Persidangan Pembangunan Pelajar Peringkat Kebangsaan 2008 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 22-23 Oktober 2008

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION A LITERATURE REVIEW Suhaila Sanip1, Nor Azila Noh2
1,2

Islamic Science University of Malaysia suhaila.s@usim.edu.my

Abstract

Internationalization has been the talk of education sectors in recent years. Both the public and private education sectors are busy planning strategies for internationalization programs. Although internationalization effort had started since 1980s in other countries, research on internationalization are mainly conducted to study the definition of internationalization and the impact of internationalization on the institution and the education program and impact of internationalization on the academic staffs. Student development had often been missed out in the area of study on internationalization although students are the ones who will be affected most in internationalization process. A literature review on the topic of internationalization of student development was conducted to study the concept of internationalization of student development, what aspect of student development are most affected in the process of internationalization and what are the findings of previous studies on internationalization of student development. Online literature search was conducted using Google Scholar, ProQuest, OVID and SAGE Premier 2008. Findings of literature review were categorized into the following topics of definition of internationalization, implementation of internationalization effort, impact of internationalization to students, reasons for internationalization of education, students development outcomes for international education, needs of international students, support given, duration of exposure to international education, ways of internationalization of education and cultural awareness of students. In conclusions, any educational institution in the tertiary level both in the public and private sector cannot run away from internationalization. Although academic and faculty development are important in the process of internationalization, students development should be given its needed attention. Students deserve to choose institutions that support their needs the most. More research on student development should be undertaken so we can tap their potential early and nurture them to become a holistic world class professional. Keywords: internationalization; student development; higher education

1. Introduction Internationalization has been the talk of education sectors in Malaysia in recent years. Both the public and private education sectors are busy planning strategies for internationalization programs although the main objective for internationalization in these institutions varies greatly. The private education sector started their venture in internationalization as early as in 1986 while the public education sector started to follow suit in 1994 (Mohamad et. al, 2008). The main activities of internationalization of these institutions according to Mohamad et. al were advice on policies relating to the international dimension of higher education in the private sector and the provision of training for internationalization in the public sector. What is the implication of internationalization of education to developing and developed countries? According to Rouhani & Kishun (2004), with students from developing countries going abroad to study, they seek better employment in developed countries upon graduation. This leads to brain drain in developing countries and it occurs across spectrum of profession. On the contrary, internationalization of education brings a lot of benefits to developed countries. International students contribute significantly to revenue flows (Smith & Rae, 2006) and increases pool of highly skilled potential employee with international exposure. Internationalization of education should not be seen as only an efflux of our students overseas, it should also be seen as having international recognition of our local university and having an influx of top achieving foreign students. Students tend to go for further studies at a country which they think is better than their own in case of full pee-paying students while those who are sponsored by the government have no option but to go countries as offered by their scholarship. Is there any quality control measures taken to ensure that despite the revenue that international students bring to a university, quality of education provided to the students is of more importance to the institution? According to Smith & Rae (2006), some universities in New Zealand are force to manage a large number of international students. Although they realized international students contributes significantly to university revenue, diversify the campus

environment and enrich the learning experience of the local students, they were trying to reduce international students intake taking into account diversification and risk management, resource management, impacts on domestic student experiences, issues relating to quality, dominance of one particular country in the bulk of international students, institutional capacity, accommodation, the nature of the education experience for both international and domestic students, and other infrastructural, social, and educational capacity issues (Smith & Rae, 2006, page 34). The effort to optimize available resources to the number of international students were also seen as effort to reduce pressure on staffs and teaching resources, ensuring teachers were properly qualified to teach international students and most importantly, to maintain high-quality educational experiences for domestic students and to ensure that those experiences were not compromised through internationalization of classes. Although internationalization effort had started since twenty years ago, research on student development had often been missed out in the area of study although students are the ones who will be affected most in internationalization process. Researches on internationalization of education are mainly conducted to study the working definition of internationalization, the impact of internationalization on the institution and the education program and impact of internationalization on the academic staffs. In this literature review, it is hope that previous studies on impact of internalization of education to student development will guide the direction for future research in this area.

2. Research Methodology The purpose of conducting the literature review was to search findings of previous studies on impact on student development in the internationalization of higher education. If there is, my interest would be to find out what aspect of student development is paid much attention by researcher in this area. The conceptual framework of finding relevant literatures revolves around findings answers based on the diagram below.

Why going

Internationalization of student development Definition?

Why coming

Students going abroad

Support given

Support given

Foreign students coming to a country

Needs Duration Cultural Awareness Figure 1: Conceptual Framework An online literature review on the topic of internationalization of student development was conducted using Google Scholar, ProQuest, OVID and SAGE Premier 2008. Keywords used were internationalization, internationalisation student development and international students. Only articles relevant to issues of student development were selected.

Needs Duration Cultural Awareness

Quality control measures

Implementation of internationalization effort Besides having different meaning to different people, internationalization also is seen as a different concept to different field of studies. Schoorinan (1999) found out that diverse conceptualization of internationalization among administrators, faculty members and students yielded incompatible approach to implementation of internationalization. Internationalization and activities associated with it may be applicable to only certain disciplines and certain level of study. In Schoorinans study, he found out too that the Department of Business is more supportive of internationalization activities compared to Department of Science. He also concluded that internationalization was deemed important at the undergraduate and masters levels, where students went on to corporate careers, but not at the doctoral level, where graduates pursued academic careers (page 35). Impact of internationalization to students Internationalization had impact on both the local and the international students. The local may benefit from the challenged posed by international students positively in term of academic achievement as international students are well-prepared in class and are willing to work hard (Schoorinan, 1999). A faculty respondent from Schoorinans study also believed that when international and local students work together in

3. Results and discussion 3.1 Result Definition of Internationalization Researchers in international education often had different definition to the meaning of internationalization. However, the working definition proposed by Jane Knight in 2004 had been adopted by many educational researchers and had been proposed by Mohamad et. al (2008) to be adopted in Malaysia too. According to Knight, Internationalization at the national/sector/institutional levels is defined as the process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of post-secondary education. (Knight, 2004, page 11). A standard working definition on internationalization is necessary to have so that further research can be carried out with ease and findings of such studies can be applied in a more global context.

solving problem, the result is better understanding of the problem, higher quality work, because they applied different approaches due to their different background (Schoorinan, 1999, page 30). However, negatively, the spending power of international students may cause jealousy to the local students (Smith & Rae, 2006). This is especially so in secondary schools where most international students came from a well to do family. Given the global nature of work environment at the moment, university graduates can expect some exposure to international exposure in their career or be expected to manage the business in a foreign country. Exposure to international students during their undergraduate years may prepare them to working with those who come from different racial, national and ethnic background (Hanassab, 2006). She also quoted that student who learns how to work effectively in these new and diverse situations will be at an advantage. Hanassab & Tidwell (2002) measured the change experience by international students studying in Los Angeles. International students reported an increase in their awareness of different philosophies, cultures and ways of life, increase in their skills of understanding English and pursuing ideas and information and change in understanding of their abilities, interests and personality. Surprisingly, the least change reported by the students was in their skills related to getting along with other international students. Reasons for internationalization of education Students who went abroad to study in developed countries do so to seek better employment opportunities upon graduation. Of students who are sponsored by the government, they go to countries selected by their sponsor for the purpose of knowledge acquisition. Students who participated in international exchange program, short study trip or industrial attachment do so as they see themselves as having more advantage in terms of securing a job with international company (Daly & Barker, 2005). Students development international education outcomes for

internationalizing the learning experience of their students should take these indicators as guidance. Needs of international students International students assume many roles in the host country (Hanassab, 2006). Therefore, in order to fulfill all these roles, international have a lot of needs. Hanassab & Tidwell (2002) assessed the needs of international students coming to Los Angeles to study. The followings are results of reported needs based on their study: The African and Asian students had the highest overall needs. Overall, the international students from all regions who participated in this study reported knowledge of immigration regulations, visa requirements career and academic needs. The female students had greater difficulty than did their male counterparts. Asian students have the highest needs in communication category and psychological needs. African students expressed the highest need regarding cultural needs and managing perceived discrimination and stereotypes. Middle Eastern students reported the highest need for the personal needs category. Undergraduate international students had higher needs than the graduate international students. Students majoring in the science fields had the highest needs. International students engaged in professional study had the highest needs related to knowledge of immigration regulations and visa requirements. International students who have been in the United States longer reported fewer cultural difficulties for adjustment to different cultures. Lower grade point average (GPA)s reported higher needs compared with those having higher GPAs.

Stone (2006) highlighted some possible indicators for internationalizing students learning experience. These indicators are very comprehensive and institution interested in

Support given Call for strong support from student affair division had been well documented in the literature (Hanassab & Tidwell 2002). Different students background, cultural mix and language barrier all pose challenges to the academician, student affair division and the international students in higher education institutes. As this literature review is mainly concern with student development, the challenges faced by academician will not be discussed here. Referring again to the findings of Hanassab & Tidwell 2002 study, it can be concluded that the people who will provide service to the international students must have intercultural competence and be well versed in handling the delicate problems involving race, ethnic, religion and cultural issues. Creating a support group for the students i.e. seniors with similar nationality may help international students adjust better to the new environment and in handling personal problems (Pedersen, 1991 as cited in Hanassab & Tidwell 2002, page 316). Counselors providing psychological support and health professionals providing health service should also be reminded of physical manifestation of stress in these students. The association between lower GPAs with higher needs in international students also calls for specific support programs designed by different offices in student affairs division. Duration of exposure to international education In Daly & Barker study in (2005), they found out of Australians and New Zealanders who participate in international exchange programs, the duration of the programs differ an the average length of time spent studying in another country is one semester which equates to approximately 4 months. Duration of exposure to international education should therefore be important considerations in trying to meeting internationalization objectives as programs of less than 3 months duration have the least significant changes in relation to developing international skills and global awareness (Koester, 1985 as cited in Daly & Barker 2005). Ways of internationalization of education Most of the literatures in this area discussed usual ways of internationalization of education

i.e. through face to face contact (study tour, exchange programs, industrial training etc). The other way of internationalizing education is through use of communication technologies. This has been practiced by some universities. In the University of Sydney for example, the Masters of Medical Education can be taken by international students through fully online mode. This method should be considered especially for postgraduate courses as it can save the students a lot of money. The student does not have to leave his or her job and does not have to travel to a new place foreign to them. Communication technologies can be effectively in internationalization of education for the local students too. Teleconferencing, email and WebCT can be used as effective means to collaborate with other international higher education providers to internationalize education. The use of ICT in international education is supported by Leask (2004), who concluded that ICTs can be used effectively to assist students in developing international perspectives, interacting with people from other cultures, and engaging actively in intercultural learning. (page 350). Cultural awareness of students Intercultural competence is a recognized student outcome of internationalization (Deardoff, 2004). One of the learning outcomes of international education should be in producing graduates who are multiculturally competent and can successfully function in any pluralistic or multiethnic society (Hanassab & Tidwell, 2002). However, recent events in Malaysia involving international students warrant that cultural competence be a pre-requisite before arriving at host country. In Malaysia, international students from certain countries are seen as rude to the local people. This should not happen if they had known the culture of the all ethnics in Malaysia before arriving here. While Deardoff (2004) identified the intercultural competence element and proposed ways to assess it, unfortunately, no study had been conducted to assess students cultural awareness of their host country before going abroad to further their study. 3.2 Discussion Internationalization is becoming the driving factor for change in higher education institutes in the public and private sector. A lot of things

could and should be done to help students develop their potential in internationalization of education. It is well documented that internationalization of education has both positive and negative impacts to local and international students (Daly & Barker, 2005; Schoorinan, 1999; Guest et al., 2006). Local students should be guided on how to take advantage of international students in their classrooms to maximize their learning activities. The international students on the other hand, should be given enough support so that they can adapt faster in the new surrounding and contributed positively in the classrooms academic activities. Although students at different level of education seek international exposure to education for different reasons, their needs should be supported individually. Although Hanassab & Tidwell (2002) study reported that undergraduate international students have higher needs Edwards (2007) believed that international experience should be fostered as early as possible for maximum impact. Duration and level of exposure to international education is also an important factor in determining successful outcomes of international education. Therefore, future careful planning of internationalization effort should take into consideration the students level of education, duration of international program and outcomes to be achieved by these students. The student affairs division should realize that students from different countries differ in their needs although they came from the same region. As international students may rely on their fellow countrymen for social and moral support for adaptation to the new environment, senior international students can be used by student affairs division to help the new international students. Cultural awareness should be a pre-requisite competence of any students before participating in any international education initiatives or for the purpose of studying abroad. This not only help them to adjust faster to the new surrounding, but it may also help them deal better with prejudice and discrimination.

in the process of internationalization, students development should be given its needed attention. Students deserve to choose institutions that support their needs the most. Therefore, it is our job as academician to assure ourselves and our stakeholders that any internationalization effort is carefully planned and continuously monitored and evaluated and that improvements are being made to ensure that the international dimension of teaching/learning, research, and service is contributing to the relevance and quality of higher education (Knight, 2001). More research on student development should be undertaken so we can tap their potential early and nurture them to become a holistic world class professional.

References 1. Daly, A. J. and M. C. Barker (2005). "Australian and New Zealand University Students' Participation in International Exchange Programs." Journal of Studies in International Education 9(1): 26-41. Deardorff, D. K. (2004). The Identification and Assessment of Intercultural Competence as a Student Outcome of Internationalization at Institutions of Higher Education in The United States Department of Adult and Community College Education Raleigh, North Carolina, North Carolina State University. Degree of Doctor of Education: 337. Edwards, J. (2007). "Challenges and Opportunities for the Internationalization of Higher Education in the Coming Decade: Planned and Opportunistic Initiatives in American Institutions." Journal of Studies in International Education 11: 373-381. Guest, D., M. Livett, et al. (2006). "Fostering International Student Exchanges for Science Students." Journal of Studies in International Education 10: 378-395. Hanassab, S. (2006). "Diversity, International Students, and Perceived

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4. 4. Conclusion Any educational institution in the tertiary level both in the public and private sector cannot run away from internationalization. Although academic and faculty development are important

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Discrimination: Implications for Educators and Counselors." Journal of Studies in International Education 10(2): 157-172. 6. Hanassab, S. and R. Tidwell (2002). "International Students in Higher Education: Identification of Needs and Implications for Policy and Practice." Journal of Studies in International Education 6(4): 305-322. Knight, J. (2001). "Monitoring the Quality and Progress of Internationalization." Journal of Studies in International Education 5(3): 228243. Knight, J. (2004). "Internationalization Remodeled: Definition, Approaches, and Rationales." Journal of Studies in International Education 8: 5-31. Leask, B. (2004). "Internationalisation Outcomes for All Students Using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)." Journal of Studies in International Education 8(4): 336-351.

Studies in International Education 10: 27-45. 14. Stone, N. (2006). "Internationalising the Student learning Experience: Possible Indicators." Journal of Studies in International Education 10: 409-413.

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