A 'roller coaster' experience? An exploration of postgraduate international students' perceptions of teaching, learning and assessment, integration with home students and building a campus community

John, Tomasz; (2013) A 'roller coaster' experience? An exploration of postgraduate international students' perceptions of teaching, learning and assessment, integration with home students and building a campus community. In: PedRIO Papers. University of Plymouth, Plymouth, pp. 18-22. (https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/uploads/production/docu...)

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Abstract

The internationalisation of higher education tends to be theorised in the literature at the organisational, strategic level or to focus on the growing numbers of 'international students'; there are very few comprehensive investigations of the interactions between international students and academics (Brunner, 2006). Much of research carried out in this area examines the experiences of students from one particular location (usually China); compares the experiences of students from particular culture with those of another, or offers an assessment of internationalisation strategies developed by institutions. There are, however, more and more in-depth studies, which make use of stories from the field and accounts of the experience of both students and practitioners dealing with internationalisation (Sawir 2013; Trahar and Hyland 2011; Trahar 2011, 2010, 2007; Montgomery 2009). Such research attempts to explore the complexities of interactions between international students and home students, and international students and academics, in the constantly changing intercultural higher education landscape. It also highlights a strong need for cultural sensitivity in pedagogical approaches. Lecturers and students often assume that intercultural learning happens automatically, without effort on the part of learners and teachers. The experiences of international students or home students studying with international learners and lecturers teaching international students are, therefore, receiving growing attention. This paper is derived from my doctoral research, which aims to contribute to an understanding of the international student experience from the perspectives of teaching, learning and assessment as well as social participation. It presents an analysis of focus groups with postgraduate international students as a part of a wider case study carried out at an English university, which draws on the views of international students, home students and staff. Emerging themes from the focus groups were mapped onto the research questions in order to elicit students' views on: teaching, learning and assessment; their experiences with student support services and integration with home students; and the building of a campus community.

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