are international students “at risk”? - uk naric · pdf fileare international...

Are International Students “At RisK”?

Diane SchmittChair of BALEAP/Nottingham Trent UniversityJohn SlaghtBALEAP Testing Officer/University of Reading

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When you hear the term “at risk” student used in a higher education

context what comes to mind?

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Reasons for Being Considered “At Risk” in HE• Students' 'skills, knowledge, motivation, and/or academic ability are significantly below those of the 'typical' student in the college or curriculum in which they are enrolled.'

• Students are likely to display any number of other characteristics such as 'low academic self-concept, unrealistic grade and career expectations, unfocused career objectives, extrinsic motivation, external locus of control, low self-efficacy, inadequate study skills for college success, a belief that learning is memorizing, and a history of passive learning.'

• They may be those who have made poor choices or decisions that impacted negatively on their academics.

• They may be an adult student who returns to higher education after an extended absence.

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Understanding the complex nature of student risk

Risk is not an inherent quality of individual students, as in the term “at-risk student”

Risk is a function of the interaction between a student and their university

Honesty in Conception

A fuller understanding of “student risk” requires us to consider how the design and conduct of our learning environments and assessment practices may inadvertently increase students’ risk of non-engagement or academic failure

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A fuller understanding of “student risk” requires us to consider how the design and conduct of our learning environments and assessment practices may inadvertently increase students’ risk of non-engagement or academic failure

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A fuller understanding of “student risk” requires us to consider how the design and conduct of our recruitment and admissions practices may inadvertently increase international students’ risk of non-engagement or academic failure

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A story…

• A cohort of 19 students studying for a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management

• External accrediting body requires that core modules are assessed by exams

• Two of these are based on case studies• 13 students fail the first exam• 11 students fail all three exams• The students only read the case studies and lecture

notes. They did not read texts from the reading list.

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A lecturer’s voice

Don’t students know they are supposed to read for a degree?

Derek Watling, Programme Leader MSc HRM, Nottingham Trent University

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Sample undergraduate performance 2014-15STUDENT NUMBERS RESULTS AVERAGE RAW

PERCENTAGE

159 PASSED78%

59%

44 FAILED 22%

26%

Henley Business School, University of Reading Finance and Accountancy Module

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The ‘at risk’ factor…

…needs to be considered in light of the performance of the ‘HBS 44’ who, after at least 10 weeks of intensive Pre-sessional English and Study Skills work and one year of undergraduate study, have achieved an average score of only 26% in one module of their academic course.

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One more case

Kingston UniversityInternational (non-EU) student attainment

May, S. Van der Sluis, H. and Forland, H. (2013).

22% of students did not achieve the goal of completion of an MA.

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Assessing Readiness to Study at a UK University

What are key elements of readiness that you look for in the recruitment and admissions processes for international students in your university?

What evidence do you collect for each element?

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Academic transcript/certificate

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Evidence of English language proficiency

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Anything else?

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Soft criteria

Hardcriterion

Rea-Dickins, P., Kiely, RN., Yu, G. (2011).

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If a student has met the minimum criteria for each of these elements do you consider them to be

“good to go”?

Is a student who has met your minimum entry criteria for English considered to be ‘on par’ with

domestic students?

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Lecturer and student views of international students

Group A:Read the examples of lecturer views – Examples 1- 5Can you identify any themes among the examples?

Group B:Read the examples of student views – Examples 6 - 10 Can you identify any themes among the examples?

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Lecturers’ views of international students

§ An identity of a struggling learner§ A glass ceiling identity for the ‘international student’§ A three-deficit identity

Inadequate language proficiency

Lack of analytical ability

Mismatch in culture

Struggling with language

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International student views of studying in a UK university

§ Some students struggled because of a weakness in language

§ Many of the challenges faced by international students are the same as those experienced by any new postgraduate student

§ Both students designated as ‘high risk’ and those as ‘low risk’ on the basis of their IELTS scored reported struggling – the struggles were less likely to be overcome by the ‘high risk students’.

High risk – 6.5 overall, but lower than that in one or more sub-skillsLow risk – 7.0 overall with all sub-skills 7.0 or above

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Achievement of the minimum entry score on an English language

proficiency test does not imply optimal readiness for study at an

English-medium university

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One more Element Needed To consider When Recruiting and At Admissions?

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What can language tests tell us?

The IELTS is designed: “to test the readiness to enter the world of university-level study in the English language and the ability to cope with the demands of that context immediately after entry.” (IELTS FAQs)

The TOEFL iBT test measures your ability to use and understand English at the university level. And it evaluates how well you combine your listening, reading, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks. (https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/about)

PTE Academic assesses the real-life English skills you will need at university and living abroad. Not only do we assess speaking, listening, reading and writing, but we test in an integrated way that reflects real-life settings, as well as testing academic skills.

A Cambridge English: Advanced qualification shows that you can:§ follow an academic course at university level§ communicate effectively at a managerial and professional level§ participate with confidence in workplace meetings or academic

tutorials and seminars§ express yourself with a high level of fluency.

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https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/about



A complex target language use domain

(Gardner, 2010) 24

Language tests have 3-4 hours to sample the target language use domain

Disciplinary WritingIELTS Writing

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Pre-sessional EAP Courses

Language

Tests

Teaching

Assessment

Disciplinary Writing

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Teaching to & learning for the test!

Teaching

Assessment

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Learning needs extend beyond the test!

TLU domain

Assessment

Teaching

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Mind the gap!

Previous educational culture

UK/local (HE)educationalculture

English language exams

Wishful thinking?

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Academic Support

§ What kind of support is offered to students in your university?

§ How is it positioned?

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Academic Support

§ What kind of support is offered to students in your university?§ Do you know if it is effective?

§ How is it positioned?§ Is it compulsory? Is it credit-bearing?§ Is it remedial? Or developmental?§ Is generic? Or is it embedded in disciplines or

programmes?§ Is it just for international students or is it available to

everyone?

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Academic Support

§ Do students engage with the support on offer?§ Academic support staff have to “prove” to students

that we are not wasting their time.

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Engagement With On-Going Development

• Language Development • Academic Literacy• Disciplinary Literacy

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Recruitment and Admission

How do entry requirements position international students within the wider context? • Many issues go beyond the scores on IELTS & other tests• It is essential to acknowledgement of the ‘impact’ of HE

internationalisation strategies on international students, the student body in general and the quality of course content

• For the UK higher education system to thrive under a global umbrella we need to re-evaluate the traditional approaches to: a) which students to recruit, b) how to recruit them and c) how to assess their capabilities and needs

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References

May, S. Van der Sluis, H. and Forland, H. (2013). The impact of pre-entry English test results on postgraduate success. In: The Impact of Higher Education: Addressing the challenges of the 21st century; 27 - 31 Aug 2013, Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Unpublished)

Rea-Dickins, P., Kiely, R., & Yu, G. (2007). Student identity, learning and progression: The affective and academic impact of IELTS on ‘successful’ candidates. In P. McGovern & S. Walsh (Eds.), IELTS Research Reports Volume 7 (pp. 59-136). Canberra: IELTS Australia and British Council.

Rea-Dickins, P., Kiely, RN., Yu, G. (2011). Uses and impact of test scores in university admissions processes: The language test as the ‘hard’ criterion. In B. O’Sullivan, ed. Language Testing: Theories and Practices. p. 262 - 281. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Thank you!www.baleap.org

Diane SchmittChair of BALEAP/Nottingham Trent UniversityJohn SlaghtBALEAP Testing Officer/University of Reading

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Aims of Undergraduate Study

Bachelor's degrees with honours are awarded to students who have demonstrated:

• a systematic understanding of key aspects of their field of study, including acquisition of coherent and detailed knowledge, at least some of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of defined aspects of a discipline

• an ability to deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within a discipline

• conceptual understanding that enables the student to…

(QAA, 2008)

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Aims of Undergraduate Study

Conceptual understanding that enables the student to:• to describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or

equivalent advanced scholarship, in the discipline • an appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge • the ability to manage their own learning, and to make use of scholarly

reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to the discipline).

Typically, holders of the qualification will be able to:• apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review,

consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects

• critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem

(QAA, 2008) 38


An identity of a struggling learner

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A glass ceiling identity for the ‘international student’

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A three deficit identity

Inadequate language proficiency

Lack of analytical ability

Mismatch in culture

Struggling with language

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International students’ views on subject learningIELTS 8.0 – L 8.5, W 9.0, R 6.5, S 8.0

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International students’ views on subject learningIELTS Listening 8.5

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International students’ views on subject learningIELTS 8.0 – L 8.5, W 9.0, R 6.5, S 8.0

Extract 6.12 What I did think was slightly intimidating for me, much more than my English or American friends could imagine was the study of past distinction level essays. It really took a lot of self-convincing for me to believe I could compete with that level of language, I must clarify, it was not the concepts or theory but the language used in such works. In the end, I reconciled myself to the fact that I would put in my best and then leave the rest to the examiner. Perhaps, this is where non-native speakers of the language are at a distinct disadvantage - at a psychological level more than at an actual one.

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RemindER oF ABSTRact – to Be Deleted

The government’s focus on secure language testing in recent years has diverted attention away from the purpose of assessing students’ English language proficiency in the university admissions process. As student mobility increases, it is important to review how pre-entry English language assessment fits into the wider mix of admissions criteria and individual universities’ goals for internationalisation. Language assessment plays an important role in the quality assurance of the courses that these students pursue and in the nature and scale of the university’s investment in support programmes to ensure that international students achieve their full potential. Participants in this workshop will consider how decisions about entry level language proficiency position international students within the wider student body. The majority of international students enter having just achieved their university’s minimum English requirement. Are these international students considered to be starting at level pegging with home applicants or does their language proficiency de facto put them into an “at risk” category? We will discuss how important it is for universities to explicitly take account of how language proficiency requirements impact on all students and staff in the university with specific attention given to recruitment, admissions, induction and on-going support.

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