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perceived by them as something insignificant. However, local students may usestudy materials for key terms, key theories, case studies, practices, and treat themas reference materials, since they have been used to the idea of looking for theirown information and ideas since childhood, which is not the case for Chinesestudents who have grown up in an environment that emphasises rote learning andspoon-feeding.Another dimension of the differences in teaching and learning practices betweenAustralian and Asian universities lies in the differences in culture. In the Asianculture, students greatly respect their teachers and lecturers. There is a saying inChinese “being my teacher once is being my teacher all my life”. The majority ofsuccessful graduates will greatly respect their teachers and lecturers all their life.They believe in such things as “when you can drink water, you should never forgetwhere the water comes from”. Furthermore, there is a common view in Chineseculture that teachers and lecturers know more than students do. Such a view couldcome from the old belief of “among all career paths, study is the best way”, whichhas been seriously challenged since China embarked on economic reform in 1979.As a result, Chinese students normally accept what is said and given by teachersand lecturers. Challenging teachers’ and lecturers’ views is not on many students’minds. Logically, many Chinese students feel more comfortable with ateacher/lecturer-centred approach but not with the student-centred approach whichis appreciated by the local students.Cultural differences could also explain the unwillingness of many Chinese studentsto participate in class discussions. Another cultural factor is the importance of faceto the Chinese. Many Chinese believe on many occasions that “Silence is golden” -if they are not so sure what they are talking about or are trying to save others’ face,they prefer to listen carefully with two ears and watch closely with two eyes beforethey open their only one mouth (in other words, they believe in “listen more, watchmore and speak less, since human beings have two ears and two eyes but only onemouth”). Of course, language ability and/or confidence in their language ability alsoplays an important role.Some issues in the perspectives of education management systems and teachingand learning practices could be attributed to the lack of experience of internationalstudents. Looking at students from Asian backgrounds, especially Chinese, quite alarge number of them are the only child in the family, and this family (on both thepaternal and maternal side) has been treating them as a prince or princess. Some ofthem have been spoiled. They have very limited or no experience of an independentlife, and when they are at school or university, almost everything, from admission,enrolment, course and subject selection, accommodation, daily life, graduation, hasbeen done or arranged for them by their parents and/or the school/tuniversity. Theybasically need to do nothing, or very little, when they commence their university life.Education is highly regarded in China. The majority of Chinese families will doeverything and sacrifice themselves to support their children’s education. Such aphenomenon has very deep roots in Chinese culture. For many Chinese parents, abetter future for their children is more important than their own future. At the sametime, many Chinese have the notion that “in the first half of my life my family will takegood care of me, and in the second half of my life it is my turn to look after myfamily”. As a result, being looked after by the family and getting financial supportfrom the family when they are undertaking study is not unusual. Of course, in recentyears such a notion has been challenged; many young people in China only want toreceive help and caring, not to help their families and others. There also exist manyChinese who are independent and not interested in helping others. It is not asurprise that many Chinese students (especially undergraduate students) lack theskills to be independent at university and in daily life. Furthermore, Chinese studentsgenerally lack experience of group activities, which are not normal practices withinChinese education systems. In respect of group activities, Chinese culture could128