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Cultural Intelligence in the Transnational Education Classroom: the Case of Australian Accounting

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Cultural Intelligence in the Transnational Education Classroom: the Case of Australian Accounting Cultural intelligence in the transnational education classroom: The case of Australian accounting academics A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Meredith Ann Tharapos Bachelor of Commerce (University of Melbourne) Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Learning (RMIT University) School of Accounting College of Business RMIT University August, 2015 Declaration I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis/project is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. Meredith Ann Tharapos August, 2015 ii Acknowledgments The doctoral journey is never one undertaken alone, and as such, I have many people to whom countless gratitude is owed. Heartfelt gratitude is extended to my Senior Supervisor, Professor Brendan O’Connell, whose theoretical and practical expertise has significantly enriched this research. His endless patience, constant encouragement, and wise mentoring have been greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank my Second Supervisor, Professor Steven Dellaportas, whose assistance extended way beyond that of a supporting supervisory role. Acknowledgement and gratitude are extended to my initial supervisors, Emeritus Professor Sheila Bellamy and Dr Barry Hutton (now retired) who were invaluable during the commencement stages. Special mention must be made of Professor Lee Parker, who has been instrumental in this doctoral journey from the outset. His boundless energy, continual encouragement, and prompt feedback have motivated and facilitated my constant progression. Collectively, the ‘supervisory team’ have provided much guidance, patiently taught me the craft of research writing, continually pushed me towards excellence, and significantly developed and honed my research skills. I wish to thank the eight accounting academics who, without hesitation, agreed to participate in this study. Without their assistance, this research would not have been possible. I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the statistical guidance provided by Dr Ilias Basioudis, Professor Dennis Taylor and Professor Prem Chhetri. Further gratitude is also extended to colleagues within the School of Accounting at RMIT University, and beyond, who have provided support and encouragement throughout my candidature. I also acknowledge the assistance of Dr Campbell Aitken of Express Editing Writing and Research, who provided professional editing services in accordance with the Institute of Professional Editors’ Guidelines for editing research theses. Deep gratitude is extended to the large group of family and friends who have encouraged, supported and prayed for me during my candidature. Special thanks to the Friday morning ‘support crew’ at ELC who make exercise pleasurable and kept life real. Their humour and constant encouragement have continually sustained and fuelled me. Special mention must be made of two people who did not live to see the completion of this thesis due to their lives being cut short by cancer. Firstly, Peter Hall, who was always a fantastic travelling companion due to his fabulous British sense of humour. Secondly, iii Zaharoula Tharapos, my dear mother-in-law who was one of the most culturally intelligent people I have had the pleasure of knowing, and from whom I learnt much. Finally, my heartfelt gratitude is extended to my dear family, without whose love and support this doctoral journey would have been near impossible. I am especially grateful to my parents, Jim and Pauline Aitken, who have always supported and encouraged my educational endeavours. The Tharapos men in my household; my three handsome sons, Alexander, Daniel and Jonathan, and my dear husband, Jerry, have all acquired new culinary and domestic skills during my long hours of absence while working on this research, and have done so good naturedly and without complaint. Their incredible patience has been greatly appreciated, and I am blessed to be part of such a loving and supportive family. This thesis is dedicated to my late grandmother, Elizabeth Marjorie Shields, who had a substantial influence on the early part of my life and first piqued my interest in both teaching and culture. iv Refereed conference papers The empirical results and findings arising from the national survey conducted in stage one of this research were presented at an international conference: Tharapos, M., O’Connell, B. and Dellaportas, S. (2015). Are Australian accounting academics culturally intelligent? Paper presented at the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) Accounting Education Special Interest Group, Manchester, United Kingdom, May 2015. Earlier versions of the paper were presented at the following conferences: RMIT Accounting Educators’ Conference, Melbourne, November 2014 Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) Annual Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, July 2014 British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) Accounting Education Special Interest Group, Bristol, United Kingdom, May 2014 European Accounting Association (EAA) Annual Congress, Tallinn, Estonia, May 2014 RMIT Accounting Educators’ Conference, Melbourne, November 2013 v Table of contents Declaration .................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... iii Refereed conference papers ......................................................................................................... v Table of contents .........................................................................................................................vi List of tables ............................................................................................................................... xiii List of figures.............................................................................................................................. xiv List of abbreviations and acronyms .............................................................................................. xv Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................ 4 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.2 Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Research aim and questions .................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Why accounting academics? ................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Scope ..................................................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Significance of the study ......................................................................................................... 9 1.7 Summary of research design ................................................................................................. 11 1.7.1 Stage one .................................................................................................................................. 11 1.7.2 Stage two .................................................................................................................................. 11 1.8 Reflexivity and reflection ...................................................................................................... 13 1.9 Overview of the thesis .......................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Globalisation of education .................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Transnational education ....................................................................................................... 16 vi 2.2.1 Definitions ................................................................................................................................ 16 2.2.2 TNE delivery modes .................................................................................................................. 17 2.2.3 The emergence of TNE in Australia .......................................................................................... 18 2.2.4 Current trends in TNE ............................................................................................................... 20 2.2.5 Global influences and student choice ...................................................................................... 21 2.2.6 Quality assurance ....................................................................................................................
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