Understanding and Supporting the Confucian Heritage Culture International Students in Victorian Independent Schools: A Perspective of School Leaders

Abstract

Greater demand for quality post-secondary education has been seen in Asia, particularly in China. Many Western countries have seen a rise in international education. Increasingly, schools in Australia are embracing internationalisation policies, leading to an increase in international student enrolment before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. International students in school education are something of a little-understood issue for educational scholars, policy makers and the general public. Leadership is seen as pivotal in the success of schools’ internationalisation program. By applying a mixed-method approach to collect data from an online Qualtrics survey and semi-structured interviews with independent school leaders in Australia, this paper reports how school leaders understand Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) international students’ linguistic, cultural and educational contributions to schools, and their experience in supporting the international students to adapt into the new educational environments through various programs and strategies. This article also advocates that it is vital to respect the international students’ educational subjectivities generated in their “home” countries when providing support programs to help them engage with new educational contexts in “host” nations.

Gentlemen seek harmony but not uniformity: The heterogeneity of entrepreneurial team and organizational resilience

“…Boundary-crossing behavior can break down this capacity rigidity and path dependence, and it can effectively push innovation boundaries. But it also brings new challenges to the value judgment and resource integration decision of the entrepreneurial team ( Zhang and Chan, 2021 ). Therefore, this paper proposes the following hypotheses:…”

Strengthening co-op educators' support practices for international students' transitional experiences in the American workplaces

“…International students in Johnson et al's (2018) study further shared struggles of feeling comfortable asking professors questions even after an extensive time staying in the United States, as it is considered disrespectful in their home culture. Another difference in the Western way of learning is the requirement for more self-direction, self-management, and independence to do well academically (Achirri, 2021;Lértora & Sullivan, 2019;Zhang & Chan, 2021). These necessary transitions inevitably hamper international students' academic performances and contribute to their mental stress.…”

“…International students bring enormous value to their school communities, including fostering a multicultural atmosphere, bringing about language and ethnic diversity, and encouraging intercultural awareness and competency among all community members (Zhang & Chan, 2021). Providing a culturally responsive education to international students is necessary for achieving educational equality (Mahalingappa et al, 2021;Janakiraman et al, 2019;Xie & Ferguson, 2022) and cultivating a truly multicultural campus (Zhang & Chan, 2021). According to Yeh et al (2022), culturally sensitive teaching considers the implications of students' cultural contexts in all facets of their social and emotional development.…”

“…According to Yeh et al (2022), culturally sensitive teaching considers the implications of students' cultural contexts in all facets of their social and emotional development. To implement culturally sensitive teaching means that educators incorporate students' cultural knowledge and prior experience into curricula and class activities, making learning relevant to increase students' engagement (Mahalingappa et al, 2021;Yeh et al, 2022;Zhang & Chan, 2021).…”

“…Finally, some studies recommend designating advisors and staff members from multicultural backgrounds to work with international students, as they can relate to students' life experiences and provide accurate support (Liu et al, 2020;Zhang & Chan, 2021). Ultimately, researchers and practitioners propose that universities should make conscious efforts to hear the voices of international student groups and understand their unique needs during the planning of career and other support services (Huang & Turner, 2018;Johnson et al, 2018;Li et al, 2021;Mills & Stefaniak, 2020;Yeh et al, 2022).…”