EDUCATION

This seminar presents case studies of international student experiences of Australian higher education. The paper provides insights into ways of understanding various implications of international students' transition into their new Australian study environment. The paper will explore aspects of enculturation, socio cultural adaptation, adjustment, language, communication and/or any learning difficulties encountered by the students. The seminar explores how students negotiate these aspects into their ethnic and cultural identities as well as their academic learning practices.

This paper reports on an evaluation of online learning in a large Australian undergraduate first year university subject. A central focus is the effectiveness web based learning and its implications for facilitating transition pathways into a new learning environment by new university students. The research is situated within a framework of action research and curriculum evaluation by exploring the different uses of a subject web site. Student postings on the web site bulletin board were evaluated. The interpretive content analysis indicates that the online mode of delivery is most beneficial in the distance education mode acting as a socialization and inter-relational device.

In our rapidly globalizing world students are able to access learning through mobility, through computer mediated experiences, and through the diverse perspectives of their peers and teachers. All of these components impact on the ways in which universities and their staff prepare and present courses for their students. This book presents an edited selection of chapters compiled under the theme of 'new international pedagogies'. The objective is to document current pedagogical frameworks and practices in the teaching and learning context of international education. It showcases innovative teaching and learning methods, methodological frameworks and novel pedagogies that contribute to improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning in international settings and diverse student groups. The collection of seventeen chapters offers new debate on applied critical educational thought, innovation in teaching and learning, and culturally sensitive and inclusive curriculum practices across a broad disciplinary spectrum. Of central interest is the production of teaching and learning examples that provide evidence for implementing progress and advancement in the field. The book aims to stimulate further debate, research and application in the field of international pedagogies.

The chapters presented in this collection jointly recognise internationalisation as part and parcel of the current contemporary higher education environment. It is no longer feasible to refute an acknowledgement of its impact on the lives of students, lecturers and their inter-cultural practices in many host institutions around the Western world. Neither can we ignore the ever-increasing global forces that drive the expansion of the international education market, one example of which is the current Bologna Process in Europe. Whatever the social and political movements driving the international education agenda are, the collective consequence for educators and learners is one related to the objective of effective learning opportunities for all. This is one of the challenges of the new century which has seen the narrowing of educational borders and the widening of transnational mobility to an extent previously unimaginable. Students of the new millennium are global citizens who see their future opportunities beyond the boundaries of their nation, and their professional prospects outside locally defined parameters. This concept of global change requires a profound shift in thinking about education, and the methods with which we implement the bridging between the old and the new systems of knowing.

We live in interesting times. The past 20-year period has witnessed an amazing expansion of opportunities for mobility that has enabled students and lecturers to participate in an international higher education experience. Today, the effects of globalisation are undeniably evident in all aspects of higher education ranging from the development of economic and political strategies for institutional and national educational growth to a focus on individual learning designs for students. In English-speaking countries, the development of international education has in some instances brought about welcome opportunities for lecturers and students to augment the mundane teaching in local lecture halls with the inclusion of different cultural and social experiences brought about by international mobility. The novelty of internationalisation has meant professional opportunities of an exciting kind to some, transporting scholars to exotic offshore locations in the academic pursuit of knowledge innovation and transnational advancement. A dichotomous response to the increased international education market has been its sudden augmentation in global student mobility with its ensuing and sometimes locally unprecedented influx of incoming international students. Regardless of its ‘foreign exotic appeal’ or its imposed local constraints, the aftermath of this globally rapid and expansive education market (Altbach & Knight, 2007) has left the teaching and learning community in uncertainty. The international education terrain is currently seeking direction in areas of both pedagogy and policy (Adams & Walters, 2001; Ninnes & Hellstén, 2005). While policy aspects of international education have received due interest from the community of scholars (e.g. Ball, 1998; Crossley & Watson, 2003; Knight, 1994), research has not afforded sufficient attention to the applied aspects of internationalisation, that is, the teaching and curriculum contexts of this global endeavour. The mounting pressures brought about by economic incentives that drive curriculum renewal, increase academic workloads, alter teaching conditions and generate technological advances have added considerable complexity to the task of quality teaching and research in pedagogy. There is a need for a reconsideration of pedagogies that acknowledge international education through the development of sustainable contemporary academic practices.

The internationalisation of higher education has brought new dimensions of inquiry into cross-cultural aspects of pedagogy and practice. From the student learning perspective, a smooth transition into new and foreign learning environments is believed to determine academic success. However, the international academic transition period can be challenging for many students. Problems have been reported in the areas of poor decoding of English language and critical thinking skills; failure to participate in collaborative learning modes (e.g. group discussions); and difficulties communicating effectively in social settings. Refuting arguments have been provided by those seeking to break down ill-formed correlations between cultural anomalies and cognitive deficit. This paper takes the premise that sustainable forms of pedagogy in international contexts hinge on researching the language, culture and discourse intersection in academic learning communities during student transition. It will examine international students' cross-cultural learning experiences as attributed to internal and external factors. The paper discusses international students' interpretations of those intercultural communicative subtleties that are manifest in academic discourse and that may be overlooked by the academic community. The paper concludes by providing some implications for sustaining teaching and learning in international contexts.

Universities have traditionally maintained a central role in promoting international relations, increased solidarity and intercultural understanding. The essential part of this movement has been implemented through the internationalization of higher education (Ninnes & Hellstén, 2005). The rapid growth of a new form of international education has in the past 20 years made dramatic impact both on furthering intercultural academic exchanges and on its adherent economic prosperity (Altbach & Knight, 2007), especially in English speaking countries. The Australian higher education sector has been greatly sustained by internationalization which today contributes significantly to the overall funding of universities. Internationalization of higher education is one of the most successful recent enterprises in Australia and constitutes a major national export industry.

Modern advancements in the world have caused swift measures of adaptation to which the higher education system has not been immune. To some extent the global changes have been slow appearing in the tertiary education sector due to its set customs. Historically, universities have enjoyed a ruling social tradition made possible by its intellectual power, economic security, and a fine measure of collective good-will. The teaching philosophy of the traditional university has rested upon a borderless pursuit of (higher) knowledge which reaches across national and cultural boundaries. However, the insistence of the social and cultural transformations imposed by globalization has required a rethinking of even the most traditional of learning establishments. The result is evident in a rapid and rationalist development of internationalization of higher education, as many would argue, in response to global market needs that increasingly shape education as a commodity.

Globalization has meant that universities are under increased pressure to internationalize through mobility, research partnerships, and internationalised programing. Global citizenship is an increasingly mainstream term being used by the UN and OECD regarding education for the 21st century, yet research about its conceptualization in higher education comes largely from English-speaking contexts (e.g. Jorgenson & Shultz, 2012). This paper presents a piece of an inter-disciplinary, international mixed-methods research project funded through the Academy of Finland and involving 20 universities in 10 countries. It responds to concerns that current economic crises have resulted in an intensification of those internationalization policies in universities that prioritize profit-seeking over those that prioritize ethical alternatives (Khoo, 2011). Drawing on critical and post/de-colonial theories (e.g. Andreotti, 2009), the project considers how, when left unchecked, internationalisation is...

This comparative case study addresses a timely issue engaging researchers involved in the internationalisation of Nordic Higher Education, in the context of Sweden and Finland. The study examines a hypothetical imaginary in the transition between university international policy statements and their understandings from the position of a globalised episteme. The investigation forms a tag-project as part of a funded large international research project examining ethical internationalism in times of global crises, involving a partnership between more than twenty higher education institutions in excess of ten countries across five continents. The data was collected using a mixed-methods design, whilst being controlled across the matched data collection period in 2013-2014. Data consisted of policy texts, surveys and interviews. The current research inquiry reports on a within and across comparative analyses of certain policy texts and follow-up interviews with university management. The results yield logical support for a global higher education imaginary driving internationalisation in ways which reveal paradoxical associations between the imagined and the real worlds of international scholar-practitioners.

The present study compares student teachers’ career choice motives and their relationship with stress-inducing thoughts across five European countries. A previously established factorial structure for career choice motives embedded within self-determination theory was supported. The factors consist of intrinsic motives, such as interest in educational work with children, and extrinsic motives, such as financial security. Furthermore, differences in the importance of these factors in choosing the teaching profession across countries were found. Results further revealed evidence for a link between extrinsic motives and stress-inducing cognitions. Conclusions and implications for teaching practice are discussed.

The advent of globalization is one of the most transformational projects in modern society. As such, its impact has been urgently sensed in the field and the institutions of education, which are publicly recognized as the most effective instrument in nation building. Sweden is the largest of the five Nordic countries, the other four of which as Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. A remarkable history of social engineering of an entire nation through comprehensive educational reform and mass schooling has harnessed the reputation of Sweden as the pinnacle of global social conscience. The educational system has gained a global reputation for what has been more generally known as 'the Swedish Model' (Regeringskansliet, n.d.). This 'common good' that the Swedish education resembled was admired and praised across the world for its progressive, student-centred learning and level playing field in classroom teaching. An aligned national curriculum policy steering this progressively designed social constructivist educational schooling apparatus, centered on equity and access to public education by all school-aged children living in Sweden. In this chapter, we describe the pathways of the Swedish development of teacher education through major reform periods leading to the current era of globalization. Since teacher education in Sweden is a publically driven system, we begin with a brief overview of the institutional context and a short overview of the Swedish school system. We then describe the impact of education reforms on the teaching profession and teacher education and conclude by deliberating on the professionalized teaching profession in the wake of globalization, migration and an increased need of multidimensional integration efforts.

Der vorliegende Beitrag thematisiert Studien- und Berufswahlmotive von Studierenden der Kindheitspädagogik im Kontext des Berufsfeldes und unterschiedlicher Professionalisierungswege. Dies geschieht basierend auf einem Vergleich der Länder Deutschland, Schweden und Schweiz. Es werden Studien- und Berufswahlmotive von Kindheitspädagogikstudierenden (N = 416) aus den drei genannten Ländern ermittelt und diese mittels MANOVAs einem länderspezifischen Vergleich unterzogen. Zentrale Unterschiede liegen in der Ausrichtung intrinsischer Motive (klientel- vs. gesellschaftsbezogen) und in der Wertigkeit extrinsischer Motive. Die Befunde werden mit Blick auf Empfehlungen für den Professionalisierungsprozess des Berufsfeldes Kindheitspädagogik in Deutschland diskutiert. (DIPF/Orig.)

ZusammenfassungDie vorliegende Studie untersucht die Studien- und Berufswahlmotive von Studierenden des Grundschullehramts aus Deutschland, der Schweiz, Schweden, Rumänien und China auf Grundlage der STeaM/I-Datensätze, vergleicht sie mit den Motiven von Lehramtsstudierenden für weiterführende Schulen und setzt sie in den Kontext mit länderspezifischen strukturellen Bedingungen und Berufsbildern. Ausgehend von einem Vergleich intrinsischer, extrinsischer und pragmatischer Motive zeigen sich länderspezifische Unterschiede. Insgesamt zeigen intrinsische Motive die höchsten Ausprägungen, wobei dem chinesischen Motivprofil mit einer verhältnismäßig niedrigen intrinsischen und einer verhältnismäßig hohen pragmatischen Motivation eine Sonderrolle zukommt. Während die deutschen Befragten neben intrinsischen auch verhältnismäßig hohe extrinsische Motive aufweisen, die sich mit den Vorteilen einer Verbeamtung in Beziehung bringen lassen, messen schwedische Befragte insbesondere der gesellsch...