Students’ perspective on non-local learning experiences: A qualitative study

1. Introduction

In today’s world, declines in transportation cost and innovations in transportation technology have
facilitated international sojourn, migration and exchange. Widespread global manifestations are
conveying a message that interactional contacts and interdependencies between people from different
national, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds have increased. Along with the path of globalisation, an
individual is inevitably expected to function within a society where cultural and linguistic diversity is a
common reality.

An increasing globalised society highlights the accountability of today’s higher education to foster
intercultural knowledge and skills among students. One the other hand, this trend also urges universities
all over the world to internationalise their initiatives and to increase their competitiveness on the local
and non-local stages. Non-local learning as an integral part of higher education’s internalisation
activities is increasingly deemed by policy makers, higher education practitioners and students
themselves as an effective means to acquire intercultural competencies (Haas, 2018). The benefit of
non-local learning on students’ attainment of intercultural competencies has been documented by
many empirical studies (e.g., Niehaus, 2018; Singh & Jack, 2017; Turos & Strange, 2018; Walsh & Walsh,
2018).

As the above indicated, colleges and universities have devoted considerable efforts to encourage
students to undertake programmes containing non-local components. Some higher education
institutions even include non-local learning into their undergraduate curricula and made it as one of
graduate requirements (Shek, 2019). Furthermore, field of college studies as diverse as nursing
education, teacher education, social work, sport management and engineering have realised the
growing need for supporting graduates’ intercultural development through non-local initiatives (Chan,
2015; Demetry & Vaz, 2017; Jones, Rowe, & Miles, 2018; LeCrom, Dwyer, & Greenhalgh, 2018; Mesker,
Wassink, Akkerman, & Bakker, 2018).

2. Background

In 2000, the Education Commission Committee of a developed city in Asia published a report on learning
experiences of the students and its education system. The report mentioned that “students are not
giving comprehensive learning experiences with little room to think, explore and create… To make up
for these weaknesses, we need to uproot outdated ideology and develop a new education system…
(Hong Kong Education Commission, 2000, p. 4)”. After a 5-year thorough and comprehensive review, the
government initiated an educational reform to its academic structure. The most significant and
monumental output was a change from the previous three-year undergraduate programme to new
four-year undergraduate programme.

The additional year would allow for the local universities to develop their general education (GE)
curricula. Through the GE courses, the new four-year undergraduate programme aimed “to develop
students’ independent and critical thinking, creativity and ability to learn independently and to explore,
in preparation for the mastering of knowledge in a certain discipline; to foster in students an aspiration
for self-improvement, a positive attitude towards life and a commitment to their families, their society
and their country; and to enhance students’ ability to learn, live and work in a diverse social and cross-
cultural environment” (Hong Kong Education Commission, 2000, p. 32-33). The overall goal of the GE
curricula is to promote all-rounded development in baccalaureate students.

In recent times, there is a global trend calling for supporting the development of whole-person
graduates through general education (GE) curricula (Shek, 2019). In addition to the Unite State and
some European countries where GE has been implemented for ages, there seems to be a rising trend in
Asian countries such as Thailand and Philippine to stress the role of GE on college students’
development as a whole person (Chavez, Dotong, Camello, & Laguador, 2016; Lerdpornkulrat, Koul, &
Poondej, 2018).

The present study was situated in a context that both regional and global higher education sectors are
suggesting to utilise general education (GE) curricula to support college students’ all-rounded
development. In order to maximise the benefit of the GE curricula, a range of pedagogies were
formulated. Giving students’ opportunities to “live and work in a diverse social and cross-cultural
environment” is one of them (Hong Kong Education Commission, 2000, p.33). Though active
engagement with people from heterogeneous backgrounds, students are exposed to different values,
beliefs, and customs, challenged to adjust behaviours and attitudes in order to adapt to new socio-
cultural context and stimulated to expand knowledge and skills needed for a global future, and
ultimately achieved overall development.

3. Literature Review

Non-local learning was not a new concept in the field of education. According to Piaget (1993),
Comenius, as the apostle of non-local learning, believed that ‘education, is not merely the training of the
child at school or in the home (p.175)’. Rather, ‘the international organization of education makes [the
child] a forerunner of … trends of thought likewise stem from this unique synthesis between nature and
man (p.175)’. Researchers believed that non-local learning can offer multiple opportunities for students
to actively engage with dissimilar people in a new environment and thus, contribute to the expansion of
their learning experiences (Mesker et al., 2018). Walsh and Walsh (2018) deemed non-local learning as a
constructive experiences resulting from the reciprocal interactions between the person, the study
program and the target place. In addition, non-local learning could serve as a stimulator to extend one’s
potentiality when experiencing a state of cognitive disequilibrium (Ward, Pellett, & Perez, 2017).

A recent meta-analysis including 72 empirical studies revealed that college students massively benefit
from their non-local learning experiences in terms of cognitive, affective and behavioural development
(Varela, 2017). Given the following emphases of non-local learning programmes, for example, on global
exposure, cross-cultural encounters and exchange, infusing perspective on global citizenship, it was not
hard to discern their purpose. However, the above elements mentioned were relatively broad. Specific
learning outcomes such as leaning new country/cultural knowledge, academic development, new
contacts outside home, self-exploration and employability skills could be obtained as a result of non-
local learning.

According to 41 U.S. and Brazil college students, the primary benefit resulting from non-local learning
programme was consistently perceived as an increased understanding of other cultures (Lokkesmoe,
Kuchinke, & Ardichvili, 2016). Similarly, improvements in intercultural knowledge also had been found
among 36 college students in a large U.S. public university (Czerwionka, Artamonova, & Barbosa, 2015).
By comparing the grades of students who joined non-local learning programmes and students who did
not, Cardwell (2019) showed a clear evidence that non-local learning has a beneficial effect on UK
students’ overall academic development.

Lokkesmoe et al. (2016)’s study suggested that a group of students’ social network expand as a result of
non-local learning opportunities. In Jacobone and Moro (2015)’s experimental study with a pre-post
design, 505 European students report that their non-local learning experience can generate a sense of
belonging towards Europe, translate into some forms of employability skills required by European
labour marker and have an impact on career development.

Among extant literature, a number of studies focused primarily on Western college students’ non-local
learning experiences (Czerwionka et al., 2015; Lokkesmoe et al., 2016; Nguyen, Jefferies, & Rojas, 2018;
Terzuolo, 2018), less attention had been devoted to the experiences of Asian students. Besides, non-
local learning was seem as a means to an ultimate goal toward “the improvement of the quality of
education” within higher education settings (Knight, 1999, p. 20). As one of the most important
indicators of the quality of education, non-local experience of students was worth to be looked into (Gu,
Schweisfurth, & Day, 2010). Furthermore, a full understanding of students’ non-local experiences by
using focus group interviews could offer insights into the nature and quality of these experiences, and
thereby better supporting their holistic development.

The present study, therefore, was designed to supplement existing literature through exploring
experiences and educational outcomes of 40 Asian undergraduate students who joint non-local learning
programme in a developed Asian city. A qualitative approach with data triangulation across existing
literatures, researchers and students was used to gain an in-depth understanding into students’ non-
local learning experiences.

Nowadays, educator to believes that acquiring educational experience through channels can be
somewhat limited college students increasingly gain their learning experiences beyond classroom-bound
settings, and.

As a powerful tool to expand students’ learning experiences, The Czech philosopher, Comenius, has long
proposed an idea about non-local learning. “According to Kolb (2014), experience lies at the centre of
people’s learning.

The two main perspectives presented in the paper are: (1) students' experiences of their learning in
clinical practice and (2) an exploration of different educational systems for pre-registration nurse
training programmes in Western Europe, and in particular the clinical training placement aspect. The
students' experience of their clinical placements was captured using a quantitative survey. Descriptions
of the features of the various educational systems are largely drawn from are view of the literature,
relevant administrative documents and information given by the co-researchers in the study.

As a result, the work to enable college students evolve into an interculturally competent individual is
imperative in our increasingly globalised world.

a paradoxical feature shows up. On one hand, an ever globalising world expands interdependencies
across societies, communities and cities. People from different national, ethnic, and cultural
backgrounds have more opportunities than ever before to seek interactional contact and make
connection. However, globalisation creates tensions between cities, regions, and nations which a form
of cultural conflicts. People struggle to preserve traditional languages and customs with a desire for
independence and autonomy. These has highlighted the necessity for deeper understanding of
international relations and global issues.

Inevitably,

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