International and Comparative Education Commons^™

Learning Camp, Language Of Instruction, And Education Outcomes: Evidence From A Field Experiment In Malawi, Hyuncheol Bryant. Kim, Kim

Research Collection School Of Economics

We conducted a randomized experiment to study the impacts of a summer learning camp and the language of instruction on education outcomes. The program, covering social studies and mathematics, provided additional high-quality learning time for 4th and 5th graders in Malawi. The program significantly increased test scores in social studies and mathematics (0.24–0.36 standard deviations). We find suggestive evidence that the impact on test scores in social studies was greater for students instructed in Chichewa, the local language, than for those instructed in English. However, we find no such evidence of differential impacts on test scores in mathematics by the …

Understanding And Experiencing American Identity During A Single-Semester Study Abroad Program In London, Polly Penter

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

The United States government is actively promoting and seeking to increase the number of Americans who study abroad. While institutions promise students intercultural development, Dolby (2007) asserts that “critical reflection on national identity is both obtainable and an important step toward global citizenship” (p. 141). An understanding of how students understand and experience their national (American) identity is therefore imperative for Study Abroad providers to develop effective programming. This qualitative study, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, attempts to gain such an understanding. Drawing on Mezirow’s theory of Transformative Learning, it finds that those who experience Mezirow’s “disorienting dilemma” are not necessarily …

Introduction: 17(3) Emerging Scholar Summaries 2025, Rosalind Latiner Raby

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Highlighting Lgbtq+ International Students Activism Via Participatory Theatre, Fatemeh Gharibi

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This research explores the political activism of LGBTQ+ international students (LGBTQ+ IS) in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada. Building on critical scholarship in research with international students and drawing from queer, feminist, and decolonial frameworks, the study aims to create a space for collective voices and respond to the current political climate of crackdowns on free speech and rising anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments. The study employs participatory theatre to understand LGBTQ+ IS’s activist practices in relation to their intersecting identities. The production may contribute to raising public awareness about the challenges faced by these students and their leadership in …

Intercultural Interactions And Transcultural Competence In The Internationalized Classroom: A Mixed-Method Case Study, Andreana Pastena

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This study explores the relationship between intercultural interactions and the development of Transcultural Competence among first-year local and international undergraduates in a multi-dimensionally internationalized classroom at a university in Catalonia, Spain. Transcultural Competence accounts for cognitive, affective, linguistic, and identity dimensions within intercultural settings. It adopts a mixed-method approach, including three Transcultural Competence questionnaires, a contact generator, and individual interviews. Findings reveal that while students initially self-reported high levels of Transcultural Competence, they preferred interactions with classmates with a similar linguistic and cultural background. However, close intercultural friendships positively influenced Transcultural Competence and four patterns of the interaction between these …

Conflicts Teaching About Conflicts: How Jewish Educators Engage With Israel-Palestine, Nancy Sheftel-Gomes

Doctoral Dissertations

Dissertation Abstract

Conflicts Teaching About Conflicts: How Jewish Educators Engage with Israel-Palestine

Traditionally, Jewish teachers in Jewish supplementary school programs in the United States have erased the history of Palestinians when teaching about the founding of the State of Israel. Since Jewish students have been taught a single-sided story that ignores the injustices perpetrated against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, they now feel betrayed by their Jewish education. The purpose of this study was to learn how the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, impacted Jewish teachers as well as their students, classrooms, and communities during the subsequent …

Echoes In Autoethnography: A Reflexive Exploration Of Higher Education Service-Learning By A Caribbean Practitioner, Shilohna K. Phillanders

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Service-learning is a useful pedagogical tool in higher education which encourages experiential learning; empowering students to become active participants in their own learning progress. While existing literature predominantly focuses on student and community outcomes, there's a notable gap in the literature addressing topics related to the practitioner, including their personal development. This autoethnographical study employs the iterative reflection process supported by the theory of critical pedagogy to reflect on service-learning from a Caribbean viewpoint. Within comparative and international higher education, this study serves to build scholarly discussions, providing diversity in the voices and contexts for researchers interested in understanding varied …

Innovating Higher Education - A Case Study Of Challenger Universities In Africa, Andrea Lane

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 seeks to provide accessible and affordable higher education by 2030. While traditional universities in Africa evolve slowly to meet this goal, challenger universities are emerging to disrupt higher education. Examining the innovation practices of two of these institutions, this case study identifies four key practices: financial innovation, the Hub and Spoke model, competency-based online education, and the application of emerging technologies. Drawing on innovation management and higher education theories, the study draws new insights into how challenger universities address Africa’s unique challenges.

Comparative Data Science Education Policy And Management: United States And Europe, Torbet Mcneil

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This study examines what “good” curricula and administration for undergraduate data science are by surveying and interviewing U.S. and European data science educators and administrators. Many U.S. and European higher education institutions have embraced data science education with a kind of inertial sensibility, i.e., it is inevitable that data science education needs to be offered to students. Information and data affect so many areas of knowledge that higher education administrators feel they must assure students are “ready” for the world they are inheriting. Academic capitalism and isomorphism theories help elucidate social and market forces influencing higher education decision-making. Topics to …

Ph.D. Productions And Employment Prospects In Zimbabwe; Imperative From Education 5.0 Heritage-Based Education System, Kudakwashe Muchena, Tendai C. Muhle

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

The production of PhDs has been a topical issue for debate about the need for such a qualification as a foundation for development. Literature is awash with arguments that support the need for a Ph.D. as a development thrust in many countries. In most countries in the West and Europe, their developmental thrust has been anchored on the production and employability of Ph.D. holders. Although this has been the case elsewhere, the same may not be accurate in Africa, particularly Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe engaged in an ambitious project called Education 5.0 Heritage-Based Education System as an impetus to develop the country …

Embedding Internationalization At Home – What Do Irish Heis Need?, Nidhi Piplani-Kapur, Don O'Neill, Helen Murphy, Suzanne Denieffe

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

In Irish higher education, only four percent of learners have benefited from mobility opportunities. Whilst mobility continues to be accessible to a limited few, Irish higher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly realize the need to engage in 'Internationalization at home (IaH)' to provide international experiences to all learners. However, as evident from the literature review, IaH has been underdeveloped and understudied to date in the Irish context. Grounded in organizational and curriculum design and change management theories, this study critiques the development of IaH and suggests strategies to embed a culture of IaH in Irish HEIs. It adopts a constructivist-interpretivist methodology …

The Perceptions Of Senior International Officers On Internationalization Strategies At Research Universities, Iyonka M. Strawn-Valcy

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This dissertation utilized semi-structured interviews with 15 Senior International Officers at U.S. research universities to interrogate three institutional issues: 1) motivations for internationalization, 2) strategies for internationalization, and 3) leadership for internationalization. Through inductive data analysis, the first finding uses globalization theory to explore how SIOs navigate the tension between global collaboration and competition, serving as both mission stewards and strategic advisors within research universities. The second finding utilizes contingency theory to depict how internationalization is a driver of mobility, cross-cultural learning, and global integration, yet often disrupts institutional norms, introduces unfamiliar ideas, and challenges the status quo. The third …

“Even If I’M An International Student, I Have A Voice And I Should Make A Stand”: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into International Students’ Development Of Critical Agency In U.S. Higher Education, Sarang Kim

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

International students’ experiences with race and racism in U.S. higher education have received increasing scholarly attention. However, few empirical studies explore how these students resist and develop critical agency in response to systemic racism. This represents a significant gap, as international students can serve as important transnational allies in racial and social justice movements both in the U.S. and globally. To address this gap, this dissertation employs a phenomenological approach to examine the development of critical agency among 19 international students of color in the U.S. higher education. This study contributes to the broader discourse in Comparative and International …

Decolonizing Links Between International Scholarships And Peace Insights From A Critical Realist Study In Palestine, Anas N. Almassri

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

In this article, I summarize my doctoral research of the potential contribution of international graduate scholarships to peace in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). The research challenges predominant explanations of scholarships' contribution to peace on account of advancing human and global capitals and facilitating Western-style liberal-democratic socialization. Within a critical realist paradigm, interview and documentary data from 32 Palestinian scholarship alumni were analyzed in a three-stage process. First, the descriptive findings show that the participants perceive significant gains from scholarships in their academic, career, and multidimensional identity development. Second, the inferential findings demonstrate that these gains represent increased effective ability …

Precarious Privilege: Exploring The Intersection Of White Teacher Habitus And Social Justice In International Schools, Kevin L. Workman

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the underresearched phenomenon of White teacher allyship within an emergent diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) movement in international schools. Gaining momentum in 2020 as a digital, postcolonial counterstory, the movement exposed structural inequities and racism across the international school ecosystem. Applying an antiracist reading of Bourdieu’s (1977) theory of practice, the study analyzes how White teachers (n = 8) from diverse international contexts understand, experience, and assess their participation in DEIJ activities. Thematic analysis of interview data corroborated the digital voices, explicitly identifying White supremacy as a key force shaping the field’s doxa. The study …

Leading And Learning From Inside Out: Insights From Meditative Inquiry, Jody L. Rebek

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This article explores our modern world and our role in shaping collective experiences. By our thoughts, choices and behaviours (our character), we influence our shared reality. Higher education has an imperative responsibility to engage students ethically and develop their character. I offer a teaching metaphor and case study to meaningfully develop students’ self-awareness of character via an undergraduate leadership course. I employed the ‘seed’ metaphor to illustrate how nurturing students’ self-awareness and agency mirrors the growth of a seed within a carefully cultivated ecosystem. Each contemplative practice (character development) intertwined with leadership content (competence and confidence), serves as essential nourishment, …

Reflections Of Chinese International Postgraduates’ Conceptualisation Of Critical Thinking In A Uk University, Luman Zhou

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Some literature often highlights Chinese international students’ challenges in conceptualising critical thinking, contributing to a partial and stereotypical representation of them as deficient (Lomer & Mittelmeier, 2021; Moosavi, 2022). There is limited research on how Chinese international students conceptualise and develop their CT over time. The study aims to explore Chinese international students’ conceptualisation, development, and application of critical thinking at the master’s level at a UK university over time. Nineteen participants in the MA International Education program at a UK university are taken as an example. The participants are interviewed in three rounds, using their drawings and draft assignments …

Exploration Of Language And Identities Among Study Abroad Participants In Non-Anglophone Context: Experience Of Asian International Students Studying Abroad In Belgium, Long Yat Ding

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This Research Summary examines the study abroad experiences of Asian international students who study in non-anglophone Belgium. This research investigates how the experiences of mobility programme participants impact individual identity, with a focus on national, regional, and global citizenship identity. Eighteen qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews were implemented. Mixed lived experiences and reactions towards national, regional and global identity after participation in mobility programmes were identified. Findings showcase non-anglophone European Higher Education and the study abroad experience of non-anglophone speakers from Asia in the post-COVID-19 era. The Research Summary provides a critical snapshot of Asian International students’ lived experience, especially under …

Experiencing Race, Racism And Racialization In Transnational Contexts: Racial Literacies Of First-Year International Asian Students., Nasiba Norova

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This research focused on exploring the racial literacies of first-year international East Asian (EA) students, specifically examining their perceptions of and experiences with race, racism, and racialized groups in various social and educational contexts in both their home countries and the United States. The study used critical ethnography to examine the perspectives of EA international students and composition faculty. It involved multiple semi-structured interviews, journal entries, racial literacy autobiographies, site document analysis, and class observations to understand how students perceived exposure to race, racism, and racialized groups and how faculty viewed the importance of racial education for international students in …

Digital Transformation In Jamaica's Education Sector, Grace Willis

Capstone Collection

Digital transformation in Jamaica’s education sector, significantly spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, represented a seismic shift on this small Caribbean island I call home. This transformation was central to national education reform and involved multiple projects aimed at modernizing educational delivery, infrastructure, and the supporting ecosystem. This study explored the multifaceted implications of these initiatives through qualitative research conducted with ten key stakeholders, complemented by a review of publicly available materials. Interviewees included school administrators, Information Technology (IT) teachers, funding sponsors, representatives from national education bodies, and international development agencies engaged in domestic strategic efforts. Participants were recruited through cold …