At the Crossroads of Culture and Nation: International Education and Training in English (original) (raw)
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Rethinking internationalisation
Executive Summary The landscape of research on the internationalisation of the curriculum in higher education is complex and meanings and practices in the area are vague. This paper maps out the meaning and significance of internationalisation of the curriculum and diverse ways of putting an international curriculum into practice. What is meant by internationalisation of the higher education curriculum? There is a lack of clarity around the concept of internationalisation of the higher education curriculum and its boundaries and further research is needed with respect to meaning and process. In particular, there is a need to construct a broader perspective on the concept, which stretches beyond just curriculum content. Equally, thinking in the area must move away from a narrow focus on international students and provide international experiences to all university staff and students so that they will perform successfully (professionally, economically and socially) within diverse contexts. Why is internationalisation of the higher education curriculum important? • The 21st century university faces numerous challenges at local, regional and global levels (mass migration, environmental and geographical issues, super-diversity of the student cohorts, as well as the knowledge paradigms, the information overload, and global interconnectedness); • Problems and issues in the current socio-economic and geo-political aspects demand broader, multi-perspective understanding about the world, life and work; • As the most visible and significant site of knowledge creation, the university has a social responsibility to equip the members of the society with necessary competencies, knowledge, understandings, and new skills so that they can constantly negotiate the changing nature of work, the labour force, information technologies and cultural identities of people. How can we put the international curriculum into practice?
Unravelling the Concept of Internationalisation in Tertiary Education
EDULEARN proceedings, 2017
Over the past two decades, internationalisation has slowly but steadily become the mot du jour in tertiary education, a concept brandished by all involved as the way forward towards achieving greater standards of excellence. No university strategic plan would currently be complete without a strong stance on internationalisation. However, in practice, the term is proving difficult to define, encompassing a wide range of strategies and activities and open to multiple and not always converging interpretations. This paper aims to examine these conceptual nuances by looking into the fundamental principles of internationalisation as well as some of the prevalent myths and misconceptions regarding its meaning at higher education level. It also analyses quality-related issues that stem from internationalisation models and processes, such as: indicators to measure success; theoretical and practical challenges in any international strategy; the significance of the term internationalisation versus globalization; and the potential difficulties in assessing the validity and value of some of the most widespread internationalisation strategies being implemented by institutions across the world
Internationalisation' and the Social Sciences
Learning and Teaching, 2008
We hear ever more about the internationalisation of higher education. As U.K. universities become increasingly exposed to the vagaries of international student demand, administrators are scrambling to develop ‘internationalisation’ strategies, whilst academics are being encouraged to incorporate ‘international perspectives’ into their curricula. Even the U.K.’s Centre for Learning and Teaching Sociology, Anthropology and Politics (C-SAP) has a strategic aim to promote ‘best practice in the internationalisation of the student learning experience’. It sounds impressive, but what does it mean in practice? Internationalisation has become a buzzword that everyone can use without having to agree on what they mean. The word’s descriptive malleability is its analytical downfall.
A Global View of Internationalisation: What Next?
Springer eBooks, 2021
has long espoused a values-driven approach to internationalisation "to ensure that the outcomes of internationalisation are positive and of reciprocal benefit to the higher education institutions and the countries concerned" (IAU 2012). In line with this, there is increasing discussion about whether the concept of internationalisation has yet been adopted in more distinctive forms in different parts of the world to better reflect local needs and priorities. This debate seeks to consider the impact on policy and practice through new perspectives from those whose voices do not normally have a strong presence in the discourse. In this contribution, we will reflect further on these key points, and consider what might be involved in taking the internationalisation agenda forward in more sustainable, equitable and inclusive ways. Rather than simply mimicking Anglo-Western, and predominantly Englishspeaking, approaches, the need for higher education to address global societal challenges, summarised in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs), implies a global response. Balancing and integrating local needs with global demands and cross-border working is a major challenge for higher education institutions in the context of ongoing massification, on the one hand, and the demand for a global knowledge economy, on the other. The rapid changes in international higher education have only increased in range and complexity over the past decade, and not least in response to the global pandemic of 2020. Certainly, the world is facing strong threats to the underlying values of cooperative internationalisation and to achieving the SDGs. Populism, nationalism, xenophobia, and parochial politics are on the increase around the world, presenting E. Jones (B)
Observations on an Internationalisation of Higher Education Seminar
2014
A number of presentations were given by well--known persons in the field of internationalisation of higher education at a recent retirement symposium for Hans de Wit. Each of the sets of presentations was followed by panel discussion with experienced individuals from the field. These observations are however not a summary of what was presented, but rather a reflection on a common thread that ran throughout much of the day. It was impossible to attempt to summarise the presentations that passed the revue during this symposium about 'Global and Local Internationalisation'. Together they covered an enormous breadth and depth of internationalisation as has been discussed over the last few years. The symposium was of course a testimony to the influence of Hans on the various debates in this field. The nub of this thread was the question: "what is in it for me?" Why should I be interested in internationalisation of higher education, or indeed, why should this topic detract from all the other important aspects of my course? The often heard complaint is that internationalisation is seen as something that needs to be added on. Something that is new and competing for space/time in a course. Hanneke Teekens widened the frame of reference for IaH by specifically including the teacher education. This would in due course allow well--informed students to join our tertiary education. These would be students who are well aware of the benefits of an internationalised education. They would need no further convincing and would even be demanding that their tertiary education is internationalised. To achieve this, we would need to ensure that their teachers were already convinced of the benefits. The logic of this situation is that unless we prepare the teachers of these students, the students will not able to be taught in such a way as to receive an internationalised education at the secondary (or indeed the primary?) level. At the same time it is a catch--22 situation, since if we are unable to convince our student teachers of the benefits of internationalisation, how then are we to break the cycle? Laura Rumbley touched on this subject in her presentation by asking the question as to how the knowledge and experience that was present at the symposium, by virtue of the many experts, would be able to be disseminated and received by institutions. As she put it, global knowledge was finding it hard to land at the local academic coalface. Was it about the format of the information? Would institutions be able to do something with the knowledge and experience?
Internationalization Remodeled: Definition, Approaches, and Rationales
Journal of Studies in International Education, 2004
The world of higher education is changing and the world in which higher education plays a significant role is changing. The international dimension of higher education is becoming increasingly important, complex, and confusing. It is therefore timely to reexamine and update the conceptual frameworks underpinning the notion of inter-nationalization in light of today’s changes and challenges. The purpose of this article is to study internationalization at both the institutional and national/sector level. Both levels are important. The national/sector level has an important influence on the international dimension through policy, funding, programs, and regulatory frameworks. Yet it is usually at the institutional level that the real process of internationalization is taking place. This article analyses the meaning, definition, rationales, and approaches of internationalization using a bottom-up (institutional) approach and a top-down (national/sector) approach and examines the dynamic ...
2005
Internationalisation is a much debated and interpreted concept in higher education institutions in Australia. Universities have a clear responsibility to prepare graduates with international perspectives, who can be active and critical participants in world society. However, economic rationales for internationalisation are also important and internationalisation is seen by many Australian universities as critical to success in an increasingly globalised society in which there are economic imperatives to sell educational products and services in the world marketplace. Th ese diff erent rationales for internationalisation are refl ected in multiple discourses, all of which contribute to the construction of internationalisation. Th is paper explores internationalisation at an Australian university through discourse analysis of a corpus of texts, identifi es confl icting and competing discourses and discusses some of the implications of these for academic staff development.
2010
This paper focuses on the gap between rhetoric and practice in internationalising the curriculum (IoC) from the perspectives of academics in key curriculum leadership positions at one Australian researchintensive university. It draws on an institutional research study, which found a range of understandings regarding IoC, as well as a number of commonly perceived challenges, such as the need to: 1) 'concretise' internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC)/internationalisation of teaching and learning, in a way that would account for disciplinary differences; 2) clarify uncertainty about leadership and responsibility for IoC; 3) address common misconceptions (such as that local/Australian issues have no place in an internationalised curriculum); 4) harness the cultural diversity of staff in order to enrich teaching; 5) address wider student welfare issues and create a more cosmopolitan campus. Interviewees' suggestions of how these challenges should be addressed will also be discussed.