Dr Josef Ploner Centre for Academic Practice and Research in Internationalisation (CAPRI), Leeds Metropolitan University

Research commissioned by Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) Internationalisation and Equality and Diversity in Higher Education: Merging Identities (Caruana and Ploner, 2010)

Project focus  Advantages of building on the intersection of internationalisation and Equality and Diversity (E and D)  Awareness, commitment, understanding and involvement  Effective practice  Geographical location, size, and profile  Multi-level and multi-method

Aims of internationalisation? STAFF  Recruitment  Cross-cultural experience  Opportunities for experience abroad  Graduates capable of working in multicultural, global environments STUDENTS  Recruitment, market orientation of HEIs  Prestige and university ranking agendas  Experience of different cultures, environments and education systems  International ‘feel’

Equality and Diversity StaffStudents  Compliance vs. valuing diversity?  Removing barriers – access and opportunities  HE environment beyond non-discrimination  Traditional vs. multiple identities  Outward orientation in multicultural society, encouraging diversity  Rights and respect  Openness and ‘feeling at home’  Sharing and interacting with diversity  Celebrating cultural diversity and friendships

Tensions STAFFSTUDENTS  Negative effect of masking multiple identities  Reinforcing stereotypes  Market orientation of Internationalisation  Funding arrangements  Forcing it too much  Conflict of goals between individuals, departments, etc.  Clique building, grouping  Over-celebrating diversity & internationality?  Reinforcing stereotypes  Message doesn’t get through  Language  Lack of space and interaction

Over-representing and over-celebrating internationalism and diversity?

Synergies? Individual statements… “...internationalisation is just another way to demonstrate E&D...to give it another dimension...They are complementary and...have good intentions.” (UB, staff survey × 4) “It only happens if you personally make the effort to go and speak to an international...would like to see more...as I feel people would benefit from the experiences...More needs to be done on allowing white British students, to experience racism and what it means...” (UW, student survey × 4)

Synergies  Progressing IS recruitment requires shift in perspective on E&D  Internationalisation and E&D are one and the same in the context of widening participation  International students as ‘quasi-equity’ group  Inclusion as underpinning principle  Synergies in local and global contexts (‘global citizenship’)

Recommendations  Initiation and orientation  Learning support  Inclusive L&T strategies; potential of subjects and disciplines (peer mentoring, comparative, etc.)  Community cohesion and involvement  Promoting interactional diversity, managing diversity  Authentic interactional and social spaces, ‘encouraging’ grass-root, student-led initiatives  Personalization, recognizing biographies/backgrounds, meaningful face-to-face encounters

Project Preview: Internationalisation, E&D and the concept of ‘resilience’ in HE*  Identify the forms of resilience and resilient practices which students from diverse backgrounds bring into social science HE settings  Explore how diverse cultural capitals help to develop resilience within multicultural HE learning environments  Identify students’ perceptions of the ‘risk factors’ arising from intercultural encounters in diverse higher education settings and how they draw on their resilience in dealing with the challenges  Determine the extent to which course leaders are aware of the cultural dimensions of resilience and how they see this relating to learning in multicultural settings  Identify appropriate interventions which course leaders might use to build resilience, facilitate intercultural encounters and develop resilient mind-sets in diverse HE learning environments * Ongoing C-SAP research project (Caruana, Ploner)

Promoting resilience and resilient thinking…some preliminary findings  Teachers’ active engagement with mentoring and tutoring  Maintain and foster links with pre-university education (schools) as well as post-university networks (graduates/alumni)  Potential of own and others’ biography and sharing of life experiences for L&T  ‘real world’ learning environments (community involvement, experiential and service learning, etc)  Connect cognitive learning with students’ affective domains (music, dance, fashion, etc.)  Encourage self-organized, student-led initiatives  …

Quoted and recommended literature  Caruana, V. (2011) The challenges and opportunities of diversity in university settings. Assessment, Teaching and Learning Journal (Leeds Met), 11 (Summer), pp © intralibrary.leedsmet.ac.uk/open_virtual_file_path/i2463n199804t/The%20challenges%20and%20opportunities%20of%20d iversity.pdfhttp://repository- intralibrary.leedsmet.ac.uk/open_virtual_file_path/i2463n199804t/The%20challenges%20and%20opportunities%20of%20d iversity.pdf  Caruana, V. and Ploner, J. (2010) Internationalisation and Equality and Diversity in Higher Education: Merging Identities Report on a research project commissioned by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU), UK  Eade, K. and Peacock, N. (2009) Internationalising Equality-equalising Internationalisation, London: ECU  Luke, A. (2010) Educating the ‘Other’: standpoint and the internationalisation of higher education. IN: Carpentier, V. and Unterhalter, E. (eds.) Global Inequalities in Higher Education: Whose Interests are You Serving? Palgrave/Macmilllan, London.  Montgomery, C. (2009) A Decade of Internationalisation. Has It Influenced Students’ Views of Cross-Cultural Group Work at University? Journal of Studies in International Education 13 (2):  Olson, C.L, R. Evans & R.F. Shoenberg (2007) At Home in the World: Bidiging the Gap Between Internationalisation and Multicultural Education. Thousand Oaks, CA: American Council on Education.  Otten, M. (2003) Intercultural Learning and Diversity in Higher Education. Journal of Studies in International Education 7(1):  Shaw, J., Brain, K., Bridger, K.. Foreman, J and Reid, I. (2007) Embedding widening participation and promoting student diversity. What can be learned from a business case approach? Higher Education Academy Research Report. [Online] Available at: _july07.pdf _july07.pdf  Shaw, J. (2009) The Diversity Paradox: does student diversity enhance or challenge excellence? Journal of Further and Higher Education 33(4):