Felix Maringe

Emerging internationalisation models in an uneven global terrain: findings from a global survey

We know little about how internationalisation processes are understood, rationalised and prioritised in different parts of the world. A global survey of internationalisation in universities was undertaken at the University of Southampton to fill this gap. Its purpose was to discover how strategic leaders in universities in different parts of the world defined, rationalised and prioritised a range of familiar internationalisation approaches. Based on a self-completion questionnaire survey administered to 500 universities in six major world regions including South America, North America, Middle East nations, Asian nations, Australia and New Zealand and sub-Saharan Africa, findings were processed from just under 200 responding universities. The findings suggest that internationalisation strategies in universities across the world seem to be based on three emergent value driven models. In western universities, a commercial imperative appears to underpin the internationalisation processes and understanding. In Confucian and many Middle East nations, there is a deep-seated cultural imperative at the heart of the internationalisation agenda. In the poorer universities of the south, a curriculum-value driven process seems to characterise the internationalisation priorities of universities there. The paper concludes that despite the global rhetoric about an emerging isomorphism in HE, wide disparities continue to exist, which entrench the poverty differentials that have always existed between universities in the north and those in the south. Further research is needed that identifies ways to develop a more responsible commercial purpose that can be reconciled with the needs of universities in the poorer parts of the world.

Contemporary issues on the internationalisation of higher education: critical and comparative perspectives

The internationalisation of higher education (HE) is a salient development and is regularly discussed at both institutional and system levels. In recent years, internationalisation has generated much policy-related, academic and institutional research. In this special issue we present examples of how HE researchers are beginning to undertake a broader range of studies related to the internationalisation of their sector, going far beyond the traditional (and much researched) focus on the commercial aspects of international HE (particularly international recruitment). Although the term ‘internationalisation’ means different things to different people. in different contexts, there is a growing recognition of the need to ‘rethink’ internationalisation to take account of these multiple perspectives and different meanings of the concept. Hudzik (2011) has called for a ‘comprehensive’ conceptualisation of internationalisation that is broader in scope and scale than traditional approaches and that can operate as an organising paradigm for institutions and sub-units. This conception goes beyond the dualistic ‘internationalisation at home’ and ‘internationalisation abroad’ categories that have traditionally been used in the field (Knight 2008). This wide-ranging conception is far-removed from commercial approaches that have both shaped and responded to human mobility needs and fuelled fierce competition in the international student and staff recruitment markets. This broadening of the internationalisation paradigm is also reflected in recent research, which has begun to focus in more detail on improving the quality of teaching and learning in an increasingly international and global HE environment. We are starting to witness a growing interest in research that seeks to explore ways in which international teaching-learning spaces in HE can be more inclusive and pedagogically compatible with the increasingly multicultural nature of these new learning spaces. This special issue provides a collection of articles from arguably some of the most passionate researchers in this emerging area of internationalisation and globalisation of HE. The articles provide a clear sense of the shift in Compare, 2013 Vol. 43, No. 1, 1–8, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2013.746545

Distinctive Features of Schools in Multiple Deprived Communities in South Africa: Implications for Policy and Leadership.

Multiple deprivation affects a large proportion of schools in South Africa. The past 20 years of democracy have tended to focus on reforming education through curricula revision and a raft of redress-directed interventions, through the application of what we call a broad-brush policy approach. The paper argues that a broad-brush policy application fails to recognise the contextualised challenges faced in specific schools. The central purpose of the research was to discover the specific challenges and leadership issues that schools in multiple deprived communities face, and to identify ways in which such schools dealt with these challenges. The research was conducted through a case study approach of three schools in one of the most impoverished provinces of the country. In total 3 principals, 3 parents and 26 teachers were interviewed. The study found that while the three schools shared many similar conditions of poverty that drove the poor to marginal performance, stories of success tended to be strongly related to four key factors: (1) leadership that went beyond an ordinary focus on instruction; (2) staff stability; (3) flexible scheduling that allowed parental involvement; and (4) a focus on a school-wide project that acted as a rallying point and a source of pride for the entire school. The paper identifies asset-based leadership and servant leadership approaches as generative in schools facing multiple deprivation. The paper concludes with a call for more school-based improvement initiatives that seek to interrogate the impact of factors of multiple deprivation, and a broad policy redirection towards school improvement rather than educational reform, which has been the focus in the past 20 years.

Leading schools in circumstances of multiple deprivation in South Africa Mapping some conceptual, contextual and research dimensions

The paper suggests that multiple deprivation is a concept as yet lacking in substantial theoretical analysis and that its application as a research framing tool in education is relatively recent. As a concept, multiple deprivation suggests a confluence of factors which depress learning and place unique challenges on leadership and which act in combination rather than in isolation. Given that more than three quarters of schools in South Africa are officially described as dysfunctional and that many of these schools serve communities facing multiple deprivation, the article calls for a new theoretical approach which focuses on how best schools in these circumstances can best be led. Based on extant evidence in the field, the paper identifies generative leadership practices upon which a new theory of leadership for these contexts could be constructed. Specifically, it suggests that a cocktail of leadership forms which include transformational, distributed, instructional, ethical and asset based leadership could offer the most promise for schools faced with multiple deprivation. The paper also provides an overview of the articles selected for this special edition.

Stigma, Tensions, and Apprehension: The Academic Writing Experience of International Students.

Purpose – This paper examines the experiences of engaging with academic writing of international doctoral students in the schools of humanities and education at a UK university. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the real accounts of international students whose cultural and language backgrounds are often marginalised and considered, not as facilitators, but as barriers to academic writing in the western context of universities. Design/methodology/approach – Developed broadly within an interpretive post-positivistic paradigm, the study utilised Harre and van Lagenhove, 1999 Positioning theory and Goffman’s theory of Stigma to interrogate accounts of 12 students from the two schools in a year-long project involving three focus group discussions, questionnaire responses and personal reflective summaries by the students. Findings – The paper highlights the notions of stigma associated with their foreign writing conventions and how students experience tensions and apprehensions about their ability as the...

EU entrepreneurial learning: perspectives of university students

Purpose - – This study addresses the issue of teaching in entrepreneurship courses in selected European universities in Malta and the UK. The paper aims to explore the views of students in different educational institutions about their understanding of entrepreneurship and the pedagogical aspects of teaching it. Design/methodology/approach - – Qualitative case study data were collected through one-to-one interviews with 31 students engaged in entrepreneurship course in four educational institutions in Malta and the UK. Findings - – Students identified four essential components that reflect the nature of entrepreneurial education. These consist of pedagogy, content, assessment and role model lecturer. Pedagogy of entrepreneurial courses was broadly seen as a mixture of traditional teaching and entrepreneurial learning. Students showed a preference for content aimed at developing creativity in practice-based situations. Preferred assessment strategies included individual assignments perceived as useful to deepen the concepts learned and stimulate individual thinking. Role model lecturers are inspiring to students. They should be individuals that are creative, have experience in entrepreneurial roles and hold academic knowledge that is useful to teach about entrepreneurship. There were variations in the views expressed by different groups of students interviewed in this study. Research limitations/implications - – Due to the relatively small sample sizes, this study has limited generalisability implying the need for similar research more broadly across other universities in Europe. Practical implications - – The study proposes a model for enhancing the teaching of entrepreneurial courses in universities in Europe. The model comprises teaching pedagogies responsive to the student learning needs; application of features present in the KTP model and proposes a structure for determining worthwhile knowledge that should be delivered in adherence to students learning needs. Originality/value - – This study expands the understanding of the learning process of students and provides a methodological framework that can be used to research entrepreneurial education.

Staff Involvement in Leadership Decision Making in the UK Further Education Sector: Perceptions of Quality and Social Justice.

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the quality of leadership decision making at various leadership levels in the further education (FE) sector. Using Hoffberg and Korvers model for integrated decision making, the paper aims to examine how staff in five UK FE colleges perceive the quality of their involvement in decision‐making teams and groups and the extent to which decision‐making processes meet Tatum et al.s criteria for fair and just organisational decision makingDesign/methodology/approach – The paper utilises data from the Integrating Diversity in Leadership Project sponsored by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership. It draws on responses made by 67 staff in five FE colleges in the UK to a series of qualitative questions in individual interviews. The paper also draws on observations of the level and quality of interaction and contribution made by 147 staff in 15 leadership decision‐making groups. The paper only draws on those responses that have relevance to the questions of leader...

Creating Opportunities for a Socially Just Pedagogy: The Imperatives of Transformation in Post-Colonial HE Spaces

The concept of socially just pedagogy has a relatively short history in South Africa even though its emergence on the international stage can be traced to the work that focused on differentiation and inclusion (Burton 2010). As these concepts came under scrutiny and criticism, primarily because they were seen as contributing to inequities and unequal educational opportunities, especially for those learners working at the bottom of performance levels, they have since been displaced by a discourse of socially just pedagogies. This chapter argues that the imperatives of Internationalisation through the development of internationalised curricula do not provide a sufficient foundation for a socially just pedagogy. I argue further, that in the global south especially and in tandem with the imperatives for transformation and Africanisation, we need glocalised pedagogies which locate Afrocentric approaches based on core principles of: Prioritising the centrality of the cultural context and knowledge capital of the learners; Promoting context deep learning; Creating fair and equitable opportunities for promoting dialogical learning; Promoting varied assessment especially that which nurtures intellectual growth, rather than only that which measures learning achievement; Creating third culture learning spaces in which viewpoints are negotiated respectfully.

Traumatized Home and Away: Toward a Framework for Interrogating Policy–Practice Disjunctures for Refugee Students in Higher Education

This article argues that there are disjunctures between theory and practice related to the integration of refugee students in higher education. Using a theoretical approach, the article explores policy and approaches to refugee integration and identifies the causes of the theory–practice disjunctures. It suggests a framework that other researchers and practitioners can utilize to try to narrow the gap existing between what policy permits and what practice evidences.

Age, gender and job satisfaction among elementary school head teachers in Pakistan

The purpose of this study was to explore general job satisfaction of elementary school head teachers in Pakistan with respect to their age and gender. One hundred and eighty head teachers were sampled from government elementary schools of Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, Pakistan, to collect the relevant data using a modified version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Significant differences based on age and gender were found among the head teachers’ level of job satisfaction. Younger and older head teachers were found to be significantly more satisfied than the middle-aged head teachers. Female head teachers were found to be significantly more satisfied than their male counterparts. This article explores a range of job satisfaction issues in terms of age and gender and identifies implications for practice, policy and further research.