Journal of Studies in International Education recent issues

Editorial

Adams, T., de Wit, H. — 2009-05-01

The Past, Present, and Future of Internationalization in Japan

Ninomiya, A., Knight, J., Watanabe, A. — 2009-05-01

The purpose of this special volume containing five articles dedicated to the internationalization of higher education in Japan is to provide information, analysis, and insight on the current goals, rationales, policies, and challenges facing internationalization's role as way to increase research excellence, profile, and competitiveness within Asia and the world beyond. Collectively, they paint a picture of a country that is supporting the higher education sector to be a key actor in helping Japan become the "Asian Gateway" to the rest of the world. To understand the nature of internationalization of higher education in Japan, it is important to review the changes in the international dimension of higher education during the past decades. Given the pivotal role that foreign students have played in the history of Japan's international academic relations, this topic is at the centre of a review of what could be called the "three primary phases" of internationalization from 1950 to the present day.

Japanese University Leaders' Perceptions of Internationalization: The Role of Government in Review and Support

Yonezawa, A., Akiba, H., Hirouchi, D. — 2009-05-01

To promote sustainable development within the global knowledge-based society, the Japanese government is urging the nation's higher education institutions to internationalize. Although a select number of Japanese universities are highly regarded in world university rankings, many observers argue that the majority of Japanese higher education institutions are not sufficiently internationalized compared with those of other industrialized countries.

However, the dynamics and structure of internationalization is highly diverse, and well considered policy initiatives are required to guide and foster the process in respective institutions. Based on a comprehensive survey of reviews of internationalization in Japanese universities, this article examines the perceptions of Japanese university leaders in terms of the extent to which they reflect an "international" character. The present context and possible roles of government and institutions for internationalization in Japanese higher education are also explored.

The Internationalization of the Academic Profession in Japan: A Quantitative Perspective

Futao Huang, — 2009-05-01

This article mainly deals with the nature and extent of the changes in the internationalization of higher education experienced by the academic profession of Japanese higher education institutions over the period from 1992 to 2007 and shown through the two national surveys. In addition to the statistics concerning the internationalization of Japan's academic profession, which were issued by government, the extent of change will be basically considered through comparison of the two similar surveys that were implemented in 1992 and 2007. The article will focus on two major issues. First is an examination of the facts about the characteristics and the actual situation of the academic profession in Japanese higher education institutions from an international aspect; second are the views on the changes in internationalization of Japan's higher education shown by the academic profession over the past 15 years.

University Rankings, Global Models, and Emerging Hegemony: Critical Analysis from Japan

Ishikawa, M. — 2009-05-01

The study analyzes how the emergence of dominant models in higher education and power they embody affect non-Western, non-English language universities such as those in Japan. Based on extended micro-level participant observation in a Japanese research university aspiring to become a "world-class" institution, their struggles and the quest for new identities are examined. The prevalent and oft-referenced university rankings and league tables give rise to de facto global standards and models, against which traditions of national language education and research as well as self-sustenance in human resources are challenged and tested. Such new modes of objectifying academic excellence alter domestic academic hierarchies and internal dynamics within universities. This study uses these insights to look critically at new dimensions of knowledge construction and an emerging hegemony in today's global higher education context.

The Contribution of "Study Abroad" Programs to Japanese Internationalization

Asaoka, T., Jun Yano, — 2009-05-01

"Study abroad" needs promoting, as it is an effective alternative for many Japanese university students to enhance their international experience and cross-cultural understanding, thus contributing to the internationalization of Japanese universities. To consider what has to be done to promote "study abroad" programs, this research attempts to ascertain (a) the characteristics of the "study abroad" program of Japanese university students, (b) what Japanese university students think about the "study abroad" program, (c) the factors discouraging them from studying abroad, and (d) suggestions made by university staff to promote "study abroad" programs. Online survey results of 173 Japanese university students, interview answers and monthly reports of 20 Japanese university exchange students, opinions of 15 JAFSA members, and the JASSO symposium reports from 2005 to 2007 were used as data for this study. Suggestions are made to enable Japanese university staff to further promote "study abroad" programs among their students.

The Challenges of Increasing Capacity and Diversity in Japanese Higher Education Through Proactive Recruitment Strategies

Kuwamura, A. — 2009-05-01

There has been fierce competition for a shrinking pool of high school graduates in the higher education market in Japan in recent years. Along came former Prime Minister Fukuda's plan for an intake of 300,000 international students by the year 2020. These have placed Japanese institutions of higher education under further pressure to sustain their student enrollments in the already competitive global higher education market over the coming decade. This article begins by showing rapidly changing trends in internationalization of Japanese higher education. It then highlights the challenges of increasing the capacity to diversify the campus population and program offerings that are facing Japanese higher education today. Some key issues revolving around such challenges are identified and then examined. Furthermore, the article stresses the importance of internationalizing both the institution and individual along the way. The article concludes with a few suggestions on approaches to internationalization.

Editorial: Using Formal and Informal Curricula to Improve Interactions Between Home and International Students

Clifford, V. A. — 2009-05-01

Using Formal and Informal Curricula to Improve Interactions Between Home and International Students

Leask, B. — 2009-05-01

This article argues that improved interactions between home and international students are dependant on the way we use both the formal and the informal curricula to encourage and reward intercultural engagement. It draws on the results of several research studies to present some strategies for facilitating meaningful interaction between students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in and out of the classroom. Principles and guidelines for structuring formal and informal curricular activities and services are proposed. This article concludes that the development of intercultural competencies in students is a key outcome of an internationalised curriculum, which requires a campus environment and culture that obviously motivates and rewards interaction between international and home students in and out of the classroom. This means that a range of people across institutions need to engage with the internationalisation agenda over time to improve interactions between home and international students.

Host Students' Perspectives of Intercultural Contact in an Irish University

Dunne, C. — 2009-05-01

Given the increasing numbers of international students in Ireland and the lack of attention afforded to host culture students in existing research on intercultural relations in higher education, a grounded theory study was conducted in an Irish university exploring host (Irish) students' perspectives on intercultural contact. The study focused on students' construction of cultural difference within the educational environment, the factors influencing intercultural contact, and students' experiences of such contact. The findings suggest that although nationality and age are used to differentiate students, the concept of "maturity"—underpinned by values and behaviors relating to academic motivations, responsibilities, and authority—is central to students' construction of cultural difference on campus.

Diverse factors identified as impacting upon students' intercultural acquaintance prospects and relational development are presented and discussed. The findings highlight the complexity of promoting meaningful intercultural contact among students and also suggest conditions to foster intercultural contact based on students' feedback.

"Knowing Me, Knowing You," Is There Nothing We Can Do?: Pedagogic Challenges in Using Group Work to Create an Intercultural Learning Space

Turner, Y. — 2009-05-01

This article explores the evolving relationship between curriculum design, teacher perceptions, and the lived experience of students participating in an international programme of study within a U.K. university business school. The article illustrates the challenges inherent in supporting cross-cultural learning within diverse cohorts and explores the use of reflective learning strategies as a means of promoting cross-cultural understanding. It concludes with a discussion about the positioning of university curricula as international spaces within local contexts and questions the degree to which implicit pedagogical norms support inclusivity.

A Decade of Internationalisation: Has It Influenced Students' Views of Cross-Cultural Group Work at University?

Montgomery, C. — 2009-05-01

This article considers how student views of collaborative study in a diverse international academic context may have changed in the past decade. A retrospective is provided on a research project carried out in 1998 that investigated students' views of working in international groups; this is linked with research carried out by the author in 2008. Despite the fact that examples of ethnic reductionism remain, there appeared to be a more positive social atmosphere in the 2008 data; students perceived cross-cultural interaction as valuable. Where there were conflicts within groups, these stemmed from clashes over disciplinary variation and differences in ideas about how to get things done. This article provides some suggestions for why there was a more positive working atmosphere between students.

Fostering Cross-Cultural Empathy With Non-Western Curricular Structures

Haigh, M. — 2009-05-01

It is easier to introduce international content and components into a curriculum than to internationalise the curriculum itself. Learners find it easier to deal with international material embedded in a traditional curriculum but harder to accommodate to a curriculum constructed on different foundations to the norm. Here, in general, the problem learners are not those who are already dealing with cultural diversity but local learners whose expectations are limited by local tradition and who may resist the intrusion of outside ways of doing things. In this case study, learners cope with an exercise that has them assessing the emotional impacts of their habitat using Samkhya's three modes of nature ( gunas). However, they are less comfortable with a curriculum founded in notions of dharma, which emphasises personal introspection: self-awareness, self-realisation, and self-improvement. Although lately Western education has been thinking harder about personal responsibility and development, learners find turning the lens of enquiry inward on themselves unusual and are uncomfortable being thus placed in the role of "international learners." Despite such problems, such experiments benefit learners and teachers by encouraging them to question the worldviews and presuppositions that presently underpin Western educational structures.

Editorial

Adams, T., de Wit, H. — 2009-02-06

A Home Away From Home?: Chinese Student Evaluations of an Overseas Study Experience

Simpson, K., Tan, W. — 2009-02-06

As the education of international students has developed into a key component of the economic mix for many Western democracies, approaches to the evaluation of success or failure have become increasingly based on the type of buyer—seller relationship that features strongly in the management and marketing literature. As a result, an activity that has historically been assessed in terms of its contribution to the public good is now more likely to be measured through application of the language of business. This article analyzes the comments of 160 Chinese students attending courses at a New Zealand institution and suggests that the criteria that contribute to a positive experience evaluation, when viewed through the eyes of students, may not entirely coincide with the "business language" criteria that education providers believe to be critical. The article concludes that significant changes in institutional philosophy are necessary if the true value of providing tertiary education to international students is to be optimally realized.

A Study of Resiliency Characteristics in the Adjustment of International Graduate Students at American Universities

Jing Wang, — 2009-02-06

This research introduced the concept of resilience into the study of adjustment of international graduate students at U.S. universities. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships among resilience characteristics, background variables, and adjustment problem areas, and to gauge the effects of resilience and background variables on adjustment. The Organizational Development Resources' Personal Resilience Questionnaire and the Michigan International Student Problem Inventory were used, and 207 usable responses were gathered. Statistical analyses revealed that resilience characteristics were moderately associated with background variables, highly negatively correlated with adjustment problem areas, better correlated with adjustment problem areas than were background variables, and resilience had the greatest effect on adjustment.

Social Presence in the Web-Based Classroom: Implications for Intercultural Communication

Yildiz, S. — 2009-02-06

Social presence is a theory derived from social psychology to explain social interactions in a mediated communication and is defined as the degree to which interlocutors in a communications medium perceive each other as real. This study investigates the effect of computer-mediated communication on the social presence of international students who spoke English as a foreign language in two Web-based graduate courses offered in the United States and aims to explore how linguistic and cultural differences influenced their social presence.

Researching the Study Abroad Experience

McLeod, M., Wainwright, P. — 2009-02-06

The authors propose a paradigm for rigorous scientific assessment of study abroad programs, with the focus being on how study abroad experiences affect psychological constructs as opposed to looking solely at study-abroad-related outcomes. Social learning theory is used as a possible theoretical basis for making testable hypotheses and guiding potential research projects.

Analysis of the U.S. Student Visa System: Misperceptions, Barriers, and Consequences

Urias, D., Camp Yeakey, C. — 2009-02-06

Given the political, economic, and social events surrounding 9/11, the major issue addressed concerns the impact of federal legislation on international students/scholars. The study explored several research questions that can be summarized as, What are the relevant laws affecting international student study in the United States, and What are the consequences of having those laws? To date, there has not been a comprehensive compilation identifying such regulations nor an analysis and charting of the broader public policy at various levels of implementation. This article attempts to do this. Sifting through the miasma of regulations, certain themes emerge from the analysis: philosophical changes, entry and exit registration, intended and unintended consequences, impact on Arab and Muslim students, effects on U.S. citizens, and emergent problems.

Editorial

Adams, T., de Wit, H. — 2008-11-17

The Return of the Subaltern: International Education and Politics of Voice

Asgharzadeh, A. — 2008-11-17

In a rapidly globalizing world, it is becoming a major task of international education to study a variety of sociopolitical, economic, developmental, and intercultural relations, at the heart of which lie issues around subalternity, diversity, language, and dialogue. In its current state, how well prepared is the field of international education to deal with these complex issues? Through an exploration of narratives from various intellectual, cultural, and linguistic traditions, this article maintains that (a) concerns around critical dialogue and freedom of expression are universal concerns applicable in/to different environments and cultures; (b) such concerns need to be situated within the wider issues around diversity, multiculturalism, multilingualism, human rights, peace, and social justice; and (c) international and global education can take on this challenge by critically engaging various issues emerging from conditions of subalternity, politics of voice, and multiple identities, as well as a variety of diasporic, multicultural, postcolonial, and global contexts.

International Mobility of Australian University Students: 2005

Olsen, A. — 2008-11-17

Australia as a destination for international students is well researched. However, less is known about the numbers of Australian students who undertake international study experiences during their courses, the characteristics of those students, their types of experiences, their fields of education, and their destinations. This study finds that nearly 5% of undergraduates in Australian universities undertake an international study experience by the time they complete their degrees. Most students go overseas on exchanges or other semester- or year-long programs, more than on short-term programs or work placements. Of international study experiences in 2005, 59% were undertaken by women. Arts and business were the most common fields of education, and Europe and the Americas were the most popular destinations.

Asian Students' Voices: An Empirical Study of Asian Students' Learning Experiences at a New Zealand University

Campbell, J., Li, M. — 2008-11-17

More than 85% of the international students in New Zealand are Asian in origin. The level of satisfaction of Asian international students with their learning experiences in New Zealand has been of enormous concern for the New Zealand export education industry. The results of this current research, based on a qualitative research study conducted at a New Zealand tertiary institution, provide a critical summary of some important and yet challenging issues in teaching Asian students. This study found that Asian students were overall satisfied with their learning experiences at the university in terms of educational quality, program offering, and learning support. Asian students' voices and narratives on which this research was based have challenged some of our taken-for-granted education traditions, norms, and practices. Characterizing these challenges are language difficulties and cultural differences as intercultural communication barriers, unfamiliar patterns of classroom interactions, lack of knowledge of academic norms and conventions, inadequate learning support, difficulties in making friends with domestic students, and lack of sense of belonging, all these combining to affect Asian students' perceptions and levels of satisfaction with their learning experiences at the university. The study suggests that it is important that lecturers and host institutions are professionally responsible to equip Asian students with adequate knowledge of academic discourses and to help them transcend the culturally framed borders and subjectivities. To meet these challenges, it is important to review and adapt our pedagogical practices and to realign them to the needs of both local and international students.

Editorial

de Wit, H., Adams, T. — 2008-08-19

Global Perspectives in Higher Education: Taking the Agenda Forward in the United Kingdom

Lunn, J. — 2008-08-19

The economic, social, and cultural interests of the nation demand that graduates have sound knowledge of global issues, the skills for working in an international context, and the values of a "global citizen." Research funded by the British government's Department for International Development sought to assess how such "global perspectives" are currently integrated into undergraduate learning and teaching across a variety of disciplines, departments, and institutions in the United Kingdom. The findings suggest that there are a wide variety of opportunities for students to develop global perspectives, and there are some excellent examples of innovative approaches; however, the extent to which global perspectives are embedded in departmental and institutional practice largely depends on individual enthusiasm and discretion. For global perspectives to become an integral part of higher education, there needs to be a coordinated strategy for developing activities that foster global perspectives and resources to implement the strategy, as well as ensuring that there is sufficient recognition and rewards for doing so.

What Do We Really Know About the Outcomes of Australian International Education? A Critical Review and Prospectus for Future Research

Cuthbert, D., Smith, W., Boey, J. — 2008-08-19

Australia has been a significant provider of international education in the Asia-Pacific region since 1950 with the inception of the Colombo Plan. Thus, graduates from these early days would by now be mature professionals in a variety of fields, with several decades of professional and academic attainment enabled by their Australian education. Yet we actually know very little about the outcomes over time of the graduates of Australian international higher education. In this article, the authors review the scholarly literature on the outcomes of international education, education provided by Australian universities and by others, and critically consider some of the limitations of the data and the methodologies that have dominated this area of research. Finally, in an effort to put current debates on international education on a more informed basis, the authors outline a prospectus for future research to redress some of these shortcomings.

A Foundation for the Internationalization of the Academic Self

Sanderson, G. — 2008-08-19

This article identifies the limitations of contemporary organizational theory on the internationalization of higher education in guiding and supporting internationalization activities at the level of the academic Self. A way forward is provided through Cranton's notion of authenticity in teaching in higher education, which presents a platform for understanding the academic Self through critically reflective and self-reflective processes. Cranton's work is then expanded using the concept of cosmopolitanism to enhance the potential for individual teachers to internationalize their personal and professional outlooks. In sum, this article highlights the importance of the exhortation from Socrates to know thyself as a precondition to better understand Others. Furthermore, the article provides the fundamental underpinnings of a conceptual framework for the internationalization of the academic Self.

Beyond Borders: International Student Pathways to the United States

Lee, J. J. — 2008-08-19

This study investigates college access in the United States and within the larger context of the global marketplace as a way to extend current views of college access to the international realm. Using surveys and interviews among international students in a case U.S. institution, this study finds that information sources and reasons for studying at the U.S. institution differ by international student background characteristics. This study then further elaborates on the diverse pathways based on international students' backgrounds as a way to expand current conceptions of college access.