draft -Position paper on Internationalisation of higher education.pdf (original) (raw)
Related papers
Internationalising the curriculum – Future challenges
The next 25 years will present interesting challenges for those who seek to fully internationalise the higher education curriculum. Developments such as MOOCs could open up the sector to a much more diverse, global range of students, but the lack of campus interaction could impede the kind of multicultural learning that goes on when students from different cultures and countries mix. Much has been written about the purpose of internationalisation and what it means for universities, for students and for staff. My standpoint is that if internationalisation aims to enhance institutional and academic quality, the ultimate beneficiaries will be students and they should be at the heart of our efforts. We can do this, in part, through internationalising the curriculum.
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.
Answers to Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) international students' issues with the Higher Education curriculum in western universities are inadequate and the solutions to many of their problems usually seem improvisations rather than improvements. Studying and proving the academic adjustment issues of many NESB international students at my university and making efforts to improving their plight, I have reached a juncture of trepidation. In my research and in my work as a Learning Skills Advisor I have begun to realise that the situation especially related to postgraduate NESB international students is beyond the "proving and improving" role of research and scholarship. In many cases, internationalisation of Higher Education seems to be an eyewash to secure the economic interests of western universities. An intercultural dimension to teaching and learning practices would be inept and superfluous if the curriculum designers do not reconsider the course, subject and assessment outcomes in relation to the prior language, knowledge and skills of those students whose very presence gives the international dimension to western universities. It seems that to bring true internationalisation involving all students, requires a complete sea change to the very philosophy of the internationalisation of Higher Education.
Internationalization: a transformative agenda for higher education?
Teachers and Teaching, 2011
This conceptual paper explores the notion of higher education (HE) internationalization and its potential to lead to transformational institutional change. Internationalization is generally regarded as a process that involves increasing the range of international activities within universities and between universities and other educational institutions and the numbers of international students and academic staff. Much of the literature on ‘internationalization’ focuses on incoming international students and the challenges for teaching and learning associated with the increasing diversity of the student population. Forward thinking institutions are responding by attempting to make the curriculum (both formal and informal) more relevant and engaging for international students and by considering ‘internationalization at home’ to prepare all students for life and work in a global economy. Other studies explore the opportunities arising from international research collaboration, for knowledge-transfer and societal impact. Talk about internationalization has become firmly embedded. While the managerial implications of an internationalization agenda for HE institutions have been articulated elsewhere, there has been relatively little research that investigates the transitions for individuals and communities that are essential to transformative internationalization. This paper attempts to characterize what an ‘internationalized’ institution might look like, and what support might be required to achieve the personal and professional transitions within its communities that are necessary to achieve the transformative agenda.
The Internationalization of Higher Education
2016
The terms ‘internationalization’ and ‘globalization’ are frequently used for a wide variety of different aspects and domains that concern our contemporary world, such as the economy, the environment, education and science, political relationships, and many more. Both ‘internationalization’ and ‘globalization’ refer to an ongoing process and although they are related and often used interchangeably, they do not have the exact same meaning. In the context of tertiary education, Altbach and Knight’s (2007, p.1) definition of globalization refers to forces that are at work in our twenty-first century, which strongly influence the domains of economics, politics and societies on a worldwide scale. According to them, these forces are urging higher education to undertake action in order to respond to this current trend of globalization, namely by internationalizing higher education. There are, however, many different definitions and viewpoints on what the internationalization of higher education should resemble and what a soi-disant international university or college does -or should- consist of. The present paper will, therefore, be limited to the standpoint of Rizvi (2007), Stier (2006) and Woodin et al. (2011), regarding this topic. Rizvi’s and Stier’s perception of the role of internationalized higher education will be addressed in the first instance and furthermore, this paper will try to clarify what the current state of affairs is of the internationalized curriculum in higher education, according to the abovementioned authors.
Internationalizing Higher Education Curricula: Strategies and Approaches
Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2022
The COVID-19 global pandemic has put the growing reliance on international students in higher education into sharp relief. With the increasing emphasis on the value of higher education as both an export market and a revenue generator and the consequent increases in international student enrollment at colleges and universities, higher education leaders are seeking to provide curricula which reflect the global perspectives that students need to work and function within increasingly complex and multicultural work environments. A literature review was conducted to determine how institutions are approaching curriculum internationalization as a way to prepare students as global citizens. This paper explores four rationales for internationalization including the political rationale, the economic rationale, the socio-cultural rationale, and the academic rationale. We also provide an overview of strategies that can be utilized to internationalize higher education curriculum. These are centered on supporting faculty, developing partnerships, international student experiences, language integration, and curriculum learning outcomes. The following four common and evolving approaches for internationalizing curriculum are reviewed: the add-on approach, the infusion approach, the transformational approach, and the social responsibility approach. Several notable shortcomings in these approaches are outlined, and the paper concludes with a number of proposals for future empirical research in this area. This work helps to fill a gap in understanding how to implement these important curriculum reforms.
Internationalization, the Curriculum and the Disciplines
International Higher Education, 2015
Institutions of higher education, national governments and (inter)national organizations have become more proactive, comprehensive, diverse, and innovative in their approaches to internationalization. Critical reflection on their outcomes, and in particular their impact on student learning, has resulted in a search for approaches to internationalization that have deeper meaning and greater impact. However, it is only relatively recently that questions related to the relationship between the internationalization of higher education, the curriculum and the disciplines have been explored in depth. Some of these questions are discussed, such as the relationship between ‘at home’ and ‘abroad’, the role of mobility, the role of contexts and the definition of internationalization of the curriculum.
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