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Challenges Affecting International Students in Australian Higher Educational Learning Institutions
Title: Challenges Affecting International Students in Australian Higher Educational Learning Institutions.
Literature Review
In the world today, education is considered one of the most important elements in the life of every individual. In numerous countries globally, education is seen as an important investment a nation can make in establishing it future. According to Quinn and Rubb (2005), education is basically a powerful agent that is associated with change including improvement of health, livelihoods, long term economic development, and significant contribution to social stability. Bearing this in mind, it is therefore important to note that education is a fundamental human virtue, a source of good life, a necessity to the society, a sign of attaining freedom, and the key to attaining sustainable development goals (Bhardwaj, 2016). With a view to serve the needs of the community through development skills, attainment of prosperous careers, and financial security numerous students worldwide have continued the pursuit of higher education. In order to achieve this, students have had to travel to foreign countries such as Australia in pursuit of better and quality education in Higher Institutions of learning. However, despite the countless significant sacrifices made in pursuit of education, there exist various challenges that affect numerous international students especially those in Australian higher educational institutions complicating adaptations to new lifestyles and the educational environment.
During the period of 2013, Son and Park (2014) indicate that Australia had approximately 700,000 international students in its institutions of higher learning with the figures continuing to increase on a daily basis. However, Son and Park (2014) suggest that despite the increased numbers there exist various factors such language barriers, Visa problems, and cultural shock that affect international students in Australian higher educational institutions. Andrade (2006) asserts that the use of different languages in these institutions of higher learning present a difficult challenge for most international students as it prevents free flow of vital information causing communication barriers. As a result, this complicates adaptations to new lifestyles and educational environment for new international students. Apart from language barriers, cultural shock is another major challenge greatly impacting foreign students. Son and Park (2014) identify Australia as a country with multicultural diversities where individuals from different nations and cultures live together. With Australia being a country with its own distinct culture, many foreign students may find this cultural change a major factor affecting their stay and continued learning. While both language barriers and cultural shock remain some of the major issues, Visa problem remains to be another major challenge affecting modern day international students in Australia. The issuance of student Visa in Australia only applies for students who are enrolled for a full time basis and have passed all visa conditions and requirements in Australia.
Rationale
International students pursuing education in Australian higher educational institutions encounter significant and inevitable challenges and hardship during their stay abroad. In order to understand whether the challenges faced affect the social and academic lifestyle, it is important to carry out a study that will collect information from a vast majority of international student in order to identify if these challenges affect their academic and social lifestyle. If learned that these challenges such as language barriers, cultural shock, and visa problems indeed affect the students’ lifestyle, future research and investigation can be conducted to examine these problems and propose suggestions or possible solutions to do away or reduce these issues that affect the lifestyle of international students.
Research questions
To what extend does the challenges encountered such as language barriers, visa problems, and cultural shock affect International Students in Australian Higher Educational Learning Institutions?
To what extent and in what ways do these factors affect the social and academic lifestyle of International Students in Australian Higher Educational Learning Institutions?
Research design
In order to find out the extent of the problem, an observation case study will be used to find out exactly how these international students undertaking different studies in Australian universities are affected by these challenges. The focus group shall be conducted by learners from particular schools so as to cater for students encountered with severe challenges. In addition, a focus group is the best approach as compared to semi-structured or structured interviews due to the need for various challenges to arise originally in group discussions. Otherwise, the use of interviews will limit individuals from pointing out these challenges due to the fear of fall backs. The purpose of focus is to help identify those challenges which international learners in Australian Universities and other learning institutions find more severe and unbearable (Son and Park, 2014)
Research participants
In this study, the research participants will involve the students from different nationalities who came to pursue higher education in Australian Higher Learning Institutions. The students vary widely in terms of age and years of study and will therefore form a good study group to evaluate based on the time spend in the Australian Higher Educational Learning Institutions. In addition, the learners experience the challenges first hand and can therefore outline these problems accurately.
The specific demographic information shall be obtained from the participants (international students) once they are recruited. This information will be obtained on the basis of sex, age, lowest and highest level of education, years of learning, religious belief, cultural background, nationality, and the percentage of those learners who agree in participating from within the institution of learning.
Population and sampling method
According to Taherdoost (2016), a population refers to the aggregate number of all units that possess certain specified features on which the sample required seeks to draw inference. In other words, a population involves the total number of units which forms the sample sizes of units to be drawn. The target population under study in this case involves international students in Australian Higher Educational Learning Institutions who are affected by various factors that influence their social and academic lifestyles. The study target will help establish some of the basic factor affecting foreign students in order to come up with better proposals and solutions to these problems (Kelly, 2003).
Stratified random sampling strategy will be adopted where the important strata (subgroups) will be identified. In this case, the students will be recruited voluntarily based on their respective schools after ethical approval and permission to conduct the process is obtained from the school president and other relevant bodies such as the student’s council.
Two groups with a sample size of 12 individuals will be selected from each school using purposeful sampling. This will involve the final years from the respective schools as they are in their final level of study and have had enough experience in the institution of learning. This exercise will take place on a free day such as the weekend to ensure less distractions and enough time to conduct the exercise. In addition foods stuffs and non-alcoholic flavored drinks will be provided to all in attendants in order to encourage participation from others.
Data collection method
Data collection method will be employed in this case due to size of the targeted population and the relevance of the data required.
In this case the use of questionnaires will be the appropriate data collection method to use due to the following reasons as suggested by Babonea and Voicu (2011). The target group which involves international students from different schools and level of study are diversified and therefore the use of face to face personal interview would be a time consuming and difficult method to conduct the data collection. On their hand, the use of questionnaires as a data collection will save more time for the researchers and the respondents involved. In addition, this procedure will also provide the different respondents involved with enough time to think and provide appropriate answers in the questionnaires at their own free time with minimum supervision, hence reducing cases of error. The questionnaires are also designed in large numbers and distributed over a huge target population allowing all participants to participate in the exercise which will be used in collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Unlike other methods of data collection, questionnaires are considered the most suitable in this exercise due to its comparatively easier method to construct, plan, and administer. Additionally, questionnaires are more suitable in this exercise as it ensures and provides respondents with anonymity. With this procedure of data collection, participants are provided with greater confidence and freedom to express their views.
Ethical consideration
Under this section, the approval to carry out the study on the various factors affecting international students in Australian institutions of higher learning will be obtained from the school president or the principal and from the students who will be participating in the research. In a case where members of the student council are conducting the research, there might occur a power difference between the student council representative and the ordinary student sometimes making them uncomfortable and dishonest. In order to avoid this, ordinary students need to be provided with anonymity. Without possible guidelines such anonymity, any research will most likely fall due to negligible risks. The questions and topics are asked on a daily basis by students and hence cannot introduce any emotional risk and anxiety.
Plan/ logistics for data collection
The discussion for the target group will be supervised by the researcher who is also a student council representative. Despite being a student, the researcher will be able to participate in answering the questions to the discussion beyond moderation.
During the discussion great emphasis will be sited on the use of non-verbal communication, such as prosody and body language when responding to questions. The researcher will write down feelings, thoughts, and various impressions, and other important non-verbal communication during the target group in order to add depth and breadth to the analysis and help in interpreting the presented findings.
In this case, the target population will be semi-structured on the basis of the issues found in the literature review section for instance language barrier, cultural shock, and visa problems. Queries will be formulated in accordance with the level of study, experience, and belief in the availability of the issue.
For storage purpose, the target population’s discussions will be recorded using a voice based recording software which is transcribed to text code by the researcher word for word in order to provide an accurate timeline of events discussed on and off topic.
Plan for data analysis
During this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used when analyzing the data. In addition, the data will also be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). This process will involve both inferential and descriptive analysis. The Descriptive analysis will help when dealing with categorical variables that will be described as percentages and frequencies. Additionally, discrete and continuous data, variation measures, and standard deviation will all be utilized in the analysis.
Flexibility will be allowed by the researcher in case of any inclusion of additional themes that emerges as the analysis is carried out. This will enable a better and more accurate analysis that well captures all the realities, of factors affecting international students in Australian higher educational institutions.
It is imperative to take into consideration some of the limitations of the document as having the inability to capture the vivid reactions in the meetings and everyday challenges these learners endure. These are as a result of failure in completion of taking notes and inconsistency in the program.
References
Andrade, M. S. (2006). International students in English-speaking universities: Adjustment
factors. Journal of Research in International education, 5(2), 131-154.
Babonea, A. M., & Voicu, M. C. (2011). Questionnaires pretesting in marketing research. Challenges of the Knowledge Society, 1, 1323-1330.
Bhardwaj, A. (2016). Importance of education in human life: A holistic approach. International
Journal of Science and Consciousness, 2(2), 23-28.
Kelly, B. T. (2003). Focus group interviews. Research in the college context: Approaches and
methods, 49-62.
Quinn, M. A., & Rubb, S. (2005). The importance of education-occupation matching in migration
decisions. Demography, 42(1), 153-167.
Son, J. B., & Park, S. S. (2014). Academic experiences of international PhD students in Australian
higher education: From an EAP program to a PhD program. International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 9(1), 26-37.
Taherdoost, H. (2016). Sampling methods in research methodology; how to choose a sampling
technique for research. How to Choose a Sampling Technique for Research (April 10, 2016).
Motor speech disorder
Motors speech disorder
Name of student
Professors name:
Subject:
Name of institution:
Date of submission:
Motor speech disorder.
Language and speech are controlled in the brain in linked to the laryngeal muscles by nerves. The vocal cords are supplied by recurrent laryngeal nerve. Any anomaly to these structures may affect speech characteristics of an individual (Douglas, 1999).
The patient presented above has Dysarthria (motor speech disorder), a problem with the motor tract that innervates muscles that are responsible for speech. Cranial nerve X is involved in speech as it innervates the muscles of the larynx. When the nerve (CN X) is damaged, vocal folds become paralyzed thus affecting the volume of the voice and swallowing. As a speech language pathologist, I will look for the movement of the lips, the tongue and the facial expression during the speech. Moreover, I will assess the breath support adequacy during the speech. Motor speech disorder can result from injury of the brain structures in patients with the following conditions; stroke, brain tumors, Parkinsonism, cerebral palsy multiple sclerosis among others (Douglas, 1999). Parkinsonism is associated with lesions in the substantia nigra which affects dopaminergic and cholinergic pathways to be unbalanced. Two areas in the left hemisphere of the brain play a key role in speech. The Broca’s area is located in the frontal part of the left hemisphere of the brain. It is involved in language production. Proper use of spoken and written language is all attributed to this area. (Douglas, 1999).
The patient has no difficulty in comprehending any spoken language or speech evidence by the fact that he can follow instructions as the clinician directs. His difficulty in voice volume can be directly associated with damage of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Combination of dysphagia and low voicing can be attributed to neurogenic voice disorder.
After identifying the communication and swallowing requirements of the patient, as a speech therapist I will identify ways to improve communication in patient’s socialization. The family members or the caregivers will be included in therapy. They are together counseled on communication pattern and swallowing difficulty of the patient and ways to involve him in dialogue at home (ASHA, 2004).
As a speech therapist, it is important to observe the patient closely as he goes through the process of spontaneous recovery. The patient may have the residual effects of the damage to the Broca’s area and may express that he wanted to finish the words he initiated but he could not. The speech therapist should engage the patient in repetition of words and phrases that are easier for the patient to pronounce. To compensate for the lost language function, the speech therapist may use drawing that the patient can easily understand and use to communicate. The aim of speech therapy is to enable free communication and understanding between the patient and the family members (Roberts, 2014).
Music and melodic intonation are also used in speech therapy in patients with Broca’s aphasia. The patients are able to sing out a complete song with the complete phrases. Singing capability is controlled by the right hemisphere. Utilization of the technique enables the patient to use the right hemisphere to compensate for the lost function in the left hemisphere. Consequently, certain nonmusical outcomes are achieved by the patient such as complete pronunciation of a phrase (Wilson, 2006).
Speech therapists also use constraint induced aphasia therapy which uses the principle that a patient will have a compensated action to the one that is lost. The patients are involved in language context game where they are encouraged to use verbal abilities in order to succeed in the game. Constraining the patient has neuroplasticity effects on the patient and it is believed to re-establish the lost neuropathways, and form new pathways hence reacquire the lost functions of the brain. Therapy by constraining can be more effective if it is combined with drugs that affect the neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (Douglas, 1999).
The patient needs to be referred to a neuroscientist in order to include pharmacotherapy in conjunction to speech therapy. The drugs affect the neurotransmitter receptor and regulate the stimulation by the chemicals. They target the catecholamine and acetylcholine receptors of the central nervous system. The drugs commonly used includes; Bromocriptine, Piracetam, cholinergic drugs and dopaminergic psychostimulants. Piracetam interacts with the cholinergic and glutamic receptors to increase the plasticity of the cerebrum which increases the capability to use language functions. Bromocriptine, which interacts with the catecholamine system, increase the language fluency and word retrieval (Xavier, 2007).
In addition, a specialist in ear, nose and throat (ENT) should be consulted to detect other factors to the larynx that may affect the movement of vocal cords. He may diagnose presence of cyst, granuloma, hemorrhage, hyperkeratosis or nodules in the vocal folds and determine the therapy to follow (Deirdre, 2012).
References
Douglas, B., (1999). Broca’s area. Neuroscience of communication (2): 321-341
Roberts (2014). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.britannica.coma” http://www.britannica.coma. Accessed on 30th June, 2014.
Wilson, (2006). “Preserved Singing in Aphasia: A Case Study of the Efficacy of Melodic Intonation Therapy”. Music Perception 24 (1): 23–36.
Xavier, (2007). “Pharmacotherapy of aphasia: Myth or reality?” Brain and Language 102 (1): 114–125.
Deidre, D., (2012). Types of voice disorders. Retrieved from: HYPERLINK “http://www.lionsvoiceclinic.umn.edu” www.lionsvoiceclinic.umn.edu. Accessed on 2nd July, 2014.
ASHA, (2004).Making effective communication a human right accessible and achievable for all. Retieved from: HYPERLINK “http://www.asha.org” www.asha.org. Accessed on 2nd July 2014.
Advanced Clinical Nuts and Bolts Assignment
Advanced Clinical Nuts and Bolts Assignment
Cognitive
Provide a brief history of how the theory began and how it has evolved. Who are the major contributors to this theory or model and what do you know about him/her/them? What historical events and cultural norms may have influenced the creation of this theory? This can be in bullet points where it is relevant) in other words, you do not have to write this section in narrative form).
Cognitive aka Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT)
Focuses on patient/client’s thought process
Sensitive to time (short term) and focuses on the present
Dysfunctional thoughts= maladaptive behaviors
Focuses on the linkages of systems
CT can be thought of as a theory
This is because it’s a system of strategies and a series of techniques
Each system involved is for survival- cognitive, behavioral, affective and motivational- composed of structures known as schemas
Cognitive therapy involves strategies
Collaborative enterprise between patient/client and therapist
Purpose is to explore and modify dysfunctional interpretations by using logical examination and behavioral experiments
Clients/Patients learn to help themselves through coping mechanisms
Collaborative Empiricism
Therapist asks questions to understand the client/patient point of view
Guided Discovery
Finding out what the client/patient misinterpretations and beliefs come from
Both work by using Socratic Dialogue which is a form of questioning that helps uncover the patient/clients views
Created by psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s
Realized that internal thoughts affect and influence behaviors
Psychologist, Albert Ellis, worked independently from Beck on the same concept
Many patients had internal dialogues that seemed as if they were talking to themselves
Thoughts made an impact on their feelings
Rigid form of treatment
Patient to discuss issues with therapist who will work on specific goals with client/patient
Identify the basic assumptions, tenants, and major concepts of the theory. You should include techniques, examples, or any important aspects of the theory that you consider primary to your understanding and ability to apply the practice. This can be in bullet points. The information you provide here will be especially useful as a “cheat sheet” in your internship and/or as a study guide for any licensure exams you take. This can be in bullet points where it is relevant (in other words, you do not have to write this section in narrative form).
CBT is an action oriented treatment; patient must be actively engaging during tx
With CBT, you identify common themes in a patient’s emotional reaction, narratives, and imagery
Usually goes on for 12-16 weeks and therapist is actively engaged with client
CBT is used in conjunction with Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
Both share an importance of cognition and both view the task of therapy is to change maladaptive assumptions
Facing your fears is a technique
To bring about change, a client must face their fears instead of running away from them
Role playing
Clients may role play during sessions
This helps the client prepare for problematic interactions that they may have with others
Learning to calm yourself as strategy
Patients can resort to relaxation techniques such as breathing or stretching or using guided imagery that helps you focus on peace, rather than destruction that may be occurring in one’s life
CBT focuses on both negative and positive interactions/experiences patient may have had
People contribute to their own negative experiences
CBT helps clients to have a routine and lessen avoidance
Based on the major concepts of this theory, what presenting problems or mental or behavioral health concerns do you think this theory may be appropriate for? And is it a theory of explanation or change or both?
This theory works with individuals who experience anxiety, substance abuse, personality, and other disorders.
This theory would be considered to be both due to it being one of the most used treatments with patients. They must acknowledge the issues that they have in order to break free from the issues that are barriers and allows the patient to change their way of thinking.
Does the theory account for the life experience of the client? Does the theory/model allow for diversity of identity or experience in relevant ways such as ethnic preferences, cultural values or norms, racial differences, gender expressions, socioeconomic status, and religious preference? How?
Yes, the theory accounts for life experiences. This theory allows the patient to reflect over their life and what is causing them issues so them and the therapist can come up with goals for treatment. This theory can take in account a person’s diversity or identity, if need be in order to overcome barriers during treatment and growth.
What does the evidence say about this theory? Pull from other resources other than your textbook readings to answer this question. For some theories, it is equally important to identify which groups or problems the theory is NOT effective with as it is to indicate which groups or problems it is effective with.
Works for all types of individuals
Those with mental illnesses such as depression, PTSD, eating disorders, substance abuse, etc
Children and geriatric clients
Cognitive Theory/CBT is an effective treatment
Research has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of CBT and has proven that it is an effective treatment for those with psychological issues and those who have medical issues with mental illness as a co morbidity
Evidence based treatment
Therapists who have used CBT with their clients have noticed success with complex disorders
Short term treatment that focuses on the here and now
Works at the pace of the client
Just as effective as medication because clients learn coping skills that they will use even after treatment ends
Goals of treatment are clearly defined for clients; no surprises so they know what to expect
Requires patient/client engagement
Therapist works along with patient in goal creation and attainment
Effective for communication and dialogue
Can be adapted to meet the patient where they are
In what ways, if any, does this theory fit in your theoretical approach to your current work or your future work as a social worker?
I do believe that CBT will allow me to assist my clients or patients by assisting them with coping mechanisms. For instance, if they are nervous coming to treatment, I could assist them with breathing exercises that they could do prior or during to treatment to make them feel at ease.