A presentation from the Internationalisation of Pedagogy and Curriculum in Higher Education conference June 2011.
In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis in higher education institutions worldwide on how to more effectively ensure that all graduates are prepared for life and work in a rapidly globalizing world where an understanding of the impact of culture on the construction of knowledge and on professional practices are deemed essential and the ability to communicate and function effectively in a multicultural environment is highly valued.
This trend has emerged simultaneously with rapid increases in student and program mobility. In this context and in the context of this paper 'internationalisation of the curriculum' refers to the adoption of strategies to prepare all graduates more effectively for working and living in a rapidly changing globalising world.
This paper will explore the conceptualization of the 'curriculum-in-action' as the space in which the student learning experience actually takes place - the point where students and teachers engage with each other and with curriculum content to achieve the desired learning outcomes. The role of teaching academics in this space is crucial. They understand the academic value inherent in gathering information from all over the world and generating innovation on a world scale; and they are responsible for designing curricula including teaching and learning tasks and activities to develop interculturally competent graduates prepared for life as global citizens and professionals. This paper reports on work undertaken as part of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council National Teaching Fellowship which explored the blockers and enablers to the engagement of academic staff in internationalisation processes trialled a number of strategies for internationalisation of the curriculum and documented examples of internationalised curricula in different disciplines. This information was used to inform the development a framework of internationalisation of the curriculum which connects different policy settings 'internationalised' curriculum design within the disciplines and the total student experience.
