Intercultural education in Australia has been positioned in State-based official curriculum and education policy as developing understanding between diverse cultural groups. However, cultivating such understanding far more complex in practice than policy and curriculum directives can capture. In Australia, eruptions of intercultural tensions has…

Inspired by a desire to explore ways in which non-Indigenous Australians can meaningfully connect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, this article reflects on my doctoral studies and the role educators can have in holding space for First Nations peoples to directly contribute toward the creation of mutually rewarding teaching and…

Reduced international student mobility has prompted Australian universities to reframe the way they provide intercultural and international learning experiences, with less dependence on the recruitment of international students. However, many related teaching and learning approaches are often met with perceived student resistance. The aim of this…

Research on intercultural interactions in higher education focuses on measuring student attitudes and degrees of cosmopolitanism, but there is little theoretically and empirically informed effort to understand 1) the nature of these campus interactions as ordinary, embodied, and routine, and 2) the cultural and social impact of campus…

Drawing on in-depth empirical research, we explore a project called The Welcome Dinner (WDP). The WDP aims to bring together 'newly arrived' people and 'established Australians' to meet and 'share stories' over a potluck meal in 'the comfort of their own home'. The purpose is to create meaningful connections, new friendships and social…

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning…

The impetus to ensure Australian students, once enrolled, complete their university qualification has become more pressing. Student retention impacts funding in a tight fiscal environment and is used as a benchmark for quality performance. Evidence of increased levels of psychological distress in university students threatens this retention. Risks…

Interfaith education has been boosted recently by the imprimatur of current and previous political world leaders. However, a critical analysis of what makes good interfaith education is yet to emerge. Indeed the attention may distract from the effort needed to ensure positive outcomes. This paper questions whether the uncritical nature of some…

This research was conducted to determine whether the benefits claimed by advocates of university internationalization would be evidenced by students at two universities in the United States and one in Australia. A review of the literature of study abroad, intergroup contact theory, intercultural communication and sensitivity, worldmindedness, and…

A portion of a five-year ethnographic study on the relationship between youth cultures, attitudes toward school, and the transition from school focuses on the significance of rugby football in the formation of a youth culture hierarchy among ethnic groups. School staff efforts to change the hierarchy by joining it are discussed. (MSE)