The Perceptions of Postgraduate International Students of Examinations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v4i3.200Keywords:
Internationalisation, Postgraduate, Examinations, English as a foreign languageAbstract
The increasing internationalisation of higher education means that many students in the UK are not native English speakers, possibly putting them at a disadvantage in an examination environment. However, exams continue to be used even though they are often deprecated as an assessment instrument in postgraduate courses. This article explores the implications from these observations for module leaders and for higher education institutions. Three themes emerge: the impact of internationalisation, the use of exams at postgraduate level and the language and cultural issues faced by international students. A review of university policy and quality documents revealed a general commitment to internationalisation but some gaps in policy support, for students with English as a second or foreign language. A survey of students in two computing programmes evaluated these themes. The results did not show up any major issues, though there were a number of suggestions to improve the exam process to address feelings of bias to UK or native-English-speaking students. The research therefore established that the university’s internationalisation and diversity strategy is broadly reflected in students’ experiences, with the possible exception of students who were recruited with insufficient English to be able to engage successfully with the material. The contrast in responses when analysed by home country or English proficiency suggest that learning, teaching and assessment (LTA) practice in this context should be clear whether and when language or culture are the main barrier to students. Pragmatic recommendations are made for improvement in examination practice, and to assessment processes generally in this context. Areas for further work are identified.
References
Altbach, P. G., & Knight, J. (2007). The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities. Journal of Studies in International Education.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303542
Bartram, B. (2008). Supporting international students in higher education: constructions, cultures and clashes. Teaching in Higher Education, 13(6), 657–668.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/13562510802452384
Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill International.
Brown, G., Bull, J., & Pendlebury, M. (1997). Assessing student learning in higher education. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Carroll, J. (2008). Assessment Issues for International Students and for Teachers of International Students. The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from http://www.hear.ac.uk/assets/documents/rc_import/carroll.pdf
Carter, S. (2012). English as an additional language (EAL) viva voce : the EAL doctoral oral examination experience. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 37(3), 273–284.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2010.528555
Coates, N., & Dickinson, J. (2012). Meeting international postgraduate student needs: A programme-based model for learning and teaching support. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 49(February 2015), 295–308.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2012.703018
Crose, B. (2011). Internationalization of the Higher Education classroom: Strategies to facilitate intercultural learning and academic success. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23(3), 388–395. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ946165.pdf
Daniels, J. (2013). Internationalisation, higher education and educators’ perceptions of their practices. Teaching in Higher Education, 18(3), 236–248.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.719158
Entwistle, N. (2009). Teaching for understanding at university. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Galloway, A. (2007). Diversity and innovation in assessment practices in higher education institutions and by employers and training providers (No. 25). Research and Information Services Bulletin. Glasgow: Scottish Qualitification Authority. Retrieved from http://www.voced.edu.au/word/30748
HEA. (2011). The UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education. Learning. The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/UKPSF_2011_English.pdf
HEA. (2014). Teaching International Students: Assessment and feedback. The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/8080
Hyland, F., Trahar, S., Anderson, J., & Dickens, A. (2008). A changing world: the internationalisation experiences of staff and students (home and international) in UK Higher Education. The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/hylandf_et_al_a_changing_world_summary_1.pdf
Myyry, L., & Joutsenvirta, T. (2015). Open-book, open-web online examinations: Developing examination practices to support university students’ learning and self-efficacy. Active Learning in Higher Education, 1–14.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/1469787415574053
Nelson, K., & Creagh, T. (2013). Good practice for safeguarding student learning engagement in higher education institutions. Queensland University of Technology. Retrieved from http://safeguardingstudentlearning.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/CG10-1730-QUT-Nelson-Final-report-2012.pdf
Payne, E., & Brown, G. (2011). Communication and practice with examination criteria. Does this influence performance in examinations? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(6), 619–626.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/02602931003632373
Richardson, J. T. E. (2014). Coursework versus examinations in end-of-module assessment: a literature review. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, (February 2015), 1–17.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.919628
Schmitt, D. (2007). Sitting Exams in a Second Language: Minimising Bias, Maximising Potential. ASKe, Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved from https://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/hr/eod/guides/exams/exams-second-language.pdf
Stapleton, P. (2012). Gauging the effectiveness of anti-plagiarism software: An empirical study of second language graduate writers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 11(2), 125–133.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2011.10.003
Thomas, L. (2002). Student retention in higher education: the role of institutional habitus. Journal of Education Policy, 17(4), 423–442.
doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/02680930210140257
Youmans, R. J. (2011). Does the adoption of plagiarism-detection software in higher education reduce plagiarism? Studies in Higher Education, 36(February 2015), 749–761.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice has made best effort to ensure accuracy of the contents of this journal, however makes no claims to the authenticity and completeness of the articles published. Authors are responsible for ensuring copyright clearance for any images, tables etc which are supplied from an outside source.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
