Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759
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Item Embargoed Exchange: A Critical Case Study of Study Abroad Programming Between the United States and Cuba(2018) Woodman, Taylor C.; Klees, Steven J; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Internationalization continues to remain a central focus within the U.S. university environment. Internationalization motives are under question as neoliberal policies continue to limit sustained, long-term state funding for public universities and undermine the academic mission of these universities. Universities are leveraging internationalization practices, like study abroad programming, in response to the pressures of neoliberalism. Using both an academic capitalist and post-colonial lens, this dissertation seeks to understand how study abroad programming, specifically in non-traditional locations (viz., Cuba), operates within and is shaped by political and economic contexts. In this study, qualitative case study methods were used to critically examine study abroad programming between the United States and Cuba before, during and after the Obama Administration’s announcement changing diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba on December 17, 2014. The perspectives of 12 of the main actors in the field, including educational administrators and faculty from U.S universities, Cuban universities, and study abroad program providers, were captured to provide a more comprehensive view of U.S. study abroad implementation in Cuba. The findings illustrate four key aspects of the political and economic context that significantly impact study abroad programming. First, the U.S. blockade (embargo) on Cuba is shown to hinder academic operation and impede international relationship building. Additionally, the neoliberal and neo-colonial university environment in which study abroad programming is situated leads to the reproduction of colonial dynamics and amplifies inequities and power dynamics within North-South study abroad programs. Yet, in the face of neoliberal and neo-colonial pressures, solidarity building emerged as a key area for resistance within these programs. Thus, two opposing approaches, market-based and solidarity building, are dictating how study abroad programming is developed and implemented. The tensions between these approaches provide insight into the liminal space within which educational administrators and faculty develop and facilitate study abroad programming. Therefore, this dissertation critically analyzes the political and economic environment in which study abroad operates to determine implications for internationalization practice and policy in an effort to guide the future international dimensions of the university.Item RESPONSES TO GLOBALIZATION: INTERNATIONALIZATION AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORM IN TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF UNIVERSITIES IN KOREA(2015) Cho, Joohee; Stromquist, Nelly; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explores the internationalization dynamics and institutional shifts in Korean universities in response to globalization trends. It investigates what forces are pushing universities to move toward internationalization and which strategies are being pursued by universities to accomplish that end. My motivation is to better understand how neoliberal ideology may be impacting higher education and how universities have responded to globalization while pursuing internationalization. It has also been important to consider how and whether these changes have altered the educational environment at universities and to investigate the impact of various reforms on academics. For its methodology, this study adopts a qualitative multiple-case study approach, employing as its primary methods document analysis and interviews with academicians and administrators. Case studies are produced involving two universities: Seoul National University was chosen to represent a research-focused university and another university was chosen to represent a teaching-focused university. As students are major stakeholders in higher education, this study also explores their engagement in international higher education. In the name of internationalization, the notions of competitiveness and efficiency have been incorporated in academic environments. Academic disciplines are now driven by external accountability, and academic governance is shaped by powerful decision-makers. Thus, many academic fields have become more strongly linked to industries. Academicians often criticize this type of globalization by citing concern about the nature of universities where the search for knowledge for its own sake was once given the highest value. Both case universities are reforming their institutions while pursuing diverse internationalization strategies. In doing so, the universities are slowly but certainly moving toward an entrepreneurial culture. This is manifested in overseas student recruitment and increasing university-industrial ties that secure further funding. This study demonstrates that internationalization and institutional reforms in Korea have taken a path that is very similar to global trends. At the same time, the phenomenon of local action, whether in Korea or elsewhere, continues to be distinct in many ways.Item INTERNATIONALIZATION POLICIES OF JESUIT UNIVERSITIES: A CASE STUDY OF JAPAN AND THE U.S.(2009) Jung, S.J., Kang-Yup; Lin, Jing; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the wake of globalization, higher education institutions almost inevitably have adopted and implemented internationalization policies as their primary strategy for responding to the challenges and opportunities brought about by globalization. This study concerns the comparison of the motivations, program strategies, and organization strategies of the internationalization policies of two Jesuit universities: Sophia University in Japan and Georgetown University in the United States. This study focuses on understanding internationalization policies at the two universities and developing a conceptual framework that might be useful in the expansion of scholarship of internationalization theory. There are three key research questions: (a) Is the noticeable shift from social and cultural rationales for internationalization to for-profit rationale ubiquitous?; (b) How do the policies of internationalization of the two universities resonate with the particular contexts surrounding them?; and (c) To what extent do the programs of internationalization reflect the core value of the Jesuit philosophy of education which is to prepare men and women for others? Qualitative comparative case study was conducted at both research sites through semi-structured interviews with senior administrators, deans, faculty, and administrative staff members. On-site materials are collected and analyzed. Cross-case analysis is used to compare and synthesize the findings of the two single case studies. This study found that no noticeable shift from socio-cultural rationale to for-profit rationale has taken place at the two universities. Despite financial constraints, the two universities' internationalization polices are affected most strongly by the socio-cultural rationale and the academic rationale. Sophia puts an emphasis on the motivation for intercultural understanding stemming from its history and origin, while Georgetown gives its highest attention to the motivation for human development. The two universities are able to appropriate their contexts and surroundings so that the universities' idiosyncratic features of local contexts play a significant role in defining their specific responses to the challenges of globalization which are inscribed in their international programs and projects. Finally, the Jesuit philosophy of education, "men and women for others," plays a crucial role as a bedrock on which the direction of internationalization policies is defined. However, despite the strong relationship between the Jesuit philosophy of education and policy, there is only a weak correlation between the philosophy of education and programs. This research will contribute to a wider perspective on internationalization policies through cross-cultural comparative research at an institutional level, an expansion of literature about a global university, and a re-visioning of internationalization for the sake of conscientizing internationalization at an individual level and responsible internationalization at an institutional level.