Understanding the relationship between global and diversity learning practice types, critical thinking and awareness of self and others in college students

The ability to think critically and complexly amid novel experiences that require self- and other-awareness is something that leaders in an array of social institutions seek to develop in their communities. Global and Diversity Learning (GDL) practices, one category of high impact practices (Kuh, 2008), aim to increase students' awareness of self and others and imbue critical thinking skills that will help students see how their own background and experiences interact with those of peers. This study aims to understand the relationship of four GDL practices (education abroad, multicultural programming, intercultural living-learning communities, and global studies coursework) to desired learning outcomes. Through completing ANCOVAs and multiple regression analyses on an existing dataset of GDL participants, this study demonstrates the influence of gender, socio-economic status, and citizenship within GDL practice types. The study findings also reveal significant differences between group members' other awareness and critical thinking capacity. Understanding how different GDL practice types affect capacity development will allow university leadership to direct collaboration between departments and align programming, to allocate resources more effectively, and communicate potential outcomes based on empirical data.Includes bibliographical reference

Understanding the perceived value of global learning experiences for doctoral leadership students

Foreign travel occupies a role in the development of global leadership, yet the function of higher education in that process is scarcely understood. This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study explored the perceived value that select doctoral students experienced during from their short-term course-based foreign travel. The first phase of the research included fifty students, while the second used a subset of 12 from the first phase. The students participated in an online quantitative survey, followed by optional interviews where the qualitative data were obtained. Quantitative and Qualitative research methods were used to analyze the data. The findings were presented in numerical and narrative formats, respectively. The results were consistent with the literature. They also provided additional insights that advance the burgeoning field of global leadership and substantiate more recent trends in the older, more established education abroad arena. The findings suggest specific aspects of academic course-based foreign travel aid in the development of global leadership skills. Participants cited peer-learning, scheduling concerns, overall organization, intercultural contact, theory to practice opportunities, and learning experience applicability as the drivers of value in their academic foreign travel experiences. The recommendations suggest that course-based foreign travel may benefit from designs that balance participants’ exposure to their peers, contact with the local population, and structured academic instruction. Additionally, doctoral students may consider other activities to increase cultural intelligence more broadly; as the results indicate a significant, positive correlation between the value of global learning experiences and cultural intelligence levels

Sharing Knowledge, Transforming Societies: The Norhed Programme 2013-2020

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A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF LEADERSHIP OUTCOMES IN SHORT-TERM STUDY ABROAD

The impact of global citizenship is far-reaching and encompasses skills and outcomes beyond simple economic and business success. Enhancing all students’ knowledge and ability to navigate a global community is not just of interest to governmental units, policymakers, and global organizations, but also to universities who wish to adhere to accreditation standards. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to identify characteristics related to an individuals’ motivation to complete a short-term study abroad (one to three weeks in duration) and the impact that experience had on their personal and leadership growth. Eighteen self-identified leaders enrolled in a college degree or certification program from across the United States agreed to participate in this qualitative study, sharing experiences on overcoming short-term study abroad barriers, as well as the personal and leadership growth attained from completing the short-term study abroad program. Overall, findings indicated that regardless of a participants age, degree/certification, geographical location or level of past or current leadership, by overcoming potential barriers connected to a short-term study abroad experience, the first-hand knowledge attained from his or her participation provided value and benefits personally, as well as informing and influencing his or her current leadership as well as the impact toward future leadership. Specifically, participants shared their personal growth, which included an increase in self-efficacy, knowledge and appreciation for other people and cultures, being more mindful and open-minded, and greater cultural awareness attained through first-hand experiences that mitigated stereotypes and preconceived biases. Leadership was informed and influenced by the increase of knowledge and awareness of being inclusive, open-minded to global perspectives and differing viewpoints, as well as building teams, empowering others, and sharing leadership. This paper contributes to an existing body of knowledge concerning barriers of participating in short-term study abroad experiences, but by being motivated to overcome those barriers, personal growth occurred. This study provides new knowledge regarding the impact short-term study abroad has on influencing and informing leadership, a topic underrepresented current literature. The impact this study will have is value for all stakeholders working in a global context. Advisor: Nathan W. Conne

Sharing Knowledge, Transforming Societies

"In June 2016, the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (Norhed) hosted a conference on the theme of ‘knowledge for development’ in an attempt to shift the focus of the programme towards its academic content. This book follows up on that event. The conference highlighted the usefulness of presenting the value of Norhed’s different projects to the world, showing how they improve knowledge and expand access to it through co-operation. A wish for more meta-knowledge was also expressed and this gives rise to the following questions: Is this way of co-operating contributing to the growth of independent post-colonial knowledge production in the South, based on analyses of local data and experiences in ways that are relevant to our shared future? Does the growth of academic independence, as well as greater equality, and the ability to develop theories different to those imposed by the better-off parts of the world, give rise to deeper understandings and better explanations? Does it, at least, spread the ability to translate existing methodologies in ways that add meaning to observations of local context and data, and thus enhance the relevance and influence of the academic profession locally and internationally? This book, in its varied contributions, does not provide definite answers to these questions but it does show that Norhed is a step in the right direction. Norhed is an attempt to fund collaboration within and between higher education institutions. We know that both the uniqueness of this programme, and ideas of how to better utilise the learning and experience emerging from it, call for more elaboration and broader dissemination before we can offer further guidance on how to do things better. This book is a first attempt.

Students\u27 Stories About Internationalization Efforts in Technical Colleges: Transcending Learning Theories and Institutional Supports

Much of the research regarding internationalization practices pertains directly to four-year institutions, but community colleges are also called to prepare students for participation in an increasing collaborate and interconnected global world (Dellow, 2007; Treat & Hagedorn, 2013). The unique mission of technical colleges, in particular, is positioned to provide opportunities for this type of learning. This global learning curriculum gap at the community college level has also not been widely examined from the student perspective. This research addressed the gaps with regard to two-year technical colleges and student perspective and asks: How do students attending a technical college with an internationalized curriculum connect with the opportunity and assign relevance? Attendant questions included: 1) What aspects of an internationalized curriculum in their course of study draw student interest? 2) What types of learning opportunities in an internationalized curriculum do students suggest help them make connections to their personal lives, workplace or occupational interests? and 3) In what ways, if any, do students assign relevance to the learning experiences in an internationalized curriculum to their personal lives, workplace or occupational interests? Andragogy, transformative learning, and the tenets of global learning were used as a conceptual framework to help understand how these particular students’ lived experiences, roles, and interests extend and enhance the expected outcomes of an internationalized curriculum present in two technical colleges. Each of the 18 students participated in one-one-one interviews. Many also offered an artifact of their learning with a written reflection. These tools granted access to understanding their experiences with internationalized course curriculum. This study yielded three findings. First, students had meaningful connections with internationalized curriculum when they leveraged topics of personal, professional, or academic interest to them. Second, they drew from experiences both inside and outside of the classroom, which reinforced their learning. Third, despite students identifying the application of global learning in their occupations and workplace, they placed a stronger emphasis on working collaboratively with others. Additionally, three master themes of People, Place, and Occupation support the primary findings. Together, these findings and themes have implications for faculty, institutional leadership, and administration while pointing to future research in this area

Successful Global Collaborations in Higher Education Institutions

This open access book presents deep investigation to the manifold topics pertaining to global university collaboration. It outlines the strategies King Abdulaziz University has employed to rise in global rankings, and the reasons chosen to collaborate with other academic and research institutes. The environment in which universities currently exist is considered, and subsequently how an innovative culture might be established and maintained to enable global partnerships to be implemented and to succeed is discussed. The book provides an intense focus on why collaboration is a necessary ingredient for knowledge transfer and explains how to do it. The last part of the book considers how to sustain partnerships. This is because one of the challenges of global partnerships is not just setting them up, but also sustaining them

The Relationship Between English and Employability in the Middle East and North Africa

This report explores what is known about the relationship between English language learning and employability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Section 1 summarises the economic situation in MENA and describes some of the approaches to reform that have been proposed to generate economic growth, which include labour market reform (a focus on demand), and investment in education and changes in education systems (a focus on supply). It concludes with a collated list of recommendations for reforming MENA economies. Section 2 provides an overview of education systems in MENA and educational policy attempts to respond to economic and social needs in the region. Included in these reforms are proposals to enhance both access to and quality of education; making education more responsive to the needs of the private sector; and expanding and improving English language teaching. This section also presents an overview of the data that exists on the relationship between economic development and education that is relevant to the region. It demonstrates that overall investments in education, though significant in many countries across the region (and particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), have not resulted in the expected outcomes (i.e. significant improvements in the provision of education). Section 3 looks at the role and status of English in society and in education systems across MENA, and considers the role of the language in promoting employability. The section first reviews the evidence that relates English language learning to economic gain for nations and individuals, paying heed also to the results that have been found elsewhere. It suggests that there is a relationship between English language skills and economic gain, but the benefits at a national level are limited by the wider system and factors such as macro-economic stability, good governance and transparency. Similarly, a person’s social environment and individual circumstances limit the returns of English at an individual level. So without targeting the long-embedded inequalities in terms of gender, ethnicity and the urban-rural divide, education in general – and English language education in particular – is not likely to provide disadvantaged individuals with the resources that they need to catch up. There is little quantitative evidence from the MENA region that would allow us to make claims such as “an individual who speaks English earns X% more than an individual that doesn’t” – and this might be the type of evidence that parents and policy makers would most like to see. But even when such claims are made, they are restricted to certain employment sectors and geographic regions and cannot be generalised to whole populations or regions. Evidence also shows that while English language skills are related to economic opportunities, the same can be said of any language skills. Multilingualism is very valuable for societies, and it is certainly not the case, as was once thought by some, that multilingualism acts as a barrier to economic development. This provides good justification for ensuring that local and national languages maintain a strong role in societies, and that children are offered opportunities to develop a strong foundation of literacy and communication skills in local languages, which will then, in turn, ensure a strong basis for second language learning. Section 3 ends with a review of the emerging research into English language teaching programmes and programmes in higher education that are using English as medium of instruction (EMI). These studies highlight the serious challenges involved in implementing effective English language teaching initiatives in the region. They also uncover clear needs to develop teachers’ competences in student-centred, communicative teaching approaches, as well as abilities to deliver sector-specific, authentic ESP programmes. Research into EMI raises severe concerns about the efficacy of such programmes in MENA and the opportunities for students to access learning through English. Moreover, the research uncovers concerns among some MENA populations (overall but particularly in the GCC) of dominance of global culture over local values, as well as efforts to maintain local values, cultures, religion and languages. This research therefore implies that offering quality English language teaching is a challenge in the region. Offering education through English as the only medium seems likely to act as a further hindrance to learning. Despite the significant investment of governments and individuals, even in some of the most generously funded education systems in the world, these challenges persist. This suggests that there are wider issues at stake, and that there is a need for significant transformation in education systems and traditions. Access to high quality English language teaching should be equitable, and should offer individuals opportunities to enhance their capabilities in ways that allow them to capitalise on economic and social opportunities and to take ownership of English as a medium for the expression of local values. At the moment there is little evidence that this is happening. The report concludes by summarising the implications of this review and by proposing recommendations for policy makers and implementers that would help support the transformation of education systems in MENA so that education and language learning can better contribute to human development. These recommendations relate to both wider education systems in general, as the context in which language learning and skills development sits, and English language teaching in particular. The recommendations include: Approaches concerning language use and language learning • Applying a bilingual/multilingual approach to education at all levels and in all countries to support improvements in quality • Building more bridges to allow students to move between their local languages and varieties, the national language and international languages • Ensuring strong foundations in local language(s) literacies as well as English literacy, with bridges connecting the two • Ensuring that appropriate language learning pedagogies are used with young learners so that they gain confidence and useful communication skills • Promoting high quality English language teaching through appropriate teacher education or professional development initiatives and shifts in assessment policies Curriculum reforms • Implementing in policy and practice learner-centred pedagogies that move away from rote learning and memorisation • Integrating critical thinking, problem solving and autonomy skills into the subject curriculum • Updating the curriculum to be relevant to the real needs of society Teacher education • Strengthening systems for initial teacher education and opportunities for the professional development of practising teachers over time and at scale • Harnessing ICTs for the provision of teacher education • Providing support for teachers to enact multilingual strategies in the classroom to support students in learning to communicate in local, national and international languages Educational system reforms • Implementing national quality assurance standards • Reforming assessment systems so that they ensure that certain knowledge and competencies are learned instead of working as gatekeepers • Maintaining focus on improving quality of basic education so that it is relevant to people’s lives and potential for employment • Embedding more flexibility into education systems • Focusing on equity issues (particularly those related to location, gender and language background) • Ensuring that education is delivered in a medium that students can access Technical education • Ensuring that skills development initiatives are relevant and accessible to those who need them most (reducing barriers to vocational education) • Embedding literacy and numeracy development and language learning within Technical Vocational Educational Training (TVET) • Improving the image of TVET (through enhancing employability) Further research, monitoring and evaluation • Filling the data gap with regards to learning outcomes in the region in general and in terms of English levels among teachers and students • Developing independent education research institutions • Promoting monitoring and evaluation, for sharing good practice across the region, and for scaling up successful initiatives • Providing more quantitative data about levels of English in society and needs for English (and other languages) in the labour market, including the informal sector • Providing more qualitative data – through case studies – about what people can actually do with English language skills once obtained, what challenges can be solved and opportunities sought with additional competences in English This report suggests that such education initiatives (including those in ELT) are embedded within wider programmes for development that take into account the larger structural issues in order to enhance people’s opportunities and capabilities

Business Risk in Changing Dynamics of Global Village 2

The monograph is prepared based on the presentations and discussions made at the II International Conference “BUSINESS RISK IN CHANGING DYNAMICS OF GLOBAL VILLAGE (BRCDGV 2019)”, November, 7th-08th, 2019, in Ternopil, Ukraine. The aim of this scientific international conference is to provide a platform for professional debate with the participation of experts from around the globe in order to identify & analyze risks and opportunities in today’s global business, and specifically in Ukraine. The conference will provide a framework for researchers, business elites and decision makers to uplift the business ties and minimise the risk for creating a better world and better Ukraine.The Conference is designed to call experts around the globe from different sectors of practices which are effected by globalization and watching changes in Europe as well as in Ukraine. It is an excellent platform for interactions and communication between academicians, corporate representatives, policy makers, representatives of organizations and community, as well as individuals being the part of this globalized world. The 1st edition of this conference was held at the University of Applied Sciences in Nysa, Poland (2017); the 2nd edition took place at Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University, Ukraine (2019); the 3rd edition will be organized at Patna University, India (2020) in cooperation with Indo-European Education Foundation (IEEF, Poland) and its partner universities from Poland, India, Europe and other part of the world.Under modern conditions of globalization nowadays, economic activity is undergoing changes. Innovative technologies, new forms of business, dynamic changes taking place in the world today result in the emergence of the necessity to minimize risks in order to maximize benefits. The cooperation between experts from different fields with the aim to ensure sustainable growth – policymakers, scientists, universities representatives and business elites is essential nowadays. With the purpose to bring them together and discuss the main issues of todays’ global world this conference took place in Ternopil, Ukraine. As Ukraine is now passing through a dynamic period of changes, recommendations coming up from such discussions can be very beneficial for building stronger society and meet the risks globalization brings up. This monograph provides a useful review of economic, financial and policy issues in the context of globalization processes and has proven extremely popular with practitioners and industry advisors. This edition is given the continued high demand and interest for experts form different areas working on diminishing of business risks wishing to keep abreast of current thinking on this subject. According to many experts process of managing risks is currently one of the most relevant business technologies and at the same time it is a complex process which requires ground knowledge in the research field and practical experience. The popularity of business risks management is due to objective reasons such as dynamics of society, interconnections and interdependence between different players in the society, increasing role of human capital in the country’s sustainable developmen