Internalising internationalisation: views of internationalisation of the curriculum among non-mobile home students

Abstract

There is considerable literature on internationalising the curriculum in higher education, but relatively little of this focuses on developing international perspectives in home-based students. In particular, there has been limited direct engagement with student views and understandings, especially comparatively across a wide range of subjects. To address this gap, we surveyed 495 first-year students in nine subjects across four faculties at a UK university, asking about their views on internationalisation. We also examined an apparent bias in the literature towards Business subject case studies. We found some support for generic approaches to teaching internationalisation for home students, but a more widespread sense of the need for subject-based contextualisation. We also found that experiential learning models favoured in the Business-centric literature do not match the needs of students more widely.