Global academics moving down under: living and learning a new academic culture

Abstract

The tertiary education system has become an international phenomenon in recent decades, and, increasingly, Australian institutions are employing academic staff and postgraduate students from other countries. This now poses a number of challenges. International academics are reporting that cultural differences and stresses are impacting on their work. This has required an examination of both curricula and assessment practices in the tertiary sphere. Having academic staff from diverse backgrounds working in tertiary institutions arouses interesting patterns of interaction with other personnel, students, learning materials and learning contexts. This chapter examines a large number of international academics from Non-English Speaking Background (NESB), who are working in various Australian university faculties and disciplines. The study analyses the key factors influencing the NESB international academics’ employment. Seventy-five participants working in six Australian universities participated in this study.