Internationalising higher education: Critical explorations of pedagogy and policy.

Internationalising higher education: Critical explorations of pedagogy and policy Peter Ninnes and Meeri Hellstren (Eds.) Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2004 ISBN: 962-8093-37-1

The title of this book suggests a huge undertaking, but one that has broad-reaching implications for comparative and international higher education. It contains an eclectic mixture of perspectives and analysis on international higher education developments in the Asia-Pacific region with an emphasis placed on the Australian perspective. The book is not organised to necessarily differentiate the effects of internationalisation processes between pedagogy and policy. Its significance instead rests on the outcomes of various research methodologies employed by individual authors. In many ways, the dynamism of these authors offers new ways of thinking about internationalisation and represents an invitation to learn more about internationalisation processes in terms of regional, cultural, and hermeneutical contexts. How the internationalising phenomenon may have impacted higher education across Australia and the Asia-Pacific has been accomplished in such a way as to allow the reader to focus on areas of special concern.

Given the intention to treat both policy and pedagogy, the following comments attempt to highlight significant contributions of the book in these two contexts.

Policy

Ninnes and Hellsten identify a universal need for critical engagement in teaching, research, and policy in international higher education. More specifically and by means of a literature review, they indicate the importance of broadening one's understanding of things international in an effort to determine what it means to 'internationalise' higher education. They 'also discuss the ongoing confusion and discourse within the field of comparative and international education and suggest that globalisation and its effects have increased the pace of internationalisation processes in higher education.

Among the other authors presented, Naidoo and Jamieson argue that there are external pressures placed on universities worldwide to meet production needs of a knowledge-based economy. In terms of the commodification of higher education, their research suggests that academic success is no longer measured by peer review and principles. Instead, a shift has begun to take place toward financial measurement, which includes the notion that students are not necessarily students but student customers. Although it is acknowledged that there is a large divide between traditional and non-traditional forms of higher education delivery, they have attempted to propose six key principles that are necessary for high quality learning in higher education: (1) student motivation; (2) active engagement; (3) modification of cognitive maps; (4) the use of feedback; (5) effective peer support; and (6) the use of context variation.

Yang, on the other hand, offers a country-specific definition of internationalisation, suggesting that it is dependent oil particular socio-cultural contexts. Within his case study of Zhongshan University in Guangdong Province (China), Yang contemplates the concern that internationalisation forces have shifted the university's duty toward serving the local society to the wider prospects of the international dimension. He provides an impressive historiography of Zhongshan University and their attempt to measure the institution as a highly qualified and internationally-respected, comprehensive research university.

Harman addresses the Australian higher education context by investigating the current literature on the subject and current research generated. His extensive critique identifies a large pool of Australian scholars who are actively engaged in researching national and institutional internationalisation policies and practices. Harman believes that the literature concerning Australian higher education students, curricula and staff is still rather limited, which may suggest that the exporting of higher education services continues to be a greater priority in Australia, since the literature concerning the latter subject is extensive.

Schapper and Mayson offer a more detailed view of academic deskilling and devaluing in Australian higher education, contrasting managerialism--including its obsession with efficiency--with that of internationalisation, viewed by the authors as a standardisation of curricula. They provide a provocative but timely argument that the current approach to managing academic staff, the profession, and its practices, is undermining quality, marginalising academic integrity, and compromising intellectual prowess. In the more specialised context of developmental policy, Ninnes writes about the reciprocity of engagement in the proposed Virtual Colombo Plan and weighs its potential promise from the perspectives of Australian higher education institutions and the so-called 'developing' recipients to which it caters. Nilan concentrates her focus on the perceived benefits of AusAid scholarships offered to Indonesian students who study in Australian universities; and Tuinamuana attempts to argue that the new managerialism approach--borrowed from the effects of economic colonisation--does not work in Fiji. Her observation suggests that socio-economic and historic factors must be taken into account if a new managerialism approach is to be deemed effective.

Pedagogy

Among those scholars who write about the pedagogical context, M. Singh argues that there is no homogeneity of narrative concerning the internationalisation of higher education. He expresses his concern about the intensity of neo-liberal doctrine, suggesting that the society-at-large typically views Anglo-American knowledge as both alluring and novel, but that absolute differences in learning strategies continue to cause cultural dissonance within the classroom.

Doherty and P. Singh suggest that Australian universities are global cultural contact zones that foster impurity and imaginary gateways. In the same context, Prescott and Hellsten claim that foreign language issues and alienation are the root causes of transitional problems for international students, suggesting incongruence between their initial expectations and their experiences while in transition. They also emphasise that, beyond pedagogical differences in teaching techniques, Australian lecturers are often culturally unaware of how their feedback to students should be relayed.

This book, a collection of various works that address internationalisation processes, contains significant contributions to the field of comparative and international education. Their presentation, however, could be improved with attention to additional organisation. Respecting content, research methods utilised by the various authors are unfortunately limited by small samples and time-frames as well as context-dependence. Accordingly, applicability and legitimacy of conclusions offered can be called into question. Despite these issues, the strength of offerings rests in their interdisciplinary character which is so vital in addressing internationalisation issues, since they are as much non-linear as they are transformative.

Brian D. Denman

University of New England