The internationalisation of postgraduate taught health and business curricula: a British case study

The internationalisation of HE and internationalisation of the curriculum is viewed as a common strategic goal in HE. This qualitative multi-case study examined the internationalisation of two postgraduate taught (PGT) curricula; a dual award International Business (MSc.IB) curriculum developed with European partners in HEIs in Basel and Groningen [Internationalisation Abroad (IA)] and a blended learning Mental Health (MSc.MH) curriculum for delivery in a UK HEI (Internationalisation at Home (IaH). The three main research questions were: 1. How are internationalised PGT health and business curricula designed? 2. How are internationalised PGT health and business curricula delivered? 3. What are the experiences of students and academics of internationalised PGT delivery? The design of the two curricula were examined for constructive alignment of disciplinary content, learning outcomes and assessments. Analysis of the textual content of the curricular documents was used to map the strength of global and internationalised themes in the knowledge, activity and values domains. A purposive sampling approach was used leading to five students and three academics as participants for the MSc.IB. Three academics and three students from the MSc.MH participated in the study. For the second and third research questions, “within case” analysis of the deliveries of each curriculum was conducted. The triangulated data from semi–structured interviews with academics and students and classroom observations were analysed ‘between case analysis’ to report five emergent themes as: i) planned teaching and learning, ii) student engagement and disengagement, iii) diversity iv) international and intercultural learning and v) employability and professional development. Results: The knowledge domain was found to be strongly mapped to international and global themes in each of the curricula. Values statements were found to be weakly articulated in some of the business modules or non-existent. A significant finding was related to the need to embed global values and ethical practice within all HE curricula. For both curricula, students and academics described the importance of using international and “own country” examples to build on knowledge and cultural capital which some students brought to their international learning experiences. Findings revealed group work assessments were important in enhancing intercultural teaching and learning in pre-organised groups. Students with cultural capital with extensive work experience were considered to add value to constructivist approaches in the delivery of curricula. Some academics described their commitment to developing “praxis”- the point where theory and practice come together (Schon 1983). Silence and online/classroom engagement is culturally constructed and does not align with module engagement. Future research is required in this area. The study has implications for intercultural pedagogic practice. Policy implications are discussed on the importance of internationalising the curriculum as a matter of priority for international HE (IA) and diverse university communities (IaH).