Faculty and students from the International Education Policy program and a representative from the Dean’s office met with Dr. Paige to discuss his experiences with internationalization at the University of Minnesota and to also get his thoughts on graduate study for those interested in international exchange and study abroad.
Dr. Paige has extensive international experience, including as a Peace Corps Volunteer (Turkey, 1965-67) and living/working experiences in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya and Hong Kong. In 2003-04 he was a Visiting Professor at Nagoya University and at the University of South Australia.
Dr. Paige's publications include Maximizing Study Abroad: A Student's Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use; Culture as the Core: Perspectives on Culture in Second Language Learning; and Education for the Intercultural Experience. Additionally, he co-edits the training section of the International Journal of Intercultural Relations (IJIR); was guest editor and contributor to the special 2004 IJIR issues on intercultural development; and authored the chapter "Instrumentation in Intercultural Training" in the 3rd edition of the Handbook of Intercultural Training.
Internationalizing the Curriculum
Dr. Paige began the discussion by sharing a question he often asks: What makes a course international? A survey he conducted of international students included the following responses:
- Authors on the reading list are from other countries other than just the United States;
- Faculty who have lived, traveled, or conducted research abroad integrate their experiences in their teaching;
- International students are invited to share how a topic is framed or talked about in their country, bringing alternative perspectives to the discussion.
More that twenty years ago, the University of Minnesota began the practice of requesting that all faculty include one paragraph describing their intercultural experiences or international activities such as courses, travel, etc., during the previous year as part of their annual and APT reviews. There is also university-wide international studies minor at the graduate level and although many departments do not have any courses included in the minor, all departments are regularly requested to list courses they offer in the minor which serves to encourage faculty and departments to think about what they can contribute.
The discussion with Dr. Paige also highlighted the contested and confusing terminology currently in use to describe international activities. However, it was agreed by those in attendance that to teach from an intercultural perspective requires culture-general skills but also a critical perspective that examines cultural privilege, social injustices, and structural inequalities. These are skills that future students must develop in order to be global citizens in a global society. As evidence of its commitment to internationalizing the curriculum, the University of Minnesota requires the inclusion of international scholarship in all teaching as one criteria in the tenure and promotion review process along with multicultural and technology issues.
Graduate Studies in International Education
For many years the University of Minnesota has offered a master’s program and one of the only doctoral programs focusing on international education. The international educational exchange/international education track in the Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE) program prepares future leaders in the internationalization of higher education, study abroad program administration, and international student advising. The program offers students a strong grounding in intercultural training and cross-cultural perspectives.
A very successful addition to CIDE opportunities has been an Ed.D. cohort program. This 60 credit program requires three summers in residence of three weeks each, additional coursework completed online, and a dissertation. This option is designed for professionals in the field to continue their studies while maintaining full-time employment.
Faculty in the International Education Policy program are grateful to Dr. Paige for generously sharing his thoughts on developing a similar graduate program at the University of Maryland. He noted that there are very few graduate programs in the country designed specifically for this growing profession. |
