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Appreciating the Academics’ Perspectives for Teaching Diversity
Book chapter

Appreciating the Academics’ Perspectives for Teaching Diversity

Wendy Boyd
Exploring International University Immersion Programs: Researching Impactful Experiences, pp.121-135
Springer Nature Switzerland, 1st
2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-17359-1_8
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Education Publications

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Abstract

Academics usually accompany students on the immersion program and partnerships are frequently developed. These partnerships often occur between the foreign country’s host, who may be an academic, the teachers in the schools visited by the students and between students. Research has shown that short-term cultural immersion programs have an impact upon the cultural competence of students. The New Colombo Plan program, implemented by the Australian Government, provides opportunities for students studying to be teachers a short term cultural and educational immersion experience in a foreign country. The success of the New Colombo Plan program requires a commitment by academics of universities to the program, yet there is little known about academics’ views of the program. This chapter reports on academics’ perspectives of the programme, not only of the perceived transformation of learning upon the visiting students, but also the observed impact upon themselves and the key partners. Six academics were interviewed, and data analysed using Kolb’s experiential learning theory, with questions aligning with their initial expectations, their concrete experience, reflections, and conceptualisation. The short-term cultural immersion programmes the academics discussed were found to have a significant impact upon the academics’ views of their own teaching, their value of education, the impact on their students and their career in research as an academic. As Australia is a diverse country with academics teaching domestic and international students, acquiring a deep of cultural competence through the New Colombo Plan program assists academics in their teaching and research.

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