Output 5 ― Evaluation-Tool

Purpose – The purpose of this report is to study the success of short-term intensive study programmes (ISPs) over the short-term perspective and highlight additional lessons for students which might be missed without the experience of working face-to-face on sophisticated tasks in multicultural teams. Approach/ Methodology – The evaluation of our ISPs was conducted using a quantitative methodology, via questionnaires given to students at the beginning, the middle and at the end of a course. The questionnaire development was based on the work of Prof. Dr. Scott Armstrong (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) for student self-assessment of their progress during participation in the MARCIEE project. Before, during and after the course, the participants filled out a questionnaire answering the following three questions: (1) What do you know? (2) What do you want to learn? (3) What have you learned? Using this procedure, the teachers of the ISPs got direct feedback about the knowledge base, the needs and the learning success for each individual topic. For international ISP evaluation, it was decided to assess the improvements related to (1) knowledge, (2) know-how and (3) soft skills. The questions related to knowledge were derived from the content of the program and the lectures during the program. Regarding the soft skills and knowledge assessment, we followed Beard, Schwieger and Surendran (2008), Betz and Hackett (1983) and Bandura (1977). The questionnaire was first pretested and improved based on the initial results. Findings – The reports provided an overview of the level of success in teaching intercultural programs in higher education, further development of our evaluation tools, and the contribution of IPSs in improving skills and cross-cultural competences. Originality/Value – There are a lack of tools measuring short term success of ISPs.