Building Bridges in China: Educational Leadership Conference 2006. Beijing , China.doc (original) (raw)
Related papers
Today’s Baccalaureate-level Business education administrators and faculty in liberal arts institutions possess a tremendous opportunity to develop and facilitate workplace diversity curriculum. Coursework in entrepreneurship, management, human resource development, and organizational leadership easily creates opportunities to identify learning goals, pedagogies, activities, and assignments needed to increase students’ awareness and acumen as related to workforce diversity. Many Business educators understand the importance of preparing students to work and to contribute to a robust and diverse workforce across varying sectors and industries. This article introduces workforce diversity as a means to spur and strengthen the resurgence of Southeast Michigan’s workforce and economy through the lenses of multiple stakeholder constituencies. Secondly, Michigan Colleges Alliance (MCA’s) President is interviewed and the 15- member institutions of MCA are examined to explore explicit trends and course/curriculum offerings in their business programs as related to workforce diversity programming. Lastly, several courses in Madonna University’s restructured Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) major are presented to illustrate various opportunities to incorporate workforce diversity curriculum and its contributions to a comprehensive 21st century business education offering.
As the world becomes globalized by the influence of science and technology, academic institutions in Central America must provide international academic and research opportunities that are conductive to multicultural learning for students, faculty, and staff. Public and private universities in Central America are attempting to increase awareness about their international leadership, study abroad programs, and cooperative agreements to compete in the global market of higher education. As a result, undergraduate students in the region are currently participating in global experiential learning programs under the guidance of faculty mentors. Students experience unique teaching methods, conduct scientific research projects, practice a different language, and enhance their understanding about other cultures. The purpose of this research study was to develop a profile of university administrators in Central America based on professional and personal characteristics, perceptions, and experiences working with international programs. A second purpose was to describe the diversity of international leadership, study abroad programs, and cooperative agreements available for undergraduate students in Central American. Specifically, this research explores the academic background of university administrators and their leadership role establishing study abroad programs and cooperative agreements with academic institutions worldwide. A descriptive electronic survey method was used in this research study to collect data from a group of executive university administrators working with international programs in Central America during 2011. The administrators could choose the English or Spanish language versions of the survey. From a total of 885 administrators contacted, 32% of the executive administrators completed and submitted the electronic survey. The study comprised a group of university administrators working in the countries of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Results of this study indicate that executive administrators have graduate degrees, academic experience, and language abilities to establish exceptional study abroad programs and cooperative agreements with institutions worldwide. Based on the results of this study, the most common forms of study abroad programs established by administrators were designed to provide students with academic experiences, internship opportunities, research experiences, and foreign language skills. Furthermore, executive administrators helped in establishing international cooperative agreements to improve the quality of education in science and technology programs. They also signed unique agreements to provide undergraduate students with academic scholarships. Overall, the executive administrators emphasized their interest in establishing modern study abroad programs with universities in the United States and in expanding the number of cooperative agreements with European countries. This research study serves as a resource for universities worldwide because it provides information about the diversity of international academic initiatives and professional leadership available at Latin American universities.
Diversity and the Need for Cross-Cultural Leadership and Collaboration
This chapter identifies current issues and methods for enhancing organizational climate by and through practices to embrace, promote and accommodate diversity and cross-cultural collaboration. We identify ongoing areas of insensitivity and focus on practices individuals and organizations need to develop in order to accommodate diversity, and to cultivate cross-cultural collaboration and leadership development. Future leaders must possess skills that are just and respectful of increasing difference in organizations. We believe higher education is the logical site for developing these skills and practices but before we can fully enjoy the benefits of diverse organizations and communities, we must develop and practice these skills at colleges and universities – organizations whose ongoing social relevance may very well depend on their efforts and abilities to prepare culturally-competent graduates for work in the globalizing workplace.
A SWOT analysis of Globalization in Adventist Higher Education
This paper presents a SWOT analysis of globalization on the Adventist network of higher education. Samples from each world region were selected for guided interviews to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of globalization to the development and identity that exist within the network of Adventist institutions of higher education. It discusses opportunities such as language, culture, technology and threats to identity and development, and juxtaposes them against the strengths of the world network of Adventist universities and the challenges of growth and cooperation across institutions, in order to reveal a clear vision of the potential of Adventist higher education This SWOT analysis conceptualizes the unrecognized potential that internationalization and globalization present for the Adventist network of higher education. These potential networking opportunities could affect the church’s ability to play a leading role in education, to fortify its identity, and to generate development in all its institutions.
In this article, we examine how educating for global citizenship has increasingly become a shared goal of educators and educational institutions interested in expanding their own and their students’ understanding of what it means to claim or to have global citizenship in the twenty-first century. While this trend may be considered a uniform response to urgent global issues and contexts, through document analysis of various policies and programs of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in North America, it is evident that global citizenship is far from a uniform idea and, in fact, is a much contested term. There is a general consensus, however, that higher education institutions have a role to play in preparing citizens who are informed and able to participate in our complex globalized and globalizing world. Post-secondary institutions join other social institutions in working toward understanding their role in addressing social, economic, and political issues of our times. As global citizenship educators grapple with and respond to the global unevenness of internationalization, the legacies of colonialism, and ideologies that support a system that benefits the few at the expense of the many, educators look to global citizenship education efforts to open educational spaces for working for a more just and peaceful world.
Examining Diversity/Multicultural Training Among Campus Recreation Departments
2014
Colleges and universities are facing the challenge of providing an environment of acceptance. As a cocurricular activity within higher education, campus recreation programs are expected to provide opportunities for students to become aware and appreciative of cultures or individuals different from themselves. The main purpose of this study was to address the lack of research on diversity/multicultural training programs within campus recreation departments. In this study, we explored the diversity/multicultural training that was offered, the benefits of this training, and the growing need for these programs within campus recreation departments. Of the 105 campus recreation departments surveyed, 93% indicated they agree or strongly agree that campus recreation leadership is fully committed to the long-term success of diversity/multicultural awareness strategies and initiatives. However, only 44% stated they currently provide or implement diversity/multicultural training. Diversity/multicultural training may be a necessary component to impart personal knowledge and training to its employees to effectively achieve diversity goals.