Preparing Australian nurse educators to teach international students

Abstract

Australia is the third largest provider of international education ,however, the preparedness of academics, teaching international students, may not have kept abreast with the growth in universities’ student enrolments in transnational teaching programs. The differences in Western and Asian cultures present challenges that can have a significant impact on the education of international students particularly in transnational teaching programs. As such, there is a need for educators to develop specific strategies to ensure positive student experience, learning and outcomes for international students. A design-based research methodology was adopted to construct, evaluate and endorse a professional development workshop that integrated reflective practice as the method of delivery. The professional development workshop sought primarily to assist nurse educators gain a deeper awareness of the cultural considerations associated with teaching international students and thereby develop strategies to effectively teach this cohort of students. Overall, the participants rated the workshop as highly effective, recognizing the relevance and appropriateness of the workshop content to their professional development needs and for clarifying appropriate and relevant strategies that could be employed when teaching international students. The professional development workshop participants affirmed that the workshop assisted them in developing understanding about cultural factors specific to a cohort of students they taught in Hong Kong. Further, these teachers believed that the integration of identified culturally sensitive teaching strategies in their practice was a direct result of their engagement in the workshops.