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Internationalising the student experience - staff perspectives
June 2009Sheffield Hallam University
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Session overview
• Current context• HEA framework for internationalisation• D&S Faculty perspective and core objectives• D&S approach to internationalisation - 3 strands
(IBD, mobility and LTA)• Developments in internationalisation and LTA in
D&S• Scoping project summary, findings and
recommendations2
Current context - what's internationalisation all about?
Some key evidence bases • The Prime Minister's Initiative 2 for International Education (PMI 2) • Bologna Process -Towards the European Higher Education Area• Europe Unit• Northern Consortium - United Kingdom• Leadership Foundation for Higher Education• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD Te
aching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)• Higher Education Academy - supporting Internationalisation• HEFCE - International Strategy• DIUS - 9 perspectives on HE development (1 of which is about
internationalisation - a ten year view (Bone,D. 2008)
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Internationalisation in HE
• No single consensus on international development in HE
• International development - adds to the diversity of the student experience
• Survival of courses - reliance upon international recruitment
• Significance of financial contribution and their implications
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Curriculum issues
• Learner mobility challenges• Accommodating international students in and out of LTA
practice - should we rearticulate our LTA to be more flexible for a diverse body of students?
• Inclusivity-contributing to an evolving society vs. traditional HE delivery (private sector/class/hierarchy)
• Need a realistic, thought through approach across HE institutions - Employer engagement/WP/lifelong learning
• Focus on partnership and collaboration between HE institutions
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HEA - Framework for Internationalisation
The Higher Education Academy identifies five core components of an Internationalisation process and the Faculty is clustering its own activities around these components:
• Institutional (values, policies, partnerships) • Staff (supporting, developing and rewarding) • Students (diversity, communication) • Curriculum formal and informal (internationalised curriculum,
exchanges, integration) • Support (services & facilities, pastoral, linguistic / cultural /
academic)
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D&S Faculty perspective - Internationalisation Project (2007-2010)• Corporate Plan• SHU International Strategy (2005-2010)• Faculty international strategies/plans • Heads of International development in Faculties• Approx - 14% of SHU students are international (rising year on
year)• Existing rationale - trying to address current reputational and
income needs • Internationalisation project is set in the context of other
institutional related activities delivered by:- International Office- International Student Support- International Marketing- Partnership Support Unit
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D&S Faculty Core Objectives for Internationalisation (2007- 2010)
• To increase and diversify business development and income streams to the Faculty
• To enhance the employability of students (UK and international)
• To create a key selling point for the faculty• To achieve a vibrant and multicultural
environment within the faculty
8https://staff.shu.ac.uk/fds/international/Default.asp
3 paradigms for internationalisation
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research on student perceptions of mobility
new partnerships with overseas HEI's
student information sessions to promote mobility opportunities
work on UG course structures to enable mobility
project to scope current practice and future direction in internationalisation and LTA
development of 3 international focused optional modules in ASS
Internationalisation of the student experience conference to share and promote good practice
Attendance and representation at European recruitment fairs
International visits to HE institutions in China, India, Africa and the Middle east
new curriculum partnership link with St Francis
Internationalisation Special Interest Group
Interrelated areas of work
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Learning, Teaching and Assessment (LTA)
"to ensure that all students can benefit from an "internationalised" experience even if they are not physically mobile, for example by studying modules with an international focus and by working with students from other countries and cultures".
D&S Faculty Internalisation Strategy (2007-2010)
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" Internationalising the curriculum is an important and strategic initiative of universities worldwide. An internationalised curriculum has the potential to enrich the educational experience of both local and international students by providing a range of opportunities for study and cultural exchange. This includes student mobility programs as well as incorporation of international content"
J, Martin. and How, Kee.L (2008)
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Ongoing Internationalisation Project developments to support LTA strand in 2008/09
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Research study - scoping internationalisation and LTA (staff perspectives)
• Purpose and aimsThe objectives of the scoping exercise were to:• Enquire about the opportunities that courses offer to
integrate international and cross-cultural perspectives through learning, teaching and assessment
• Consider the international relevance of subject material through learning, teaching and assessment
• Explore understandings of different pedagogical cultures to ensure that teaching and learning remains sensitive to student’s educational contexts
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The approach
In semester 1 of 2008, independent interviews were undertaken with colleagues across the Faculty to find out how they were engaging with the internationalisation within the context of learning and teaching. 27 interviews were conducted with representation from 14 of the Faculty's 17 current subject areas.
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Summary of key findings - themes
• Diversity of staff practice• Current international practices• Statutory requirements/Professional bodies• Curriculum change• Programme/course structures• Student and staff mobility
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Diversity of staff practice
There was a general awareness of cross-cultural, global, citizenship issues, the notion of HE being internationalised generally, was not necessarily something which was a core feature of subject curriculas. Interestingly, there was a common perception that 'Internationalisation' was perceived to be about the process of recruitment and teaching of international students and opportunities for work based learning/student placements abroad.
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Examples of International Practice
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Statutory requirements/professional bodies
"it is one of the standards, which students have a requirement to meet, they know what the standards are and what they need to do to get there…one of the things for example around working with multicultural perspectives and an awareness of cultural diversity of people, especially in the jobs which they (students) may end up being employed in. Meeting competencies against national standards makes the course more meaningful for our students and so it is much more than just an academic qualification, it becomes part of what students believe in".
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Curriculum Change
"Our distance learning courses really do embrace internationalisation because the interest in the subject and the way it is delivered means they (students) can develop their own interests. Most of them live abroad, the idea of this module is how you connect with the locality and issues in globalisation , so you might study how a society is operating in Sheffield, but how does the world affect it? People who are interested in political movements, their interest in the wider world, people who are interested in manufacturing - they are dependent on overseas markets…how do they conceive and relate to the world…it's the concept between the relationship between a community and a society and its interactions with the wider world".
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Programme/Course Structures
"…it seems like there's been a recent push in internationalisation, particularly over the last year, it's generated loads of interest and activity which is demanding on staff time and we've been asking what the resource for this is (referring to staff buy out time) and where the time on the work plan to set up partnerships with other Universities comes from. I raised this with other SGL's - eventually we were told that it would come out of our own subject resource. That's the current model. This presents a problem - the actually issue then is that it needs to be built into current core work planning and there's been no preparation for that. So my question is how is your international strategy is aligned with your work planning strategy? But it seems like nobody has thought to link them to together and how you would advise subject leaders about how to do this work in practice."
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Student and staff mobility"we include as much experience of travelling abroad as much as we can… we think the learning in terms of the experience from other cultures, even if they are just European cultures is fundamental for them (students). We've always enjoyed having international students on our courses, especially on our undergraduate courses and they bring a great deal to the rest of the cohort. Within this we've established a fantastic partnership with the host institution and they've given us a phenomenal service".
"…it's taken a long time for us to get the partnership with (reference to an institution) exchange set up, but its been brilliant for students on our module who've been away and have come back completely transformed and enthused about their experience and their own learning. This has had a massive positive knock on effect on them and how they see themselves as professionals after they finish their degree, which is really encouraging to see".
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Implications for LTA and the curriculum: developing internationalisation
• How can we provide effective staff development processes to support the integration of international perspectives/relevance within the curriculum?
• How can we develop the facility, capacity and resource for supporting international related activity , which is aligned with University Central Support Services, IT Support, International Office, that includes aspects of international business development and student and staff mobility?
• How can we modernise assessment and feedback practices to facilitate international LTA activity?
• How can we provide students with opportunities for international related experiences both within and outside the curriculum?
• How can we effectively use student feedback to develop international activity which is relevant to their subject?
• How can we promote the development of international collaboration at individual, team, departmental, faculty, and institutional level?
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Recommendations• The findings of this scoping exercise should be used and disseminated
across the Faculty in helping to provide input to the future support for internationalisation
• The need for a clear institutional lead and direction for Internationalisation• Celebrate good international practice (as exemplified by this conference)• Promote greater awareness of the Internationalisation Project and
associated plan• Develop Faculty wide and cross-institutional links on the strategic
development for internationalisation• Provide appropriate interventions for International learning, teaching and
assessment support for staff• Promote professional development and staff engagement in support of
internationalisation• Undertake further investigatory work, focusing on the needs and practices
of relevant international stakeholders 24
Summary
The scoping exercise highlighted that there are already many good existing practices which demonstrate the multiple benefits of an internationalised student learning experience. The Faculty is in an ideal position to move forward on the issues highlighted in the discussion which focuses on meeting the needs of key stakeholders such as academic and learning support and central service support such as the international office, international student support and international marketing.
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How do I internationalise my curriculum? Inclusive LTA approach
Embedding Internationalisation
through LTA
Sheffield Hallam University LTA Report (2008) 26
Internationalisation Project:key contacts
• Donna Cooper - Project Officer,• Iain Garner - Mobility Strand Leader• Jill Nanson - Project Manager• Andrea Nollent - Project Sponsor• Steve Terry - Strand Leader IBD• Malcolm Todd - Strand Leader LTA
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Key texts and references• Burnapp, D. et al, (2008), Supporting international students in UK Higher Education: a staff development course, The Higher
Education Academy, Subject Centre for Language, Linguistics and Area Studies (LLAS)• Carroll, J. and Ryan, J.(2005), Teaching International Students, Improving Learning for All, The Staff and Educational
Development Association Series• Hudson, B. and Todd, J. M. (2000), Internationalising the Curriculum in Higher Education - Reflecting on Practice, Sheffield
Hallam University Press• Hyland, F. etc al, (2008), A Changing World: the internationalisation experiences of staff and students (home and
international) in the UK Higher Education, The HEA, Subject Centre for Education (ESCalate) and Subject Centre for Language, Linguistics and Area Studies (LLAS)
• Internationalising students' unions in higher education (March 2008) - a strategic framework and audit toolkit for students' unions, National Union of Students, supported by PMI2 funding
• Jones, E. and Brown, S. (2007), Internationalising Higher Education, Routledge publications, British Library Catalogue• Ryan, J. (2000), A guide to teaching international students, Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, Oxford
Brookes University• The Prime Minister's Initiative for International Education in Higher Education - http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-
pmi.htm• The Higher Education Academy - Internationalisation support
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/learning/international• Global Opportunities for UK Higher Education
http://www.international.ac.uk/our_research_and_publications/index.cfm• Oxford Brookes - Internationalising the Curriculum Resource Kit
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsld/ioc/resourcekit.html
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