Editorial

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of International Education in Business, Volume 4, Issue 1

We are delighted to present a wide range of topics relevant to international education in business in this issue. The papers discuss international business curriculum development from the viewpoint of employers, pedagogic programs that enhance cultural competencies, comparison between students in business and other disciplines in relation to motivation and study-related burnout, and effective instructional techniques for international students enrolled in business courses. Through these papers, we hope to present a global perspective of contemporary issues relevant to business education.

This issue begins with Marvin E. Gonzalez, Gioconda Quesada, James Mueller and Rene D. Mueller’s paper considering employers as the customers of a business school. The authors urge the need to incorporate employers’ needs and perspectives into curriculum development. In the contemporary business context, the incorporation of the expectations of global businesses, along with those of students and academic experts will help create a holistic curriculum in international business.

Charles M. Vance, Gary Sibeck, Yvonne McNulty and Alan Hogenauer emphasize the need for cost- and time-effective experiential approaches in international business education. In recent times, the student makeup of business schools shifted from predominantly young adults that primarily engage with educational activities to include growing numbers of mature age students that have both work and family responsibilities. The latter group of students may find it difficult to justify semester-long international exposure and would benefit from shorter term international experiences. The paper showcases the pedagogic approaches to one such short-term learning experience in international business.

Matti Kuittinen and Matti Meriläinen address study-related burnout in their paper. Their comparative sample of business students and those from other disciplines of the university show that while a large percentage of students from all disciplines experience burnout, business students experience slightly lower levels than their non-business counterparts. The authors attribute this to business students’ clear and purposeful study goals to gain professional competencies.

Finally, Kumaran Rajaram and Sarbari Bordia’s paper presents an exploratory study that investigates a new but growing trend of training mainland Chinese students in Western-style business education in Singapore. The authors explore teaching and learning techniques that Chinese students find to be effective. Contrary to popular belief that Chinese students are rote learners and prefer passive pedagogic activities, the findings of the current paper suggest that active instructional techniques, such as case studies, individual and group research projects, as well as classroom discussions, were preferred by the student population in this study.

We hope you find the content of the current issue of Journal of International Education in Business both informative and enjoyable.

Joanna Crossman, Sarbari Bordia