Internationalization in the curriculum

Dr. Ming Cheng asserts that internationalization of the curriculum is not working. She says, "It is high time that Western universities took concerted action to support students and academic staff to increase their intercultural awareness, for example, by increasing the quality of student learning through developing programs that are attractive to students from cultural backgrounds."

Cheng proposes that one of the key issues in failed internationalization is that Western models dominate what is taught in the classroom. This dominance goes unchallenged because many Western-trained academics do not realize how their views of the world are subjective, and privileged, in the process of learning. An issue that is not included in Cheng's analysis is that much of student learning is acquired outside of class, thus requiring concerted focus on learning that takes place throughout students' experiences.

In order to address student learning and development in substantive ways, students must be approached holistically and educational practice must be examined critically. Enhancing Student Learning and Development in Cross-Border Higher Education provides an introduction on how educators might begin this transformation process.