International Students’ Perspectives of an Introductory Course as Preparation for Entry into a Postgraduate Physiotherapy Program

A Peer Reviewed Publication of the College of Allied Health & Nursing at Nova Southeastern University Dedicated edicated to allied health professional practice and education http://ijahsp.nova.edu Vol. 7 No. 4 ISSN 1540-580X International Students’ Perspectives of an Introductory Course as Preparation for Entry ry into a Postgraduate Physiotherapy P Program Jennifer Roberts, B.App.Sc (Physio), M.App.Sc (Manipulative and Sports Physiotherapy) 1 Rebekah Das, B.App.Sc (Physio)2 Saravana Kumar,, B.App.Sc (Physio), M.App.Sc ((Manipulative and Sports Physiotherapy), PhD3 1. Lecturer, ecturer, School of Health Sciences, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia 2. Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia 3. Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director, Centre for Allied Health Evidence, University of South Australia University of South Australia Australia CITATION: Roberts, J., Das, R., Kumar, S. International Students’ Perspectives of an Introductory Course as Preparation for Entry into a Postgraduate Physiotherapy Program Program. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice.. Oct 2009, Volume 7 Number 4. ABSTRACT Purpose: Introductory or preparatory courses are often provided to international students in Australia as means to help them adjust to a new cultural and communication environment and a foreign educational setting. However, there is very little evaluation research on these introductory courses, especially from students’ perspectives, on their merits and de demerits. Methods: This research utilised primary and secondary research methods. Firstly, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken to identify international students’ perspectives of education in Australia. Secondly, using qualitative and quanti quantitative research methods, international postgraduate physiotherapy students’ perspectives of an introductory course at an Australian educational institution were identified. Results: Literature evidence from the systematic review of the literature identifie identified that international students in Australia are confronted nfronted by a range of issues. These multidimensional issues reflect a range of concerns including those intrinsic to education itself (such as learning style, educators) as well several extrinsic issues ran ranging ging across a wide spectrum (such as cultural and social). Primary research evidence on the evaluation of an introductory course point points to mixed findings. While students valued the introductory course, they also identified numerous areas for improvement. K Key themes identified included repetition, workload, altering expectations, lack of learning support support, and value for money. Conclusion: Findings from this research indicate that international students are confronted with numerous concerns when embarking on education e in Australia. While introductory courses address some of these concerns, there are opportunities for improvement. As education moves towards a student-centred model,l, it is important to recognise and respond to students’ perspectives. INTRODUCTION There are growing numbers of international students seeking higher education in Australia Australiann educational institutions. In 2007, there was a reported 210,956 international students enrolments, which represents a 3.3% increase from 2006. 1 It has long been recognised that international students face numerous issues when undertaking education at overseas institutions. It has been acknowledged that international students undergo a degree of “culture shock” that often impacts their psychological, al, behavioural, cognitive, and physiological well being.2-4 Researchers have found that as well as suffering the practical and emotional stresses of being away from home, students are also unfamiliar with local, academic academic, and professional culture and conventions. entions.2-6 Handa and Fallon point out that by accepting international students into higher education programs, Australian universities carry a moral responsibility to educate those students in local academic culture and conventions. 5 Academic preparation or orientation orientat courses © The Internet Journal of Allied Health alth Sciences and Practice, 2009 International Students’ Perspectives of an Introductory Course as Preparation for Entry into a Postgraduate Physiotherapy Program 2 have been suggested and appear to be successful in terms of student satisfaction, skill awareness, study strategy, and even grade point average.5,7,8 At the University of South Australia, within one of the postgraduate physiotherapy programs with a dominant international student population, anecdotal evidence indicated that many students encountered similar difficulties. In particular, educators observed that students struggled in the areas of involvement in classroom discussion, critical thinking, academic writing and referencing, clinical reasoning, and clinical communication. These findings have been supported by other research conducted on international students’ perspectives of education in Australia. Harman, using qualitative research methodologies such as surveys and interviews, identified that many international students expressed concerns relating to quality and effectiveness of supervision, language, and learning styles.9 Similar research undertaken by Cadman, Robertson et al, Hellsten, and Choi identified numerous issues confronting international students in Australia. 10-13 These include cultural differences, language difficulties, styles of teaching and learning, relationship with peers and teachers, lack of resources, classroom norms, financial issues and feelings of isolation. In research conducted by Robertson et al, it was identified that academic staff were often judgemental of international students’ writing and critical thinking skills.11 Beasley and Pearce provided an interesting perspective on a successful extra learning program to facilitate the learning of international students who are making the transition from overseas colleges to an Australian university. 14 Their research took into account 1623 students over a period of seven years and compared failure rates of international students before and after the program. It was found that the program led to improved overall student participation and performance. This evidence indicates that international students may benefit from additional learning or introductory programs. In addition to literature evidence, historical evidence indicates that within these cohorts of postgraduate physiotherapy students, previous undergraduate programs rarely exposed them to the degree of training in manual physiotherapy skills sufficient to allow an easy transition into Australian clinical practice. In order to address these generic educational and specific manual physiotherapy issues, a bridging or introductory course was introduced prior to entry into a m (...truncated)