Internationalisation of education can, at times, leave people behind. Assumptions made as to the ability or preparedness of varying cultures and backgrounds can prove problematic when they fail to take into account the diversity inherent in learning and teaching patterns. Demand is on the increase for an international education – but what is an international education, and is the understanding of this the same for both students and academics alike? What do students expect and what should they expect from their investment? What do we have an obligation to provide? Does education extend to the personal as well as the academic?

Development is about compromise and learning to improve in partnership and collaboration. One side must not be forced to relinquish its own identity in favour of wholehearted assimilation, but rather there should be a concerted effort for identities, strengths, weaknesses, alternative approaches and mutual understanding to be processed. There will naturally be a dominant player in this equation but the structure need not be so pervasive as to prevent incorporation of varying perspectives; indeed, myopia of this nature will merely stunt growth and halt development and can well lead to increased problems of understanding and co-existence. We have seen this problem in arenas outside of education and ours is no different in that it falls susceptible to the danger of arrogance and naivety.

Barriers to learning exist in many different forms and are not solely constricted to the issue of language, although this can of course represent a major obstacle. There are issues of reputation, approach, acceptance, methods of processing information, methods of delivering information and the very structure itself that play into the relative success rate of accomplished teaching. These barriers must all be considered in our aim to provide comprehensive and effective teaching practice, while balancing individuality and conformity to the model.

It is not just students who are multicultural, as with increased worker movement the field of academia has naturally been affected too. To what extent does this mean that a single model can be promoted when it is born from many different opinions and experiences? The world of higher education is fast becoming international and therefore by extension, multicultural. We must adapt with this in order to fully incorporate and exploit the depth and breadth of what we can offer. To an extent, this requires not only student training but staff training too. Obtaining a PhD does not make the issues and concerns of multiculturalism disappear. We are a product of both nurture and nature and although we learn patterns and behaviours, we do not completely divorce ourselves from our own intrinsic existence. The very nature of education is a continual process, not a single stop gap solution. We must be able to address issues of this nature in order to bridge the gaps that exist in educational development and policy.

Time and energy should not be devoted to the act of breaking down and re-creating either students or academics, but rather, attempts should be made to greater understand the nature of diversity and harness the potential therein. Greater training and even greater awareness will provide the tools for this and enable a more balanced approach to education that rests on inclusion rather than elitist exclusion.