This qualitative study examines the interplay between academic staff and international students with regard to developing academic literacies at university. Higher education has traditionally responded to increasing student diversity with the expectation that students will conform to institutional norms or habitus. In this context international students arrive with cultural capital which may not fit such norms, and would benefit from developing their academic literacy, as indeed would home students given an increasingly diverse student body in Irish higher education. Findings reveal a gap between academics expectations and international students' capabilities. Academic staff remained within the remit of the research in contrast to the 22 international students who were interviewed. They did not separate the totality of their campus experience from academic literacy practices. These ranged from uncertainty around writing in another language to a mismatch between diversity management in class and students' own expectations. International students found difficulty to making friends on campus which could benefit their integration into the academic literacy practices of their respective disciplines. Findings point towards a whole institution response to student diversity which transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
This empirical study surveyed academic staff at a Swedish university about their experiences and perceptions of the use of English in their academic fields. The objective was to examine how the influence of English in disciplinary domains might affect the viability of Swedish in the academic sphere and to investigate how it might disadvantage Swedish scholars. The data findings were analyzed quantitatively and are complemented with a qualitative content analysis, outlining perception and attitude patterns in the responses. Findings suggest power asymmetry between English and Swedish, as the data contain indications of perceived unequal opportunities between native and nonnative speakers in the international academic community. Swedish scholars highlighted the nuanced expressions of academic discourse found in social science writing as creating particular difficulty when writing in English.
Though the majority of students make a successful transition to higher level education, mass education and the strategic marketing of universities have seen academic interest in the transition process receive significant attention in recent years. In Ireland, following two years of focused examination preparation, students are considerably underprepared for transition. This qualitative study uses student reflective journals in the first semester of first year as an innovative approach to examining transition to higher education through lived experience and the student voice. A total 36 undergraduate students kept an academic reflective journal relating to their learning. They were encouraged to describe their feelings in relation to their learning, how it differed to their previous learning experiences and to reflect on two increasingly deeper levels. A grounded theory analysis found students addressed these issues by basing them on previous school relationships, such as making friends. This approach to transition revealed that group work was problematic as learning from peers differed significantly from their educational experience at secondary school. They also reflected on the use of the journal during the semester thereby providing a unique insight into the transition process. Results indicate that transition should be viewed both as an ongoing process during an undergraduate programme and an integral part of lifelong learning.
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