Abstracts – Session One
10:00 – 11:00 – 6EN – 514
Chair: Iuliana Rodinciuc
Morteza Sharifi: A Critical Entry of International Students into Intercultural Communication in Higher Education
Internationalisation is inevitable and necessary for higher education in an ever more globalised world. Key to its successful negotiation by higher education institutions is intercultural communication, through which students, whether local or international, develop their skills to live, work and understand others as global citizens. However, intercultural communication does not happen simply because local and international students are on campus and in classrooms together. In fact, the research shows that intercultural encounters may lead to internationals forming negative attitudes about locals, and vice-versa, if they are not adequately trained in intercultural communication. For example, some scholars propose projects like assigning a local student as a buddy to an international student so that they can both learn about their respective cultures. However, there is not much evidence that intercultural communication is actually happening, nor is it usual for academic staff to undergo formal training in intercultural awareness and competence, especially in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This study used the lens of critical ethnography to conduct and analyse twelve in-depth interviews with international students in undergraduate to doctoral programmes. The findings generally showed a lack of meaningful intercultural communication between internationals and locals that resulted in mutual misunderstanding and ethnic stereotyping. This suggests that there is a need for further training in intercultural communication for everyone at universities to foster mutual understanding and avoid ethnic stereotyping by internationals and locals.
Lana Kostrykina: Never the Twain Shall Meet? IoHE in the Asia-Pacific region
The presentation provides insight on IoHE in the Asia-Pacific region, ASEAN and, specifically, in the two under-researched contexts of New Zealand and Indonesia. It explains the proposed holistic theory for IoHE, which sheds light on the role and the purpose of IoHE in the emerging global knowledge economy and provides further impetus for discussion on this important topic. The proposed theory offers a practical framework, which could be applied to academic inquiry concerned with export education industries and IoHE practices in diverse regional and institutional contexts.
The presentation highlights the results of a 4-year research, which reconsiders the role of IoHE in the global export education industry and the emerging global knowledge economy. The purpose of the research was to design, and to test, an explanatory theory for IoHE that is applicable in a major Englishspeaking destination country, and an Asian context. A pragmatic, mixed-methods approach was used to investigate two instrumental case studies, New Zealand and Indonesia, selected as underresearched local contexts for IoHE, which are, nonetheless, an integral part of the global export education industry.
A Bourdieusian Theory of Practice and the knowledge economy paradigm were utilised to investigate these features further and explain the role of IoHE in the emerging global knowledge economy. The findings have revealed that IoHE practices in both contexts display homogenous features influencedby the global neoliberal agenda and nationalistic agendas, which are reflected in the concepts of rationality and relationality. These concepts also correspond with the competition and collaboration trends that are pivotal for the global export education industry. Further investigation of the two concepts resulted in a new holistic theory for IoHE in New Zealand and Indonesia.
Alex Pennycuick: Kia Ora and Welcome Aboard – Investigating faculty-based support to improve the experience of new international doctoral students
Despite extensive literature considering international student mobility, the growth of international doctoral enrolment numbers in New Zealand, and numerous theories on adjustment and acculturation practices of international students in higher education, minimal attention has been paid to the lived experience of international doctoral students when they arrive to begin study. This small practitioner inquiry sought to gain a clearer understanding of the current experience of the international doctoral cohort at faculty level, and to explore staff and student understanding of how to optimise pastoral and welfare support for international students at the outset of their doctoral program. Over a four week period, twelve participants involved in the faculty’s doctoral program were interviewed on their experiences in this context. The findings highlight four major themes relating to the current student experience. These themes describe participants understanding of a quality education, barriers to inclusion in their new environment, experiences of isolation, and engagement in the faculty and across campus. This study indicates that if these administrative and acculturative concerns are remedied, this may in turn have a positive effect on an international doctoral student’s academic success and overall wellbeing. These key findings can inform changes to improve conditions for international doctoral students within faculties and universities.