Cross Cultural Perspectives On Educational Research

Book excerpt: Winner of the BMW Group LIFE Award for Contribution to Intercultural Learning, 2007 The research student population of higher educational institutions continues to expand to include people from an ever-widening range of cultural and educational backgrounds. However, many research methods courses are still directed at the traditional student population. This book examines aspects of postgraduate research from a cross-cultural perspective, analysing the dilemmas faced by international students when defining a research question, choosing research methods, collecting data, deciding which language to use and writing their theses. Through an exploration of how international students re-examine their beliefs and research practices during their study in the UK, this book challenges the assumptions of all those engaged in educational research, addressing key questions such as: How do our teaching and learning experiences shape our approach to educational research? How do we judge ‘good’ educational research? What does it mean to be critical? The book uses the real-life experiences of international students to illuminate the kinds of challenges they may face. It supports both students and their supervisors, showing students how to approach cultural differences, and supervisors how to deal sensitively with the problems encountered by overseas students in their research.