Monday 16 February 2009

Stories from the field (2)

In this study, I decided to utlise the research methodology of phenomenography to explore the experiences and stories of international business students, and how did they interact with other students in the online forum. Last month, I interviewed an 2exchange students from Mexico and Korea in an effort to 'listen' to their stories. To be frank, I am sick of previous studies that keep reporting stories such as:

"overseas students are passive learners"
"American are more proactive in the class"
"Students of Chinese background are quiet, polite, and studious"

You don't need any more research to create this kind of stereotpe in international education. Although sopme of that facts may be true, it may not be applicable in the sense of international business disciplines because in this class the context is worldly and the language of discusson can be more flexible. Futhermore, the geographical and cultural boundaries are not perceived as a barrier but the vitality of international business and trade.
Some of the findings from both students' stories are very intereting but I'll let you know more about ti next time :)