Culture In Australian Universities - Essay Example

? CULTURE IN AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES The Australian universities have always had a demanding culture, one that is dominant of drastic changes that have always posed challenges to the values in traditions that universities have always based themselves on. For one to fully cope with the Australian universities and their eminent cultures, there sets in different values that they should come into consensus with at any instance. Unlike the normal cultures in other entities in our society, university cultures in Australia pose different demands in the quest of achieving knowledge. The university culture is widely developed from aspects of curiosity that call upon a lot of curiosity in every student. From my point of view, this culture is widely based on inquisitiveness that involves the search of information on almost everything regardless of its importance to the students. This comes in the perspective of practical use and application. This phenomenon has made it difficult for thousands of students in Australia to cope up with its demands. The kind of rampant interest that comes along with the curiosity has called upon the emergence of innovative and inventive aspects among students from a varied perspective. Many people have also come to criticize the innate curiosity behavior, though it has over the years been linked with advantageous aspects like the development of involving disciplines. This is in the field of biotechnology, computer science and nuclear physics that demand immense research and involvement in an aspect that most Australian universities have come to blend into. The latter culture unlike in other regions calls for a lot of critical thinking. Despite the fact that academic works in universities having to be built through a lot of involving processes. The same calls for immense adaptation to rational argument developments, testing and observations with support and evidence forming a core to almost any academic work done. Such kind of a culture is always rampant not only in Australian universities but in almost any university, with a strong reliance on intuition, unsupported opinions from a personal perspective or hearsay aspects being shunned with immense energies. Australia is well known as a good university study destination especially for the English Speaking states. Currently, more than two hundred thousand international students are enrolled in all universities across Australia. It is essential to comprehend that universities have their particular culture and adjusting to the universities culture usually takes a lot of effort and time. In studying both Australian and International first year students, it is evident that most of these students lack the experience needed in critical reading, appropriate citing and complete understanding of the academic games. Although most students do not provide information about the difficulties associated with settling in universities especially during the first year, enough contests have been organized and incredible information acquired. It is essential to have the university management have complete involvement in the entire process of settling down especially in the case of international students. In this research paper, a lot of information will be provided regarding the varied ways in which different students adapt to the university’s culture and the methods used in avoiding difficult experiences. One main factor that students should fight to overcome in their initial university years is culture shock. This phenomenon includes experiences related to transitions that are encountered by various individuals due to inability of using familiar or well-known cultures in the universities. These cultures could be used to convey, validate, reference and understand key aspects included in a culture and as used in identifying others. The impacts of culture shock are caused by continued or rather prolonged periods of conflicting self or personal ideas since the cultures are not well identified. Among the many difficulties are those associated with competence of language, the time or rather length of time that the student has to stay in the new culture, the amount of time spent relating with other staffs and students, and degree of adaptation capabilities especially in relation to socio-culture. Other aspects that relate to the adaptively level include the difference between the host culture and their original ones, proficiency in the existing language and the one commonly used, age, gender, the level of education, status, past inter-cultural or even study in other universities and personal esteem. In studying different students, those who use an integrative accumulative strategy that values both the new cultures and the original cultures assist in maintain the relationships in all the groups which resultantly causes a much lower adjustment stress. However, those who face extremes difficulties especially the ones with international backgrounds are offered support by international students groups. These groups ensure absolute support for all students in the Australian universities enabling fast and reliable settlements. Another difficulty is associated with academic shocks that most affects those students with Asian background and have to study in the Australian Universities. These types of students face unique challenges associated with stereotyping and styles of learning. However, it is essential to realize that that most students have worked tirelessly to ensure countering of the above with major claims pointing out on the idea of students valuing learning and interactive teaching. Apparently, from this perspective, it becomes clear that universities are in for instilling critical thinking to any student that comes their way. This has resulted to wide improvement in the mannerisms through which students learn and most importantly think. The latter can also be referred to the kind of unending inventions and innovation that are always rampant among students and graduates that are making the Australian industry prosper in terms of invention and innovation in the kinds of products in the market. The same kind of critical thinking that comes with most universities ensures an amalgamation of various cultures, ethnic groups and the like in a creative but intense manner that results into a united society that has common interests in politics, religion and livelihoods. The Australian universities have used such kinds of cultures to eradicate aspects that undermine unity in a nation and as a result, there is improved living in terms of harmony that is foreseeing unity in the country. All these can be liked to problem solving, analysis, reasoning, creative thinking and evaluation that takes places in universities. The hard part comes in when different students from different backgrounds meet with a sole aim of achieving similar quests. To many, dropping previous cultures, most of which may be linked to paternal aspects with an alternative of adapting to such cultures depicted in the Australian universities can prove to be a difficult quest. Nonetheless, many students will always blend in to this demanding culture, which is renowned for its systematic and rigorous processes that determine the kind of ideas in every student especially in determining their convincing and logical aspects. The Australian universities have a culture that strongly relates to other universities, but despite the demanding nature of the same, many are coming to a consensus with the involving character of the same. This widely involves the exhaustive temperament of the subjects under study that may prove to be very narrow and demanding indeed. With this kind of approaches to education and knowledge the demanding nature of the latter that many find hard to cope with, has already proved to be of positive results that have minute aspects of failure not only to Australia, but to the entire world. References Bryson, B. (1999). A Walk in the Woods. New York City: Broadway. Bryson, B. (2001). In a Sunburned Country . New York City: Broadway. Hughes, R. (1988). The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding. New York: Vintage Books. Planet, L., & Blake, B. (2009). Australian Language & Culture. Mexico: Lonely Planet. Rowe, K. (2006). Wordbook of Australian Idiom . Manchenster: Trafford Publishing. Sharp, I. (2009). CultureShock! Australia. Oregon: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. Read More