ABSTRACT
Australia changed its international education policy from aid to trade in the 1980s, sparking the vigorous marketing and recruitment of high numbers of overseas students. Despite the longevity and intensity of the internationalisation project, Australian universities continue to struggle with meeting diverse students' need and interests. Successive waves of research have proposed at-times conflicting approaches to educational and cultural difference. None of the approaches has foregrounded the everyday academic practices of the students themselves. This chapter presents research prioritising student engagement with the unfamiliar demands of postgraduate study in Australia. It problematises the concept of ‘engagement’ and proposes a three-dimensional, practice-based model of 3As – antecedents, actions, accomplishments – to highlight the complex work undertaken by students. The approach acknowledges diversity as a 21st century characteristic and provides a means of understanding what international students actually ‘do’ to achieve academic success. In addition, it highlights the enabling power of teaching as a key antecedent to students' engagement and subsequent learning.
