Evaluation of the Global Citizenship Portfolio

This evaluation measured the impact of the Global Citizenship Portfolio (GCP), which is a non-credit bearing module at Sheffield Hallam University that aims to support students to become ‘global citizens’. The GCP engages students in self-directed learning by combining: academic-run sessions; lectures; an intercultural experience which happens on campus, locally or abroad; and reflection. The evaluation was focused on the cohort of 78 students who started the module in October 2019 or January 2020 and completed it in May 2020. A mixed-methods project was conducted to provide quantitative and qualitative evidence from pre and post-module surveys and a sample of reflective journals. The findings of the evaluation highlighted that the GCP has had a positive impact on students’ development in becoming ‘global citizens’. Analysis of the data indicated that the majority of participants in the evaluation have demonstrated evidence of acquiring intercultural competencies, regardless of whether they undertook an experience ‘at home’ or abroad. This will help these students to engage with different value systems, communicate effectively across cultures and understand how their actions and those of others have global consequences. However, the drop in the number of respondents from the pre-module survey to the post-module survey might introduce a bias to the results of the evaluation. Recommendations are provided on the steps that can be taken to enhance the provision of the GCP and to increase the robustness of the evaluation.