Higher Education Commons^™

Building Global Skills: Broader Concepts Of Internationalization In An Ontario College, Mariam Raza

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The Canadian federal government, national associations, and internationalization scholars have identified the need and demand for Canadian students to acquire global skills and competencies during their post-secondary education. Opportunities to acquire global skills can be offered through a wide variety of global engagement programs, such as study-abroad exchange programs, faculty-led excursions abroad, and other programs that allow students to interact with the global world. However, these programs are costly and do not consider the significant financial resources students require to participate in such activities. Most at-home students are left out of global engagement programming and therefore do not have the …

Better Together: Fostering Student-Level Intercultural Competence Through Collaborative Online International Learning (Coil) And A Collaboratively Created Assessment Tool, Wes Armstrong

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Many Japanese universities have been undergoing processes of internationalization to mitigate demographic realities that conspire against robust student enrolments. These internationalization initiatives often attract students from other Confucian-based contexts who are expected to move away from their homeland and fully integrate into an unfamiliar, Japanese environment. Resultantly, international student needs are often camouflaged by cultural similarities that favour group harmony and collectivism over more equitable approaches to learning. Therefore, this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to serve student needs by fostering the development of intercultural competencies through a pilot collaborative online international learning (COIL) project open to all students, and …

The Internationalization Of The Student Body At Oceans College, Canada – An Appreciative Inquiry And Shared Leadership Approach To Change, Ian H. Macleod

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses a problem of practice (PoP) at Oceans College (a pseudonym), a multilocation, panprovincial community college. Oceans College currently focuses on recruiting, admitting, and graduating domestic, in-province students. The number of international students, however, is growing. Currently there are no formal processes at the College for international students, unlike at the other postsecondary institutions in the province which actively recruit and enroll international students. The PoP is the lack of readiness at Oceans College to cope with the significant enrollment of international students. Different leadership theories were examined to develop this OIP, and appreciative inquiry …

University-Wide Internationalization Of Curriculum: An Organizational Improvement Plan, Ayesha Mushtaq Ms

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

In the past few decades, higher education institutions have witnessed a greater interest in the way international perspectives including political, social, cultural, economic and technological perspectives impact graduates’ global competency. The rationale behind this view is to develop a more relevant understanding in graduates of global cultures, global knowledges, and global problems so that they are better prepared for the world of work that awaits them outside the university campus, regionally or internationally. This OIP problematizes the lack of international perspectives in curriculum and proposes a university-wide solution to incorporate internationalization of curriculum. It draws from the theoretical concepts of …

Advancing Employee Engagement With Internationalization Through Networked Leadership Approaches At A Canadian Community College, Inga Wheeler

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This organizational improvement plan, undergirded by social network theory, addresses the lack of engagement by many organizational members with an ambitious internationalization goal at Sky College (a pseudonym). The institutional climate is one in which day-to-day challenges prevail and motives for internationalization are questioned. Drawing on system and adaptive leadership, and within the functionalist paradigm, the case is made for advancing 4 factors to increase engagement with internationalization: a shared vision and understanding of internationalization, improving internal communication systems, fostering knowledge creation and sharing, and increasing connections in the network. The proposed solution is a 12-month series of focus on …

Implementing Internationalization In Ontario In A Public-Private Partnership, Junie Facey

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

The goal of Canada’s International Education Strategy: Harnessing our Knowledge Advantage to Drive Innovation and Prosperity (Global Affairs Canada, 2014) is to target the best and brightest international students to study in the country’s higher education institutions, mutually benefiting the student and the country’s economy. However, internationalization has created a new reality, with students graduating ill-equipped for the global society and a demand for approaches that embrace the complexities of diversity and changing environments (Dailey-Hebert & Dennis, 2015). Absent from the internationalization agenda are the considerations of impact on students and what they need in an organization’s culture to …

Creating Sustainable Support Systems For The Cultural Integration Of International Students At A Medium Size Ontario University, Muzi Li

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This OIP investigates the lack of cultural integration and support for international students at Medium-Size Ontario University (MSOU). The support for cultural integration of the international students at MSOU is inadequate and international students are facing social, emotional and academic challenges as they are not provided with the needed assistance to acclimatize to Western culture. Three potential solutions to address the PoP are demonstrated and evaluated. The chosen solution of implementing extended orientation and workshops is inspected in detail. Transformational Leadership and Confucianism are examined to ensure their relevancy and appropriateness to address this PoP and OIP and connected to …

Reflections On Symmetries And Asymmetries In The Internationalization Of Higher Education In Brazil And Canada, Vanessa Andreotti, Elisa S. Thiago, Sharon Stein

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

In this article we reflect on how internationalization is articulated in different ways within the context of a relatively new global educational credentials export industry (GEEI). This industry emerged largely as a response to decreased public funding of higher education in specific 'education export' countries. We take Canada as an example of one of these countries, to illustrate how the marketization of internationalization in higher education is reproduced and contested within that context. We contrast how internationalization is articulated in Canada with the context of internationalization in Brazil. We offer the case of a Brazilian university - UNILA, the Federal …

The Enactment Of Academic Language Policy In The International University: A Mixed-Methods Investigation, Le Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The existing literature on international education in relation to language policy has suggested that internationalizing higher education (HE) does not ensure interculturality (Bash, 2009; Durant & Shepherd, 2009; Jenkins, 2014; Seidlhofer, 2011); the potential relationship between the internationalization of HE and language remains unclear (Jenkins, 2014; Meyer, Gekeler, Manger, & Urank, 2012; Saarinen, 2012). This study responds to the timely question regarding what kind of language policy can meet the needs of international students in an increasingly globalized academic culture (Jenkins, 2014) by adding a Canadian voice to the debate and featuring the changing sociolinguistic realities in internationalized Canadian HE. …

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

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

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 …

Towards Different Conversations About The Internationalization Of Higher Education, Sharon Stein, Vanessa Andreotti, Judy Bruce, Rene Suša

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

As institutional commitments to internationalize higher education continue to grow, so too does the need to critically consider both the intended purposes and actual outcomes of the programs and policies that result. In particular, there is a risk that internationalization efforts may contribute to the reproduction of harmful historical and ongoing global patterns of educational engagement. In this paper we explore these issues by offering a social cartography of four possible articulations of internationalization, and considering their relation to an often-unacknowledged global imaginary, which presumes a colonial hierarchy of humanity. We also address the practical and pedagogical possibilities and limitations …

The Processes Of Designing And Implementing Globally Networked Learning Environments And Their Implications On College Instructors’ Professional Learning: The Case Of Québec Cégeps, Olivier Bégin-Caouette, Yishin Khoo, Momina Afridi

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Abstract

This study describes the design and implementation processes of globally networked learning environments (GNLEs) in a college environment and discusses how these processes may contribute to instructors' professional learning. A thematic analysis was conducted on five interviews with instructors working in Quebec general and vocational colleges (CEGEPs). The design and implementation processes were mapped out using Fretchling's (2007) logic modeling basic components. Findings suggest that GNLEs in a college context take the form of joint lectures or joint activities. Instructors reported that designing and teaching within a GNLE had led to pedagogical, intercultural and technology-related learning; and that learning …