Discourses of internationalisation in higher education often neglect one of the most effective sources of intercultural knowledge and understanding; the international students who increasingly inhabit university campuses around the world. International education is now big business in Anglophone universities such as in the UK and Australia, with 15% of students (United Kingdom Council for International Student Affairs, 2010) and 21% of students (Australian International Education, 2010a) respectively being international students. However, benefits for nations and universities are at risk due to a range of teaching and learning issues that affect the learning experiences of international students and are problematic for both staff and students. This paper draws on research over the past two decades to discuss the nature of these issues and provides an overview of the three stages that can be discerned in universities’ responses to the influx of international students. This analysis points to a changing pat...

Teaching and learning for international students: towards a transcultural approach

This article considers how student views of collaborative study in a diverse international academic context may have changed in the past decade. A retrospective is provided on a research project carried out in 1998 that investigated students' views of working in international groups; this is linked with research carried out by the author in 2008. Despite the fact that examples of ethnic reductionism remain, there appeared to be a more positive social atmosphere in the 2008 data; students perceived cross-cultural interaction as valuable. Where there were conflicts within groups, these stemmed from clashes over disciplinary variation and differences in ideas about how to get things done. This article provides some suggestions for why there was a more positive working atmosphere between students.

/pdf/a-decade-of-internationalisation-has-it-influenced-students-2jtzbfpti4.pdf

A Decade of Internationalisation Has It Influenced Students' Views of Cross-Cultural Group Work at University?

To date, much of the research on internationalization and globalization of higher education has focused on the institution or higher education system as the unit of analysis. Institution based studies have focused on the analysis of institutional practices and policies designed to further internationalization. System-level studies focus on state policy initiatives or approaches. In this paper we explore the inter-relationships among multiple levels of authority within a higher education system through an analysis of research policies and activities related to internationalization. While we are interested in the internationalization of university research, our primary objective is to explore the relationships between policy initiatives and approaches at different levels. Using the “Global Higher Education Matrix” as a framework, we discuss the policy emphasis on the internationalization of research at the federal, provincial (Ontario), and institutional levels of authority, as well as the international research activities associated with two large professional schools operating at the understructure level. By focusing on the inter-relationships among initiatives at different levels of authority, this study explores the complexity of policy perspectives within the internationalization of research in the context of multi-level governance.

/pdf/the-internationalization-of-canadian-university-research-a-34wz21h2ey.pdf

The internationalization of Canadian university research: a global higher education matrix analysis of multi-level governance

Understanding of International Graduate Students' Academic Adaptation to a U.S. Graduate School

Structure and agency of cultural diversity in (international) higher education have to be addressed with a critical perspective on international mobility and practices of international academic teaching. In order to overcome naive assumptions about intercultural developments on the individual and the organizational level, sociological analysis should address the intersection of both levels. The concept of academic communities of practice is introduced as an appropriate level for analysing the process of negotiating interculturality in institutions of higher education. Based on this approach, a conceptual typology model is presented to illustrate four different types of intercultural orientations, each one characterizing a prototypical strategy of intercultural organizational development and corresponding social reflectivity.

/pdf/academicus-interculturalis-negotiating-interculturality-in-5bbpnwsgbv.pdf

Academicus interculturalis? Negotiating interculturality in academic communities of practice

In recent years, education systems around the world have shown a tendency for convergence on the American educational model. This, together with an increase in the use of English globally, places American educational institutions in a position of great importance as actors in international exchange. For potential partner institutions in other countries the process of internationalization followed by a U.S. institution has important implications. This article explores the contrasting opportunistic and planned approaches followed by Harvard University and Yale University and discusses some of the implications of these two planning models for the nature of campus internationalization and for negotiation with institutions in other countries.

Challenges and Opportunities for the Internationalization of Higher Education in the Coming Decade: Planned and Opportunistic Initiatives in American Institutions.

Jane Edwards

Papers

Challenges and Opportunities for the Internationalization of Higher Education in the Coming Decade: Planned and Opportunistic Initiatives in American Institutions.

Leveraging Technology and the International Classroom for Cross-Cultural Learning