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Article Excerpt
In their interactions with international students, either at home or abroad, teachers often find themselves speaking on behalf of the nation. Overseas students arrive with expectations created in the international education marketplace, expectations that depend more on a nationalist than on an internationalist outlook. Students also have ideas of national difference acquired through the globalised media. Teachers who seek to critique the nation by deconstructing media knowledge need to consider the ethics of engaging with their students' sense of self-identity and the pedagogical risks of questioning their own authority to speak on behalf of the nation. Internationalising the curriculum means developing teaching methods and assessment instruments which will invite students to reflect on their imaginative journey into 'new' and 'different' cultures; but it will also require the teachers to reflect on their own conflicting identities and loyalties, and to make that journey alongside their students.
Me Australian, you international student
Like the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth government of Australia regards international education as a means of influencing how the nation is viewed abroad. Under the Colombo Plan, a scheme devised in 1950 to promote education, health and economic development in south and south-east Asia, Australia sponsored regular intakes of Asian students for secondary and tertiary qualifications (Bolton, 1996). Today, educational links are sponsored directly by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through AusAID scholarships and through funding agencies such as the Australia-Japan Foundation, the Australia-Indonesia Institute and the Australia-China Council. The mission statement of the Australia-India Council (2005) states: 'The Australia-India Council advances Australia's interests concerning India by initiating and supporting activities designed to enhance awareness and understanding between the peoples and institutions of Australia and India.' These agencies fund a range of educational initiatives, such as visiting scholarships and the establishment of resource centres. Overall, it is hoped that investment in the education of future political and business leaders of Asia will lead to improved foreign relations and trade.
The more immediate benefits of overseas educational links are the fees paid by international students attracted into the domestic tertiary education system. (1) In 2002, Australian Education International (AEI), the education and training network of the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), released Positioning Australian education and training f,r the future: A report on the findings of Australian Education International's research into the branding of Australian education and training offshore. The aim of this research was to identify the most effective brand position for Australian education and training 'that is attractive to students and differentiates Australian education and training from its major competitors, the United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK)' (Australian Education International [AEI], n.d.).According to this research, students look to fulfil six main needs in an international education: freedom; challenge; status; control; security; and affiliation. The project identified those needs which were associated with Australia and recommended 'that Australia seek to adopt a brand positioning that covers the needs of freedom, challenge and status with slight variations by country and sector' (AEI, n.d.). As the report itself put it:
The brand positioning statement which expresses this positioning and which attracted such a favourable response across all sectors of the market and in most regions and countries is: 'A place that offers new, exciting challenges everyday, both in my studies and in my personal life; where I am free to make my own decisions, have fun when I want to and be recognised for my achievement at all levels.' (AEI, 2001, p. 105)
As a result, AEI adopted the slogan: 'Explore the possibilities. Your future. Your world. Challenge yourself. Study in Australia.'
Beyond the education sector, Australia as a whole is branded by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources through a statutory authority, Tourism Australia. In May 2004, the Australian Tourist Commission (ATC), a forerunner of Tourism Australia, launched 'A new brand for a new era':
The new brand values depict Australia as a place that is refreshingly free of boundaries, inhibitions and constraints, and where 'having a go' is still possible. It is a place where blue sky thinking is the rule, not the exception. A place in which one cannot help but be irreverent, to approach things from a different angle and see life 'in a different light'. It promotes the Australian values of irreverence, optimism, mateship, integrity, and originality, and shows how we 'live differently' in Australia (Tourism Australia, 2005).
This branding was designed not only to attract tourists but to influence the environment in which business generally was conducted: according to Tourism Australia, 'The launch of the refreshed Brand Australia represents not only a step forward for the Australian tourism industry, but also for Australia's entire business community.'
This included educational business, and as the ATC Press statement at the launch made clear, there was to be consistency between Brand Australia and the AEI's branding of Australian education and training: 'AEI met with ATC Managing Director Ken Boundy in mid Jannary this year and discussed the need for any new tourism brand to be compatible with Australia's international education interests' (Australian Education International, 2004).
The use of the kangaroo to brand both tourism and education suggested a common outlook: 'The ATC'S brand personality of "infectious candour and optimism" and emphasis on "difference"...
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