The Rewards of Qualitative Assessment Appropriate to Study Abroad

Abstract

The reluctance to challenge students with difference, at the risk of making them unhappy, has generated a culture of incompatible goals and mixed messages – an ideological tug of war that leads, all too often, to a significant mobilization of time, energy, money, and talent for mitigated learning outcomes that are rarely measured, documented, or otherwise addressed. For the purpose of this article over 50 end-of-program evaluation forms from universities known for their investment in international education were examined. The forms were provided either by study abroad offices or freely accessed via the internet. The questions put to students in these qualitative assessment questionnaires paint a picture of a profession all too ethnocentric in its approach to international education. This article presents a study that outlines the process of placing a more appropriate set of values at the heart of qualitative assessment questionnaires.