Investigating inclusivity of digital learning and teaching for overseas students enrolled in the UK STEM programmes

Abstract

The growth in the number of overseas students has not only brought an increase to the local economy in the UK, but also led educators to consider how to improve students’ engagement and learning experience. With the increasing number of overseas students choosing to enrol in British universities, there has been a considerable growth in research interest in their academic performance. In particular, this is an issue in STEM education as overseas students choose to study the STEM subjects more than other subjects in British universities making the STEM educational environment more multicultural and diverse compared to other programmes. Thus, increasing demand to improve students’ engagement in these courses is required. Nevertheless, few recent studies have been conducted on the learning experience of overseas students in STEM education in the UK. In addition, the broader use of blended (face-to-face and online) education methods in universities due to the Covid-19 lockdown has transformed students’ experience and expectations of teaching and learning. Overseas students are also no exception from the change of this behaviour; therefore, going forward, it is a strategic imperative to investigate the impact of the introduction of digital education and its uses on overseas students learning experiences in STEM education. This paper summarises the preliminary results of the latest research at the University of Sheffield investigating the learning behaviour of overseas students in STEM programmes.

Rights

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cite as

Downloadable citations

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00082061

Repository URI

https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/82061/