ERIC Number: EJ1390285
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0729-4360
EISSN: EISSN-1469-8366
Available Date: N/A
Are Some Disciplines 'Hard to Engage'? A Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of University Teachers' Approaches to Internationalisation of the Curriculum
Higher Education Research and Development, v42 n5 p1267-1282 2023
Internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC) as an important element of internationalisation has seen many challenges. The literature shows that successful IoC cases are rare. Drawing on the concepts of powerful knowledge and 'knowing', we argue that a more comprehensive understanding of knowledge engagement in the IoC process is needed. Currently, engaging knowledge appears to be a barrier to IoC, particularly in hard disciplines such as science and engineering. This study investigated how faculty members from different disciplines engaged knowledge in their approaches to IoC through semi-structured interviews with 34 faculty members based in three Hong Kong universities. The findings show that engaging knowledge is indispensable to IoC because it provides theoretical foundations for 'being' and substantiates discussions on global issues using disciplinary lenses. Furthermore, faculty members from all disciplines show productive ways of engaging knowledge, whilst the differences lie in the expected role of 'knower' and the relationship between 'knowing' and 'being'. Specifically, facilitating an intimate relationship between 'knowing' and 'being' through students' own dispositions was featured in soft disciplines, whilst taking perspectives based on scientific principles was identified in hard disciplines.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes, Intellectual Disciplines, Learner Engagement, Global Approach, Curriculum Implementation, Interdisciplinary Approach
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A