THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED KOREAN children’s cultural adjustment during transition to South Australian junior primary school settings. Using case-study methodology to provide a sociocultural perspective, data were collected during interviews with a sample of South Korean international students aged five to eight years, their mothers and teachers. All participants were asked to identify experiences that facilitated or impeded the children’s cultural adjustment to school life in Australia. The study found that language difficulties were a major concern for these children in adapting to an Australian education setting. Successful cultural adjustment was found to link to positive interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers and the ability to adapt to Australian classroom teaching methodology. The study identified cultural adjustment issues which may also be relevant to other students from a non-English-speaking background and for teachers of international students.
In recent years globalisation has precipitated the growth of an international knowledge economy in which acquisition of the English language is considered to be a significant ‘marketable asset’ (Winkelmann & Winkelmann, 1998, cited in Butcher, 2004, p. 255), particularly in Asian countries. The governments of mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea have education policies which promote English language teaching and learning. Many Korean teachers, however, do not have the proficiency or confidence to teach in English (Nunan, 2003). Korean students travel to Australia to experience Western culture and consolidate existing English skills, or begin learning English, through immersion in an English-speaking culture (Kwon, 2000).
In Australia, the government has internationalised education to increase education market share and strengthen economic ties with neighbouring countries (Nelson, 2003). Particular emphasis has been placed on recruitment of students from the Asia–Pacific region, causing a corresponding increase in Asian international student enrolments (Nelson, 2003). In 2007–2008, international education was rated as Australia’s third-largest export industry ‘contributing $14.2 billion to the Australian economy’ (SA DECS, 2010). Currently, international students from Reception to Year 7 enrolled in the DECS Primary School Study Abroad Program pay up to $9160 for four terms tuition at South Australian government schools (SA DECS, 2010).
In this article the term ‘international students’ describes full-fee-paying foreign students on student visas studying in Australian schools. The students attend government schools in South Australia for a designated period, usually one year. After this time students return to their country of origin, although some families choose to convert their visas and apply for immigration status. While Korean students were the second-largest group of international students enrolled in South Australian public primary schools by mid-2009 (SA DECS, 2010) little is known about the social and academic needs of this culturally, and linguistically, unique student population. As the number of Korean students now attending South Australian junior primary schools is increasing an investigation of the needs and expectations of these children, and their families is warranted. The findings of such a study may provide helpful information for Korean families considering enrolling their children in Australian schools, and inform teachers about the needs of these students and their families.
The purpose of this study was to investigate factors affecting the cultural adjustment of young Korean students after their relocation from Korean to Australian education settings. The term ‘cultural adjustment’ may be described as ‘cultural involvement and ethnic identity behaviour’ displayed through cultural practices such as social activities, customs, food (Sonderegger & Barrett, 2004, p. 352) and language (Renwick, 1997). Previous research has indicated that cultural adjustment is affected by self-esteem, anxiety, social support, self-description, ethnic identity, and acculturation (Sonderegger & Barrett, 2004).
Most Australians have little or no knowledge about Korean culture or lifestyle. Therefore, most Australian teachers may have difficulty addressing the needs of children from this ethnic group (Armitage, 1999). In order to specifically meet the needs of Korean students (Dooley, 2003), early childhood educators need to become aware of the factors affecting successful cultural transition into Australian education settings (Okagaki & Diamond, 2000) and to develop some understanding of the nature of education in contemporary Korean society.
In Korean society and education settings, relationships are vertically structured and patrilineal, reflecting Confucian values (Armitage, 1999). Korean parents have high expectations for their children’s academic achievements (Kwon, 2000). Korean children are taught to fulfil familial duties of obedience, attention and honour. In return, Korean mothers devote themselves to their children’s education and fathers provide social position, family leadership and decision making (Kim & Choi, 1994). The strength of adult–child relationships is also evident in the important bond between teacher and student. Like the child–parent connection, the rapport between student and teacher is founded on Confucian values (Kwon, 2000).
Koreans spend much money on their children’s education (Kim, 2004). Families often spend up to one-third of their household income on private tuition in art, music and English (Nunan, 2003). Outside regular school hours many children attend intensive classes, particularly in English, at private academies known as hagwon. In 2000, approximately 60 per cent of Korean students attended some form of hagwon (Kim, 2004). Anecdotal evidence suggests many Korean parents are dissatisfied with their country’s contemporary English language curriculum, which is based predominantly on reading and grammar, so some choose to have their children educated in Australia to acquire English oral language skills (Tran, 2006). Previous research about the transition of Korean students into Australian schools has mainly focused on the experiences of secondary and tertiary students (Armitage, 1999; Kwon, 2000). To date, research with younger Korean children has been limited to exploration of mother–child relationships in preschool settings (Rodd, 1996). Therefore, this study focuses on the cultural transition of young children in early childhood settings.
Children studying in a country other than their own encounter a variety of barriers they need to overcome to achieve social and academic success. Renwick (1997) suggests that poor English language proficiency is the issue which most crucially affects Korean students’ adjustment to Western education environments. Studies of tertiary Asian international students in Australia indicate that English language problems seriously affect students’ social competence and academic progress (Sawir, 2005; Wong, 2004). An inability to communicate confidently in English presents myriad difficulties for tertiary students. In the present study it was expected that similar problems may be encountered by younger students.
In Korea, early literacy education has traditionally used rote-learning (Lee, Park & Kim, 2000). Children’s education experiences are usually teacher-directed and highly competitive (Kwon, 2000). In Australia, early childhood education teachers incorporate social constructivist approaches which emphasise language-rich, activity-based, interactive learning. This pedagogical methodology is based on sociocultural theory which states that successful close interpersonal relationships are critical to effective cross-cultural learning (Lim & Renshaw, 2001). In many Australian early childhood classrooms social constructivist approaches are evident in the use of collaborative learning. In collaborative classrooms competition is not valued. Less importance is placed on individual goals and achievement (Hill, 1994). A growing body of evidence also indicates the importance of social interaction during play (Bodrova, Leong, Hensen & Henninger, 2000).
Australian settings often incorporate a play-centred curriculum which stimulates children’s cognitive and social development while they participate in social interaction during planned play experiences (Van Hoorn, Monighan Nourot, Scales & Rodriguez Alward, 2003). Okagaki and Diamond (2000) have suggested that the activities incorporated in play curricula, such as use of manipulatives, are beneficial for all children, particularly those learning English as a second language. The use of small groups for play and structured activities also allows children to observe and follow peers’ modelling (Okagaki & Diamond, 2000). In addition to teaching and learning principles, based on social interaction, the partnerships between teachers and parents of young children are crucial to the children’s social and academic success. Improved learning outcomes may be achieved when children see positive relationships between their parents and teachers (Billman, Geddes & Hedges, 2005). Australian junior primary school teachers often encourage parents and families to participate in the classroom by listening to children read in the morning or assisting with a range of class activities.
The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia advocates that teachers demonstrate ‘cultural competence’ which will enhance children’s self-esteem and capacity for lifelong learning (DEEWR, 2009). Teachers may augment cultural competence through engagement in culturally responsive teaching practices (Gay, 2002) and by increasing their knowledge about specific cultural groups (Kwon, Suh, Bang, Jung & Moon, 2010). Teacher understanding of the families’ cultural background, beliefs and circumstances is crucial for development of strong teacher–parent partnerships (Handscombe, 1994).
Peer relationships are also important to development. Children may have improved academic outcomes if they form sound relationships with their peers at school. However, previous research has indicated that students from a non-English-speaking background spend most time with their own cultural group (Kagan, 1986 cited in Coelho, 1994) and they receive few invitations to homes of families outside that group (Coelho, 1994).
Case-study methodology allows in-depth investigation of individual children’s relationships and environment through comparison of life stories (MacNaughton, Rolfe & Siraj-Blatchford, 2001). Previous studies indicate the importance of including the perspectives of students, parents and teachers as stakeholders in school transitions (Dockett & Perry, 2005). It was decided early in the project to include interviews with children, parents and teachers to give depth to the findings. Based on sociocultural perspectives, this study explored how children’s development may be affected by relationships with others and cultural activities in society (Rogoff, 2003). Cultural activities could refer to ‘clothes, food, tools, holidays, rituals, crafts, artifacts [sic] and music’ (Garcia,1990 cited in Ramsey, 2004).
The value of obtaining young children’s views in research has been established in previous studies, such as the Starting School Research Project (Dockett & Perry, 2005). In that project the role of children as ‘social and cultural actors’ was stipulated. Children’s perspectives were gathered during group discussions (Dockett & Perry, 2005), but this method of data collection was deemed unsuitable in the present study because the interpreter considered that individual interviews would be easier for translation purposes. Using an interpreter gave participants flexibility to express their thinking in either English or Korean, or both, and gave the interpreter time to gather more information during interviews. Triangulation was established using multiple data sources (Miles & Huberman, 1994), and reliability of data was validated by cross-referencing participant responses.
Park and Lahman (2003) suggest that researchers in the field of multicultural studies face dilemmas and perplexity, particularly related to language differences, and that potential bias should be acknowledged early in the project. The children and parents who participated in this study were all Korean speakers, with varying abilities when using English as a second language. As the researcher had little knowledge of the Korean language, she was assisted by an interpreter during six of the eight interviews with Korean participants. The interpreter and researcher discussed issues of bias before and during the interview process.
The following research questions were posed: What factors facilitate the cultural adjustment of young Korean children studying in South Australian junior primary schools? What factors impede their cultural adjustment? It was expected that the identified factors may include English language difficulties (Renwick, 1997), teaching methodologies and learning styles (Kwon, 2000; Lee et al., 2000), interpersonal relationships (Farver, Kim & Lee 1995; Lim & Renshaw, 2001) and differences in educational and cultural experiences in Korea and Australia (Kwon, 2000; Okagaki & Diamond, 2000).
Participants
Participants were four international students from Korea (three boys and one girl aged between five and eight years), currently attending one of two South Australian DECS junior primary schools, their mothers and teachers. In all cases the parent was the child’s mother since the father of each child remained in Korea, continuing his employment to support the family members living overseas.
All child participants had experience of education settings in Korea. Three had attended Korean kindergarten before arriving in Australia, and had older siblings who attended school. One child had attended the first year of school in Korea. All Korean participants had been in Australia between six and 18 months. The children’s ages are described from an Australian perspective calculating the number of years from the birth of each child. This differs from Korean age calculation which includes the period prior to birth.
Procedure
Initially, the researcher contacted the International Office of DECS to ascertain which schools had the most Korean international students. Four schools were identified. Principals at the schools were contacted and potential participants identified at one school (purposive sampling). After initial interviews were concluded, a second site was included to increase the sample size. The principal at this school approved inclusion of a family suggested by the Korean interpreter.
Information letters about the project and consent forms were translated into Korean and copies made in both Korean and English. It is the researcher’s understanding that Koreans place great importance on formal processes, so the forms were sent home with the children in personally addressed envelopes. After a few days, the Bilingual School Support Officer (BSSO) asked older siblings of potential participants to remind their parents about returning the consent forms. The class teacher of each child was also provided with an information letter and consent form.
Participants were given opportunities to share their personal experiences and perceptions through semi-structured interviews. Interviews took place over a period of approximately six weeks. Individual interviews were conducted by the researcher with assistance from a Korean interpreter. The interpreter was born in Korea but had been living in Australia for 15 years. The child interviews were conducted in English, with minimal additional explanation provided in Korean. Parent interviews generally involved considerable verbal interpretation. Interviews took place either at the school or the home of the participant, depending on parental preference. There were many discussions between the researcher and interpreter, during and after each interview, regarding the content and intent of the Korean mothers’ statements. During each interview the researcher and interpreter regularly clarified the meaning of the vocabulary used.
To identify factors affecting Korean children’s cultural adjustment, data were obtained through posing issue-oriented, open-ended questions, recorded in the form of field notes. During preliminary discussion with the Korean BSSO and school principal it was decided to record interviews in note form to reduce potential participant discomfort.
To establish relationships with the children before beginning the interview process (Miles & Huberman, 1994) the researcher visited the children’s classrooms several times. The child interviews were conducted in the presence of either a member of the school staff or the child’s mother. Two child interviewees required some translation. Using the interview schedule, the researcher asked questions regarding language skills and experiences the child found positive or challenging at school in Australia. For example, ‘What has been easy for you at school in Australia?’ and ‘What has been challenging for you at school in Australia?’ Secondary questions were used to gain insight about learning in an English-speaking classroom, social conventions and relationships. The interviewer posed questions such as, ‘Are you finding it easy to understand what is happening in an English-speaking classroom? and ‘What are the differences you have noticed between living in Australia and living in Korea?’ These interviews lasted approximately 10 minutes. The children participated willingly.
The parent interviews focused on the same topics as the child interviews but required parents to comment on their observations of the child’s experiences. First a question was posed in English and then translated into Korean. The answer was translated back into English and notes taken. In some cases, the interpreter expanded questions to help the participant more fully understand what was being asked. The mothers appeared open and candid. Through smiles and nods they demonstrated enjoyment at having the opportunity to converse about their children in Korean. Each parent interview lasted for approximately 45 minutes.
Teacher interviews required the participant to comment on their observations of the child’s experiences. The teachers answered using their observations of the focus child in the classroom and playground. Teacher interviews focused on children’s attributes, such as speech and language, social skills and perceptual-cognitive understanding.
Data analysis
Data were ordered to make possible comparison between child, parent and teacher responses to questions. Sets of responses from each of the three groups were displayed in four tables. Data were then analysed by classifying common themes evident in each case and from the three data sources. Patterns and similarities among individual perceptions were identified (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
Results
The results are presented as individual cases so common responses connecting participant groups, relevant to the research questions, can be presented, compared and contrasted. For ease in reading, fictitious Korean names have been assigned to each child.
Case 1
Kyung Min was a seven-year-old Year Two girl. She had been in Australia for nine months and was living with her mother and two siblings. She had attended kindergarten and one year of school in Korea. Kyung Min spoke English confidently and said she had been able to ‘cope’ with English when she first arrived. She said she liked going to school and had found making friends easy; she had two special friends in her class, one Korean and one Australian.
Kyung Min said listening in class was sometimes difficult owing to the rapid speech of her classmates, but often friends took the time to talk slowly to her. She said she found spelling challenging but generally found school ‘easier’ than in Korea. Her mother said Kyung Min was more relaxed at school in Australia than in Korea; she enjoyed play-based activities in class and did not realise she was learning new things. Kyung Min’s mother also observed the pressure on Korean children to succeed in their examinations. She thought the different approach to learning in Australia was more successful for young children.
Kyung Min reported feeling sad and lonely in the first few months of her stay. She said she missed her wider family and old Korean school friends. She also found the single- storey housing unusual since she was used to living in a multi-storey apartment block and could visit friends whenever she wished. Kyung Min commented, ‘In Korea I could go see friends in my [apartment] building’.
Kyung Min’s mother said that in Korea even very young children walk the few blocks from their apartment building to school unaccompanied by an adult. She described how Australian parents with young children drive their children to school, enter the grounds and stay with them until class time. She reported that in Australia mothers arranged ‘play dates’ in advance and accompanied children to friends’ homes rather than the children going alone.
Case 2
Sung Kook was a five-year-old boy in Reception who had been in Australia for nine months. He was living with his mother and older brother. Sung Kook relied on an interpreter during the interview but said he understood what was happening in the English-speaking classroom. He said he had no friends when he first arrived but now he could do ‘drawing, writing and playing with friends’. There was one other Korean student in his class.
Sung Kook said he had three close male friends and they spent most break times playing soccer. He reported that he often had friends over to play at home. His mother said he had adapted easily to school in Australia because he was so young. She suggested he was learning social skills such as sharing through play and explicit teaching. She said, ‘I like talking to other mothers after school’ as other parents gave her positive feedback about Sung Kook’s achievements.
Sung Kook’s teacher said she thought positive relationships with other students had facilitated his adjustment. She said she provided a language-rich environment and used a lot of role-playing and facial gestures during his first days at school. She reflected that at first it was difficult to assess if he understood English, or whether he was shy, lacked confidence, or deliberately did not maintain eye contact. She suggested that, although he had received a few hours tuition in English as a Second Language (ESL), initially he would have benefited from an interpreter in class.
Case 3
Jae Hoon’s teacher said he displayed no English skills when he arrived nine months ago. She said he was placed in a Reception class with no other Korean students and no bilingual support. She remembered that in the early days, before his father returned to Korea, he would do simple interpreting for his son at the beginning of the day but Jae Hoon would be quite distressed when his father left. The teacher said she established a buddy system and used peer literacy tuition to support Jae Hoon. The other children in his class played alphabet games and did reading activities with him. She reported that he finally became more settled when a short-term stay group of Korean students visited the school. She recalled arranging for him to join in as many of the group activities as possible. After the study group returned to Korea he stopped displaying separation anxiety and no longer cried each morning.
The teacher said she told the class about the difficulties Jae Hoon was having and encouraged their support for him from the beginning of his stay. She observed that the rest of the class readily helped him and the group regularly ‘celebrated’ his learning achievements. She also introduced him to the Korean boy in the class next door. His mother said Jae Hoon had fitted into the school class very well because the teacher was constantly checking to see if he understood what was happening and what he had to do next.
Jae Hoon reported that he is good at speaking and writing English although he also stated that sometimes, ‘it’s hard ’cause I don’t know much English’. He said he now had a group of male friends who all enjoyed playing Australian Rules football. The differences Jae Hoon said he noticed between Australia and Korea were not walking to school and needing to bring a packed lunch from home. He said food was served at school in Korea. Jae Hoon also observed the difference between single-storey housing in Australia and apartment buildings in Korea. He said he liked school in Australia because he had good friends.
Case 4
Dae Hyun attended a different South Australian school from the other participants. He had attended the school throughout Year One and was now in Year two. He said initially it was ‘hard talking in English, but now OK’. He said he had no friends at school when he first arrived but now ‘I play basketball, tennis, sand-pit with friends, and like to make things and do painting’.
Dae Hyun’s mother said he had some English when he arrived, owing to private tuition and weekly English classes at kindergarten in Korea. She said the ‘free atmosphere’ in his Australian school helped her son learn, as classes were not as formal as they were in Korea. She added that the Australian students and teachers were open-minded to ESL students. In particular, she liked the way teachers paid attention to her son’s needs and she was grateful for the work of the BSSO.
Dae Hyun’s mother reported that the class group activities helped her son learn about cooperation and leadership. She also thought Australian students were more involved in their learning than were Korean students. She said Dae Hyun was still getting used to asking the teacher questions because that was not encouraged by Korean teachers. She also reported sometimes feeling powerless to help her son with learning at home because there were no textbooks provided for homework in Australia.
Dae Hyun’s teacher said he was a ‘very able student’ and one of a large cohort of Korean and Chinese students placed at the school. She said the ESL students were supportive of each other. She also recalled the school had programmed a large topic on Asian countries at the beginning of the year and she thought this helped the Asian students feel comfortable at the school.
In all four cases the children, mothers and teachers considered that the children’s cultural adjustment was impeded because of difficulties establishing peer relationships and achieving academic success due to limited English language skills. The mothers agreed Australian teaching approaches facilitated their children’s learning and consequently their cultural adjustment, and the teachers identified the strategies they employed. The mothers and children made comparisons between lifestyle and education experiences in Australia and Korea and identified specific differences which facilitated or impeded the children’s cultural adjustment.
Discussion
Education policy-makers encourage Korean children to study in Australia (SA DECS, 2010), so there must be adequate supports in place to effect cultural adjustment. This study identified a number of factors which facilitated or impeded the cultural adjustment of Korean children to South Australian junior primary schools.
English language skills
Consistent with previous research (Renwick, 1997; Sawir, 2005; Wong, 2004) all participants said they thought the Korean children’s cultural adjustment was largely affected by actual, and perceived, language limitations. The common concern for all Korean mothers participating in this study was English proficiency, both for their children and themselves. They were aware how isolated the children were when they first arrived in Australia. All mothers observed that these children did not rely on language to understand what was happening in class as much as their older siblings had. They said that hands-on, open-ended class activities allowed their children to follow what the other children were doing, and their English skills improved rapidly as a result.
Teaching approaches
The mothers all suggested that constructivist approaches, cooperative learning and play-centred experiences helped their children adapt easily to the new cultural environment (Farver et al., 1995; Hill, 1994; Okagaki & Diamond, 2000). The children were able to relinquish rote-learning and teacher dependence (Lee et al., 2000) and, once language barriers had decreased, to comfortably participate in open-ended, child-centred learning activities (Farver et al., 1995). The mothers and children generally spoke positively about the Australian system. Some said school was ‘easier’ in Australia, although they expressed concern about lack of homework.
Interpersonal relationships
Consistent with sociocultural learning theory, the results showed that accessibility to other Korean students at school facilitated cultural adjustment (Lim & Renshaw, 2001). Most Korean children and parents placed great emphasis on interpersonal relationships with other students and teachers. Development of a social support network was crucial to successful cultural adjustment (Lim & Renshaw, 2001; Sonderegger & Barrett, 2004). The mothers all said strong friendship groups were crucial to their children’s academic success.
Contrary to the findings of previous research (Coelho, 1994), this group of Korean children were invited to the homes of classmates and had friends visit their own homes. The children and mothers said they were included in invitations to other people’s homes and birthday parties. One mother said Australian children were ‘good at giving praise and compliments’ and were not as academically competitive as children in Korea (Kwon, 2000). Teachers and mothers agreed that peer tuition and the friendliness of other children in the class contributed to Korean children’s cultural adjustment.
The student–teacher relationship is significant in Korean society (Kwon, 2000). In this study, Korean mothers said their children were able to develop positive relationships with Australian teachers and that the teachers’ interest, care and nurturing helped with cross-cultural transition. Two mothers observed that the teachers gave their children extra attention and focused on their needs.
During their interviews all four teachers revealed gaps in their knowledge about the Korean children and their families’ circumstances. Three teachers were unaware that the children were living in Australia with only their mothers and siblings. There was also an apparent mismatch between teachers’ perceptions and mothers’ perceptions about the English language abilities of new Korean students. In all cases the teachers reported that the children came to Australia with ‘no English’, though two children had received intensive private English tuition for nearly six months before arrival. These findings indicated that some educators need to become better informed about the educational context of the international students in their classes (Gay, 2002; Kwon et al., 2010). Deeper understanding would also reinforce development of stronger teacher–parent relationships (DEEWR, 2009; Handscombe, 1994).
Educational and cultural experiences
Jae Hoon’s experience shows the importance of international students’ accessibility to other students from the same country. Only after the teacher introduced him to other Korean students did Jae Hoon begin to display signs of cultural adjustment. Consistent with Sonderegger & Barrett (2004), his anxiety decreased once he formed relationships with these students.
The two children who had received intensive English tuition in Korea were reported as showing signs of quicker cultural adjustment. However, that these were the two eldest children may be relevant. All four children’s self-description indicated that during the early weeks at school in Australia they had poor self-esteem regarding English language skills and experienced varying levels of anxiety. The mothers and teachers said the children’s process of acculturation was ameliorated by social support from peers and teachers (Sonderegger & Barrett, 2004).
Serendipitous findings involved the needs of the mothers. The families in this study had no contacts in Australia prior to arrival and needed to generate new social networks. Problems of social isolation were significant, particularly for one mother who arrived with no English skills.
Recommendations
In this study, three teachers expressed frustration at what they perceived to be limited language support for the Korean students in their classes. Since English language difficulties are a barrier to cultural adjustment, the children may benefit from an initial intensive language course similar to the New Arrivals programs. Korean students’ mothers may also benefit from access to language support.
Teachers voiced concern about lack of teacher professional development regarding international students. Professional development opportunities which will increase cultural competence by learning about Korean society, culture and the education system could benefit teachers. In order to develop strong partnerships with the families, early childhood educators of Korean students should familiarise themselves with the culture and circumstances of their students’ families. This could be achieved through welcome activities at the school, in addition to clear communication about the children’s education history at the time of enrolment. Australian teachers could initiate teacher–parent relationships by acknowledging the central role of rote-learning in Korean education and discussing with Korean families why textbooks and homework are not used with young Australian learners.
Lists of Korean churches, shops and social organisations in South Australia, translated into Korean, could also be made available through schools to promote cultural adjustment for the whole family through a network based on shared linguistic and cultural background. School principals may facilitate smoother transition by placing Korean children in classes with other Korean students. The experiences of Korean mothers accompanying young children on student visas may be an area for further investigation.
Given the increasing number of Korean students enrolling in DECS schools (SA DECS, 2010) a larger, qualitative study is required to increase Australian educators’ understanding about the cultural adjustment needs of these students. A large-scale study may also consider how the presence of Korean international students affects teaching approaches, learning experiences, and relationships between teachers and other students.
Limitations
The case-study approach used meant only the views of full-fee-paying, international students were included. It was only possible to obtain a maternal perspective because of geographic separation of parents. Language differences may have affected the findings as parent participants all used a combination of Korean and English and the researcher relied on an interpreter. The interpreter also acknowledged difficulty translating some words for which there is no equivalent meaning in Korean.
This research was undertaken to fulfil the requirements of the author’s Honours study and the sample size was limited owing to time restrictions. Care should be taken in generalising the findings because of the small number of participants and the limitations of purposive sampling.
Conclusion
This study indicates that a number of factors may facilitate, or impede, the cultural adjustment of Korean children transitioning into South Australian junior primary schools. English language difficulties immediately impact on children’s capacity to communicate, causing complications for newly arrived students as they commence relationships with peers and teachers. Social interaction affects development of self-esteem and identity, therefore it is crucial to provide an environment in which Korean children will establish positive relationships as quickly as possible. Early childhood educators need to provide ample opportunities for English language learning, including significant levels of explicit instruction, rather than relying on immersion.
After a number of months attending school in South Australia the children in this study were found to have adapted reasonably well to Australian teaching approaches. However, to ensure successful and rapid cultural adjustment to Australian education settings for future students, educators should ensure they understand the kinds of experiences children have had prior to arrival in Australia. In conjunction with increased knowledge about Korean culture, teachers will be able to confidently offer sensitive support to Korean international students. The creation of this awareness and knowledge is not solely the responsibility of teachers but needs to be addressed by policy-makers through provision of professional development opportunities for staff working with Korean students, and increased funding for English language programs.
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Australasian Journal of Early Childhood – Volume 36 No 3 September 2011
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