Diversity on the South African Campus of Monash University and the implications for Faculty of Information Technology undergraduate courses

Abstract

Melbourne-based Monash University opened a campus in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2001. The student body on the South African campus is drawn from across Africa. This makes for classes where most students do not speak English as a first language, but where English is often the only common language in the class. Students also have varied experiences of education, of exposure to information technology and of business practices. Lecturers on the South African campus have encountered some interesting challenges in teaching material that assumes the common experiences of Australian school-leavers to this diverse student population. This paper examines some of the ways in which the differences between the student bodies in Australia and South Africa have necessitated alternative approaches to content and delivery of courses. It goes on to examine the dimensions of diversity within the student body on the South African campus that have been identified by lecturers in the School of Information Technology. Included is a review of the ways in which South African lecturers have adapted the content and delivery of material in order to address these differences. It concludes with some reflections on what a truly international degree might need to encompass.

Keywords:

• Diversity
• internationalisation
• information technology (IT)