Challenging the notion of sameness and difference in internationalised higher education institutions

Abstract

Higher education institutions are now consists of students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Classrooms are no longer consisting of only Anglo Australian students but students from around the globe. However, few systematic and qualitative analysis studies have been conducted to examine how academic staff perceives the presence of international students in their institutions. Using interview data from eighty academic staff from different disciplines in one higher institution in Australia, this study examines whether the presence of international students has an impact on staff teaching practice. Some of the academic staff reported that they made no adjustments to their teaching. They treated all students as one student group. Other staff members said that there have been changes in their teaching in response to the presence of international students in their classroom. The paper discusses some of the underlying causes of these responses, and implications for the practice of international education.