Learner Profiles at a UK University: An Exploratory Study

In the last fifteen years, higher education in the UK has fundamentally and radically changed. Reductions in government funding have led to students taking the role of consumers who pay large amounts of money for the promise of a degree. At the same time, globalisation of higher education has led to an international study environment, which both students and academic staff often find challenging. The literature and academic practice often suggests a dichotomy between ‘the British’ and ‘the international’ student, with a focus on identifying the differences, rather than communalities between British and international students.
This paper aims to explore if this focus on differences between students from diverse cultural backgrounds is justified, or if other factors are more prominent in determining learning approach and choice of learning strategies.