Understanding International Postgraduate Research Students’ Challenges and Pedagogical Needs in Thesis Writing

The number of postgraduate research students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) is growing rapidly in Australian universities. Previous research has indicated that these students encounter different and greater challenges in their postgraduate research experience from the domestic research students. Because there is much to be gained when international research students have a positive educational experience in the host country, every attempt needs to be made to ensure that these students have satisfactory research experiences. This study explores the thesis writing experiences of a small group of international postgraduate research students at one Australian university. It seeks to identify the challenges these students face in their thesis writing process, which might arise from the different cultural backgrounds and academic traditions these students bring to their postgraduate research. The study reveals the cultural impact on their thesis writing, their efforts in developing competence and confidence in academic writing, and their pedagogical needs in thesis writing. We argue that in order to assist international research students to triumph over the culturally embedded challenges in thesis writing, it is important for the supervisors to understand international research students’ unique pedagogical needs and develop intercultural sensitivity in their pedagogical practice in postgraduate research supervision.