Expanding Scholarship
Asynchronous Session
Fostering International Scholars at a US University : Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ryuto Hashimoto, Lynnette Engeswick, Elizabeth Sandell
As tertiary education in the United States becomes increasingly diverse because of global migration, universities need to adapt and create opportunities for all students to participate in meaningful academic learning endeavors. Early research experiences are impactful for student learning and student retention. This study explore the effective implementation of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) at an internationalized university in the American Midwest. In a time where internationalization holds paramount importance, one primary goal for universities is to nurture competitive international scholars. Over the years, the presenters’ research team proactively mentored more than 100 domestic and international students representing diverse backgrounds from Ecuador, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, as well as students with bi-cultural identities. Despite limited prior exposure to academic research, these students brought with them invaluable international and intercultural perspectives that significantly enriched the research process. The presenters established and fostered mentor-mentee relationships among these students. By providing guidance, mentorship, and implementing a structured CURE framework, these students not only bridged the gap in their research skills but also utilized their unique international backgrounds to identify and explore innovative scholarly inquiries. The report highlights the successful approach to organizing CURE programs that are both inclusive and responsive to the diverse student body. These international and bi-cultural students' experiences serve as evidence of the potential of CURE in fostering early professionals in academic research. These insights inform and encourage scholars and educators on effective strategies to cultivate the next generation of research professionals within the globalizing landscape of tertiary education.
Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Competence in Pakistan Primary and Secondary Schools View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Malaika Azam, Elizabeth Sandell
Pakistan has rich history and a vast range of people from different castes, speaking various languages, and celebrating diverse cultural backgrounds. Since independence in 1947, Pakistan has faced significant challenges, including a polarized society marked by ethnic tensions and conflicts. Intercultural competence is the ability to function effectively across cultures, to think and act appropriately, and to communicate and work with people from various cultural backgrounds. Consequently, schoolteachers should be knowledgeable about various ethnic groups, to teach in a multiethnic classroom, and to prepare all pupils for life in a multicultural society. Previous investigations by the other researchers suggested that pre-service teachers in Pakistan have little life experience beyond their own home cultures. They may have a clear sense of their own values and practices and a desire to preserve their traditions. However, they see other persons as “others” without much definition or understanding. This leads to schoolteachers instructing pupils from a monocultural worldview and ignoring the diversity among their pupils. Despite official multicultural policies, issues such as intergroup mistrust, suspicion, perpetuation of stereotypes, identity-based conflicts continue to persist within higher education institutions. University faculty may want to revise and rebuild the curriculum and policies to intentionally incorporate teaching and learning strategies to foster intercultural competence among pre-service teachers. Through the identification, synthesis, and analysis of recent scholarly work, the project created a collection of teaching and learning strategies to foster intercultural competence in teacher preparation programs. Project outcomes hold potential to guide educational policies, curricula, and teacher training initiatives.
Francophone Immigration in Ontario and Francophone Organizations: Potential and Challenges of a Multi-sectoral Partnership View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jasmine Bégin Marchand
Created less than five years ago, Le Carrefour francophone du savoir et de l'innovation brings together more than thirty francophone organizations that are or will be integrated into the academic mission of the Université de l'Ontario français, a new French-language university in Toronto. Some of these organizations' missions are to support the settlement of newcomers, others to meet the needs of the Francophone population in general, and others, like the Université de l'Ontario français, aim to attract post-secondary students from the French-speaking world. The paper draws from my master's research, a case study whose purpose was to understand 1) how Carrefour francophone du savoir et de l'innovation's partner organizations contribute to the recruitment, settlement, integration/inclusion and retention of Francophone newcomers, while taking into account the needs and requirements of various stakeholders; 2) what benefits, challenges, potential strategies and requirements partner organizations perceive when considering collaborative action on francophone immigration to Ontario; and 3) how these francophone organizations contribute to promoting an inclusive Franco-Ontarian community, and which challenges must be met in order to achieve this. For this research, 11 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups were conducted with a total of 13 participants from 11 francophone organizations. This research contributes to the literature on francophone immigration in Ontario and on multisectoral partnerships. It also provides important information to the organizations and decision-makers whose policies and programs aim to increase francophone immigration while seeking better equity in the integration of these newcomers.
A New Program for a New World: Creating Institutional Spaces for Global Studies at American Universities View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Francesca Vera
As the perception of the world shifted from being thought of as a collection distinct, separate areas to constituting one global whole in the mid-1990's, American universities adapted to the globalizing world by way of creating Global Studies institutional spaces. In academic traditions, universities operate at the center of the academic universe by defining valid fields of study, and maintaining knowledge production, critical discussion, and solutions to world issues. The introduction of Global Studies to such institutions validated the value of pursuing it as a formal area of study, with official academic recognition, and indicated the realities of a then-new world that required the creation of a new program. Through the collection and analysis of empirical evidence about Global Studies institutional spaces at American universities, this paper contributes insights into how designated programs, initiatives, and networks indicate the necessity of a valid, formal interdisciplinary education on globalization and provides a curated dataset that allows further exploration of the relationships between academic structures and knowledge about world order. Moreover, this paper considers how the current political climate poses challenges to the integrity of a Global Studies program that considers the world as a global whole. Instances of reverting back to separate corners of the world and solidifying nation-state boundaries point towards a reckoning with “de-globalization.” If de-globalization continues and realizes new meaning in the future, it raises the critical question of if the next stage for Global Studies and discards the original core idea of a global whole.
