This book focuses on the interface of organizational development and language learning, using mixed methods of qualitative (reflective journals) and quantitative analysis (experimental design, pre- and post-testing exam scores and questionnaires). Employing organizational development interventions (ODIs) in the context of language learning enriches the diversity and expands the possibilities of higher education. The action research cycle employed in the three-semester ODI process offers readers a source of inspiration. As the book shows, the combination of ODI techniques with language learning strategies in a learning community can be both effective and efficient, holding great potential for further research.

The Asia-Pacific region needs to maximize the benefits of education to enable it to compete in an economic future dominated by innovation, in which assessing student progress must be an empowering rather than delimiting factor. This detailed exposition of the theoretical basis and application tools of self-directed learning-oriented assessment (SLOA) reflects the very latest research championed by the Assessment Research Centre at The Hong Kong Institute of Education. Featuring a range of relevant case studies, it explores the varied theoretical issues related to SLOA and offers an integrated view of the system fully in line with the constructivist paradigm of learning which advocates formative rather than summative assessment. Many of the initiatives outlined here are firsts in the region. SLOA is already being applied in many schools with links to the ARC. It is an approach to assessment that acknowledges the centrality of self-directed learning and which positions assessment as a tool to enable and enhance self-directed learning. It draws on several theories of learning and assessment, including the constructivist notion that learning is best achieved when students take ownership of their educational process, setting their own goals and monitoring their own progress towards those goals. SLOA has been the research and service approach of the ARC since 2005. In the intervening years the centre has developed a number of tools to facilitate SLOA learning and assessment, including vertical ability scales, teacher-friendly computer software and packages for self-directed learning.

International Student Education in Tertiary Settings addresses key issues in international student education programme design and implementation. It maps contemporary theories and practices in international students’ transcultural learning and engagement and showcases successful tertiary education programmes for international students in Australia, China, Japan, the USA and the UK. The book highlights the opportunities for engaging international students that are built into the various programmes, international students’ strategies for coping with various challenges of engagement with their educational programmes, and a range of factors that confound their engagement in academic and intercultural learning. The broad coverage of international education programmes in a variety of geographical, sociocultural and pedagogical settings enables the discussion about the complexity of contemporary international student education, shared challenges and productive ways of engaging international students in transcultural learning and the prospect of sustainable engagement. The principles and insights into programme design and implementation to engage international students will be useful for researchers and practitioners in international student education, academics tasked with teaching international students in their class, and administrators responsible for managing and providing services to international students.