September 2009 — Volume 3, Issue 5

Supporting diversity through empowerment

As an Indian who grew up in South Africa during the apartheid years, Associate Professor Prem Ramburuth knows intrinsically the power a quality education can hold in society.

Since then she has dedicated her career to improving the university experience for all students regardless of their background, specifically through her role in managing and supporting student diversity.

“I grew up in a system where education was deliberately withheld so certain groups of people couldn’t take their place in society, and now, I’m driven by a belief that every single person should have the opportunity to learn and to succeed,” Professor Ramburuth said.

Now the Associate Dean of Education in the Australian School of Business at the University of New South Wales, Professor Ramburuth spent time in South Africa teaching African and Indian people the English language before leaving the country in 1973 for Australia. Here she taught English as a second
language, again in a bid to empower a disenchanted subculture to take their place in society.

To understand cultural differences in learning and teaching and the impact of internationalisation on higher education, Professor Ramburuth, undertook a doctorate in this area.

“Following the internationalisation of Australian higher education in the 1980s, universities enrolled large numbers of students who had English as a second or even third language and many teachers thought they were poorer quality students, but they were, and still are, the top students of their countries,” she said.

Much of the problem lay with lack of learning support for these students, coupled with a distinct void in teacher training on how to manage the new diversity.

In response, Professor Ramburuth went about the creation of the Education Development Unit (EDU), one of the first discipline specific support units in Australia.

By conducting an investigation into the language, learning and cultural diversity of students enrolling in the business faculty, she found that students spoke 85 different languages and that 33 per cent of undergraduates, and 42 per cent of postgraduates, required English language support.

“The English language tests that international students are required to take assess general English and not academic English skills. Each time students take a different subject, whether it’s marketing, accounting or management, they have to learn the language of the discipline,” Professor Ramburuth said. They also have to cope with new teaching styles and learning expectations.

“In Asia for example, the teacher and the textbook are seen as the font of all knowledge, so students learn and reproduce everything they are told or read,” Professor Ramburuth said.

“But when these students come to Australia, they are suddenly expected to critique and analyse texts and readings, engage in debate, and express opinions, it’s a completely different educational experience,” she said.

As well as developing learning support programs for students, Professor Ramburuth also trains teachers in how to manage diversity in their classrooms, assessments and teaching.

“I don’t just want people to manage the diversity, but also to leverage the benefits of the diversity, for example by asking, ‘What can we learn from these students about the many different countries they come from? How can we use the diversity as a resource?” she said.

“It’s especially relevant in our current globalised business environment, where we need to understand, respect and do business with other cultures. There’s no option to having this cultural knowledge.”

Professor Ramburuth was recently awarded an ALTC Citation for her ongoing efforts towards improving
the student experience.

“I’m very much driven by my political background and a belief that everyone should have access to good education and should be supported in their efforts. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that every student succeeds, and that is what I am committed to,” she said.