Claudius Soodeen, Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership and Policy)
Educational Leaders’ Understandings of Internationalization: A Case Study
Supervisor(s): Prof. Tom Sork, Research Supervisor (Educational Leadership and Policy); Prof. Shauna Butterwick (Educational Leadership and Policy); Prof. Gerald Fallon (Educational Leadership and Policy)
Friday, May 18, 2018 | 9:00 am | Room 200, Graduate Student Centre, 6371 Crescent Road
Abstract
Internationalization has become an important focus and activity of and in higher education and as such, merits an answer to the questions of how it is understood by educational leaders making decisions about its implementation and for what purposes it is being undertaken. This qualitative case study utilized semi-structured interviews to explore educational leaders’ understandings of internationalization and how those understandings impacted their decisions about internationalization.
The College’s longstanding and complex context of international engagement has set the stage for current ways of ‘doing’ and understanding internationalization. Their own life experiences with diversity, difference, and discomfort have helped to shape their views of internationalization as a comprehensive phenomenon that impacts all areas of the College. However, they are also influenced by the pragmatic realities of running and sustaining a college, the mandate to contribute to the local and national economies and workforces and a responsibility to help make the world a better place. In reality, international student recruitment seems to be not only the focus but the most visible implementation of internationalization.
Implementing comprehensive internationalization (CI) requires leaders to expand their understanding of internationalization from being just an end in itself. It also requires clearer communication of their goals and meaningful engagement of the internal community in decision-making processes. There are also the challenges of faculty development and support, collective accountability for achieving clearly defined goals, acting ethically and allocating sufficient resources across competing initiatives. CI is possible if leaders begin to act on stated values, and pursue financial and non-financial goals with equal vigour, perhaps relying on Social Innovation programming to provide an appropriate environment.
