Student engagement: what is stopping our international students from getting it?

Within Australian tertiary institutions, student engagement has received much attention in recent times, despite the obscurity in its meaning. The term ‘engagement’ has become synonymous with student ‘involvement’ and ‘active participation’, suggesting that international students are accountable for their lack of engagement. However, this fails to acknowledge the pivotal role of lecturers and course structure. Students are encouraged to communicate and collaborate with peers as a way of negotiating and constructing knowledge, though lecturers do little to foster a participative learning environment. This article considers the difficulties international students face in achieving success at a satellite campus in Sydney following the research conducted on student engagement. The article suggests that in order to increase the level of international student engagement, communication, assessments and the lecturer’s pedagogy need to be addressed.