If you went back to your home country for tertiary education, do you feel that you could have done better elsewhere?OR

If you did not go back to your home country, do you feel that you could have adapted to your home country’s local curriculum and teaching style?

Popularity: 1% [?]

The learning and teaching style was similar to that of my high school where I completed the IB. All the assignments, essays, exams, and presentations I had to do was similar as I was used to the more western education system. Therefore, it has been challenging as we are no longer spoon fed with information, but it has been manageable.

Though, the initial difficulty that I was faced with was getting used to the accent. With the tutors, you can always ask them to repeat the questions or ask to talk slower, but it was difficult for me at the beginning at times when they showed videos and documentaries.

As my degree is about teaching in Australia especially in New South Wales (the state), I had to adapt my way of thinking to the NSW system and curriculum. I learned a lot about the difference between private and the public systems, which was something I was never really exposed to as I grew up in a sheltered life in Singapore which was the International school.

Especially because of my degree, I feel that I have now assimilated to the way things are in Australia. I always thought I could get away with being myself with my different accent using different terms. However, this was not the case when I started my professional experiences at schools, as I had to promote and model Australian Standard English. I now call the water fountain “bubbler” and break times “recess”. There are still some things I am learning by the day as I have learnt things differently in the past.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Even though I am a TCK, it was very hard at the beginning for me as I had lived in Singapore since 3 years old. I felt very homesick and felt lost being in a new place on my own without my family. People seemed to know each other and talked about which schools they went to, and for the first time I felt like I was an outcast.

The university culture was very different to what I had expected and had heard from my other friends. People in UK and the US seem to go to university to get away from home, whereas majority of people in Australia attend uni from home. They had work commitments and friends from the past to go back to after class. Fortunately, there was one friend from my high school who attended the same University as me. The people we lived with kept to themselves, so we hung out with each other all the time. Although it was extremely difficult for me in my first year as I was still finding my place and a sense of belonging, it got better and better as years went by.

I was very fortunate that in my course everyone takes the same subjects for the four years and therefore I managed to become close with my course friends. I know that next year at my graduation I will be graduating with all my friends and will know everyone in the hall. Whereas I know that this is not the case with some courses, as you are taking different subjects having to meet different people each semester. What was your experience?

Popularity: 1% [?]

This could be due to various factors such as language, friends, specific educational subject interest, views on places, general interest in the culture, personal value and views on specific educational institutions, or the recognition of the institutions.

For me, I knew that I wasn’t able to go to a University in Japan (my native country) because I knew my Japanese was not up to University standard. I can speak Japanese informally with my family at home but I haven’t learnt to read and write since primary school. Also, my brother was studying in Sydney so my parents felt that it was safe and closer for me to go to Australia rather than going to the US or the UK.

What factors affected your choice of tertiary education?

Then the next question is: (Q4) ARE YOU OVERALL HAPPY WITH YOUR DECISION? WHY/WHY NOT?

Popularity: 3% [?]

I feel that I don’t really have a sense of belonging anywhere. Even though I consider Singapore my home, I am not a permanent resident there. Now whenever I go back to Singapore, I am on a tourist visa and can only stay in the country for 30 days maximum. The place that I used to call home is no longer really my home, and everytime I go back it keeps on changing. Friends are all over the place and I haven’t seen my best friends for more than 2 years.

Do you have a similar experience? Or are there any other reasons for you to feel that you are a TCK?

Popularity: 2% [?]

Although I still identify myself as ‘Japanese’, I feel that Singapore is more of my home. This is because I spent all of my developmental years in Singapore and I am more familiar with the people and places in Singapore. I feel that I am not aware of the Japanese culture of today.

Do you feel that another country other than your native country is your ‘home’ as well or will your native country always be your home?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Hello my name is Miki – a TCK who is Japanese and grew up in Singapore, currently studying at the University of Sydney. I am conducting a research on TCK and their tertiary educational choices and I posted a forum on the website (in May) to ask for people to participate in my research.

This is how I am hoping to conduct my research:
Firstly I will send you a quick questionnaire by e-mail to ask about your backgrounds such as your name, background, country you’ve lived in, which uni you went to, etc. just so that I can relate to your nickname and background when you participate in the discussions.

Then I will post about 2 questions each week on the forum section of the website for you to answer and I will send out an e-mail each time to remind you about it If you think it sounds too hectic please let me know – I am willing to compensate! The reason for asking my questions online is so that it becomes a discussion rather than just answering survey questions, and so that we can all share our stories and experiences. Your names will not be mentioned in the research due to privacy reasons.

Please send an e-mail to mtok5942@mail.usyd.edu.au as soon as possible if you are willing to participate. Also if you know anyone else who is willing to help and is a member of this community PLEASE let me know! the more the merrier!

Thanks

Popularity: 1% [?]

Hello, I am Miki and I just joined this online community, its amazing!

I am a Japanese citizen who grew up in Singapore and attended an International school, and currently living in Sydney for my University studies. I am doing my honours research paper and decided that I wanted to do something on TCK.

My topic is going to be about TCK and their tertiary educational choices and whether TCKs tend to go back to their native countries and the factors affecting it. It has been very difficult for me to find interview/survey participants for me to get insightful information. I realised that since everyone on this site is willing to talk about themselves and share their experiences and stories, I was wondering if you could participate and answer a questionnaire (some are long answers talking about your tertiary experiences, and some are just yes/no questions). The questions are not ready yet, and I cannot conduct the survey until I get ethics approval. Please reply to this post if you are willing to partake in my studies, so that I can fill out my ethics application. Also, this will be an anonymous survey for privacy purposes

Please reply to this if you are willing to take part in my studies. I will greatly appreciate it!

Miki.

Popularity: 2% [?]