Coverage of international issues: curriculum assessment from a student perception prospective

Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, April, 2003 by Richard T. Mpoyi, R. Earl Thomas

ABSTRACT

The study assesses international curriculum in the College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University based on student perception. The results of a survey conducted before and after the international competencies exam suggest three findings. First, students were neutral about how well the business curriculum prepared them in international issues. Secondly, students almost agreed that the coverage of international topics should be improved and that they understood why they needed to have a good knowledge of international issues. Last, unlike male students, female students significantly changed their perception after taking the international competencies exam.

1. INTRODUCTION

Almost 30 years have passed since the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) mandated that curriculum of all member institutions have an international component. Though it was a topic of discussion in business schools prior to the 1974 mandate, serious consideration of the internationalization of the curriculum was generally a peripheral process at best. Have significant strides been made in the last three decades? No doubt, a response to the question posed would evoke generalized, nebulous responses such as: perhaps, maybe, or progress can be seen in improved coverage in some functional areas, or progress is evident at selected individual institutions.

Schools and various other institutions have always been concerned with assessing the content of academic programs. One assessment tool used by hundreds of schools is the Major Field Test that is designed by the ETS (Educational Testing Service). In an effort to evaluate the internationalization of the curriculum in business schools, the ETS has included "international issues" among the assessment indicators used in the business major field test.

At Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), integrating global topics into academic offerings has become a major objective. In support of this objective, the College of Business has made a commitment to expanding its knowledge base in the international business area. To that end, the College has undertaken an assessment project in which an international competencies exam is given to graduating seniors to determine their international business knowledge. Using this exam, the authors of this research evaluated the coverage of international business topics from a student perception prospective. The purpose of the paper is to assess student perception about the coverage of international topics and to examine whether such perception is affected by taking the international competencies exam.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

A perusal of the business literature indicates quite clearly that internationalization of the curriculum has become a central theme for publication and research. A preponderance of articles and books has been written on the topic generally and specifically. Dozens of studies have looked at various aspects of the internationalization process (Kwok, 1994). Some have looked at functional areas of the curriculum; others have examined topic coverage of either undergraduate, master's, or doctoral level programs. A few of the studies have focused on specific geographical regions, others have sought input from leaders in business and industry, and a minimal number have been global and comprehensive in scope (Kwok, 1994).

Most research staunchly supports the need for continued enhancement of international concepts into the courses and total curriculum of business schools. Its merit and worthiness in today's business world seems to be a given. Globalization serves as a linkage and provides facilitation for competitive advantage. The decade of the 1980's saw an increase of 8.8% for multinational companies (Steinberg, 1992). Today, more than 60,000 multinational corporations exist, a number that is 8.5 times greater than some twenty-five years prior (Miller, 2002).

Occasionally, one finds criticism of the merits of globalization and training our students to prepare for a global workplace. These critics generally write editorial pieces in the popular business press or in newspapers or newsweeklies. A recent such article referred to globalization as globaloney (Miller, 2002). Perhaps this should be expected in the aftermath of the dot.com bubble burst and the terrorism of 9/11. Academic and scholarly writings continue to nurture the idea of improving curriculum through internationalization efforts. Their support comes from surveys of business educators and the views of business leaders and CEOs of multinational corporations (Ball, 1993).

While the authors of this paper believe that input from business leaders, business deans, faculty, and international specialists is immensely valuable, it is also of paramount importance to gauge the perceptions of students with regard to curriculum evaluation. With an arguable, broad-based consensus that most business schools simply strive to create a "general awareness" of international issues, it is imperative that we pay close regard to student perception.