Internationalizing the Curriculum in Higher Education

Internationalization is a looming policy issue in highereducation?yet precisely what it can add to the student learningexperience and what it means with regard to teaching and learningare far too infrequently discussed or written about. This volume explores different meanings and rationalesunderlying the notion of internationalization in higher education.Although internationalization efforts in higher education havebecome increasingly driven by economic considerations, finance isnot an appropriate foundation for all initiatives, particularlythose at the level of curriculum, where academic, social/cultural,ethical, political and even environmental rationales feature morestrongly. The chapter authors provide a rich conceptual basis fromwhich to appreciate concrete efforts directed at internationalizingcurricula, and they describe nine cases of internationalizationinitiatives at the curricular level.The volume further suggests that consideration ofinternationalization in higher education must look both withinspecific programs and across programs. It cannot be separated fromfundamental questions about the purposes of higher education andthe roles of teachers, students, administrators, and theinstitution as a whole in fulfilling those purposes.This is the 118th volume of the Jossey-Bass higher educationquarterly report series New Directions for Teaching andLearning, which offers a comprehensive range of ideas andtechniques for improving college teaching based on the experienceof seasoned instructors and the latest findings of educational andpsychological researchers.