I found the portion of internationalization at home (IaH) particularly interesting. European Education in the World singled this out as one of the three key institutional priorities of higher education in Europe and I think it should also be a priority of higher education in the United States. For me, I believe this task starts with addressing the “curricular issues” – colleges and universities must work with faculty to infuse global content and viewpoints into their everyday curriculum, no matter which academic subject they teach. In order for this to happen, specific training programs for faculty need to be implemented as well, so they can be prepared to educate our students from a global perspective. While the example in the United States provided in the article, addresses the Department of Educations initiative to set up foreign language centers throughout the US, there is way more we can be doing to internationalize our college campuses in particular. As mentioned in this 2013 Institute of International Education http://www.iie.org/Blog/2013/April/What-Is-The-Next-Big-Thing-in-International-Education, one program IIE funded from 2011-2015 was through a partnership with Hilton HHonors called the Teacher Treks Program, where they sent primary and secondary level teachers abroad for 2-3 weeks to experience the culture and the subject they teach first hand. These teachers than come back with a global perspective they can then instill in their young students. I think a program like this can be adapted to fit the higher education realm. In addition, as partnerships between foreign universities grow, professors teaching abroad and increases in mobility of both students and faculty through partnerships and educational exchange programs would ideally grow as well. I enjoyed reading about Germany’s internationalization policies, specifically where they outline that “staff at all levels speak ‘at least’ English, participate in intercultural training courses, and become acquainted with the practices of higher education institutions around the world.” (p.44).
With support from the government agencies, like the European Commission’s Europe 2020 strategy, it seems education has taken a priority in their strategy. Canada, Finland, Malaysia and the United Kingdom have launched International Education Strategies as well. Support like this, is hopefully going to push these policies and programs forward at a faster rate and hopefully interest will not wane, due to these publicly supported initiatives.
Hello
For my post I also took some time out to focus on the section dealing with internationalization at home (IaH), I believe that this is an area that higher education institutions can bring internationalization to the non-mobile student. The majority of students will not get the opportunity to study abroad, bringing a global perspective to their subject material will allow them the opportunity to gain insightful information. Having professor travel abroad so they can incorporate what they see and learn into their curriculum is a great idea. My concern is that any big changes to how professors teach or what they are teaching is often meant with resistance. It will be important to incorporate the faculty with any changes the administration wants to make to the curriculum to incorporate internationalization.
Good Morning,
I definitely agree with the resistance from faculty! I currently work in the student affairs side and there are always issues when collaborating with academic affairs and attempting to implement any changes. I’m not sure if this is wrong to say, but I will say it anyway! It seems like the student affairs side is always looking for new and innovative ways to change the student experience, while the academic affairs side is more stuck in their old ways.
Christie
Hello,
I touched on this as well in my post. Similar to what Jonelle mentioned above, to really embody internationalization at home at full capacity, faculty AND administrators would be expected to be well versed in other cultures. Therefore, when hiring, Human Resources should choose an employee who has traveled and lived extensively (6months to a year) in another country. He/She should know at least two or three languages and demonstrate the ability to be knowledgeable of the customs and values of the other country. A new curriculum, including the foreign language requirement, would have to be developed that includes videos, staying afloat on current events and some form of test would have to be administered that encompasses the sought after competencies. Although a new international curriculum should be enforced at all institutions, I fear that the need to offer professional development (study abroad opportunities) for current faculty and administrators may be too costly to attain. Plus, agreeing on what constitutes as a significant competency equally across all institutions is highly unlikely (As we saw last semester within the Ed policy course, all states had reservations on different policies).
Adia
It seems like language ends up becoming a popular component of internationalization at home. If learning a foreign language was promoted more extensively, people would have better opportunities to explore and discover the world outside their country. This is without a doubt an important aspect of IaH, but still, it is just one. Beyond language, students need to be exposed to other parts of a culture- food, social conduct, religion, traditions, etc. Sure, some of that can be ascertained from a book or lecture, but it would not be an immersive experience. Events, guest speakers, or even more experienced professors would be a good start. I say all of this because of disparate experiences at two colleges. At one college, I enrolled in a medieval Japanese history class that was taught by a professor who specialized in ancient Roman and Greek civilization. He was just teaching the class on a whim. This disturbed me. At my other college, my Australian history was taught by an Australian, my Jewish Studies class was taught by a Rabbi, and my modern Chinese history class was taught by a man from China whose father worked under Mao Zedong. Of course, just because a person is from a particular region does not make him or her an expert, but it allowed the students in the class to feel as if there was more of a connection to the subject matter. I believe that this contributed to a sense of internationalization. Perhaps it did not prepare me as much as learning a new language would, but it did expose me to new cultures and perspectives regardless.
Hi Ben,
I completely agree!! I sort of mentioned in my post that I don’t believe teaching foreign language is “good enough” as an internationalization strategy. Experiencing different cultures and perspectives is way more eye opening than just learning another language. You are so lucky to have the experiences you had at that 2nd university and it seems like you and the other students in the class really embraced it and truly felt the internationalization piece on your home campus.
Christie
So in my personal experience with learning a foreign language, the way the teacher teaches really matters. When I learned Spanish, it was very language-oriented, meaning the focus was solely on learning to speak the language and not so much about the culture. But when I learned Japanese later on, my teacher instilled the idea that when you entered her classroom, you have entered a Japanese school classroom. We not only learned about the language, but also about the customs and traditions and the nuances that make the Japanese language the way it is. Despite having learned the same amount of each language (only completed the beginner-level of both languages), I am much more confident with my use of the Japanese language. And even though I may have forgotten some of the vocabulary and grammar I learned, I still remember the customs and non-verbal communication nuances that Japanese people follow.
It’s safe to say that experience does matter, but also how the professor or teacher plans to incorporate that into the curriculum to increase exposure of the students.
Hi Victoria,
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I think that is such a valuable point, we should not be just taught about the specific language, but also about how culture has influence that language and why it is the way it is. You feeling more connected to the Japanese culture shows this teachers technique was very effective in connecting you to the culture AND the language.
Christie