Education with(out) distinction: beyond graduate attributes for Chinese international students

Reframing ‘the problem’: students from low socio-economic status backgrounds transitioning to university

“…The geographically displaced international students have adapted themselves to their new learning environment and have learnt to understand the educational expectations of their teachers and the cultural practices of their new living surroundings. Bewildered by a new academic culture and new language environment, these students often recount negative experiences studying in a supposedly multicultural university (Song and Cadman, 2012). Their learning styles and social behaviours, derived from different cultural heritages, are often questioned, and pose significant challenges to the nature, value and quality of the academics' lives in the hosting education institutions (Gu and Maley, 2008).…”

The Cultural Elements of Academic Honesty

“…This finding agrees with that of Awdry and Sarre (2013) when they noted that "tutors should focus less on the detection and punishment of plagiarism and more on the value of students completing their own work and valuing their own integrity" (p. 43). University leadership needs to be sensitive to this perception by showing their willingness to provide training on the academic literacy necessary to succeed in their environment (Song & Cadman, 2013).…”

“…For this study, the workshop format for sharing knowledge was chosen because previous research has indicated the efficacy of workshops in assisting international students to better understand their host university's expectations (Chen & Van Ullen, 2011;Craig et al, 2010). Scenarios were used in the post-test to examine the participants' understanding of the concepts that were presented (Song & Cadman, 2013). The quantitative data obtained from the workshops served as a starting point for the qualitative portion of the study.…”

“…Multiple researchers have stressed the importance of helping international students understand their host university's academic policies and concept of plagiarism (Abasi, Akbari, & Graves, 2006;Abasi & Graves, 2008;Amsberry, 2010a;Chen & Van Ullen, 2011;Duff, Rogers, & Harris, 2006;Holmes, 2004;Mundava & Chaudhuri, 2007;Song & Cadman, 2013;Song-Turner, 2008).…”

“…Understanding English words does not mean one understands the concept behind the word. In an Asian Studies course developed for Chinese speakers at an Australian university, professors sought to meet the needs of the students by designing an interactive course which they conducted bilingually in English and Chinese (Song & Cadman, 2013). As part of the course, the students and professors discussed research terms and clarified concepts.…”