INFORMED CONSENT

You are invited to participate in a research study conducted by Dr. Tracy Zou as the Principal Investigator in the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at the University of Hong Kong.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Internationalisation of the curriculum is interpreted and enacted differently in different disciplines and programmes and by different teachers. It is also a process requiring ongoing review and reflection in order to ensure that programmes remain current and fit for purpose in a rapidly changing and globalising world. The purpose of this questionnaire is to review what has already been happening in relation to the internationalisation of content, teaching and learning in courses and programmes taught or coordinated at your university and to determine what (if any) professional development or teaching and learning resources might be needed to support internationalisation of content, teaching and learning in programmes and courses.

We work with Prof. Betty Leask, our advisor, in designing this survey based on the questionnaire in her book Internationalising the Curriculum [1]. If you wish, we are happy to share with you our preliminary findings.

WHERE WILL THE DATA GO?

You will be invited to fill in two similar online questionnaires about your teaching practices in relation to internationalisation of teaching and learning at two different stages during the project period. It would take you about 15 minutes to complete each questionnaire. The two questionnaires from you conducted at different stages will be matched using your name, post and department during data analysis.

The participation is entirely voluntary and you can choose to terminate the survey at any time without negative consequences. Within our ability, we would like to stress that all information collected will remain strictly confidential. Individual details will not be disclosed or identifiable from this survey. The collected original questionnaires will be stored in a locked cabinet in the office of the principal investigator and in the computer owned by the university equipped with Data Leakage Prevention software. As such survey data are collected online, we hope you to understand that no form of electronic communication can be assumed to be fully secure. The original responses will be kept for five years after publication of first paper. The coded and anonymised data will be kept indefinitely. To protect confidentiality, some key information, such as name of the university, post and other details, will be removed or recoded into broad categories.

CONTACT

If you have any questions about the research, please feel free to contact Dr. Tracy Zou at 39178182 or tracyzou@hku.hk. If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the Human Research Ethics Committee, HKU (2241-5267).

[1] Note: The questionnaire is an adapted version of the questionnaire on Internationalising the Curriculum (IoC) in Leask, B. (2015). Internationalising the Curriculum (pp. 136-148). London: Routledge.