Course content

Many international students complain that their courses offer an almost exclusively anglocentric view in some areas of study, and that this view is presented as if it were universal. Even when students raise the point that what they are being taught will be of limited value to them when they return to their own culture, this point is often ignored.

Often, lecturers find it hard to imagine how they could incorporate an international dimension into what they teach. They often say things like ‘I teach Chemistry. Where’s the international dimension in that?’ But in the examples they use, and in teaching ways of applying knowledge in different situations, they can give a diversity of examples and use a variety of methods. Alternative cultural ways of viewing a discipline can be important in understanding why a discipline has evolved in a particular way in different cultures. For example, we can look at why Western science has evolved in the way that it has, and what alternative approaches exist, or why different cultures use different mathematical counting systems such as using ten as a base or even three or five.

Ask yourself

• Examine your own discipline. Are you aware of its cultural heritage? Do you know if it has been predominantly constructed by a particular culture/period in time/personalities/schools of thought?
• Has this been to the exclusion of other schools of thought or influences? Do you try to include alternative viewpoints or ones that are critical of the conventional approaches?
• Do you use materials that contain a range of social, political, economic and religious perspectives, events, theories and achievements?

Include international perspectives

• Try to include an ‘international dimension’ in the course and course materials, which reflects the increasing globalization and internationalization of the discipline.
• Use the curriculum to alert home students to global and international perspectives, to prompt them to discover alternative perspectives and paradigms, and to develop cross-cultural awareness and skills.
• Consider broadening the choice of units within the course to provide units that give an international perspective to your discipline, e.g. marketing in Asia; international human resources management; architecture in different cultures; health care practices in other cultures; town planning in poor, hot countries or countries with little infrastructure.

Being inclusive

• Ensure diversity of images, examples, case studies, and texts in course materials used.
• Include content from other cultures, perspectives and philosophies.
• Try to establish a common base of knowledge in the discipline such as covering legislative frameworks or government policies, historical events or influences, key identities, organisations or concepts, and useful journals and references.

Establish international collaborations

• Strengthen the international content and perspective of courses through specific projects with overseas universities, and try to provide opportunities for students (both home and international students) to work within these projects during their studies.
• Encourage the establishment of research collaborations between individual members of staff and staff at overseas universities to broaden the subject area and perspectives of those members of staff.

Use international expertise

• Invite outside experts with international knowledge or from overseas countries to present lectures or seminars giving international perspectives and examples.
• Explain where appropriate that issues such as race and gender will be covered in the course and that the language used to describe such issues can be value-laden and even offensive to other cultures.
• Positively celebrate diversity and internationalization. For example:
   

  Students are divided into groups according to the geographic region from which they come. They are then given the following tasks: Discuss the main things that have been happening in your region of the world over the last ten years in the following two areas: Social trends (e.g. demographic changes, role of women and the family, levels of education, feelings/beliefs about involvement in decision-making at different levels of society, social problems …) Economic trends (e.g. growth/recession, share of world markets, relative wealth/poverty, employment/unemployment importance of service industries and tourism in particular, income distribution, taxation…) Record on the paper provided 3 key social trends and write down the impact these trends have on: the topics being discussed in class approaches discussed in class and how they would relate to your region of the world Students then report their findings to the group. This exercise provides the students not only with an opportunity to contribute their own knowledge and experience, but they also become resources for the whole class and in one session, the entire group receives a global picture of the current relevant issues in their area of study. (Lecturers, Oxford Brookes University)

Use international students and staff as resources

• Design courses to require the sharing of experiences and cultural expertise.
• Use international students as a resource in identifying more international perspectives and materials.
• Identify other teaching staff with international experience who would be willing to share their knowledge and lend support.
• Use your international students as ‘living resources’ – consult with them about the selection of appropriate course materials and design.
   

  I teach a unit for English teachers where I work with students to identify the topics to be covered each year. Most students are from overseas, and all are experienced teachers of English, with a wide variety of backgrounds. I give students a long list of topics that could be covered, and then students work together to identify those most relevant and useful to them. Each student first prioritises topics according to their individual needs, and then in groups of four, students produce a prioritised list for their group. During this phase, students are encouraged to talk to each other about their backgrounds and their needs. The small groups then report to the whole group, with a student chairing the discussion, and the class comes up with a joint list. This helps students to have some responsibility for the unit but also helps to validate its content in light of the past experiences and future needs of the students. I also use students themselves as resources such as when working on the design of English tests. We look at examples from a variety of education systems, using what the students consider to be ‘good’ and ‘bad’ examples, and students use these to develop general principles. They then critique their own system’s methods and use the general principles developed to design tests that would be suitable for that system, challenging them to reconsider, but not dismiss, the validity of different approaches in different contexts. (Lecturer, Leeds University)