Should I do like the Romans do or should I make waves? How Migrant Teachers and Students face Issue of Attendance Today

Similarly, when I lived, worked, and studied in Japan, many Japanese students--who had worked hard in high schools across that county by taking many high stakes tests to gain entrance at some high quality institutions--were less than serious in attending class for much of their first two years they attended university or college. (NOTE: The Japanese, in contrast to the German students, would often, however, become fairly regular at attending classes once-again by their junior and senior years.  This had partially to do with the fact that the easier courses and exams had been put  behind them by then and once again high-stakes exams and high stakes-projects took place normally only in the second half of their studies.) 

In the Middle East, where I have taught most of the recent past decade and a half, I once again find that student attendance in courses at the remedial-, freshman-, and sophomore levels is not taken very seriously historically.  On the surface, it appears that here the idea is that if one is really concerned or really needs help, one should pay for a tutor.  This has led to very low standards of performance on exams and projects for far too many students.

In conclusion, increasingly as teachers and students migrate around the planet, attendance is an issue these days for many in various parts of the world.  This is often the case regardless as to whether attendance was-or-is important in someone's homeland. In other words, the issue of student attendance--and how lecturers and students see attendance's role in their education-- is an important issue because our world is one of global migrations.  Instructors are moving from one country to another to teach, and likewise some students go to other countries to learn while others back in their homelands experience instructors from many different countries by the time they graduate from college or university.[1] 

At times, migrants, academics, and students simply conform to one another's expectations, but more often than not either the instructor, the administrators, or students will have to be subservient to the historically dominant culture on campus. This is a relatively straightforward procedure in some ways, i.e. one often assumes that if one is in Rome, one should act as the Romans. As a migratory lecturer, one might simply need be prepared to go-with-the-flow and  observe how others behave.  This works fine if no-change in an educational system is expected nor desired.  However, in many cases around the globe, educational reforms are being sought, i.e. one should not always assume that doing-as-the-Romans-do will continue to get you and your educational institution from A to B.  In the case of attendance, my current institution has come to see that student attendance is more desirable for student achievement. 

As a migrant instructor, I am ready to support this reform, especially as an American I am familiar with the benefits of high attendance and high participation in a lively and motivating course. On the other hand, many of my colleagues from neighboring Arab lands or certain parts of Europe, Africa or Australia may not appreciate nor full grasp the importance of attendance.[2]  Or, they may be more interested in going with the flow of local practices, i.e. rather than seeing themselves as a developmental worker involved in positive organizational change.

NOTES

[1] Recently, I was in a college employee meeting room with 17 staffers teaching the exact same course curriculum.  The birth countries represented in that group of seventeen instructors included:  Oman, the USA, Canada, Iran, Sudan, Jordan, India, Bangladesh,  the Philippines, South Africa, Scotland and England.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).