Higher Education Students' Attitudes Towards Experiential Learning in International Business

Using qualitative and quantitative analysis this paper presents a teaching model based on experiential learning in a large ‘International Business’ unit. Preliminary analysis of 92 student evaluations determined the effectiveness of experiential learning to allow students to explore the association between theory and practice. The analysis of the student responses identify that the students were able to complete all four stages of Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory (KLSI), the components of experience, critical reflection, abstract conceptualization, active experimentation, through the participation in experiential activities in this unit.The cognitive and affective experiences of students learning were measured using a battery of 15 Likert scale items. The scores for all the 15 items were found to be significantly above the scale midpoint of 3 validating a positive learning experience. The respondents were strongly of the opinion that the experiential learning activities helped them learn (Cognitive) and they liked participating in the activity (Affective). The attitudinal scores of Asian students were compared to the other students and a significant difference was found in only one of the 15 attitudinal items of the likert scale administered to the students. The Asian students found experiential activities material too complex as opposed to the other students.