TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding the symbolic capital of intercultural interactions
T2 - a case study of international students in Australia
AU - Pham, Lien
AU - Tran, Ly
PY - 2015/7/3
Y1 - 2015/7/3
N2 - Intercultural interaction plays an important role in contributing to international students’ learning and wellbeing in the host country. While research on international students’ intercultural interactions reveals multifaceted aspects of personal and social factors, there is a tendency to consider language barrier and cultural differences as individual factors that constrain their interactions with the institutional community. Drawing on 105 interviews with international students in Australian vocational education and training and dual sector institutions, this paper examines international students’ intercultural interactions in host institutions and the factors that act as enablers or inhibitors for intercultural interactions. It highlights the social and structural conditions in creating symbolic capital of elitist Anglo-Australian culture and English language, and social differentiation. This paper offers insights into understanding the legitimacy of such elitism, in hope that future conceptualisation, research and practices of intercultural interactions may locate international students within their cultural diversity.
AB - Intercultural interaction plays an important role in contributing to international students’ learning and wellbeing in the host country. While research on international students’ intercultural interactions reveals multifaceted aspects of personal and social factors, there is a tendency to consider language barrier and cultural differences as individual factors that constrain their interactions with the institutional community. Drawing on 105 interviews with international students in Australian vocational education and training and dual sector institutions, this paper examines international students’ intercultural interactions in host institutions and the factors that act as enablers or inhibitors for intercultural interactions. It highlights the social and structural conditions in creating symbolic capital of elitist Anglo-Australian culture and English language, and social differentiation. This paper offers insights into understanding the legitimacy of such elitism, in hope that future conceptualisation, research and practices of intercultural interactions may locate international students within their cultural diversity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84941749411&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP0986590
U2 - 10.1080/09620214.2015.1069720
DO - 10.1080/09620214.2015.1069720
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84941749411
SN - 0962-0214
VL - 25
SP - 204
EP - 224
JO - International Studies in Sociology of Education
JF - International Studies in Sociology of Education
IS - 3
ER -