication: The Age of Web 2.0', 29 September 2013, Beijing, China.

Abstract

In recent years, there have been increasing numbers of international students studying on coursework programs in media, communication and management in universities in the UK, USA and Australia. Students from China comprise one of the largest groups of international students, especially in Australia where 40.6% are from China. Cross-cultural research indicates that persons exposed to novel and unfamiliar cultural environments – such as global business travellers, migrants, refugees, tourists and also students – are subject to a range of challenges as they learn to cope with unfamiliar cultural environments. For postgraduate coursework students , the time span can be as short as one year in which to acquire not only the second-culture social skills but also to become accustomed to the learning and teaching practices of the host university as well as the discourse of the discipline. Chinese postgraduate students appear to face distinct challenges, as do the academics who teach them (Li 2012; Wang & Shan 2007). In this presentation, I outline findings from a collaborative project involving universities in Australia and China which aims to examine both student and teacher expectations and experiences within Chinese and Australian tertiary education systems in the disciplines of media, communication and management. I also present some nascent ideas, grounded both in the research and from a pooling of disciplinary expertise by the multicultural research team, for the development of tailored pedagogic practices and learning materials. These can be used to support students both before departure from China and also during their studies in universities abroad. These take account of the role of students’ socio-cultural and educational backgrounds in culture learning and discipline skills development.

Item Type:	Conference Item
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Arts
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/26442

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