International and Comparative Education Commons^™

Multi-Stakeholder Partnership In Teacher Education And Development, Linyuan Guo-Brennan, Carolyn Francis, Elizabeth Townsend, Michael Guo-Brennan

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

While there is a growing interest in offering international teaching practicums to pre-service teachers as an approach to developing teachers' global perspectives on education, however, understanding of the impact of such practice on the host communities is insufficient or absent. This study collected data from multiple sources and, using the Theory of Change framework, examined the impact of pre-service teachers' international practicum on the school and community development in Kenya. Through exploring the context of host communities, the perceptions of Kenyan educators, and the changes that have occurred in Kenyan schools and communities, this study revealed positive development changes in …

Book Review: Mitchell, R., Tracy-Ventura, N., & Mcmanus, K. (Eds.). (2015). Social Interaction, Identity And Language Learning During Residence Abroad., Roswita Dressler

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Social And Cultural Aspects Of Language Learning In Study Abroad, R Samuel K. Schirm

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This paper reviews Social and Cultural Aspects of Language Learning in Study Abroad, edited by Celeste Kinginger (2013). This collection of papers showcases modern study abroad research, particularly what Coleman describes as the "whole-person" approach, in which study abroad participants are studied as complex individuals rather than as members of a larger homogenous group of students studying abroad. While there is a slight focus on both American study abroad participants and on learners of French studying in France, despite Kinginger and Coleman advocating for including a broader range of participant home countries and languages studied in the volume's introductory chapters, …

Efl Learners’ Post-Sojourn Perceptions Of The Effects Of Study Abroad, Sandra Steinwidder

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This qualitative study investigated in what ways tertiary-level English foreign language (EFL) learners believed that they had changed following their study abroad. The participants were 12 Austrian EFL learners who had been exchange students in the UK or US. I conducted a cross-sectional study, grouping participants according to the duration of their stay abroad, as well as the period of time since they had returned to their home country. Comparisions were drawn between students who spent one semester, and those who spent two. I also investigated the differences displayed depending on how long a student has been back in their …

Interdisciplinary Study Abroad As Experiential Learning, Jean Wilson, Rachel Brain, Erik Brown, Leila Gaind, Kaila Radan, Julia Redmond

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Abstract

Although study abroad would appear to be an ideal context for the learning through doing and reflecting that constitutes experiential education, if it fails to be rigorously approached as experiential learning, it not only falls short of its potential, but also risks reinforcing rather than confounding consumerist assumptions and behaviours in education. Co-authored by five former academic exchange participants and their professor/program director (who had remained at the home university), the paper explores the need and various possibilities for programming that would pay more than lip service to the idea of international study as experiential learning. Facilitation of ongoing …

Maintaining The Japan Connection: The Impact Of Study Abroad On Japanese Language Learners’ Life Trajectories And Ongoing Interaction With Japanese Speakers, Rikki Campbell

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This article explores the post-study abroad life trajectories of learners of Japanese. Drawing upon data collected from eight interviewees, it presents the experiences of study abroad returnees’ ongoing engagement with Japan and Japanese speakers once they were removed from the study abroad environment. In particular, it focuses on the impact of study abroad on ongoing studies and career trajectory, and examines ongoing interaction with Japanese speakers throughout these key life stages. Through the lens of possible selves theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986), this study also examines how the informants’ ongoing engagement with the target language is reflected in …

The Post-Sojourn In Study Abroad Research—Another Frontier, John L. Plews

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

International Comparison Of Media Usage Among University Students, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Gerd Gidion

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

A survey on media usage was conducted at Western University, followed by similar surveys in Germany, Spain and Thailand. It seems that the usage of IT-devices is more popular in Thailand and Germany than in Canada. The use of social network related applications in academia seems to be more common in Thailand compared to Canada and Germany. The competitiveness of the Internet-based market of academic education might be more intensive in Canada because of the proximity of the U.S. market. An international comparison is, nevertheless, problematic, because the circumstances are really diverse and in constant change. Future plans involve conducting …

Trends In Students Media Usage, Gerd Gidion, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Michael Grosch, Ken Meadow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Trends in media usage by students can affect the way they learn. Students demand the use of technology, thus institutions and instructors should meet students’ requests. This paper describes the results of a survey where drivers in the use of media show continuously increasing or decreasing values from the first to the fourth year of study experience at the Western University, Canada, highlighting trends in the usage of new and traditional media in higher education by students. The survey was used to gather data on students’ media usage habits and user satisfaction from first to fourth year of study and …

Reviving The Muslim Tradition Of Dialogue: A Look At A Rich History Of Educational Theory And Institutions In Pre-Modern And Modern Times, Momina Afridi

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This paper aims to generate a debate within Muslim scholarship and comparative educators to engage in analysing both the institutions and the philosophy of education in Islam historically, to understand its present challenges and to create an environment conducive to dialogue between various civilizations and educational systems. At present Muslim parents, teachers and students in contemporary educational systems face a big challenge. On one hand, a modified system of Western education is likely to leave Muslim children exposed to a set of an underlying set of secular values and assumptions which are alien to the spirit of Islam, but on …

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 …

Carrying On With Wayward Sons, Erika Simpson, Henrik Lagerlund

Political Science Publications

With their brains not maturing until their mid-20s, it's time to use a different approach to life and learning with our young men.

Intercultural Teaching Competence In The Disciplines: Teaching Strategies For Intercultural Learning, Nanda Dimitrov, Aisha Haque

Centre for Teaching and Learning Publications

As universities continue to internationalize their curricula and recruit a growing number of international students, instructors facilitate learning in increasingly diverse classrooms. This chapter explores the application of Intercultural Teaching Competence (ITC) by faculty members across the disciplines at a large Canadian research university. Based on focus group interviews with instructors in eighteen disciplines, it provides varied and concrete examples of how instructors mobilize intercultural teaching competence to navigate diverse classrooms, promote perspective-taking and global learning goals among students, practice culturally relevant teaching, and validate different ways of knowing and communicating among students through assessment practices. Placing disciplines at the …

Questioning The Global Scaling Up Of Low-Fee Private Schooling: The Nexus Between Business, Philanthropy And Ppps, Prachi Srivastava

Education Publications

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Revisiting The Great White North? Reframing Whiteness, Privilege, And Identity In Education, Christina Parker

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

The Centrality Of Participant Voice In Illuminating The Gender Regime In Education Research Using A Human Capabilities Analysis, Catherine Vanner

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

The human capabilities approach distinguishes between capabilities (a person’s ability to choose what she wants to do/be) and functionings (actually doing/being what she wants). When used to analyze gender equality in education, it draws attention to the nature of education and the extent to which it is equally empowering for girls and boys. This research synthesis examines the use of the human capabilities approach as an analytical framework for gender and education research. The approach’s emphasis on participant voice as a means of articulating what is valued in education highlights contradictions and similarities within a given community and attends to …

‘Successful’ Alternative Education: Still Reproducing Inequalities? The Case Of The Community School Program In Egypt, Lucy El-Sherif, Sarfaroz Niyozov

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Community schools are an alternative form of education that center on partnerships between the community and/or the state, aid organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The Community School Program (CSP) in Egypt sparked a social movement in education in that country, with disparate actors all coalescing around the CSP as an alternative, empowering model of education. This study examined the relationship between the CSP and the dynamics that formed, shaped and co-opted it through in-depth interviews and observations. Our analysis examined the program’s processes and legacies on its former students. The study found that critical factors in the program’s success were its …

Negotiating Tesol Discourses And Efl Teaching Contexts In China: Identities And Practices Of International Graduates Of A Tesol Program, Roumiana Ilieva, Aojun Li, Wanjun Li

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This article reports on a study of the material effects of the discourses circulating in a TESOL program housed in a Canadian university on the professional identities and practices that international graduates of the program negotiate and develop in their local professional contexts in China. The principal researcher and two of the study participants discuss pedagogical values salient among program graduates and explore complexities accompanying professional identity negotiation. The article offers recommendations for TESOL programs in affording EFL teachers the possibility to construct hybrid professional identities and dwell comfortably in a “third space” as educational practitioners in a globalized world.

Exploring The Concepts Of Traditional Inuit Leadership And Effective School Leadership In Nunavut (Canada), Jane P. Preston, Tim R. Claypool, William Rowluck, Brenda Green

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

The purpose of this paper is to document how educators living in Nunavut communities describe traditional Inuit leadership and effective school leadership. The data for this qualitative study were 24 semi-structured interviews, involving 14 teachers, vice-principals, and principals from Nunavut. Findings revealed that traditional Inuit leadership was about promoting the personal leadership skills, interests, and/or abilities of each community member, and it often involved Elders who fostered the linguistic, social, cultural, and spiritual wellness of students and school staff. Participants depicted an effective school leader to be someone who promoted teamwork. Also, participants indicated that effective school leaders were community …

Mentoring Teachers For Critical Global Consciousness: Infusing Solidarity In International Service Learning, Michael W. O'Sullivan, Ewelina K. Niemczyk

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This study examines the little-studied phenomenon of teacher mentoring for global consciousness. It reviews the relationship between secondary school teachers participating in an international service-learning (ISL) project in Nicaragua and an NGO, Canadian Youth Abroad (CYA). CYA facilitates short, but intensive, ISL experiences. The teachers work for a publicly funded Catholic district school board in Ontario, Canada. Teachers who travel to Nicaragua with the students are mentored and accompanied by more experienced peers - "veteran" CYA/ISL teacher-participants. The mentoring process seeks to impart the CYA’s particular transformative values to the new teacher-participants and through them, to their students. These values …

Encounters With Discomfort: How Do Young Canadians Understand (Their) Privilege And (Others') Poverty In The Context Of An International Volunteer Experience?, Kaylan C. Schwarz

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This qualitative case study explores how a group of Canadian youth negotiated their encounters with others’ poverty and their own privilege in the context of a short-term international volunteer experience in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through a thematic analysis of retrospective narrative interviews – informed by whiteness studies – this article describes participants’ experiences of discomfort arising from 1) their encounters with material poverty and 2) their ability to maintain their own privilege(s) overseas. Collectively, the data illuminate the various defensive strategies and explanatory frameworks that young people might employ when confronted with destabilizing information in unfamiliar international settings.

Diagnostic Des Conceptions En Sciences Susceptibles D’Expliquer Les Différences De Performances À Une Évaluation Internationale Entre Le Québec Et Le Maroc, Guy Norbert Loubaki, Patrice Potvin, Lalla Rabia Hijazi, Jesùs Vàzquèz-Abad

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Cet article présente un aperçu des résultats d'une étude doctorale qui s’inscrit dans une perspective de recherche d’explications des différences de performance à une évaluation internationale pour des sujets habitants des contextes géographiques où les habitudes de vie diffèrent considérablement.

Cette étude poursuit l’objectif de mieux comprendre et d’expliquer les différences de performance réalisées par des jeunes marocains et québécois de 15 ans dans une évaluation internationale combinant les questions en sciences des enquêtes TEIMS 2007 et PISA 2006.

Les résultats de cette étude permettront éventuellement de proposer des hypothèses de recherche portant sur l’équité dans l’explication des différences de …

Claiming To Be Global: An Exploration Of Ethical, Political, And Justice Questions, Lynette Shultz

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

International Students As ‘Ideal Immigrants’ In Canada: A Disconnect Between Policy Makers’ Assumptions And The Lived Experiences Of International Students, Colin Scott, Saba Safdar, Roopa Desai Trilokekar, Amira El Masri

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Recent policy changes in Canada highlight the strategic role International Students (IS) in the country’s economic development and future prosperity. With the release of Canada’s first international education strategy, the federal government has intimately tied international education to the domestic economy by attracting and retaining skilled workers to prepare Canada for the global market place. IS are particularly desirable candidates for permanent residency because their Canadian credentials, proficiency in at least one official language, and their relevant Canadian work experience is assumed to allow them to integrate more easily into the labour force upon graduation. Through 11 focus groups with …

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 …

La Formation Initiale Des Enseignants Au Québec Et En Finlande : Une Étude Comparative, Adriana Morales Perlaza, Maurice Tardif

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Initiée dans les années 1980 aux États-Unis, la professionnalisation de l’enseignement constitue aujourd’hui un mouvement international (OCDE, 2005). Comment a-t-elle marqué les systèmes de formation initiale des enseignants finlandais et québécois? En Finlande, la formation initiale dure 5 ans, tandis qu’au Québec, elle est de 4 ans après deux années d’études postsecondaires au cégep. Dans les deux contextes, les enseignants ont donc 17 ans de scolarité totale. Mais au-delà de cette durée commune, qu’elles sont les similitudes et différences spécifiques entre les programmes de formation des enseignants en Finlande et au Québec? Afin de répondre à ces questions, cette recherche …

Book Review, Merli Tamtik

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The First Year International Students At A Canadian University: Challenges And Experiences With Social Integration, George Zhou, Zuochen Zhang

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

An increasing number of international students come to Canada for their higher education. As a unique group on Canadian campuses, international students deserve our attention so that we can understand their special needs. Using Tinto’s retention model as a theoretical framework, this study investigates the experiences of the first year international students at a Canadian university. It pays special attention to the challenges these students face in the process of their social integration into the new learning and living environment. Data were collected through surveys and focus groups. Data analysis reveals a comprehensive picture of international students’ socialization patterns and …

I Came, But I’M Lost: Learning Stories Of Three Chinese International Students In Canada, Zhihua (Olivia) Zhang, Kumari Beck Dr.

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Abstract

The number of international students arriving in Canada is increasing annually, with students from China accounting for the highest number. Grounded in sociocultural theories of second language learning, identity, investment and Community of Practice (CoP), this paper presents selected findings from a narrative study investigating the experiences of Chinese international students preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests in Canada. Based on their own accounts of English learning before and after coming to Vancouver, this paper finds that the participants recognized the capital and power of English and foreign qualifications, and regarded international education as a …

Graduate Program Practices At Western University, Gloria J. Leckie

Purple Guides

Based on interviews with graduate chairs and faculty, the guide catalogues practices in graduate education, from recruitment through coursework, comprehensive exams, thesis proposals, to placement and tracking.