Chapter 12: Understanding Student Diversity and the Factors that Influence Academic Success at University: A Preliminary Study

The contemporary university campus in Australia today is culturally and demographically diverse. Look around any campus and you will find an amazingly diverse group of people. Mixing with fresh-faced teenagers straight from high school are students from across the age spectrum, who bring with them a vastly different range of life experiences. You will also find students from many different countries, some with Western cultures similar to Australia, and others with markedly different cultures. There are also many students whose faces you cannot see; those studying in the distance modes, sometimes overseas and in countries where languages other than English are dominant. Academic staff members also bring a diverse mix of cultural, educational, professional, and life experiences to the learning environment.