EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY, PERTH , WESTERN AUSTRALIA

1Case Study on Intercultural Learning and Dialogue - Millicent Poole, for IAU

Case Study presented by Millicent E. Poole

Intercultural Dialogue in action within the university context

Edith Cowan University Western Australia

Introduction Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a large, multi Campus University in Perth Western Australia. It has approximately 22,500 students, including nearly four thousand international students, from around 80 countries.

ECUs mission is: to provide, within a diverse and dynamic learning environment, university education of recognised quality, especially for those people employed in, or seeking employment in, the service professions.

We have a strong commitment to our three defining themes: Service, Professionalism and Enterprise. ECU strives to epitomise diversity and institutional differentiation. This differentiation is driven by a dynamic ability to understand and service a distinctive set of needs in the Western Australian education and labour markets. This capability extends to national and international markets.

As a New Generation University, we are enterprising in the way we define and implement our mission and in our approach to teaching and learning, where we pursue innovative strategies to cater for our highly diverse student group. In common with newer universities around the world, Australian New Generation Universities have the most diverse student populations, with higher than average proportions of:

Part time studentsStudents aged 25 and overIndigenous studentsPeople with disabilitiesPeople from a non-English speaking backgroundWomen in non-traditional areasPeople from rural and isolated areasPeople from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds Poole, M.E. (2004), Australias New Generation Universities: A broad data profile, paper prepared for the New Generation Universities Conference, University College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, BC Canada.

Edith Cowan University has undertaken an extensive and successful strategy of international student recruitment. Initially perhaps this was driven by the need to source additional revenue; we now value the richness international students add to the diversity of our student body, and regard this diversity as one of our major strengths.

Outline of policy/practice/programECU has a strong policy framework to support intercultural understanding and internationalisation. We have a range of policies covering equality of opportunity, statements on Indigenous issues, policies and procedures for recruitment and enrolment of international students, support for onshore international students, quality and monitoring processes for our offshore partners, numerous staff and student exchange agreements, and a variety of international partnership agreements. Our teaching and learning policies support internationalisation of the curriculum. ECU promotes and celebrates multiculturalism.

This case study will not outline the detail of our policies. Whilst these are vitally important, I will take this opportunity to share how ECU walks the talk, to discuss what strategies we use, and consider intercultural dialogue in action at ECU.

Indigenous dialogueIn Australian higher education, dialogue with indigenous (or first nation) peoples is a key priority. Aboriginal students and staff are under-represented within higher education, and a complex array of social, health, poverty and employment issues for this group are still to be resolved.

At ECU we have established a School of Indigenous Studies Kurongkurl Katitjin as one strategy to address the issue of intercultural dialogue with indigenous groups. Kurongkurl Katitjin means Coming Together to Learn in local Nyungar language. A dedicated school with its welcoming environment provides tremendous support for indigenous students and staff and is proving a highly successful strategy.

ECU has offered Indigenous programs and pathways into university courses for the last 25 years. Students can enrol in the Indigenous University Orientation Course, through to undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The pathways component is particularly important as indigenous children do not have the same participation rate in post compulsory education as non-indigenous students. Without the support and opportunity provided through university preparation courses, and the ongoing tutoring and mentoring we provide, many indigenous students would not be able to access university, or succeed once enrolled.

However, we found that Kurongkurl Katitjin, whilst providing a wonderful resource for students and the community, had become the focal point of indigenous interaction. We have taken a conscious decision to extend indigenous interaction across the University. One of the lessons I would draw from this aspect of the case study is the vigilance needed to ensure that one initiative does not come to be seen as the solution to a challenge. The extension of the role of the Indigenous Consultative Committee to provide a broader dialogue between the whole University and the indigenous community is one response we have made. The establishment of a Pro Vice-Chancellor, (Equity and Indigenous) was another very strong strategy to raise the profile of our work in this area. The construction of a purpose-built indigenous centre to better meet the needs of indigenous students and staff, which is currently underway, is another strong message to the community of the value that we place on supporting indigenous students.

Internationalisation of the CurriculumECU has adopted the definition of internationalisation as: the process of integrating an international/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of the institution. ECUs Academic Board, 2002. This definition draws upon Knight, J., (1999) Internationalisation in Higher Education, in Quality and Internationalisation in Higher Education, OECD, Paris, p16. Further, the International Plan of the University states that the Universitys approach to international activities is not simply in terms of revenue generation, but embraces the internationalisation of Australian students and staff.

The Universitys commitment to a broad interpretation of internationalisation was strengthened when its Academic Board adopted the following as one of its generic graduate attributes: an ECU graduate is culturally sensitive, appreciates other cultures and demonstrates international and global perspectives.

The report Internationalisation of Higher Education: Goals and Strategies commission by IDP Education Australia in 1996 suggested that the key components of internationalisation could be divided into two main categories:

Program strategies, which refer to those academic activities and services which integrate an international dimension into the main functions of higher education.

Organisational strategies which include those initiation which help to ensure that an international dimension is institutionalised through appropriate policies and administrative systems.

Examples of program and organisational strategies are Adapted from a paper prepared by Professor Robyn Quin for ECUs Vice Chancellors Planning and Management Group:

Program strategies Academic programsOrganisational strategies

Student-oriented programsStaff oriented programsCurriculum development programsResearch and scholarly collaborationTransnational programsExtracurricular activities

GovernanceOperationsSupport servicesHuman resource development

Our recent review of internationalisation of the curriculum suggests that ECU has already implemented most of the elements of these strategies.

Recent work by the International Association of Universities shows that student, staff and teacher development; academic standards and quality assurance; and international research collaboration are ranked as the three most important benefits of internationalisation.

GlobalisationIn building upon our internationalisation strategy we are now looking to extend this towards educating our students for a global knowledge society. This will require us to focus more closely on our graduate attributes and how they will equip our students to flourish within a global knowledge society.

Examples of International cooperation:The Utrecht NetworkThe Utrecht Network consists of twenty-six universities from Western and Central Europe that cooperate in a wide range of activities. The Australian-European Network (AEN) was established in 1999 as a result of cooperation between seven Australian universities and the Utrecht Network. The AEN and Utrecht Network work together to provide opportunities for student and staff exchange programs and research collaboration. ECU was one of the founding members of the network and has been active in encouraging staff and students to take advantage of the intercultural exchange opportunities it provides.

Staff and student exchangesECU hosts many international Study Abroad students each year. ECU students are also encouraged to broaden their skills and knowledge by spending part of their university life studying at international partner universities. ECU has long standing exchange agreements with approximately 60 universities all over the world. Students can study overseas for one or two semesters and earn credits towards their ECU degree.

The ECU international Study Abroad and Exchange program is seen to have many benefits: it widens students horizons intellectually, socially and culturally; it provides an intellectual adventure and opportunities for personal growth; and it also improves future employment prospects.

Hyogo University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific Western Australia has had a sister-state relationship with Hyogo Prefecture, Japan since 1981. The Hyogo University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific agreement, signed in May 2000, includes four Japanese universities (Himeiji Dokkyo University, Konan University, Kobe Shinwa Womens University and the College of Nursing, Art and Science, Kobe) and has the aims of: increasing the exchange of students and staff, increasing regional cooperation between universities, deepening the mutual understanding of cultural, economic and social systems of the countries in the region and acting as an international base for developing new leaders for the next generation.

Through the scheme ECU Japanese language students have had the opportunity to participate in cultural exchange with Japanese students, through spending a week on the Biennial Floating University. On-board they take part in lectures and social activities. ECU hosts about 80 of these students at Joondalup campus - providing them with a taste of some aspects of Australian life.

International associationsECU is a member of a number of international associations most notably the International Association of Universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the International Association of University Presidents. Involvement in these organisations at Board level ensures that the Vice-Chancellor and other senior staff are regularly exposed to the issues facing higher education providers around the world. The intercultural dialogue also provides opportunities for ECU to engage on issues at an international level. ECU is able to bring different ways of thinking into its own strategies, and as such is enriched by this dialogue.

Responses to international incidentsLike many institutions ECU has had to respond to major international incidents in a way which reflects our abhorrence of the events but which also makes clear our support for international students and staff.

ECU recognises the danger of prejudice and intolerance which can arise after recent incidents, and strongly supports the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committees condemnation of racial vilification, harassment and discrimination. We support the AVCCs statements that such actions and behaviour are morally repugnant, and contrary to Australias traditions of equality of opportunity, social inclusiveness and multiculturalism.

We have also responded in practical ways, one example being through the establishment of a multi-faith chaplaincy. The chaplaincy is a way to value all faith traditions, and respect students and staff as members of ECU's multicultural and multi-faith community. Multicultural Day celebrations are also an important event in our calendar.

Issues

ECU has much to gain from continued intercultural dialogue. Our journey has ensured that we have in place the organisational structures to facilitate intercultural learning. We strive to ensure that ECU provides a genuinely international education through program strategies and internationalisation of the curriculum. We recognise that the need for increased intercultural dialogue is critically important.

Our environment is complex and constantly changing. Tensions are arising in all developed countries between Government expectations and the aspirations of individual institutions. It is clear that Governments are focused on the income and export dollar potential of higher education; institutions are more concerned with the mobility, research collaboration and broader social benefits of internationalisation. I would anticipate that this tension will intensify as greater pressure is placed on universities to generate income.

We must also be conscious of the fact that for developing countries brain drain and the loss of cultural identify are seen as the greatest risks of internationalisation, and we should not assume therefore that greater internationalisation is something to which we all aspire.

Despite some of the problems that internationalisation brings, I am of the view that the benefits far out-weigh the negatives. As we increase intercultural dialogue we can only learn more from, and about, each other.

References/Recommended readings

Asmar, C., Proude, E. & Inge, L., (2004), Unwelcome sisters? An analysis of findings from a study of how Muslim women (and Muslim men) experience university, Australian Journal of Education, vol 48 No 1 pp. 47 - 63

Knight, J., (1999) Internationalisation in Higher Education, Quality and Internationalisation in Higher Education, OECD, Paris.

Ramburuth, P. & McCormick, J., (2001) Learning diversity in higher education: A comparative study of Asian and Australian Students, Higher Education, vol 42, pp. 333-350.

Wright, S & Lander, D., (2003), Collaborative group interactions of students from two ethnic backgrounds, Higher Education Research & Development, vol 22 no 3 pp. 237 252.