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Journal of Studies in International Education Summer 2001 Leask / Internationalizing University Curricula
Enrollments of international students in Australian universities have grown dramatically since the full-fee paying overseas student program began 10 years ago. Australian universities today provide courses to more than 85,000 overseas students (Hamilton, 1998; IDP Education Australia, 1999). This national growth has been mirrored at the University of South Australia, where the number of full-fee paying overseas students has grown from 2% of total enrolments in 1991 to 10% of total enrolments in 1998. The growth in numbers of international students studying in higher education institutions in Australia has been seen as a significant part of the internationalization process (Knight & de Wit, 1997, p. 39). However, the changes to the cultural profile of the student population have raised educational issues and challenges for academic staff as they strive to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse group of students (Biggs, 1997). Many of these issues are not easily resolved. They include cross-cultural communication issues, learning support,
Journal of Studies in International Education, Vol. 5 No. 2, Summer 2001 100-115 2001 Association for Studies in International Education
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and the provision of courses that are international and relevant to the needs of all student groups. This article is a case study of how the University of South Australia has begun to implement a process approach to internationalisation (Knight & de Wits, 1995, p. 17).
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In 1995, a study conducted by IDP Education Australia identified a range of initiatives and policies aimed at internationalizing higher education curricula across Australia. This and other studies in the area, as well as the universitys teaching and learning codes and policies, informed the process of internationalization of curricula and teaching at the University of South Australia. Internationalization of the curriculum was first documented as an important part of the process of internationalization of the university of South Australia in an internal study conducted by Luong, Crockett, Lundberg, and Scarino (1996). Four staff working across the university prepared a report: Internationalization of the Curriculum. This report laid the foundations for future work. It defined an internationalized curriculum as one that values
empathy and intellectual curiosity through which . . . learners participate in a mutually beneficial, internationally and multi-culturally aware learning process, engaging with and constructing global state of the art knowledge, developing understanding and useful skills, and preparing themselves to continue learning throughout personally and vocationally fulfilling lives. (p. 1)
This definition focuses internationalization of the curriculum on the learning process and on the development of skills and attitudes within students (including the development of international and cross-cultural understanding and empathy) as much as on curriculum content and the development of knowledge in students. It was because of this report that three main areas of focus for the internationalization of curriculum were identified:
structural options and pathways for course design, developing international perspectives in students, and teaching and learning strategies for internationalization.
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tionalized at the University of South Australia (IDP Education Australia, 1995). The typology is mixed, in that it uses overlapping rather than mutually exclusive categories. This is symptomatic of the multidimensional nature of international education and reflects the complexity of internationalization (Mestenhauser, 1997). It means that in practice, any of the features of the typology can operate with others. To assist staff to see how the typology might assist them to internationalize their courses, some defining characteristics of each internationalized curricula typology were developed. These are reproduced in Table 1.
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Curricula Typology
Curricula that prepare graduates for defined international professions Curricula leading to internationally recognized professional qualifications Curricula leading to joint or double degrees in international and language studies Curricula in which compulsory parts are offered at or by universities abroad, staffed by local lecturers (including exchange and study abroad programs). Curricula with an international subject, or area or language studies
Professional practices in the international environment determine course content and delivery. Course description and objectives specify the international professions for which they prepare students. Course is recognized by international accrediting bodies. Successful completion of the course leads to an internationally recognized professional qualification. Study in the course combines international and cross-cultural studies components with professional studies and leads to conferral of a double or joint degree. Part of the course is delivered by another institution in another country. Part of the course is delivered and assessed by an overseas institution using distance methods. Credit is given for prior learning undertaken offshore.
Courses include international studies and subjects as a major or submajor. Courses require students to complete a subject in one of the following areas: cross-cultural communication, international studies, or a foreign language. Credit is given for foreign-language proficiency. Students are required to take a foreign language or an international-studies subject or a cross-cultural communication subject as a broadening undergraduate experience subject. International students are given credit for English language training undertaken during course.
Interdisciplinary programs, such as region and area studies, covering more than one country Curricula in which the traditional or original subject area is broadened by international cross-cultural or intercultural approaches
Course requirements include detailed and extensive international case studies from more than one country and/or real or simulated instances of cross-cultural negotiation and communication. Assessment tests the application of international standards and practices within the profession in different cultural settings. Course content . . . Includes specific reference to contemporary international and Australian content. Does not promote monolithic descriptions of other countries or cultures. Addresses issues such as social justice, equity, human rights, and related social and economic issues. Addresses critical global environmental issues. Includes topics on ethical issues in globalization. Includes international case studies. Includes accounts of the historical background to current international practices. Includes investigation of professional practices in other cultures. Includes an exploration of how knowledge may be constructed differently from culture to culture in the subject area concerned. Course goals, objectives, and assessment explicitly identify cross-cultural communication content and skills.
Curricula in foreign languages or linguistics that explicitly address cross-cultural communication issues and that provide training in intercultural skills Curricula in which the content is especially designed for overseas students
Course content and delivery specifically addresses the needs of overseas students in Australia and/or offshore.
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Table 2
Indicator A Graduate Who Demonstrates International Perspectives as a Professional Code and a Citizen Will . . .
Display an ability to think globally and consider issues from a variety of perspectives. Demonstrate an awareness of their own culture and its perspectives and other cultures and their perspectives. Appreciate the relation between their field of study locally and professional traditions elsewhere. Recognize intercultural issues relevant to their professional practice. Appreciate the importance of multicultural diversity to professional practice and citizenship. Appreciate the complex and interacting factors that contribute to notions of culture and cultural relationships. Value diversity of language and culture. Appreciate and demonstrate the capacity to apply international standards and practices within the discipline or professional area. Demonstrate awareness of the implications of local decisions and actions for international communities and of international decisions and actions for local communities.
Although the description of structural options and pathways assists senior academic staff to organize their courses so that students have the opportunity to develop international perspectives, it does not describe concrete ways in which all staff can internationalize their teaching practice: in particular, teaching and learning arrangements and assessment tasks and activities. It provides the big picture rather than the fine detail. Yet, it is the fine detail that many academic staff have most control over and in which they are most interested. To provide this guidance for academic staff, the Code of Good Practice: Teaching and Learning at the University of South Australia was used as a framework for describing teaching and learning strategies to achieve the graduate
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Table 3
Curricula that prepare graduates for defined international professions Curricula leading to internationally recognized professional qualifications Curricula leading to joint or double degrees in international and language studies Curricula in which compulsory parts are offered at or by universities abroad, staffed by local lecturers (including exchange and study abroad programs) Curricula with an international subject, or area or language studies Interdisciplinary programs, such as region and area studies, covering more than one country Curricula in which the traditional or original subject area is broadened by international cross-cultural or intercultural approaches Curricula in foreign languages or linguistics that explicitly address cross-cultural communication issues and that provide training in intercultural skills Curricula in which the content is especially designed for overseas students
7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.8, 7.9 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.8, 7.9 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.9
7.1, 7.2, 7.7.6, 7.7 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8
quality on international perspectives. The code describes a broad range of good teaching practices in fairly general terms. By internationalizing these practices, it is possible to internationalize both content and teaching and learning arrangements and to assist students to develop the characteristics associated with Graduate Quality 7. For example, the Code of Good Practice states that teachers should communicate their own enthusiasm for the subjects they teach and arouse students curiosity, interest and creative endeavors in the subject, including making adequate time available to advise individual students. How can this exemplar of good practice be internationalized? It is suggested that this could be achieved by
developing international contacts in the professional area; being informed on international issues, standards, and practices in their discipline and professional area;
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referring to international examples and perspectives from the discipline or professional area; and making time available specifically to meet with individual international students to discuss professional and study-related matters.
The strategies described in Table 4 achieve a level of detail that is of practical assistance to academic staff and therefore, ultimately, of benefit to students. They are presented as concrete examples. They are relatively easy to implement and can be adopted and adapted by individual staff to different discipline and professional areas. There are some key things to note about these strategies. First, they focus on process as well as content, and at times, it is difficult to separate the two. For example, when selecting content, teaching and assessment methods staff are advised to
include a range of group and individual projects in the assessment profile of the subject so that students are required to work with others, consider the perspectives of others, and compare them with their own perspectives; and set small group tasks that require the development of skills in group dynamics and the establishment of working relationships with fellow students from diverse backgrounds and cultures: for example, tasks requiring analysis of media reports from international newspapers, interviews with international students, and/or professionals who have worked internationally.
In these strategies, the group processes and tasks are an integral part of internationalizing the teaching and learning. The requirement that students work across cultures is designed to assist the development of cross-cultural communication skills and understanding on both a personal and a professional level. The focus on both the teaching and learning arrangements and assessment tasks is to ensure that both students and staff recognize the importance of these skills and focus their attention on their systematic development. Collectively, these measures indicate that the university recognizes that the successful internationalization of the curriculum relies on teaching and learning processes as well as content. Second, some of these teaching and learning strategies for internationalization focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning for all students from all educational and cultural backgrounds but pay particular attention to the needs of international students. They represent good teaching practice, although many have been identified in the literature relating to the effective delivery of courses to international students (Ballard & Clanchy, 1997). Thus, staff are advised that to assist in the development of students communication skills, they should model effective communication strategies, such as presenting information in ways that are inclusive of international students in the group, using advance structuring, coherence, and extension strategies (Ballard & Clanchy, 1997, p. 33), and (text continues on p. 114)
Table 4
Good Teaching Practice: The Code of Good Practice: Teaching and Learning at the University of South Australia States That Teachers Should . . .
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Communicate their own enthusiasm for the subjects they teach and arouse students curiosity, interest, and creative endeavors in the subject, including making adequate time available to advise individual students.
Develop international contacts in the professional area. Be informed on international issues, standards, and practices in the discipline or professional field. Refer to international examples and perspectives from the discipline or professional area.
Actively engage students so that they will learn Set tasks, assignments, and assessment activities that require students to move across and develop knowledge and skills relevant to languages and cultures, and consider issues and problems from a variety of cultural the development of the qualities of a University perspectives. of South Australia graduate. Involve students in Setting personal objectives within the context of the subject and Graduate Quality 7 (GQ7), and Evaluating their progress toward achieving course objectives in relation to GQ7. Make use of other expertise, where appropriate, to provide breadth of subject content. Establish and use international contacts and networks in the discipline or professional area (including making appropriate use of technology). Invite guest lecturers or presenters with international experience to address specific topics in the subject.
Provide clear statements of their goals for Inform students of the graduate quality profile of the subject and the ways in which GQ7 will teaching and learning and their expectations be achieved. of students engagement with teaching and Actively involve students in the assessment of their progress toward achieving GQ7. learning, and furthermore, pay explicit attention to ways of ensuring that these expectations are transparent to students from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.
(continued)
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Table 4 Continued
Good Teaching Practice: The Code of Good Practice: Teaching and Learning at the University of South Australia States That Teachers Should . . .
Select content, teaching, and assessment methods that aim to develop students as both independent and collaborative learners; promote critical and creative thinking; and meet the requirements of the profession.
(Note that the following suggested strategies are designed to facilitate independent and collaborative learning in ways that promote critical and creative thinking.) Include a range of group and individual projects in the assessment profile of the subject so that students are required to work with others, consider the perspectives of others, and compare them with their own perspectives. Set group and individual projects with a focus on international issues, case studies, and/or exemplars. Set small group tasks that require the development of skills in group dynamics and the establishment of working relationships with fellow students from diverse backgrounds and cultures: for example, tasks requiring analysis of media reports from international newspapers, and interviews with international students and/or professionals who have worked internationally. Set up subgroups of learning partners of the same ethnicity who are given specific permission to talk in whatever language they like, even though the final assessment task is presented in English. Link teaching, learning, and assessment activities with international professional practice wherever possible. Conduct assessment tasks in simulated international professional environments. Require students to locate, discuss, analyze, and evaluate information from a range of international sources. Model and discuss with students effective research and learning strategies and practices in the international arena in the professional area or discipline. Explicitly outline the thinking processes used in the discipline and analyze any cultural aspects of these.
Develop information literacy skills and a repertoire of learning strategies to equip students as life-long learners.
Set tasks, assignments, and activities that require students to analyze the cultural construction of knowledge and cross-cultural practices. Integrate activities such as fieldwork undertaken locally or internationally, industrial work, and workplace inquiry, where appropriate, into the curriculum, and organize these activities to enhance student learning. Arrange fieldwork with local organizations working on international projects or national projects with an intercultural focus. Set problem-solving exercises and/or research assignments with an international or intercultural component. Arrange internships or placements in international or intercultural agencies.
Model their commitment to ethical action and Discuss cultural and regional differences in values and assumptions affecting the discipline social responsibility as professionals and citizens and how these might affect the actions of individuals. and provide opportunities for students to Include consideration of cultural assumptions in any analysis of possible responses to ethical evelop these qualities. and social issues related to the discipline or professional area. Explore comparative professional practices and their relationship to cultural values. Identify examples of the various value positions in multicultural Australia and their implications for the field or profession. Analyze the issues, methodologies, and possible solutions associated with current areas of debate within the discipline from a range of cultural perspectives. Examine ways in which particular cultural interpretations of social, scientific, or technological applications of knowledge may include or exclude, and advantage or disadvantage people from different cultural groups. Compare and contrast approaches to cultural pluralism in different nations and their implications for citizens and for professional practice in the discipline. Set assessment tasks requiring students to consider and discuss ethical issues and the value positions influencing alternative actions. Enrich student learning of an area of knowledge Use a recently published, international textbook. by drawing on international, state-of-the-art Use and analyze international case studies. developments in ideas and knowledge and their Refer students to international sources such as journals, conference proceedings, and application; by valuing international ideas and professional associations.
(continued)
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Table 4 Continued
Good Teaching Practice: The Code of Good Practice: Teaching and Learning at the University of South Australia States That Teachers Should . . .
practices; and by adopting an intercultural view of learning that embraces the content and pedagogies of others.
Establish electronic links and networks, such as e-mail chat groups, with students of the discipline in other countries. Set reflective writing activities or tasks focusing on international or intercultural matters. Include simulations of international or intercultural interactions in tutorials. Analyze the cultural foundations of alternative approaches to the profession or discipline. Search out scholarship in the area from other cultures, and provide opportunities for analysis of this scholarship against cultural values and standards. Compare social practices between cultural groups. Make assessment criteria related to cross-cultural communication skills explicit to students. Explain the relationship of assessment criteria to international standards where appropriate. Involve students in setting their own assessment criteria in assessment activities related to GQ7. Set tasks requiring students to analyze and critique international literature and/or professional situations. Discuss the cultural foundations of the thinking underlying arguments and answers to questions. Present information in ways that are inclusive of international students in your group: organize and present lectures using advance structuring, coherence, and extension strategies (Ballard & Clanchy, 1997, p. 33). Use lecture outlines and simple overheads (as visual backup, to support aural comprehension), and issue concise lecture notes as visual aids to aural comprehension. Set tasks that require students to present information to, and get feedback from, an international or cross-cultural audience.
Encourage and enable students to evaluate their own and each others works critically
Develop students analytical and critical thinking skills by demonstrating these skills and by providing students with appropriate tasks to develop these skills. Assist in the development of students communication skills by providing opportunities to practice and derive feedback on presentations in a range of oral, graphic, and written formats
Set tasks that encourage students to evaluate the appropriateness of various media for different audiences. Provide a range of assessment tasks that are challenging, are relevant to subject aims, and meet equity criteria and facilitate student learning; provide clear outlines of criteria students must meet to successfully complete assessment tasks, before students engage in the task; provide clear outlines of assessment requirements such as weightings and timelines and any other relevant information such as how to negotiate extensions; wherever possible, include students in the assessment process through such activities as discussions of assessment tasks and or the criteria used for assessment. Keep in mind principles of inclusivity and equity when designing and responding to assessment tasks, recognizing that all assessment models have their limitations and capacity to disadvantage certain students, and make every effort to minimize such disadvantage by, for example, using a range of assessment practices. Set tasks requiring students to compare local and international standards in the professional area or discipline. Relate assessment tasks and criteria to international standards as well as to course objectives. Set and assess tasks and activities that require students to reflect on their own culture as well as to engage with other cultures. Discuss with students how the achievement of particular subject objectives might be demonstrated, and use this as a basis for negotiated assessment tasks relating to GQ7.
Make assessment requirements and criteria in relation to GQ7 explicit and concise. Make links between course objectives, GQ7, and assessment activities clear to students. Assess in ways that address the objectives related to GQ7 authentically, and make the links between the assessment tasks and the course objectives very clear to students. Provide a range of assessment opportunities, and allow students some choice in relation to the type of assessment tasks and activities they must complete in relation to GQ7.
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using lecture outlines and simple overheads (as visual backup, to support aural comprehension) and issuing concise lecture notes as visual aids to aural comprehension. Third, these strategies value and include the contributions of international students, validate the points of view of others, and promote cross-cultural and international understanding. They do this by encouraging staff to make explicit the cultural foundations of knowledge in the discipline and the relationship between cultural beliefs and values and actions. Staff are advised to explicitly outline the thinking processes used in the discipline and analyze any cultural aspects of these, discuss cultural and regional differences in values and assumptions affecting the discipline and how these might affect the actions of individuals, discuss the cultural foundations of the thinking underlying arguments and answers to questions, and set and assess tasks and activities that require students to reflect on their own culture as well as to engage with other cultures.
In practice, these strategies not only broaden the scope of the subject to include international content and contact but also assist in the development of cross-cultural communication skills and an understanding of intercultural issues.
CONCLUSION
Internationalizing university curricula is a complex process that is as much about whom and how we teach as it is about what we teach. A successfully internationalized curriculum must provide a relevant educational experience for all students in an environment that is supportive and inclusive of all students. Traditionally, academic staff in higher education have focussed on content rather than on process. Changing this emphasis is a major challenge. The framework within which this case study of how the University of South Australia is internationalizing its courses is student centered and focuses on outcomes rather than inputs, and includes and values the contribution of international students to the process of internationalizing the curriculum. It is an example of how one bridge between vision and reality is being constructed.
REFERENCES
Ballard, B., & Clanchy, J. (1997). Teaching international students: A brief guide for lecturers and supervisors. Canberra, Australia: IDP Education Australia. Biggs, J. (1997, July). Teaching across and within cultures: The issue of international students. In Learning and teaching in higher education: Advancing
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international perspectives (pp. 1-22). Proceedings of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Conference. Hamilton, S. (1998, March). Setting the foundations for the internationalisation of Australian higher education. Paper presented at the Education 98, the Industry Practitioners Forum, Sydney. IDP Education Australia. (1995). Curriculum development for internationalisation (OECD/CERI study undertaken for DEET). Canberra, Australia: Author. IDP Education Australia. (1999, April). Students in Australian universities from major source countries (Higher education supplement). The Australian (H.E.S.), p. 39. Kennedy, K. (1995). Developing a curriculum guarantee for overseas students. Higher Education Research and Development, 14(1), 35-46. Knight, J., & de Wit, H. (1995). Strategies for internationalisation of higher education: Historical and conceptual perspectives. In H. de Wit (Ed.), Strategies for internationalisation of higher education: A comparative study of Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States of America. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: European Association for International Education. Knight, J., & de Wit, H. (Eds.). (1997). Internationalisation of higher education in Asia Pacific countries. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: European Association for International Education and IDP Education Australia. Luong, L., Crockett, K., Lundberg, D. & Scarino, A. (1996). Report on Internationalisation of the Curriculum July 1996. Adelaide: University of South Australia. Mestenhauser, J. (1997, June). On moving cemeteries and changing curricula: Review article A reflection on M C van der Wendes Book Internationalising the Curriculum in Dutch Higher Education: An International Comparative Perspective. EAIE Newsletter.