Date of Award

Spring 2-27-2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD Education Leadership, Management and Policy

Department

Education Leadership, Management and Policy

Advisor

Rong Chen, PhD

Committee Member

Kate Smith, PhD

Committee Member

Teboho Moja, PhD

Keywords

Internationalization of Curriculum (IoC), global citizen in education, diversity of thought, decolonialization of curriculum

Abstract

International curriculum is a scholastic model to implement international and intercultural dimensions within teaching and learning strategies across disciplines. However, theorists emphasized that IoC is not an independent institutional strategy rather it is tied to internationalization of higher education as a complex and institutionally customized policy. Studies conducted in various national contexts underscore two main critiques brought to implementation of IoC. First, institutions of higher education have different possibilities to implement IoC and colleges and universities in Northern, European and Western countries manipulate the process of internationalization. Second, the role of administrators, leadership and faculty is essential in the implementation of IoC but there’s not much evidence of their perspectives on the meaning and pragmatics to implement IoC as a policy that benefits all students, regardless of their socio-economic status, cultural, ethnical and racial background.

This dissertation used a qualitative single case study approach to understand the views which ultimately impact the actions of administrators, leadership and faculty within one institutional context in the Global South. The data analyzed includes 18 semi structured interviews, document analysis and researchers’ observations during the interview. The results show that across the School of Humanities, School of Education and School of Visual Arts, the views of administrators, leadership and faculty understand internationalization of curriculum as a policy that advances diversity of thought, decolonialization of curriculum content and appreciation of indigenous cultures and languages. The results also underscore that usage of technology, international collaborative learning and research are essential means to implement IoC however, institutional stakeholders might understand differently the role of such instruments in the enactment of IoC .

Recommendations for future theory and practice suggest IoC as a practice which accounts for geographic positionality of the institution, all aspects of diversity and rather than for a collective institutional identity. If invited as active participants in the design of IoC, administrators, leadership and faculty have the capabilities to find an opportunity in each challenge listed in this study for implementation of IoC. Lastly, various cognitive skills, social behaviors, and attitudes to collaborative international learning may impact the design of international curriculum.

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