The Teaching Excellence Framework in the United Kingdom: An Opportunity to Include International Students as “Equals”?

Abstract

Research on international students in British higher education points to marginalization of their unique perspectives in university classrooms. The aim of the article is to consider how the most recent policy changes, particularly the teaching excellence framework (TEF), continue to do so. The article also argues that the TEF, being a major higher education reform, can lead to change in attitudes toward international students and contribute to their more equal status. The article discusses how this could be done and proposes changes to the TEF that would distance universities from policy moves that have contributed to the “peripheral” status of international students for many years. Despite being British-based, the analysis has international implications as it points to a series of ways in which the scope and nature of metrics used in national evaluations of teaching quality can affect the status of international students in higher education.