This doctoral thesis reports on a longitudinal, mixed methods investigation of staff and students’ views, expectations, and experiences of a collaborative pharmacy programme between Cardiff University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CU) and Taylor’s University School of Pharmacy (TU). Despite a growing body of empirical research on transnational staff and students’ expectations and experiences, longitudinal mixed methods studies are rare. This study combined a qualitative interview-based and focus group approach with a quantitative questionnaire-based method. The overall aim is to gain a better understanding of the teaching and learning experiences of staff and students in a transnational education (TNE) programme. The qualitative element explored staff expectations and experiences in the early stage of the collaborative programme while student expectations and experiences were investigated at different points in time throughout their 4-year pharmacy study. The quantitative element investigated and compared the learning environment perceived by participating students in TU and CU. Data collection took place over a period of 36 months and comprised four phases. In Phase 1, staff and students’ initial expectations and experiences of a new collaborative pharmacy programme were explored using staff interviews and student focus groups. In Phase 2, a sample of students from CU and TU were recruited to participate in a questionnaire study to assess students’ perceived learning environment. In Phase 3, a number of studies were carried out using focus groups in order to find out students’ pre-arrival expectations and post-arrival experiences. Phase 4 involved a self-administered questionnaire with graduate students to assess students’ opinions about their overall experiences at the universities. The study revealed staff and students' expectations and their actual experiences in relation to the delivery of a transnational education. It was found that those students who participated were able to cope with sociocultural adjustment in a new learning environment. The study also provided indications of the need for training and professional development for staff to teach in a transnational environment. Finally, Malaysian students who come from a teachercentred pedagogy background should be informed and trained earlier before their transfer to lessen the impact brought about by intercultural differences in teaching and learning.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:709624 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Wong, Pei Nee |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/99907/ |
Page generated in 0.0017 seconds