Teaching a while measuring b: cultural bias in assessing student performance
Journal of International Education in Business
ISSN: 2046-469X
Article publication date: 7 June 2021
Issue publication date: 23 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the impact of differences in educational traditions on conventions of teaching and learning, and on the measurement of learning outcomes. These are critical issues within the context of business schools that are steeped in one dominant tradition but have a large population of international students previously educated in other traditions. The paper argues that international students face the challenge of satisfactorily demonstrating learning according to foreign conventions that are different from what they would have been accustomed to within the framework of their home educational tradition.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on a bilingual literature review to capture differences in educational traditions between Australia and China. It then uses logistic regression to analyze the performance of 800 domestic and international Chinese students across a range of different assessment formats at a large Australian business school.
Findings
The study finds statistically significant differences in the performance of these two student groups on different assessment types. It concludes that the conventions on approaches to the assessment of learning shaped by a specific educational tradition can hamper the effective demonstration of learning among students from other educational traditions.
Originality/value
The paper focuses on issues related to the assessment of learning in multicultural higher education contexts, which has received less attention in the literature compared to issues on teaching approaches in multicultural contexts. The paper also highlights important implications on the validity of the measurement of learning outcomes and on the subsequent impact on graduate recruitment.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the US Air Force Academy, the Air Force, the Department of Defense or the US Government.
Citation
Seno-Alday, S. and Budde-Sung, A. (2022), "Teaching a while measuring b: cultural bias in assessing student performance", Journal of International Education in Business, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 273-289. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-01-2021-0005
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited