International postgraduate students' perceptions and experiences of peer assessment in a UK university

Abstract

Internationalization of the curriculum has become the subject of a significant body of research and debate, and demands new ways of teaching, learning and assessment in higher education (Ryan, 2013). Since Ecclestone and Pryor (2003) indicated the impacts of assessment on learner identity, this study investigates postgraduate international students‘ experiences of an innovative assessment approach, ‗peer assessment‘, to provide a new perspective from which to perceive the implications of assessment for internationalization of the curriculum. This empirical case study research focuses on five postgraduate taught modules (Business, Education A, Education B, Chemical Engineering and Computer Science) in a UK university in two academic years (2010-2011 and 2011-2012). The study uses a qualitative dominant mixed methods approach with four data collection techniques, including interviews, questionnaires, observation and diamond ranking. The research has identified both the benefits and problematic aspects of applying peer assessment in the international classroom, and proposed conditions that influence the implementation of this assessment approach. Paying attention to dialogue during the assessment process, the study has developed a social cultural model that contributes to the understanding of how assessment associated with Bernstein‘s (1996) concepts of classification and framing impacts on the international student‘s learner identity and the implications for consideration relating to assessment in the internationalization of the curriculum. It is hoped that the results will contribute to understanding about the challenges for international students‘ learning and support the development of successful assessment practice.