Approaches to study: a comparison of Malaysian and Australian student

This paper reports on an investigation into the learning styles adopted by Malaysian students studying on an Australian university campus in Malaysia and learning styles adopted by Australian students in Australia. It investigates whether Malaysian student approaches to learning can be distinguished from those of Australian nationals. Th e basic rationale for the study is that the provision of tertiary education to South East Asian students on Asian campuses of Australian universities and on Australian campuses will be more successful if the learning approaches adopted by students is taken into account in the design and delivery of courses. Th is investigation tests a conventional Australian view on Asian approaches to learning that portrays Asian students as adopting surface, rote learning strategies in their approaches to study (Ballard & Clanchy, 1997; Biggs, 1987). It also questions the assumption that teaching Asian students in Australia is the best preparation for staff teaching Asian students in their home contexts (Gribble & Ziguras, 2003).