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Global Mindedness And Its Development Across Space And Time: Illumination Of Lived Experiences From Study Abroad Students And Global Educational Scholars, Haoming Tang

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This dissertation explores the phenomenon of ‘global mindednesses’ and its development as the idealized pedagogical outcome of global/international education. I consider how individuals become globally minded across their life journeys and through study abroad experience under larger conditions and forces. There are three discrete studies in this integrated dissertation format. In the first study, I examined the biographical and autobiographical accounts of thirteen US-based global scholars presented in the edited collection The global education movement: Narratives of distinguished global scholars (Kirkwood-Tucker, 2018). Through a thematic analysis, I identified five major themes in their development of global mindedness: (1) Experiencing war …

Syrian Refugee Education In Lebanese Secondary Schooling: A Vertical Case Study, Georges Wakim

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Syrian refugee education in Lebanon faces several challenges from limited school access, language barriers, and undefined policies, to uncertain future citizenship status of refugee students under the larger conditions of state ‘fragility.’ This study examines how Syrian refugee education is enacted in two Lebanese public secondary schools operating in relation to national and transnational policies and norms. The theoretical frame used has three inter-related components. The first addresses (post) development education and fragility. The second addresses globalization and the evolving role of the state dealing with Syrian refugee education. The third considers citizenship education and its relation to refugees as …

Global Citizenship Education And Scout Movement Curriculum In Egypt: Perspectives From Scouts And Scout Leaders, Tarek M. Faid

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This study investigated Scouting’s contribution, as a non-formal educational movement, in educating global citizens. To address the research questions, I used a mixed-methods case study design, which necessitated the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data concurrently using varied data sources (surveys, interviews, and the senior scout curriculum document). The study explored the Egyptian scouts and scout leaders’ perspectives of global citizenship and their views on the potential of the Arab senior scout curriculum (2011) to contribute to the development of 15-17 years old scouts as global citizens. In addition, I assessed the extent to which the curriculum encompasses critical …

Seeking Host Community Perspectives In A U.S.-Based Service Learning Program: A Case Study, Vanessa R. Sperduti

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The popularity of service learning and ‘abroad’ experiences continues to grow. Alongside this growth, a significant body of research has emerged on the effects of these experiences on volunteers and sojourners. Much less is known about the impacts on host communities. This thesis research attempts to address this gap, guided by the question “How has one American host community been affected by the presence of service learning volunteers?”

Geographically, my study examined a host community in a medium-sized ‘Rust Belt’ city in the Northeastern United States. The ‘Rust Belt’ refers to states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana that were …

Becoming A Cosmopolitan Teacher: Empirical And Theoretical Inquires, James S. Budrow

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The contemporary conditions of the world are largely defined by global interconnectivity, heightened mobilities and super-diversity. Teachers and students are increasingly immersed in these conditions that prompt the heightened calls for internationalization of curricula and culturally relevant and inclusive school pedagogies. Teachers are also mobile, taking on positions beyond their local educational jurisdiction, where they must learn to navigate the intercultural and/or transnational conditions of unfamiliar locales and school communities. In turn, teacher education must respond by preparing teachers for both the super-diversity they may encounter in ‘local’ schools as well as for teaching ‘beyond their local.’ To better understand …

University Partnership Of The Confucius Institute: A Case Study In Canada, Yinan Wang

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This study aims to explore the university partnership of the Confucius Institute between its partner from Canada and China. Drawing on organizational theory through the lens of higher education partnerships, the study uses a qualitative research method with a case study approach. Taking the Confucius Institute in a Canadian university as a case, the study probes into research questions regarding the nature and characteristics of the partnership built via the Confucius Institute as the platform, the key stakeholders involved in the partnership of the Confucius Institute, and in what ways have the key stakeholders shaped the partnership. Data were collected …

Learning Experiences In International Exchange Programs: Perspectives Of Chinese Undergraduate Students In Canada, Xue Ji

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In this study, I explore the learning experiences of Chinese-origin undergraduate who completed an international exchange programs in Canada. Specifically, I use transformative learning theory and J.W. Berry’s (1987; 1997; 2006; 2008) acculturation model to examine how Chinese undergraduate students interpreted their learning experiences and how these learning experiences may have altered their perspectives and practices. I applied an interpretivist qualitative case study by collecting data from semi-structured interviews with six female Chinese-origin undergraduate students after the completion of their exchange program. in Canadian HEIs provides me insights into their learning experiences. The findings show that despite experiencing some challenges …

Challenges And Social Supports Of Chinese Parachute Kids In A Canadian Secondary School: A Case Study, Yueyi Su

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This study investigates the experiences of Chinese parachute kids: secondary school international students who ‘parachuted’ to Canada without parental accompaniment, with a focus on the relationships between their faced challenges, social supports, and well-being. The researcher applied a qualitative case study by conducting face-to-face interviews with eight participants, aimed to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences through analyzing their narratives under the concept of Bourdieu’s capital theory. Compared to existing studies, the results indicate similar challenges faced by Chinese parachute kids. However, those who had participated in a higher standard ‘study abroad’ program enjoyed a higher degree of social …

Policy Transfer Across Borders: An Actor Network Analysis Of Standards For Principals And Vice-Principals In China, Wei Wei

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Adopting a critical approach to policy analysis, this qualitative comparative case study uses Actor Network Theory (ANT) to explore the transfer of the global discourse on leadership standards to China, the adaptations of the discourse as observed in the Professional Standards for Compulsory Schools Principals (PSfP) (MoE of the PRC, 2013), and the enactment of the PSfP in schools. While most studies researching the PSfP are limited to related background in China, this dissertation situates the policy in the global convergence of leadership standards, and highlights the nature of policy transfer, which is multi-directional and political. Focusing on the notion …

India’S Right To Education Act: Parents’ Perceptions On Involvement In Private Schools And School Responsiveness, Namarpreet K. Rodrigo

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India enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) (Government of India, 2009) for elementary education, reserving 25% of seats in private schools for socially and economically disadvantaged groups starting from grade 1 or pre-primary depending on the school setting. However, some studies show it may not be implemented and there is exclusion among students (Kaushal, 2012; Mehendale, Mukhopadhyay, & Namala, 2015; Noronha & Srivastava, 2013; Srivastava & Noronha, 2016). Furthermore, there is little research on how parents’ involvement in the school milieu plays a role in their children’s education, and whether private schools …

Improving International Teacher Retention In São Paulo International Schools: What Can Leaders Do?, Christiaan Rombaut

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The exponential growth of international schools worldwide has created a high demand for native English-speaking teachers around the world. São Paulo international schools are not exempt from this increase in demand for these expatriate teachers. As international schools typically offer short-term contracts of two years to expatriate teachers that are often not renewed, international teacher retention becomes a significant factor in improving teaching and learning in international schools. High teacher turnover is even more a concern in South American international schools, where teachers tend to stay at their schools for less time than in international schools in other regions and …

Routes To A Western Undergraduate Degree: Chinese Families’ Mobilization Of Capital And Flexible Citizenship, Qinghua Zhao

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Today, an increasing number of Chinese families send their children to study in the West to open up future opportunities. While studying abroad has a long history in China from late Qing dynasty (1836–1911), in the last couple of decades Chinese student mobility occurred on a much larger scale. Chinese families view an undergraduate degree from the West as a way to enhance career opportunities and familial social status. My study examined Chinese families’ intentions and strategies to gain advantage in their transnational trajectory. Specifically, I explore how forms of capital accumulate and transfer through transnational educational routes. Pierre Bourdieu’s …

Seeking The Global Generation:A Comparative Case Study Of Youth From Canada, Georgia, And Saudi, Eva Jaberi

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This study explores how contemporary youth understand their lives under today’s context of globalization. It examines and compares perceptions and practice of high school age (15-18 years old) students from Canada, Georgia, and Saudi; how they think about the world and their place in it, and how they take up their roles as citizens of their local, national, and global communities. The study investigates if there are bases to collectively address these youth as a ‘Global Generation.’ By illuminating the core features of this generation it expounds on the implications of the existence of the Global Generation in relation to …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Saudi Students Enrolled In Canadian Graduate Nursing Programs, Aisha Namshan Aldawsari

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Despite the increased number of students in the field of nursing, there is a great shortage of Saudi nurses in Saudi Arabia (SA). Cultural issues in SA have influenced the development of the nursing profession. For instance, it is not culturally acceptable for female nurses or nursing students to work for long hours and night shifts in a mixed-gender practice environment in SA. Thus, a large proportion of nursing students tend to look for positions other than working in hospital settings upon completion of their undergraduate degree. Pursuing graduate nursing education overseas is also viewed as a viable option. To …

Who I Am Is Shaped By My Past And Impacts My Future: Exploring Antecedents And Outcomes Of Self-Views Across International, Immigrant, And Canadian Born Undergraduate Students, Anjana Balakrishnan

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This dissertation focused on how various self-views variables (self-esteem, self-concept, and self-concept clarity) differ across and within groups of university students, are influenced by internal and external factors, and predict academic and non-academic variables. Key models of self and group perceptions were used in deriving hypotheses (i.e., Shavelson, Hubner & Stanton, 1976; Bosson & Swann Jr, 2009; Stephan, Ybarra, & Morrison, 2009). Across the four studies, self-report questionnaires were used. Studies 1 and 4 were completed online by international, immigrant, and Canadian born students. Studies 2 and 3 examined only international students, involved an experimental manipulation, and were conducted in-lab. …

A Critical Analysis Of Oecd's 'Global Competence' Framework, Britney Hunter

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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) proposes that improving students’ “multidimensional capacities” through ‘global competence’ education can result in a more ‘inclusive and sustainable’ world. The purpose of this study is to critically analyze OECD’s ‘global competence’ policy (2018) as incorporated in its Programme for International Student Assessment. This document analysis employs Bacchi and Goodwin’s (2016) poststructural policy analysis, “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” approach, which unearths the assumptions, presuppositions, and potential effects of policy through a solution-problem articulation. This study finds that OECD’s solution of ‘globally competent’ learners constructs a problem that suggests national education systems …

Intercultural Experience And Learning Among Eap International Students, Joan M. Plonski

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The trend toward greater enrolment of EFL speaking international students into institutions of higher education (IHE) in the West, is well documented. In response to this drive for greater levels of international participant, a newer trend has arisen: among these institutions more and more students who do not meet the language proficiency criteria are being accepted on the condition that they undergo and complete programs at specified language education institutions.

This shift in cross-border EFL student enrolment practice is responsible for the creation of adjunct language schools, where students who have been accepted to a given university may be educated …

How Do Program Recruiters At One Ontario University Interpret The Internationalization Strategic Plan?, Jing Qu

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This study examines how program recruiters interpret a university’s internationalization strategic plan in Ontario, and how they translate this policy initiative into Chinese international students’ recruiting at the graduate level. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the processes related to the internationalization of higher education in Canada, this study explores recruitment as one key aspect of the university’s internationalization efforts. A qualitative research approach was used in designing this study. The data was gathered from three Ontario universities’ internationalization policy initiatives and semi-structured interviews with recruiters from a research-intensive university in Ontario. The findings demonstrate significant implications for …

Social Transformation And Investment In Spanish Language Learning Through International Service Learning: A Case Study, Jennifer Kozak

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In the current era of globalization, universities strive to internationalize their curriculum. One popular method, is the addition of an international service learning (ISL) component to the curriculum. ISL programs focused on language learning often aspire to encourage social transformation as well as language competence. While this option is gaining popularity and has been the object of some research, the role of language in universities’ internationalization process remains under-researched, as does the role of ISL as a tool for language learning. This dissertation examines a week long ISL program involving a Canadian-Cuban university partnership. It is guided by the following …

Examining Chinese International Secondary School Students In Transnational Spaces: Becoming Flexible Citizens?, Xi Wu

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In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese international secondary school students have come to study in Canada. Upon arriving in their international context, their school and out-of-school lives are influenced by socio-economic, political and cultural forces circulating in and connecting across the home and host spaces of China and Canada. As the overarching frame, the study employs Ong’s (1999) notion of ‘flexible citizenship,’ examining the cultural logics mediating students’ lives and how they flexibly and not-so-flexibly engage in their learning and self-making in their transnational spaces.

This research is a qualitative ethnographic field study conducted in and around a …

The Doubleness Of International Double Degree Programs At Ontario Universities: Challenges And Prospects For Global Citizenship Education, Desire B. Yamutuale

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The Doubleness of International Double Degree Programs at Ontario Universities: Challenges and Prospects for Global Citizenship Education

This research explores transatlantic partnerships in higher education, specifically the international double degree programs (IDDPs) as strategic venues for fostering global citizenship at Ontario Universities. In fact, the advent of internationalization of higher education has compelled universities to connect with others around the world in the pursuit of world class status to remain competitive in attracting funds, academic talents and international students. IDDPs are partnerships between two or more universities located in different countries that allow for student mobility and academic collaboration. Students …

A Case Study Of Literacy Curricula In A Canadian Offshore School In China, Wanjing Li

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This single case study is embedded in a multiple case study conducted in Canadian offshore schools in China. In response to the scant literature on literacy curriculum in transnational education contexts, particularly in secondary schools, this study reports findings regarding literacy curricula implementation in a secondary Sino-Canadian school.

The theoretical tools of the study include theories on curriculum, multiliteracies, and multimodality. Data presented in this paper emerges from observations of 46 periods of Mandarin and English literacy classes, interviews with two Chinese and two foreign literacy teachers regarding curricula actualization, and related curriculum documents.

Findings relate how Chinese and Canadian …

How Do Teachers Challenge Neoliberalism Through Critical Pedagogy Within And Outside Of The Classroom?, Rezvan Shahsavari-Googhari

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This thesis uses the qualitative case study approach to investigate current strategies and skills four Ontario public secondary school teachers apply both within and outside of the classroom to enhance students’ critical consciousness. The focus is on teachers’ pedagogical work in the era of neoliberal restructuring in order to provide a rich account of how neoliberalism challenges and affects their teaching. Existing literature shows a crisis of identity and political agency among youth in many Western societies, characterized by individuals’ inability to think critically about social, political and economic issues, which is rooted in neoliberal education reforms. Adopting a critical …

How Do Educational Leaders In Small, Fragile, And Developing Countries Translate Their Understandings Of Student Learning And Achievement Into Leadership Practices? A Case-Study About Leadership In Haïtian Urban Schools, Carolyne Pierre Marie Verret

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Haïti is unique in many respects; full of contradictions and paradoxes. While beautiful in many regards, it is fraught with issues: political, economic, societal, environmental, cultural, health-related, and educational. The latter stands out, however, as education affects the quality of the country’s human capital, determining the quality of life of its citizens. Therefore, having competent people in leadership positions is critical especially within schools where they can impact students’ learning, development, and achievement (SL/A).

Aiming to describe the state of educational leadership in Haïtian schools to inform policy-makers of the lived-experiences of educational leaders (ELs), the objectives of this study …

Knowledge Production In International Research Collaboration: A Comparative Study Of Canadian And Colombian Research Networks, Clara I. Tascon

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Given the increasing interconnectivity in today’s globalized world, academics from different disciplines, countries, generations, and cultural backgrounds are urged to work together on common research projects that cross national boundaries. Producing knowledge in collaboration with other scholars internationally has the potential to create rich and groundbreaking research practices to understand complex phenomena. Thus, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of international research collaboration (IRC) among scholars and how this transnational initiative contributes to knowledge production. The theoretical framework of this study draws upon ‘post-foundational’ spatial approaches to inform the analysis of my findings. Post-foundational approaches engage with epistemological …

A Double Degree Program In International Communication: An Exemplary Case Of Global Citizenship, Zhe Wang

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This study applies David Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory and Lynette Schultz’s critical global citizenship framework to explore whether and how students’ experiences participating in an international double degree program (IDDP) in transnational communication shape them as global citizens. Fostering global citizenship has become a significant aim that is embedded in many post-secondary institutions’ documents. A qualitative case study was conducted by Skype-interviewing past participants who completed the IDDP in transnational communication. The findings indicate students recognize that the value of this double degree program has positive impacts on their perceptions of global citizenship. However, both Canadian students and Chinese …

The Relationship Between Federal Citizenship And Immigration Policies And The Internationalization Of Higher Education In Canada, Rashed Al-Haque

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Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a way to do Critical Policy Analysis (CPA), this instrumental case study explores the relationships between citizenship and immigration (CI) policies and the internationalization of Canadian higher education. By utilizing a critical-sociomaterial approach, the research exposes actors and actor-networks that are otherwise overlooked in these policy areas. Moreover, this lens underscores the impacts and consequences of policy and how the enrollment and/or exclusion of actors in actor-networks enables certain actors to exert control, power, and primacy over others.

While most research on internationalization identifies the academy as the site for internationalization policy enactment, this research …

Math Stories In Elementary Mathematics Education In China And North America, Bingqing Xu

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In our information- and technology-based society, mathematics education plays an increasingly important role in current world economic development. As the world biggest economies,ChinaandNorth Americahave accelerated the reform of mathematics education in recent years. One of the phenomena is that children’s literature has attracted great attention in the improvement of mathematics instruction and students’ learning for early childhood education. However, research conducted on math literature and the comparison of math literature inChinaand North America is limited, which points the necessity to consider the similarities and differences of math literature inChinaandNorth America. By comparing and contrasting the math stories in China and …

Saudi Women's Experiences Studying At Canadian Universities Through The King Abdullah Scholarship Program, Noor Abdulrhman Ahmed

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This study examines the experiences of Saudi women studying in Canada through the King Abdullah Scholarship program. Considering both the benefits and challenges that these women faced, this qualitative study highlights the push and pull factors (Mustapha, 2006) that Saudi women encounter when studying abroad. Data was gathered for this study by interviewing six Saudi women graduate students at one university in Canada. This study provides a greater understanding of the issues that Saudi women encounter when they choose to come to Canada to attend university, thereby helping other women who want to study abroad by preparing them for the …

International Student Mobility In Higher Education In China: Tensions Between Policies And Practices, Kang Chen

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Under globalization, the Internationalization of Higher Education (IHE) has intensified. International Student Mobility (ISM) as a key part of IHE has attracted more attention as well. China, traditionally an exporter of students, is becoming a popular host country for international students as well. By examining relevant policies and international students’ experiences, this study constructs a comprehensive portrait of ISM in China. Analyzing the ISM policy and student perspectives with attention to underlying ideologies of IHE (Stier, 2004) illuminates the tensions between the policies and practices. At the policy level, instrumentalism is the primary ideology driving the Chinese government and the …