Principles of Teaching, Learning and the Student Experience
Staff
Students can differ in:
The term 'culture' has many different meanings. In excerpts from his book 'Keywords', Raymond Williams (1983, p. 87) declares that:
"Culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language. This is so partly because of its intricate historical development, in several European languages, but mainly because it has now come to be used for important concepts in several distinct intellectual disciplines and in several distinct and incompatible systems of thought."
As stated in the Oxford dictionary, 'culture' can relate to 'tillage of the soil' or 'production of organisms' or 'intellectual development and tastes'. It can be a 'form or type of civilisation' and the 'customs of a people'. In education environments, it is recognised that there is much diversity even within forms of civilization and customs of people. For example, there is diversity in respect to age, disability, gender, socio-economic status, living conditions, and even personality, all of which can impact on learning. However, for the purposes of this module, we are using the term 'cultural diversity' in relation to the broad characteristics of the ethnicity and customs of a people.
This applies essentially to international students who have come to Deakin to study, but may also apply to students who have recently migrated to Australia, and whose cultural mores reflect their country of birth.
In higher education institutions, we tend to refer to international students as though they belong to large groups, hence we talk about Asian students, African students, Indian students as distinct cohorts with particular understandings and needs. But of course, there is great variation not only across cultures, but also within cultures.
Added to that, we have large numbers of native-born students whose parents came from a non-Western, non-Anglo background. In appearance, they may look similar to students whose ancestors migrated long ago, or students who have recently arrived. Yet learning styles can vary greatly depending on where and how they received their schooling, and the home environment in which they were reared.
There is a need to acknowledge that everyone has a cultural background, and a need to try and understand how a different culture will have shaped understandings and expectations, while also acknowledging that people within a culture are different - they're shaped by the culture, but they're still individuals.
Williams, R. (1983). Keywords : a vocabulary of culture and society / Raymond Williams, London, Fontana Paperbacks
