International education
Encyclopedia
International education can mean many different things and its definition is debated. Some have defined two general meanings according to its involvement of students. The first refers to education that transcends national borders by the exchange of people, for example, by students travelling to study at an International Branch Campus
, as part of a study abroad
program or as part of a student exchange program
. The second, explored in depth here, is a comprehensive approach to education that intentionally prepares students to be active and engaged participants in an interconnected world.
The International Baccalaureate defines the term according to criteria such as the development of citizens of the world in accordance to culture, language, and social cohesion, building a sense of identity and cultural awareness, encrypting recognition and development of universal human values, encourage discovery and enjoyment of learning, equip students with collectivist or individualistic skills and knowledge that can be applied broadly, encourage global thinking when responding to local situations,encourage diversity and flexibility in teaching pedagogies and supply appropriate forms of assessment and international benchmarking.
Understanding of a broad array of phenomena is enhanced and deepened through examination of the culture
s, language
s, environmental
situations, government
s, political relations, religion
s, geography
, and history of the world
. While definitions vary in the precise language used, international education is generally taken to include:
Millennium Development Goals
include to education specific goals:
Other mentions of education in regard to international development:
Education For All (EFA):
An international strategy to operazionalize the Dakar Framework for Action;
The World Education Forum (Dakar 2000) agreed to reach 6 goals by 2015:
-highlight the central role of education in the pursuit of sustainable development.
See also Comparative education
; and Liberalism
, Realism
, Power Transition Theory
, International Development
, as focus areas that provide insight into international phenomena relevant to "International Education."
International education both as a field of study focusing on study abroad and preparing students for international occupations as well as an active part of international development is taught in many colleges and universities around the world.
; the week is –, –, and –. The benefits of this event are to provide an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of International Education and global exchange.This joint initiative are efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global milieu and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences in the U.S. This shows how International education is not just about physically crossing borders, but is also about thinking globally in local situations. Schools throughout the US celebrated this week through on-campus and off-campus events.
1. There is little consensus concerning the guiding theme of the field as well as its scope. Should the field stress internationalization, transnationalization, or globalization?
2. International education is not a prominent feature of the contemporary higher education experience. Using enrollment in foreign languages as an indicator, 16 percent of all U.S. college students were enrolled in foreign languages in the peak period of the 1960s; the proportion is currently down to 8 percent (Hayward, 2000, p. 6).
3. There is imbalance in regional coverage. The regions and languages covered at a particular institution are a function of idiosyncratic patterns of faculty recruitment. Nationally, there is reasonable coverage of Western Europe and Latin America and most European languages compared to limited coverage of Africa and the Middle East. For students enrolled in foreign languages, Spanish is the most popular followed by the other major languages of Western Europe; 6 percent enroll in Asian languages. Languages of the Middle East make up only 2 percent (1.3 being Hebrew and .5 percent Arabic). The languages of Africa constitute only 0.15 percent of enrollments.
4. Because international education is not a primary concern of most scholars in the field, research is somewhat sporadic, non-cumulative, and tends to be carried out by national organizations as part of advocacy projects (e.g. Lambert, 1989; Brecht and Rivers, 2000). The most recent example is the American Council of Education's (ACE's) Internationalization of Higher Education: A Status Report. (Hayward, 2000).
BOOKS
CHAPTERS IN BOOKS
Walters, Shirley. (2000). Globalization, Adult Education, and Development. In Stromquist, Nelly P. and Karen Monkman (Eds.), Globalization and Education: Integration and Contestation Across Cultures. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Montreal (Quebec): McGill Univ., McLennan Library.
International Branch Campus
An international branch campus is a campus of a university which has been established in a foreign country. In many respects it is similar to a branch campus of a university...
, as part of a study abroad
Study abroad
Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
program or as part of a student exchange program
Student exchange program
A student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions...
. The second, explored in depth here, is a comprehensive approach to education that intentionally prepares students to be active and engaged participants in an interconnected world.
The International Baccalaureate defines the term according to criteria such as the development of citizens of the world in accordance to culture, language, and social cohesion, building a sense of identity and cultural awareness, encrypting recognition and development of universal human values, encourage discovery and enjoyment of learning, equip students with collectivist or individualistic skills and knowledge that can be applied broadly, encourage global thinking when responding to local situations,encourage diversity and flexibility in teaching pedagogies and supply appropriate forms of assessment and international benchmarking.
Understanding of a broad array of phenomena is enhanced and deepened through examination of the culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
s, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s, environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
situations, government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
s, political relations, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, and history of the world
History of the world
The history of the world or human history is the history of humanity from the earliest times to the present, in all places on Earth, beginning with the Paleolithic Era. It excludes non-human natural history and geological history, except insofar as the natural world substantially affects human lives...
. While definitions vary in the precise language used, international education is generally taken to include:
- Knowledge of other world regions & cultures;
- Familiarity with international and global issuesGlobal StudiesGlobal studies, in its broadest definition is the academic study of political, economic, social and cultural relationships of the world. Furthermore, it can also include the study of political and cultural processes, the impacts of globalisation, markets and communications. Global Studies...
; - Skills in working effectively in global or cross-cultural environments, and using information from different sources around the world;
- Ability to communicate in multiple languages; and
- Dispositions towards respect and concern for other cultures and peoples.
Millennium Development Goals
International education is also a major part of international development. Professionals and students wishing to be a part of international education development are able to learn through organizations and university and college programs. Organizations around the world use education as a means to development. The United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
include to education specific goals:
- Achieve universal primary educationUniversal Primary EducationThe second United Nations Millennium Development Goal is to achieve Universal Primary Education, more specifically, to “ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling." Currently, there are more than 75 million children...
in all countries by 2015 - Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2015
Other mentions of education in regard to international development:
Education For All (EFA):
An international strategy to operazionalize the Dakar Framework for Action;
The World Education Forum (Dakar 2000) agreed to reach 6 goals by 2015:
- expand early childhood care and education
- improve access to complete, free schooling of good quality for all primary school-age children
- greatly increase learning opportunities for youth and adults
- improve adult literacy rates by 50%
- eliminate gender disparities in schooling
- improve all aspects of education quality.
Dakar Framework for Action
UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014)-highlight the central role of education in the pursuit of sustainable development.
See also Comparative education
Comparative education
Comparative education is a fully established academic field of study that examines education in one country by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries...
; and Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, Realism
Realism (international relations)
In the study of international relations, Realism or political realism prioritizes national interest and security over ideology, moral concerns and social reconstructions...
, Power Transition Theory
Power Transition theory
The Power transition theory is a theory about the cyclical nature of war, in relation to the power in international relations.Created by A.F.K. Organski, and originally published in his textbook, World Politics , power transition theory today describes international politics as a hierarchy, with 4...
, International Development
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
, as focus areas that provide insight into international phenomena relevant to "International Education."
International education both as a field of study focusing on study abroad and preparing students for international occupations as well as an active part of international development is taught in many colleges and universities around the world.
International Education Week
International Education Week is held in the United States by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education during the week before ThanksgivingThanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
; the week is –, –, and –. The benefits of this event are to provide an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of International Education and global exchange.This joint initiative are efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global milieu and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences in the U.S. This shows how International education is not just about physically crossing borders, but is also about thinking globally in local situations. Schools throughout the US celebrated this week through on-campus and off-campus events.
Challenges Facing International Education
International education has a somewhat unusual position in higher education. While recognized as an important sphere of activity, it tends to be handled by administrative offices at the top of departments of languages and literature and international affairs. The scholars involved in international education usually have their primary involvement in other teaching and research. This leads to four distinctive characteristics particular to the field of international education:1. There is little consensus concerning the guiding theme of the field as well as its scope. Should the field stress internationalization, transnationalization, or globalization?
2. International education is not a prominent feature of the contemporary higher education experience. Using enrollment in foreign languages as an indicator, 16 percent of all U.S. college students were enrolled in foreign languages in the peak period of the 1960s; the proportion is currently down to 8 percent (Hayward, 2000, p. 6).
3. There is imbalance in regional coverage. The regions and languages covered at a particular institution are a function of idiosyncratic patterns of faculty recruitment. Nationally, there is reasonable coverage of Western Europe and Latin America and most European languages compared to limited coverage of Africa and the Middle East. For students enrolled in foreign languages, Spanish is the most popular followed by the other major languages of Western Europe; 6 percent enroll in Asian languages. Languages of the Middle East make up only 2 percent (1.3 being Hebrew and .5 percent Arabic). The languages of Africa constitute only 0.15 percent of enrollments.
4. Because international education is not a primary concern of most scholars in the field, research is somewhat sporadic, non-cumulative, and tends to be carried out by national organizations as part of advocacy projects (e.g. Lambert, 1989; Brecht and Rivers, 2000). The most recent example is the American Council of Education's (ACE's) Internationalization of Higher Education: A Status Report. (Hayward, 2000).
Sources
- Jamison, Kevin (2004) . "Case for the Internationalization of Virginia High School Curricula", with commentary by Ambassador James CreaganJames CreaganJames F. Creagan is a United States diplomat.Creagan was born in Elyria, Ohio in 1940 and grew up on the shores of Lake Erie in nearby Lorain. He is a 1962 graduate of the University of Notre Dame and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He has taught political science at several...
, Christine Drake Phd, Senator Richard Lugar, and various other International Education experts. - Kagan, Sharon, and Vivien Stewart. "Introduction to International Education", originally published in Phi Delta Kappan, November 2004.
- International Baccalaureate "IB Mission and strategy".
BOOKS
- Abdi, Ali A. and Ailie Cleghorn, (Eds.). (2005). Issues in African Education: Sociological Perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Carter, Carolyn S. (1999). Education and Development in Poor Rural Communities: an Interdisciplinary Research Agenda. Charleston, West Virginia: Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, Appalachia Educational Laboratory.
- Caillods, Françoise, Gabriele Gottelmann-Duret, Keith Lewin. (Eds.). (1997). Science Education and Development: Planning and Policy Issues at the Secondary Level. Paris: UNESCO, International Institute for Educational Planning; Oxford, U.K.: Pergamon.
- Cummings,William K. and Noel F. McGinn (Eds.). (1997). International Handbook of Education and Development : Preparing Schools, Students, and Nations for the Twenty-first Century. Kidlington, Oxford, UK; New York: Elsevier Science.
- Garrett, Roger M. (Ed.). (1984). Education and Development. London: Croom Helm; New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Haddad, Wadi D. et al. (1990). Education and Development: Evidence for New Priorities. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
- Heward, Christine and Sheila Bunwaree. (Eds.). (1999). Gender, Education, and Development: Beyond Access to Empowerment. London; New York: Zed Books; New York: Distributed in USA exclusively by St. Martin's Press.
- Lynch, James. (1997). A Human Rights Analysis. Education and Development. London; Herndon, Virginia: Cassell.
- Lynch, James, Celia Modgil and Sohan Modgil. (Eds.). (1997). Education and Development: Tradition and Innovation. London: Cassell, 1997.
- Mak, Grace C. L. (Ed.), (1996). Women, Education, and Development in Asia : Cross-National Perspectives. New York: Garland Pub.
- McMahon, Walter W. (1999). Education and Development: Measuring the Social Benefits. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
- Morris, Paul and Anthony Sweeting, (Eds.). (1995). Education and Development in East Asia. New York: Garland Pub. 1995.
- Nwomonoh, Jonathan. (1998). Education and Development in Africa : a Contemporary Survey. San Francisco: International Scholars Publications.
- Peters, Michael A. and A.C. Besley. (2006). Building Knowledge Cultures: Education and Development in the Age of Knowledge Capitalism. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
- Rojewski, Jay W. (Ed.). (2004). International Perspectives on Workforce Education and Development. Greenwich, Conn.: Information Age Pub.
- Talati, Jamsheer J. et al. (1998). Higher Education: a Pathway to Development. Karachi: The Aga Khan University: Oxford University Press.
- Youngman, Frank. (2000). The Political Economy of Adult Education and Development. Leicester, UK: NIACE; London; New York : Zed Books ; New York : Distributed in the USA exclusively by St. Martin's Press.
- World Population Monitoring, 2003: Population, Education and Development. (2005). Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. New York: United Nations.
CHAPTERS IN BOOKS
- Arnove, Robert F., Stephen Franz and Kimberly Morse Cordova. (2001). Education and Development. In Hillman, Richard S. (Ed.), Understanding Contemporary Latin America. Boulder, Co.: L. Rienner.
- Szirmai, Adam. (2005). Education and Development. In Dynamics of Socio-economic Development : An Introduction. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Walters, Shirley. (2000). Globalization, Adult Education, and Development. In Stromquist, Nelly P. and Karen Monkman (Eds.), Globalization and Education: Integration and Contestation Across Cultures. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Brock, Colin; Cammish, Nadine; Aedo-Richmond, Ruth; Narayanan, Aparna; Njoroge, Rose (1997). Gender, Education and Development: A Partially Annotated and Selective Bibliography. Education Research Paper. London (England): Department for International Development.
- (1996). Developing Areas Studies: A Guide to Reference Sources.
Montreal (Quebec): McGill Univ., McLennan Library.
- Heeg, Michael, Ed.; Boston, Carol, Ed (1996). Directory of Education-Related Information Centers. Rockville, Maryland. Washington, D.C.: ACCESS ERIC, Educational Resources Information Center (ED).
Further reading
- Scanlon, D. G. (ed.). (1960). International Education: A Documentary History. New York: Bureau of Publications: Teachers College, Columbia University.
- Vestal, T.M. (1994). International Education: Its History and Promise for Today. London: Praeger.
- Valeau, E.J., Raby, R.L, (eds.), et al. (2007). International Reform Efforts and Challenges in Community Colleges. New Direction for Community Colleges, No. 138. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.