Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

DiscussionIn spite of all sorts of practical difficulties, both students and staff are predominantlypositive about working in and with international student groups. Studentslike the extra dimension of making new friends from other countries, practicingtheir English, hearing about perspectives from and academic practices in othercountries. For both teachers and (exchange) students, the evident bias in (i.e. Dutch)academic style may pose a problem. Dutch courses are generally characterised byactive learning approaches, rather strict attendance rules, a climate open to discussionand participation, and a specific (highly structured) convention for courseworkand essay writing.It is a matter of debate what elements of this profile should be negotiable andchangeable when the student group is international. We believe that it would not bewise to lean towards something like an invented ‘European average style’ in attendance,participation, or learning and teaching approaches. This would be the type ofhomogenisation that many fear as a result of the Bologna process and the constructionof a “European Higher Education and Research Space” (see, for example: Kwiek2004; Trondal 2002). It is important for guest students to become involved in a typicallyDutch academic experience; the possible ‘difference’ from their home experiencesis one of the assets of studying abroad. Strictly applying ‘Dutch’ rules for essaywriting or for doing presentations, however, specified in detailed course descriptions,would probably be counterproductive. It is interesting for Dutch students to experiencehow their colleagues in other countries have learned to build up an argument,use references, or structure an essay or presentation and vice versa. Variety is a gainhere and the common basic rules should be modest.Linguistic problems are, to a large extent, practical problems and very likelyonly temporal ones. Communication is the basis of academic learning and thereforesufficient language skills (i.e. in English) are non-negotiable, for both students andteachers.Multiperspective features are often a consideration in the design of courses, anda multicultural and multinational students group gives an extra dimension to themulti-perspective approach, as a learning tool and an element of motivation.References1. CRANG M. 1998. Cultural geography. London: Routledge.2. KWIEK M. 2004. The Emergent European Educational Policies under Scrutiny. TheBologna Process from a Central European Perspective. In: V. Tomusk (ed.), The BolognaProcess – Voices from the Peripheries. Kluwer.3. TRONDAL J. 2002. The Europeanisation of Research and Higher EducationalPolicies – Some Reflections. European Integration online Papers 2 (12).http://eiop.or.at/eiop/texte/2002-012a.htm4. VAART R. VAN DER, BÉNEKER T., PAUL L. 2005, Getting geography studentsinvolved in European integration. Paper presented at the Herodot conference, Torun.111