Assessment and International Students – black African Social Work students

Abstract

This evaluative study focuses on the perceptions of black African (international and home) students on an under-graduate social work programme. In particular this paper will consider the more traditional assessment of examinations, where the students perceived that their grades were higher due to a familiarity with the assessment strategy. In contrast, they referred to the bewildering ‘other world’ of less familiar assessment processes which demanded a deeper level of critical thinking skills for example in assignments. This evaluation aims to consider whether the African students’ perceptions that their academic grades fared better dependent on the assessment process is in fact a reality compared to other less familiar ones.