IAP Essay
Accommodating new academic values: Paving the way to succeed in academic life
Kamirsyah Wahyu, University of Canberra
A famous Indonesian proverb says, “where the earth is stepped on, the sky is upheld there.” A
prominent message of the proverb is to accommodate new cultures and live accordingly.
Adapting to new cultures is not straightforward, academic cultures specifically; it often results
in cultural shocks that hinder academic success. This essay reflects on the academic values that
I have prior to studying in Australia and the challenges of new values. I argue that the
challenges are learning opportunities that could be transformed into affordances- conditions
that support the achievement of a goal for my academic success.
Academic values in Indonesia could be seen from three dimensions: power distance,
individualism and collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance (Novera, 2004) as part of the four
dimensions of cultural differences by Hofstede et al. (2010, p.30). The first is about the
hierarchy of relationships. The value attached to the relationship is the younger (students) must
respect and obey the older (teachers). It is evident in my experiences from the school level to
the university. For example, I and my friends rarely argued about what teachers explained in
the classroom since it was considered unpolite or, to some extent, offensive. As for common
people in Indonesia, individualism is considered not acceptable since it shows egoism. Indeed,
we were pleased to work together in accomplishing assignments. However, the teamwork
mostly did not work. Otherwise, dependence on others within the team, for instance, the one
who was considered very capable of doing the assignment, was the concern. This indicates
unequal contributions, which is real individualism. The last relates to how people avoid
uncertainty or unknown situations. Southeast Asian people were categorized as having weak
uncertainty avoidance cultures (Clyne, 1994 cited in Novera, 2004, p.477), where they are
contemplative and tolerate ambiguity (Jandt, 2010, p.179). In fact, certain moments of
discussion during my courses at the undergraduate level were intentionally left to ambiguity as
it saved my relationship with the lecturers. In short, I could conclude that the three dimensions
of academic values are interrelated. The ambiguity existed due to the power distance; the
younger respects the older and the dependence on teamwork is tied to how an individual sees
the capability that others have.
The dimensions could also be applied to examine university academic values in Australia. What
I address here is based on what I have experienced directly, shared by others, or read. For this
reason, I might be inaccurate at some points. In terms of power distance, the relationship
between students and lecturers is built on equality principles as it has become the Australian
way of life (Cousins, 2005). This means that the student-lecturers relationship is very flexible,
which is indicated by the way the lecturers are called by their first names without any academic
titles. This gapless social interaction is in line with how lecturers perceive their roles as
facilitators, not the main source of knowledge. That is to say, in classrooms, they raise
questions and the students are expected to explore and answer the questions (Brick et al.,
2020). As a result of this expectation, students need to be independent learners. In addition to
the benefits of non-hierarchical relationships in academic interactions, as far as I am concerned,
academic values in English-speaking countries uphold collectivism, which promotes equal
contributions. This is clearly shown in various academic programs to support students, for
instance, academic reading circles or study skills support, which involve group works amongst
students. Lastly, Western culture was considered to have strong uncertainty avoidance (Clyne,
1994 cited in Novera, 2004, p.477). People in this category tend to be active, expressive of their
feelings, and avoid ambiguity. Strict and clear academic rules are one example that depicts
certainty. New students are introduced to the standard of academic integrity (Academic
Integrity Module), in which some of the integrity breaches are common in other cultural values,
such as helping a fellow student to rewrite a single paragraph of her/his writing assignment.
This practice is surprisingly called contract cheating.
Comparing the academic values that I have and the new values, which are very distinctive in
many ways, in the three dimensions makes me aware of the challenges that I will face forward
in the future. Finding a way to accommodate the values that afford my success in academics is
the right call. First of all, adapting to flexible academic relationships is rewarding for me. This is
favorable to improve my self-confidence to convey what ideas I have without feeling guilty of
being impolite. To preserve this classless relationship, the respect that I have early on is the
key. This value keeps me down to earth, reminding myself that I am an apprentice as an
apprentice. Second, in the context of collectivism, I was the one the team depended on whom
the member of the teamwork depends on to accomplish the task. This is obviously a constraint
when in a new value, I am required to contribute equally or proportionally in various group
activities. For this case, a social contract would help me accommodate the new value and be
aware of thoughtful input from various minds, which in turn enrich my perspectives. Now, I
would be a good listener. In the last dimension, uncertainty avoidance, I might fall into
practices that violate academic integrity, one of which is contract cheating. To deal with it, the
contemplative characteristic could help me learn the strict rules on academic integrity to
identify boundaries; whether a certain practice is allowed or not. The challenges within each
dimension of academic values difference admittedly could be merged with my old values to
help me survive the academic journey.
To conclude, the challenges that I will encounter when living with the new academic values are
positioned in three dimensions of cultural difference: the relationship with the older
(supervisors or lecturers), equal contributions to group activities, and strong ambiguity
preference. Despite being seen from a negative pole, my old values- respectful, contemplative,
and a social contract could afford me a way to accommodate the new values.
References
Brick, J., Herke, M., & Wong, D. (2020). Academic culture: A student’s guide to studying at
university (4th ed.). Red Globe Press.
Cousins, S. (2005). Contemporary Australia: National identity. National Centre for Australian
Studies, Monash University. Retrieved on January 23th 2023 from
https://www.abc.net.au/ra/australia/pdf/national_id.pdf
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the
mind: Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival (Revised and expanded
3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Jandt, F. E. (2010). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global
community (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Novera, I. A. (2004). Indonesian postgraduate students studying in Australia: An examination of
their academic, social and cultural experiences. International Education Journal, 5(4),
475-487. https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/IEJ/article/view/6800/7440