Chinese Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching in an Australian Accounting Programme – An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study is designed to elicit and understand the views of Mainland Chinese students concerning their learning experience in an Australian accounting education programme. The article contributes to the literature by investigating the issues and implications associated with international students’ perceptions of teaching, as little research has been undertaken in this context. Data were obtained from focus group interviews at two Australian universities, comprising students who had no prior experience of Western education. Based on an adaptation of Ramsden's 2003 model [Learning to teach in higher education (2nd ed.). London: Routledge], the data show that the students’ educational experience in China has a direct and negative influence on their perceptions of the teaching and learning experience in Australia. The negativity is particularly strong for entry-level students but dissipates to some extent with time. Issues concerning teachers’ enthusiasm, commitment, delivery skills and students’ expectations also emerged as important factors affecting student perceptions.

KEY WORDS:

• Mainland Chinese students
• teaching
• learning
• student perceptions

Notes

1 In Asian countries such as, in China, Japan and Korea, where the influence of Confucian values are heavily emphasised, the connotation ‘teacher’ is most commonly adopted when referring to someone who teaches, regardless of whether they are at primary, secondary or tertiary levels. However, in Western countries, someone who teaches at tertiary level may no longer be called a ‘teacher’; instead, they are titled a ‘tutor’ (when taking tutorial or smaller classes) or ‘lecturer’ (when taking lectures) or ‘professor’ (an expert in certain field and/or simply a connotation used for all academics). This article refers to persons who teach as academics and/or teachers following the participants’ language or otherwise as specified by the participants.

2 Surface approach to learning focuses on memorising and reproducing what is thought to be required by the academics; it is characterised by a focus on the learning material itself (Marton, Dall'Alba, & Tse, 1993).

3 The deep approach to learning is defined as an intention to seek understanding and the meaning or message underlying the learning materials (Marton et al., 1993). Students who adopt a deep approach to learning generally have an intrinsic interest in their study and often derive enjoyment from their study.

4 Various connotations are used for the term ‘subject’, the common ones include unit, module and segment by different institutions.

5 The connotation of ‘teacher’ as commonly adopted and referred to by the Chinese students, encompasses all academics (professors, lecturers and tutors) regardless of seniority, unless otherwise pointed out by the participants. Such connotation follows the translation from Mandarin, where ‘teacher’ is referred to anyone who injects knowledge.

6 ‘Guanxi’, meaning a network or relationship, is a very common practice of the Chinese in order to operate efficiently in their community. In fact, Chinese are known for their strength in developing contacts and relationships.