The implications of the Chinese learner for the internationalization of the curriculum: An Australian perspective

This paper examines the impact of Chinese learners on the internationalization of the curriculum in the context of Australian higher education. It argues that the presence of Chinese learners fuels the impetus to internationalize the existing curriculum but that this process could lower academic standards if the Corporate University's economic priorities are allowed to unproblematically override educational ethics. The tension between the economics and ethics of education may be aggravated by Australia's politico-social structures, namely its immigration policies, which attract achievement-oriented students and encourage them to treat education as a means of residing permanently in the country rather than starting a journey of life-long learning. The demand for immigration-led places has in turn resulted in an unhealthy dependence on full fee income amid dwindling public funding for public tertiary education. Together, these factors may contribute towards the production of Chinese learners who fall well short of the much-desired graduate attributes.