'International students’ perceptions of their global skills development: a collaborative approach

This paper analyses the student perceptions of the progress they made in skills development over two semesters, and attempts to gauge the contribution made to this development by a collaborative approach across two disciplines. The authors contend that this collaboration which seeks to embed academic literacy into a specific credit bearing module in Newcastle Business School is an example of curriculum design which is suitable to today’s multicultural classroom. First of all, some background is offered which documents recent changes in higher education, particularly the internationalisation of the classroom which is recognised in the literature and reflected in this particular case. The rationale for the collaboration will be considered from the perspective of both schools, with an explanation of how academic literacy is offered by ASk International in Newcastle Business School and how this collaborative approach attempts to identify issues and intervene to meet the perceived needs of the changing student profile. An attempt is made to specify the various skills, understanding and attitude necessary for the multicultural classroom in this age of internationalisation. The methodology is situated in a framework of action research and the results of student questionnaire responses and our own reflections will be considered. The questionnaire gives an insight on the students’ past learning experiences, their perceptions of the progress made, and their evaluation of this collaborative approach