Higher Education Research & Development · 2011 · 217 citations · 23 references
EducationCurriculumHigher EducationInclusive CurriculumInclusive EducationInternational Higher EducationInclusive PedagogyInclusive PracticeInclusive TeachingInternational Student ExperienceInternationalization Of Higher EducationInternationalization Of The CurriculumCross-cultural InclusionCultural Diversity EducationCultural Inclusion In SchoolingEvaluationInclusion In InternationalizationInformal CurriculumInternational Student InclusionReflective Practice Models
Studies over the past decade show that internationalisation can have both positive and negative effects on students worldwide. This paper examines polarized views of internationalisation and proposes three focal strategies to enhance student engagement with cultural diversity. The authors analyze the consequences of unstructured cross‑cultural encounters, draw lessons from successful inclusive classrooms, and recommend aligning formal and informal curricula, redesigning tasks, and advancing faculty professional development. They find that an overreliance on wishful thinking undermines inclusion, and emphasize the need for strategic interventions and reflective practice to evaluate effectiveness.
There is clear evidence from a number of studies conducted over the last decade that the student experience of internationalisation in universities around the world can be both positive and negative. In this paper we explore these polarised views of internationalisation as they are recorded in the literature. We argue there is evidence of too much emphasis on 'wishing and hoping' that benefits will flow from cultural diversity on campus and not enough emphasis on strategic and informed intervention to improve inclusion and engagement. We start by exploring what happens when students are forced into cross-cultural encounters without additional actions and interventions and go on to discuss what we can learn from examples of successful inclusion and engagement in multi-cultural classrooms. We suggest that there are at least three things we should focus on in order to enhance students' engagement with cultural diversity and ensure that real benefits for student learning result from culturally diverse campuses and classrooms. These are alignment of the formal and informal curriculum, a focus on task design and management and new approaches to professional development of academic staff. The need for reflective practice, which includes ongoing and focussed evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions, is also highlighted.
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