Internationalisation of the Curriculum: meeting the challenge of student diversity.

Abstract

This paper deals with issues arising from the continuing rise in international student numbers in Australian universities. While the growing diversity in student populations may represent enormous educational potential for tertiary institutions, the advantages to be gained are still only partially explored. At the same time the new mix of university students also presents a series of disadvantages. In this paper I outline these and explore some curriculum-based strategies which could be undertaken, not only to counteract the negatives, but to represent a purposeful step in the direction of internationalising a university’s curricula. These strategies would be designed to remove some of the cross-cultural barriers experienced in Australian universities and should result both in broadening the horizons of local students, and in assisting the bicultural and bilingual development of international students. I suggest that these strategies could serve as a foundation for the development of further aspects of internationalisation of the curriculum.