Internationalisation at Home: students’ expectations of teaching and learning in an international study programme

A focus on Internationalisation at Home (IaH) is a fairly recent development in the internationalisation of Italian higher education. IaH and the related concept of Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC) are associated with innovative curriculum design and delivery, calling for student-centred teaching and reflective practice. Students are the intended beneficiaries of these approaches, but not a lot is known about what first-year students expect to find in an international programme when they begin their studies. This paper considers first-year students’ expectations for teaching and learning in a new bachelor programme in an Italian university. First-year students were asked about their expectations for studying in an international programme as part of a questionnaire administered during the programme’s first semester. The paper begins by outlining the growing interest in IaH in Europe and its status in Italy. It then reviews the literature regarding students’ perspectives of IaH and IoC in an Italian context and beyond, before presenting data from the part of the questionnaire regarding expectations for studying in an international programme. Results of statistical analysis show that while all students overall held high expectations for active learning and an international perspective, the non-Italian students placed even more importance on these aspects. The chapter concludes with a discussion of implications for what needs to be developed if students’ expectations relating to the pedagogical aspects of IaH are to be met and their engagement in IoC enhanced.