Barron, Paul and Ali-Knight, Jane and Stephenson, Marcus (2009) Preferred Learning styles: the case of students at a satellite campus in the Middle East’. International Journal of Excellence in Tourism, Hospitality and Catering, 1 (2). pp. 1-41. ISSN 1993-8683
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Abstract
The education of international students has long been a focus for universities in the major English speaking destination (MESD) countries of the United States, the United Kingdom,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Studying for and successfully completing a qualification from a
university in an MESD country is viewed positively by international students, and universities in such countries have
shown a significant increase in the number of enrolled international students. The provision of education by
MESD universities is not confined by national borders and increasingly universities are developing satellite
campuses in a number of locations.
These satellite campuses provide an MESD country university qualification to two distinct groups of students.
Firstly, local students are attracted to study an international qualification in their home country as this eliminates the
costly experience and personal upheaval of studying overseas.
Secondly, the creation of a satellite campus of a university based in an MESD country will attract expatriate
students and also other international students from the immediate area. This research is focused on international
students studying undergraduate programmes at a satellite campus of a United Kingdom university located in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Middle East. The study is set within the context of those students’ preferred
learning styles and experiences.
Focusing on issues of pedagogy, the study is based on the suggestion that international students will experience a
Introduction Understanding how individuals learn has
been of academic interest for a number of years. However, with current attention focusing on the importance of the
knowledge society, the understanding of
learning becomes more critical. Gold and
Smith (2003:1) argue that learning is the
key factor for survival, sustainability and
competitive advantage at the level of the
individual, the organization and the nation.
Nevertheless, understanding learning is not
a straightforward process. Merriam
(2001:38) emphasize that the knowledge
base of learning comprises a myriad of
theories, models, sets of principles and
explanations. This paper explores one
aspect of learning from a cognitive
perspective, by examining differences in
the student learning process.
The context for the study is tourism and
hospitality students studying at a satellite
range of new and unfamiliar teaching
and assessment methods and
consequently have to make a substantial
adjustment in terms of their learning
styles in order to succeed in a Western
university. This paper examines the
individual and collective preferred
learning style of a sample of
international students studying tourism
and hospitality in the Middle East. The
work analyses the links between ethnic
origins and preferred learning style,
suggesting that preferred learning styles
should be taken into consideration when
developing curriculum which is
accessed by international students.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | L Education > L Education (General) |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) > School of Tourism and Hospitality Management |
| Depositing User: | Fulori Nainoca - Waqairagata |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jun 2016 03:46 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Jun 2016 03:46 |
| URI: | https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/8801 |
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