Student Perceptions of Learning Through an International Comparison.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Comparative Pedagogy

Background:

• Broadening pharmacy students' international perspectives is crucial for global practice.
• Traditional curricula may lack sufficient international comparative elements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an international comparison teaching method for pharmacy students.
• To assess the impact on students' international perspectives and overall learning.

Main Methods:

• Four pharmacy law and practice topics were taught using Australian and Canadian faculty collaboration.
• An international comparative analysis was the assessed learning objective.
• Student perceptions were gathered via a 6-domain online survey (n=44).

Main Results:

• Students reported strong support for the international comparison teaching method.
• Quantitative and qualitative data indicated positive student perceptions across all inquiry domains.
• The method effectively enhanced students' ability to synthesize international comparative analyses.

Conclusions:

• International comparison, collaborative teaching, and compare-contrast strategies positively influenced student perceptions.
• This pedagogical approach effectively raised international perspectives within the pharmacy curriculum.
• The method demonstrated success in broadening students' global outlook in pharmaceutical sciences.