Financial Challenges Faced by International Students in Australia

This report investigates the financial related problems faced by international students in the University and Australia at large. It identifies the reasons behind the financial constraints and the associated problems that international students face. The report also suggests possible solutions to address the issue.

PUB600 Assessment Task 2
Research report
ABSTRACT
A discipline-specific practice-based research report
that identifies and critiques research evidence in your
chosen field
Your name
PUB600

Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review..................................................................................................................................3
Appraisal of Qualitative Article..............................................................................................................6
Appraisal of Quantitative Article...........................................................................................................8
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................10
References...........................................................................................................................................11
Appendix 1: Basics of searching completed template.........................................................................12
Appendix 2: Critical appraisal of qualitative article using McMaster template...................................14
Appendix 3: Critical appraisal of quantitative article...........................................................................17
1

Introduction
The purpose of this report is to investigate the financial related problems faced by
international students in the University and Australia at large. In the current years,
international students have increased by 65% since the year 2000 globally accounting for
more than 3.3 million students (1). Australia has become one of the best global markets for
international students after the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom.
Students often prefer to study overseas than locally for better education and international
experience(2). Studying as international students has better benefits in terms of jobs
market. However, International students are subjected to various deficits while studying.
One of the major hindrances is the financial associated challenges which may lead to stress
and poor performances. In addition, due to financial constraints, international students are
subjected to other problems like lack of accommodation, physical health problems,
insufficient basic needs like clothing and food, poor or lack of convenient transport system
and lack of educational materials like equipment and computers(3). This report seeks to
address the above current financial associated problems that international students
encountered.
2

Literature Review
Most of the international students in the university are always having various
challenges majorly associated with financial constraints. There are various reasons as to why
international students face this challenge. First, most of the international students come
from the poor backgrounds and largely depend on scholarships and donations(1,4). The
money given through scholarship is largely used for tuition purposes only thus the students
are forced to look for other sources of income in order to cater for basic needs. Due to
cultural differences, language barriers, the burden of school work and lack of expertise,
finding a part-time job while studying becomes a problem(5). Secondly, international
students do not get government loans. Most of the government spending priorities are
under Medicare and current expenditures thus allocating money for international students
loans becomes a problem. Thirdly, the tuition fees for private international students is much
higher as compared to the local students(3). Due to this fact, students spent more money on
paying for school thus remaining with little amounts which cannot cater for other needs.
Lastly, most of the international students use foreign currency. The cost for exchange rates
may be high leaving them with minimum amounts of money thus affecting their financial
stabilities(1,6). Therefore, international students are more disadvantaged when it comes to
financial status as compared to the local students.
Due to financial problems, there are other associated problems that international
students face. According to current health surveys, most of the international students stay
in poor accommodation facilities. International students tend to go for accommodation
facilities that are cheap due to financial difficulties(3,4). Those cheap houses often have
3

poor sanitation and are located in high crime areas thus coping becomes difficult. In
addition, the international students always use inconvenient modes of transport majorly the
buses. Sometimes, transportation through buses can be stressful in terms of time thus to
get to school in time can be difficult. Other than that, most of the international students eat
once a day since affording three meals a day is much expensive for them(6). These financial
associated problems make it difficult for international students to have a comfortable
condition for learning.
According to a study by Dalia Saleh in 2017, most of the international students face
stressful situations and preoccupations due to financial difficulties(7). A total of 483
students were collected including both local and international students aged between 18 to
24 years. The results of the study showed that about 73% and 79% of the students, the
majority of the international students suffered from either anxiety, psychological distress
and depressive symptoms(7). More than half of the international students were suffering
from low self-esteem and little optimism mainly due to financial problems. Students
suffering from psychological problems often tend to have lower grades and failures at
school (7).In the United Kingdom, a number of studies have linked mental health in
international students with financial difficulties. A study by Richardson in 2013 showed that
41% of mental health related conditions in international students had financial difficulties as
compared to 17.5% who had no money problem(8). A significant relationship was found
between financial constraints and suicide, depression, drug use and dependence, psychotic
and neurotic disorders(8). The study concluded that financial support is the key element for
students studying higher education especially the international students who have limited
ways of getting money.
4

International students usually have limited opportunities when it comes to
employment options(5). This is due to the fact that, international students are only allowed
to work at universities as regulated by their student visa. Despite the valuable contribution
of the international students, most universities do not offer enough job opportunities in
order to enable them to support their basic needs. Other than that, most of the locals think
international students have come to grab job opportunities for their children thus giving a
part-time job for an international student becomes a problem(6). However, international
students have other option through which they can obtain money for their needs. This
includes scholarships and aid provided by the university, grants from other charity
organizations, the school provided loans which is only applicable in some universities, school
jobs and private loans from people such as politicians(1). However, all the possible options
depending on various factors and securing any one of them is difficult. Before applying to
study abroad, it is advisable for students to understand the benefits the university is
offering, amount of scholarship, possible hardships and legal issues related to the visa
application(9). Other than that, the government should increase employment options for
international students and the universities should always try to incorporate them in school
jobs in order to promote their financial stabilities.
5

Appraisal of Qualitative Article
Inhospitable Workplaces? International Students and Paid Work in Food Services
This aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of jobs done by
international students due to financial problems. The study included a group of
international students working in a Melbourne café, take away food services and restaurant
sectors. The study was based on the facts that, most of the international students in
Australia usually work on paid work as a part-time job to cater for their basics needs. Their
services suit the employment, as most of the takeaway food and cafes do not usually
require more knowledge and skills. Though the details of the work are not complicated,
various reports suggest that most international students are poses to poor wages and
working conditions. Due to these facts, qualitative interviews of the students were
performed to determine if there were any social injustices.
The results showed that poor employment conditions were widespread among
international students where they were posed to underpayment and non-payment wages.
A significant number of international students were found to have been working for months
without pay and more than half were underpaid. Some of the reasons which facilitated to
this condition include language barrier, discrimination, and lack of enough government
control. None of the international students explained to have been working in favorable
conditions as compared to the local students. In addition, the result further demonstrated
how some of the restaurant and café were taking advantages of the financial problems the
international students had to breach labor regulation laws. Other than that, the results
6

showed that such illegal employes practices were facilitated by the use of undeclared casual
work.
The study concluded that underpayment to the international students was the most
severe in cafes and restaurants which claim to follow ethical standards. Such restaurants
were concentrated in employing international students only to escape labor regulations as
the students lack any other means of getting money for their basic needs. The study also
added that there were other restaurants where international students could work with
other local workers but received very poor wages in the same job category. The report
suggested that new employment opportunities should be created for international students
to enable them to escape job discrimination and enforce them through their studies.
7

Appraisal of Quantitative Article
International Medical Students- A survey of perceived challenges and Established Support
Services at Medical faculties
The aim of the study was to determine the background challenges faced by
international students in medical faculties in Germany. The study was conducted in 2013 on
36 medical faculties training medical students. The faculties were interviewed using
questionnaires about the percentage of non –German students, difficulties and the
challenges the students were facing, available offers they were given and possible options
for support.
Regarding the proportion of the international students, 42% of all medical faculties
could not give any indication of how many international students they had. Those medical
faculties could not give the specific statistics available or how they could obtain it.
Furthermore, 19% of all medical faculties only reported the estimated figures. Only 39% of
them had an elaborate statistic and exact figures of all non-German students they had. In
terms of financial challenges, 28% of the faculties responded that international students had
various financial problems in such a way many could work while studying to minimize the
capacity of leaning the syllabus. More than half of the medical facilities believed that
financial constraints and intercultural issues were the major challenges affecting the medical
students. Possible problems that relate to financial constraints were a failure of exams,
inadequate basic needs like food, accommodation and shelter. Other than that, financial
constraints were associated with health problems, stress and psychological problems, and
lack of employment.
8

In terms of financial support provided by medical faculties to the students, no any
percentage of all facilities reported or showed they had a program of which they support
their students financially. This proved that international students usually have financial
problems of which little is done by institutions they are learning. The only support that was
given to the international students by all faculties was intercultural education alone. Only
8% of the of all the medical faculties provided the solution for financial challenges. However,
no specific solution was provided.
The above study demonstrates that financial problems are among the other
challenges that many international students face while studying. Although some of the
many universities acknowledge that, only a few are willing to help students be able to be
financially fit. From, the study, no medical faculty had any plan to support international
students financially or even offering them work at the university. This proves how most of
the needy international students are neglected in university institutions. All universities
should address the issue in order to reduce a burden of challenges international students
have as related to money problems.
9

Conclusion
In conclusion, Australia is among the top of global markets for international students
after the UK and the USA. International education has increased globally due to various
benefits obtained such as an increase in experience and better education. However
international students are subjected to various challenges one of them being financial
problems. Financial constraints and difficulties are common among the international
students studying in Australia. This is due to various reasons such as many international
students depends on scholarships as they come from poor backgrounds, lack of government
loans to international students, higher tuition fees and increase in the cost of exchange
rates. Due to financial problems, international students tend to have accommodation
problems, inconvenient transport, lack of basic needs and poor academic performance.
Other than that, international students often lack jobs due to visa regulations and those
who are lucky to get low wages jobs are discriminated and poorly paid. Other than that,
international students usually have poor quality health and mental problems associated
with financial problems. However, international students can obtain fund from donors,
scholarship, private loans and employment from the university. The government should
develop strategies and policies that increase opportunities for employment of international
students in order to help them cater to their needs.
10

References
1. Gebhard EdD JG. International Students’ Adjustment Problems and Behaviors. J Int
Students [Internet]. 2012;2(2):184–93. Available from:
https://colorado.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/
1355249298?accountid=14503%5Cnhttp://rp8jq9jy4s.search.serialssolutions.com/?
ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/
ProQ:education&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:
2. Çetin Y, Bahar M, Griffiths C. International Students’ Views on Local Culture: Turkish
Experience. J Int Students [Internet]. 2017;7(3):2166–3750. Available from:
http://jistudents.org/
3. Talebloo B, Baki R. Challenges Faced by International Postgraduate Students during
their First Year of Studies. Int J Humanit Soc Sci. 2013;3(13):138–45.
4. Baharak Talebloo RBB. Multicultural Benefits and Challenges for International
Students during Period of Their Study: Case Study in Malaysia. J Educ Heal Community
Psychol. 2015;4(1):42–54.
5. Campbell I, Boese M, Tham JC. Inhospitable workplaces? International students and
paid work in food services: Aust J Soc Issues. 2016;51(3):279–98.
6. Huhn D, Junne F, Zipfel S, Duelli R, Resch F, Herzog W, et al. International medical
students--a survey of perceived challenges and established support services at
medical faculties. GMS Zeitschrift für medizinische Ausbildung [Internet].
2015;32(1):Doc9. Available from:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?
artid=4330639&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract
7. Saleh D, Camart N, Romo L. Predictors of stress in college students. Vol. 8, Frontiers in
Psychology. 2017.
8. Richardson T, Elliott P, Roberts R, Jansen M. A Longitudinal Study of Financial
Difficulties and Mental Health in a National Sample of British Undergraduate
Students. Community Ment Health J. 2017;53(3):344–52.
9. Mahfoodh OHA. Oral academic discourse socialisation: Challenges faced by
international undergraduate students in a Malaysian public University. Int Educ Stud.
2014;7(2).
11

Appendix 1: Basics of searching completed template
Basics of Searching
Scenario
You are a student wellbeing officer at USC. You have been tasked with improving health and
wellness of students at USC in one specific area. You need to conduct a review of the research on
university student health and wellbeing in that area to determine what is already known about
this issue more broadly to then devise a specific question to inform further research here at USC.
Step 1: Identify the components of your question in PICO format
P
Patient/Population
I
Intervention
C
Comparison
O
Outcome
International university
students
Wellness programs in
financial problems
Other local students Improvements in
financial status
Step 2: Compose your question
What is known about university students and financial problems is that international students are
more prone to financial difficulties as compared to local students.
Step 3: Record Key Words and Phrases
Keyword 1 Keyword 2 Keyword 3 Keyword 4
International students Financial problems University students Challenges
Step 4: Identify synonyms and variant words
Keyword 1 Keyword 2 Keyword 3 Keyword 4
University students
College students
Post-secondary
Health and wellbeing
Health issues
Psychological issues
Quality of health
Accommodation
issues
Employment issues
12

education Workplace
Discrimination
Step 6: Use truncation and wildcards where appropriate and Boolean operators to
combine terms
Boolean words used, AND , OR
Challenges and international students, international students and financial problems, workplace
discrimination or employment, challenges and university students, university students OR
international students
Step 7: Decide which online resources to search
Google Scholar, PubMed, and university library
Step 8: Conduct your search, record your search terms, search engines and yields
13

Appendix 2: Critical appraisal of qualitative article using
McMaster template
Critical Review Form - Qualitative Studies (Version 2.0) © Letts, L., Wilkins, S., Law, M., Stewart, D.,
Bosch, J., & Westmorland, M., 2007 McMaster University
Comments
Study Purpose:
Was the purpose and/or
research question stated
clearly?
0 yes
The purpose of the study was to evaluate employment conditions
international students faced due to financial problems
Literature
Was relevant background
literature reviewed?
0 Yes
Several reports claim that international students usually face cruel
working environments while studying. Due to the financial problems
they face, they do not report such cases as doing so will limit their
chances of employment. The study was performed to prove such
claims.
The study is relevant to the question as it discusses the financial
difficulties international students face.
Study Design
What was the design?
phenomenology
ethnography
grounded theory of
participatory action
research
other?
The design was relevant as it involved qualitative discussion of the
experiences the students faced while working.
Was a theoretical
perspective identified?
0 Yes
The researcher perspective was to identify the experiences faced by
international students in a workplace and help the people
understand the need for financial support.
Method(s) used:
participant observation
interviews
document review
focus groups
other?
The methods used in the study include qualitative methods of data
collection which involved interviewing the participants and analyzing
the major claims to come with a conclusion.
Sampling
Was the process of
purposeful selection
described?
yes
Sampling criteria used an involved selection of a group of
international students working in café and take away fast food in
Melbourne.
Are the participants described in adequate detail?
Was informed consent
obtained?
Yes
The participants involved were international students only.
14

Data Collection
Descriptive Clarity Clear &
complete description of
site: yes
participants: yes
The context of the study was sufficient to understand. Data was
collected in Melbourne and the participants were well identified.
The researcher had no relationship with the participants. The
assumption of the study was only the international students were
underpaid.
Role of researcher &
relationship with
participants:
no
Identification of
assumptions and biases of
the researcher:
yes
Procedural Rigour
Procedural rigor was used
in data collection
strategies?
yes
The data collection procedure was well elaborated. It includes
interviewing the participants and recording the statements.
However, exact place of where the data was collected is not
mentioned.
Data analyses
Analytical Rigour Data
analyses were inductive?
no
Findings were consistent
with & reflective of data?
yes
The method of data analysis used is not well discussed. The
researcher just gives the results. However, the findings consisted
with the relevant data.
Auditability
Decision trail developed?
0 not addressed
The process of analyzing
the data was described
adequately
no
Auditability is not addressed. The process of data analysis is not well
discussed.
Theoretical Connections
Did a meaningful picture
of the phenomenon under
study emerge? yes
There was an elaborate theoretical connection. The researcher
found that international students work in poor conditions, with very
low wages and are often discriminated against.
Overall rigor
Was there evidence of the
four components of
trustworthiness?
Credibility yes
The researcher made it sure the participants remained anonymous.
The data provided was credible with the clear discussion.
15

Transferability yes
Dependability yes
Confirmability yes The research confirmed various reports of inhabitable workplaces
international students work.
Conclusions &
implications
Conclusions were
appropriate given the
study findings? yes
The findings contributed
to theory development &
future OT practice/
research? Yes
The study concluded that, there are various employers who were
not adhering to labor regulation and that the cruel workplaces for
international students were due to undefined casual job categories.
The research has contributed to theory development as it has shown
how international students struggle while studying due to financial
problems. The researcher gives a gap for more research to prove the
same.
Ethics The participants remained anonymous and no name was mentioned
16

Appendix 3: Critical appraisal of quantitative article
Citation:
Element Questions Notes
Literature
Review
Does it seem comprehensive?
Recent?
Can you detect any bias?
The literature review used is current. The oldest
reference was published in the year 2012. No
biases in the literature review.
Research
design What was it appropriate to address
the aims of the research?
The aim of the research was to address the
challenges faced by international students and
support provided by the universities. This aim was
appropriate as the study included financial
problems as one of the major challenges identified
and possible recommendation.
Methods
Research Participants:
Sampling model – random or other?
Sample size
Description of participants
The participants included the medical faculties in
Germany. Sampling model was random as the
researcher only took 36 medical faculties. The
medical faculties involved were those own by the
federal governments alone
Instruments/apparatus/tools
Validity and reliability of new tools or
are standardized tools used?
The instruments used include the interview sheets
and questionaries.
Procedure:
Was the research design adequate?
Were there control groups in causal
research?
The Sample:
How were participants assigned?
Size of the sample
Demographic makeup
Inclusion/exclusion criteria
The study employed a quantitative analysis of the
proportion of the students. However, some of the
answers provided had a qualitative nature. There
was no control group in the research.
The sample included 36 medical faculties. The
participants were the representatives of each
school. The faculties were randomly picked
without considering the geographical regions. The
inclusion criteria included medical faculties only,
other faculties were excluded.
Data Collection:
Data collection measures clearly
Data collection included analyzing the university
records to check the number of international
17
Citation. Huhn D, Junne F, Zipfel S, Duelli R, Resch F, Herzog W, et al. International medical students--a
survey of perceived challenges and established support services at medical faculties. GMS Zeitschrift
für medizinische Ausbildung [Internet]. 2015;32(1):Doc9. Available from:

described?
Are the methods appropriate?
Data Analysis:
Are they descriptive and/or inferential
statistics? (p. 162 Text)
Are the statistical analyses
appropriate?
students. Other data collection methods included
interviewing the representatives to know what
were the major challenges faced by international
students. Data analysis was done using descriptive
content analysis.
Results
Tables and Graphs
Clear/ labeled/all relevant findings
presented? The results are presented using four well-organised
tables.
Selection of Statistics
Appropriate? Descriptive or
inferential?
Are the results statistically significant?
The results use descriptive statistics. All results are
statistically significant.
Discussion
Drawing correct inferences
Limitations of the study mentioned?
Remember - correlations do not mean
causations (p. 145 Text)
The limitations of the study were seen in the fact
that only the employees of medical faculties were
included but not the students themselves.
The generalisation from the findings
to the population
Are there claims that the findings are
generally useful to the population or
is caution advised?
Can you detect any bias?
The finding was used for the purpose of studying
only but was not to be used as a conclusion.
18

Ethics
Is there a statement of ethical
clearance?
Is there a statement about conflict of
interest?
All medical faculties were to remain anonymous
and they sign an informed consent before starting
the survey.
19