Do Students Develop the Way Universities Say They Do? Staff Perceptions of Student Development Of Graduate Attributes in the Context of a Transnational Partnership in Kazakhstan

Dominic Mahon,David Murphy

doi:10.31757/euer.225

Abstract

There is a crisis in higher education internationally whereby the value of a degree is being called into question. One of the contributing factors to this problem is the growth of the sector internationally. Questions have arisen concerning the quality of provision, especially in the case of courses offered in different contexts as part of transnational partnerships. This research explores the perceptions of staff involved with the delivery of a unique transnational higher education partnership between a Russell Group university in the UK and a new university in Kazakhstan. The research sought to understand whether student development was perceived to be in line with the graduate attributes of the intuitions involved. The research was qualitative, using in depth semi structured interviews with members of faculty involved with the delivery of the foundation course, including administration staff, teachers and managers. Responses from participants indicated that the development of characteristics broadly aligned to those stated in graduate attributes did occur.

Highlights

The problem at the centre of this research is that there is limited understanding of how students develop in the context of transnational partnerships
Staff Perceptions of Student Development Personality: Participants’ responses revealed several areas where they felt students developed over the course of a degree
It was clear from the range of responses that there is no single way in which students develop

Summary

Introduction

The problem at the centre of this research is that there is limited understanding of how students develop in the context of transnational partnerships. This is argued to be a relevant problem given the current crisis facing higher education (HE) whereby the value of a degree is increasingly questioned (DfE, 2019) and the growth in the number of transnational partnerships. The 2013 Barber report argues that there is a looming crisis facing universities, describing the future culmination of factors including increasing global competition, the increasing cost of education and the declining value of a degree as an avalanche facing the sector (Barber, Donnelly, Rizvi, & Puttnam, 2013). Participant Label Role Nationality EAP 1 EAP 2. Senior subject UK coordinator Biology teaching UK fellow SUB 3 ADMIN 1

Methods

Results

Conclusion