International Education Programs Research Articles

Gamification in Diplomacy Studies as an Effective Tool for Knowledge Transfer: Questionnaire Study.

BackgroundGraduate education in modern diplomacy poses several challenges, as it requires several competencies to be developed before diplomatic service is joined. Incorporation of simulation games can have a positive impact on the design of international relations and diplomacy learning process. We have designed a novel role play game (MAEDRI) to simulate part of the activities of a typical Ministry of Foreign Affairs.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of MAEDRI in transferring knowledge in international relations education programs at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania, across a 4-year period.MethodsThe game enrolled master’s level graduate students. The data were collected through a voluntary and anonymous questionnaire between 2017 and 2020. At the end of each of the 4 editions we organized debriefing sessions that gave students the opportunity to provide feedback on their experience with this exercise, level of collaboration within the team, lessons learned, and to make suggestions for improvements. Using an online questionnaire, we measured the participants’ perception regarding the level of effectiveness in increasing knowledge transfer, motivation, and engagement. Questionnaire data were consolidated in percentages for each item.ResultsA total of 49 participants completed the study. A total of 24 skills (13 professional and 11 social skills) were assessed. We identified a strong positive correlation between stress management and conflict management (r=.86; P<.001) as well as significantly positive correlations between building relations within the team and the ability to dialog and be persuasive (r=.7; P<.001), between procedure compliance and planning and organizing the work (r=.69; P<.001), and between analysis capacity and decision based on data received (r=.68; P<.001). Among social skills, self-control, confidence, and flexibility were the most substantially improved.ConclusionsWe describe several benefits of a novel game, used as an education tool to enhance a series of competencies necessary in international relations studies. Our results demonstrate a significant level of student engagement and motivation while playing MAEDRI, improvement of several essential skills, and enhanced knowledge transfer to real-life situations. While the data are encouraging, further research is needed to evaluate the full impact of role play as an effective experiential learning method.

Expanding access to international education: The case of North Carolina community colleges

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to provide an overview of US community college international education programs along with specific examples that can be implemented at community colleges wishing to establish similar offerings. This article explores especially how community colleges incorporate international education into the fabric of their institutions, providing access to global opportunities to students and members of the communities they serve. We focus our analysis on recent survey data, collected from 42 of North Carolina's 58 community colleges. These data provide insight into how community colleges are expanding educational opportunities and providing access to the multiple populations that they serve. Key international opportunities offered to students at community colleges include on‐campus international events, study abroad, internationalized curricula, North Carolina's Scholars of Global Distinction Program, and international student services. This article closes with specific recommendations for community college leaders aiming to establish or grow international programming on their campuses.

Conditions for the Formation of an Educational Hub for the Implementation of International Educational Programs in Uzbekistan

In response to the demands of globalization, many countries have focused their efforts on pursuing a policy to create international and regional educational centers, transform their higher education systems, enhance their international activities, and expand joint programs of universities as tools to increase their competitiveness. The purpose of this article is to study the factors affecting competitiveness in the formation of an educational hub, basing on the world experience in educational hubs creation in the context of of higher education institutions globalization and to identify the priority measures to stimulate the integration of international educational programs and expand the universities’ international activities in Uzbekistan. As an empirical base, we used the results of the studies of foreign countries that successfully achieved their goals of forming regional educational hubs, as well as open data on the leading universities in the Central Asia and Uzbekistan’s positions in international rankings on the attractiveness for foreign students. The methodological basis of the research is comparative and systematic analysis, case method, content analysis of websites of leading universities in Central Asia, expert assessment. The theoretical and methodological foundations and factors affecting the competitiveness of the educational activities of the university in the context of globalization and modernization of higher education are considered. Based on the comparative analysis of a significant array of academic and analytical materials to determine the factors of supply and demand (push-pull factors), implemented strategies for the transformation of universities in a group of dynamically developing countries, the authors provide an assessment factors affecting the competitiveness while creating international and regional educational centers of higher education in Uzbekistan, as well as give recommendations on organizational, economic, institutional mechanisms for transforming the higher education system of the republic into a hub for the implementation of international educational programs in the Central Asia.

Educational projects in Turkey as an instrument of «Soft» policy

The previous century began with the First World War and ended with the end of the Cold War. In contrast to forceful actions, the concept of soft power has come into use. Unlike hard power, soft power did not use coercion. It was implemented through public diplomacy. This method was used by countries to clarify their political goals and strengthen friendly ties. Public diplomacy, carried out on the basis of cultural commonality, allowed countries to build their political courses. The primarily element of public diplomacy is two-way communication with the public, and the participants in the dialogue could be not only the government and the public, but also the general public with the general public. Student and teacher exchange programs, as part of higher education’s internationalization, are an important part of this communication. This was especially true for Turkey in the post-colonial era, given the development of new Turkicspeaking countries on the global scene. These events, together with Turkey’s geographic placement between Europe and Asia, will accelerate the development of diverse international educational programs. This not only allowed for the restoration of lost cultural links with Turkic countries, but also improved Turkey’s international image. Projects like the Great Student Project, Turkey Scholarships, and the Mevlana exchange program are discussed as soft power instruments in this article. The impact of events in Turkish foreign policy in the twenty-first century on the establishment of academic exchange programs will also be examined. Key words: soft power, education, exchange programs, Mevlana

Describing implementation outcomes for a virtual community of practice: The ECHO Ontario Mental Health experience

BackgroundProject ECHO is a virtual education model aimed at building capacity among healthcare providers to support optimal management for a range of health conditions. The expansion of the ECHO model, further amplified by the pandemic, has demonstrated an increased need to evaluate implementation success to ensure that interventions are implemented as planned. This study describes how Proctor et al.’s implementation outcomes (acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, costs, feasibility, fidelity, penetration, and sustainability) were adapted and used to assess the implementation of ECHO Ontario Mental Health (ECHO-ONMH), a mental health-focused capacity-building programme.MethodsUsing Proctor et al.’s implementation outcomes, the authors developed an implementation outcomes framework for ECHO-ONMH more generally. Using this, outcome measures and success thresholds were identified for each outcome for the ECHO-ONMH context, and then applied to evaluate the implementation of ECHO-ONMH using data from the first 4 years of the programme.ResultsAn ECHO-ONMH implementation outcomes framework was developed using Proctor’s implementation outcomes. ECHO-ONMH adapted implementation outcomes suggest that ECHO-ONMH was implemented successfully in all domains except for penetration, which only had participation from 13/14 regions. Acceptability, appropriateness and adoption success thresholds were surpassed for all 4 years, showing strong signs of sustainability. The programme was deemed feasible all 4 years and was found to be more cost-effective. ECHO-ONMH also showed high rates of fidelity to the ECHO model, and high rates of penetration.ConclusionsThis is the first study to use Proctor et al.’s implementation outcomes to describe implementation success for a virtual capacity-building model. The proposed ECHO implementation outcomes framework provides a base for similar interventions to evaluate implementation success, which is an important precursor to understanding learning, service or health outcomes related to the model. Additionally, these findings can act as a benchmark for other international ECHOs and educational programmes.

Da‘wa as Development: Kuwaiti Islamic Charity in East and West Africa

AbstractDirect Aid (formerly Africa Muslims Agency), Kuwait's largest charity focused on Africa, carefully mediates between Gulf donor wishes, aid recipient needs, Kuwaiti and African government regulations, and various development priorities. Since the 1980s, Direct Aid has been centralizing religious and development work in complexes that comprise orphanages, schools, clinics, and mosques – a distinctly Kuwaiti model that aims for self‐sufficient communities. The Islamic NGO cannot be confined to narrow Western categorizations of Gulf Salafi da‘wa (proselytizing) institutions. Direct Aid's approach is strategically grounded in comprehensiveness/“holism,” which serves to blur established categories of “charity,” “relief,” and “development” to become da‘wa‐as‐development. “Good Muslims” are envisioned as those who graduate from the international NGO's educational programs and become moral members of society trained to be productive citizens of their countries. This article examines the work of one transnational Islamic charity headquartered in Kuwait in two very different African countries. A comparison of the similarities and variances of Direct Aid's projects in Tanzania and Senegal highlights how the organization adapts its work to local Muslim‐minority and Muslim‐majority settings. What is the cultural and religious impact of Gulf funding in East and West Africa? How do Kuwait headquarters interact with African beneficiaries?

Studying Abroad from Home: An Exploration of International Graduate Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching

The temporary shift from face-to-face instruction to online teaching at North American universities as an alternative solution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic brought significant challenges to international students who had to study abroad from their home countries. Studies on how international students perceive their study-abroad-from-home experiences in such an emergency remote teaching (ERT) context remain scarce. Through the lens of community of inquiry and an additional perspective of emotional presence, this study explored 13 first-year international graduate students’ perceptions and experiences of their learning in ERT. Based on the analyses of the pre-learning questionnaire survey results and a series of three reflection journal entries, the study finds that teaching presence has played a vital role in shaping students’ understanding and experiences when they participated in a study-abroad graduate program from their home countries. In addition, the participants demonstrated mixed emotions of both frustration and appreciation/thankfulness as well as an isolation–connectedness emotional trajectory during their learning process. The study inspires an exploration of more diverse options for international education programs and continued effort in providing institutional support to ensure better learning experiences in a post-COVID community of inquiry.

The Shifting Landscape of International Practicum in Social Work Education

International practicum, or international field placements, create opportunities for social work students to address global social challenges in an international setting and prepare for social work practice. The landscape of international practica in social work has evolved and shifted over the last two decades. This article reports on the findings of a literature review that was conducted to understand how international practicum has changed over time. The study established search criteria that led to the inclusion of 70 publications, 16 in the first decade (2000 to 2010) and 54 in the second decade (2011 to 2020) utilizing the web of Science and Social Work Abstracts, as well as specific searches conducted on the University of Calgary Library Database, EBSCO host, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. The results of the literature review show that there were fewer publications in the first decade and the emphasis was on understanding international practicum and field models. During the second decade, the published literature on international practicum tripled, focusing predominantly on developing new field education models, engaging in critical reflection and theory, and how to create successful field placements for students through preparation, teaching, and discussion. International practicum opportunities are critical to fostering transformative learning in social work students, and post-secondary institutions will need to re-establish international field education programs after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formative Assessment as the Path to a Higher Quality of Knowledge

Formative assessment of students' knowledge is seen as the bridge between the learning and teaching process. It mainly involves providing feedback and developing the student's ability to self-evaluate. In essence, the teacher shifts from the role of knowledge provider to the role of a guide through the learning process. Formative assessment increases the quality of knowledge, impacts the students’ involvement in the learning process, and encourages them to be responsible for their own knowledge and learning. It is indirectly already a part of the teaching process of many Slovenian elementary schools that provide education in line with the national education programme, whereas at schools that offer <i>The International Baccalaureate </i>(IB) international education programme, students can only formally be graded after prior formative assessment. The article discusses the discrepancies in understanding the importance of formative assessment in two established education programmes. In the international education programme, it serves as a valid basis for grading and is an integral part of the final grade, while in the national education programme, formative assessment is considered an activity parallel to knowledge assessment, which, according to the rules, should not be considered when grading. The final grade under the national education programme is only a snapshot of the student’s knowledge at that moment. It does not allow taking into account the student’s performance in partial knowledge assessments, which deprives children and parents of applicative and useful feedback about the student's knowledge or their progress. Sophisticated teaching methods, such as individualization, differentiation, and personalization, are considered quality tools of formative assessment as they encourage comprehensive learning and critical thinking, motivate curiosity and imagination, as well as strengthen the student’s ability to connect knowledge from various fields.

ЗНАЧЕННЯ ІНОЗЕМНОЇ МОВИ В СТРАТЕГІЇ МОВНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ ПЕДАГОГІЧНИХ КАДРІВ

The study of the state language is quite naturally correlated with the task of mastering a foreign language, especially English, as one of the most widely used in the world. International communication has become possible due to the rapid spread of English, which is attributed to current global challenges, and English itself is increasingly called the «world» or «global» language. It is highlighted that «global» English language affects the quality and general nature of communication in the national environment, defined and largely limited by the framework of the nation state. It is not easy to give an unambiguous assessment of whether there are mostly positive or, on the contrary, mostly negative consequences, because both positivity and negativity do not appear in a «pure» form, complicated in each case by various additional, concomitant elements and connotations. In the article the author describes the negative trends in the influence of a foreign language, in particular the fact that the breakthrough into new environments and the establishment there of dominant Western-centric discourses (including cultural, artistic, literary, television, audiovisual, information, etc. ). push back to the background or even to the periphery traditional for these environments local discourses, with some of which are directly related to the national cultural essence and national identity. The role of a foreign language in intercultural communication of student contingents in international educational programs is noted. International educational programs contribute to the implementation of specialty skills, are the foundation for building skills of integration into the cultural space of another country. In parallel with professional knowledge, the student aims to master the language and establish understanding with the local community. Yes, there is a process of establishing cross-cultural communication – not just learning a language, but acquiring language skills in live communication.

Problems of Modern International Academic Communication in Assessment of Russian University Students

The article reveals the peculiarities of international academic communication in the context of the global challenges of our time. International academic communication is considered as a type of intercultural communication, which is carried out at the institutional and individual level both in the format of live communication and in the format of virtual and mixed communication. Such unfavorable external factors as aggravation of the geopolitical situation and pandemic consequences are the most significant risks and threats for the promotion of communicative processes on the international level. The authors of the article present the results of the survey of 78 students of Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University who took part in international exchanges and joint educational programs. The respondents’ perception of their experience of participation in international cooperation was positive. The intercultural academic communication contributed to their personal growth, development of linguistic and intercultural competence and promoted awareness of the best aspects of world culture. Based on the results of the student survey, the authors examine the positive and negative aspects of virtual international communication. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of the emotional factor of intercultural communication. The authors note the role of Russian as a language of international communication in global academic communication. Despite the global challenges of our time, students are still interested in participating in international cooperation. They are still motivated to search for new partners and learn new foreign languages in a situation where the role of English as a universal language-mediator is weakening in the modern socio-political context.

ПОРІВНЯННЯ МІЖНАРОДНИХ ТА НАЦІОНАЛЬНИХ ПРОГРАМ ОСВІТИ МАЙБУТНІХ ФАХІВЦІВ ІЗ ГРАФІЧНОГО ДИЗАЙНУ В ЗВО КНР

The article presents a comparative analysis the educational components of international and national educational programs of the Grafic design major in PRC. Comparisons are made on such educational process components as the educational concept, the educational environment, educational content, teaching methods, and quality control of education.

ОПЫТ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ РОССИЙСКО-КИТАЙСКОЙ СОВМЕСТНОЙ ПРОГРАММЫ ПОДГОТОВКИ СТУДЕНТОВ ИЗ КИТАЙСКОЙ НАРОДНОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ ПО НАПРАВЛЕНИЮ «ЭЛЕКТРОЭНЕРГЕТИКА И ЭЛЕКТРОТЕХНИКА»

The paper deals with the Chinese-international education cooperation. The brief overview of structure and current state of international education programs are given. On the example of the Far Eastern State Transport University, the experience of implementing a joint Russian-Chinese educational program for students involved in electric power and electrical engineering education programs is considered. Examples of successful scientific work of Chinese students during their studies in Russia are given.

Research of the system of formation of professional competence of future managers of physical culture

The main purpose of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of the system of formation of professional competence of future managers of physical culture and sports. Recently, much attention has been paid to reforming the education system in the country. The existing system of training qualified personnel for the sphere of physical culture and sports does not correspond to the modern needs of society. In this regard, the training of sports managers and the formation of their professional competence is of particular importance. The actual aspects of the definition and diagnosis of professional competence are confirmed by a number of international educational research programs, proactive scientific developments on this topic. The result of the study is to determine the main aspects of the effectiveness of the system of forming the professional competence of future managers of physical culture and sports.

Navigating the Storm: Community Colleges’ Decision to Pivot to Virtual International Education in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted community college international education programs, prompting some to pivot to virtual international education (VIE). This mixed-methods study explored how community colleges navigated the transition to VIE through a framework of second-order transformational change. The study presents results of a fall 2020 survey and interviews about community college international education and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings point to both successes and challenges in community colleges’ transition to VIE. Community college international educators experienced unexpected positive consequences of the pandemic, such as the ability to repurpose unused funds from canceled education abroad programs toward supporting their VIE initiatives. College administrators used flexibility and creative problem-solving skills, and leveraged networks and communities of practice to successfully pivot to diverse portfolios of VIE programs. VIE administrators faced challenges regarding technology barriers, the amount of time and effort needed to cultivate partnerships, and the potential for faculty burnout due to additional responsibilities assumed during the pandemic. Findings also indicate that sustaining VIE initiatives will require second-order change and that community colleges, as flexible institutions, are well-positioned to capitalize on the advantages of VIE. Recommendations include continuing to provide community college faculty and administrators with autonomy to explore creative strategies for implementing and sustaining VIEs, investing in additional technological supports, and providing additional faculty supports to increase faculty interest in these programs.

Experience of Design and Plastic Light Environment Modelling. Part 1 Space and Light, Urban Environment

The paper is devoted to the history of cooperation between the Department of Architectural Environment Design of the Moscow Architectural Institute and the ITMO University international educational program “Lighting Design”. It reveals the experience of inclusion into the educational process of the ITMO University international educational program “Lighting Design” of a lecture-practical unit dedicated to the modern principles concerning the lighting instruments operation in urban spaces of various sizes and purposes, as well as familiarizing with the basics of urban planning and urban development, types of open public spaces cities and components of urban fabric. The paper discusses a technique for modelling the compositional interaction between light and an urban tissue fragment, taking into account the peculiarities on the light instruments work in urban space characterized by various scales and typology, urban environment of various nature and compositional arrangement. In the process of work, students gained experience in identifying the structure and geometry of public spaces in the urban tissue, creating light routes and scenarios, and forming a system of light dominants. Conclusions are made about the significance of the design-plastic light modelling results and their influence on the design concept formation; the need to correlate the light-composition design search and the urban lighting components of various levels, as well as the meaning of lighting parameters such as the distribution of brightness and direction of luminance flux, the features of diffused and directional light and other components that affect human perception in order to create a multimodal design solution.

Jesuit libraries and popular Jesuit literature in Kingdom of Hungary in the 17th century. Interconnection between Hungarian and Polish Jesuit book culture

The authors present the characteristics of Jesuit libraries in the Kingdom of Hungary in terms of their content, with special focus on works by the most influential Jesuit authors, which were among the most numerous ones in Hungarian Jesuit libraries. The authors also draw attention to the most popular titles published by the Hungarian Jesuits in the 17th century, which can be considered bestsellers of Baroque Catholic literature not only in the Kingdom of Hungary, but also abroad. Many of them also found their readers in Poland and were translated into Polish. Furthermore, the authors point to the interconnection between Hungarian and Polish Jesuit book culture and the Jesuit Polonica in Hungarian Jesuit libraries and typographies of the 17th-18th century. The Hungarian book culture does not mean the book culture of contemporary Hungary, but of Kingdom of Hungary. This paper focus on the Jesuits from the Slovak territory, which was a part of Kingdom of Hungary for 800 years (from 11th century to 1918). The essential research sources are the international educational program Ratio Atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Jesu and catalogues of Hungarian Jesuit libraries, located in Slovakia, from the years 1632–1782.

PRIORITIES OF INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY: THE EXPERIENCE OF ATYRAU UNIVERSITY NAMED AFTER KH. DOSMUKHAMEDOVA

Within the framework of this work, the innovative educational environment of the Atyrau University named after Kh. Dosmukhamedov (AU) is considered. The role and the effects of the development of the innovation system of the university are analyzed and shown, the main strategic goals are revealed. The model for the development of educational infrastructure was substantiated, which implies an increase in the number of students, the modernization of educational programs, the launch of international educational programs in English, the implementation of innovative projects, including the commercialization of the results of scientific activities based on the business incubator “i-Space”, the promotion of the university for more high positions in national rankings of multidisciplinary universities, in international rankings, including the world ranking of universities for sustainable development “Green Metric”. The results of the study confirm the importance of the Development Strategy of AU for 2020-2025 as an alternative and an important step in creating an innovative university environment for solving problems of strengthening scientific potential, raising the status of a scientist, teacher of AU, increasing the contribution of university science to the needs of social partners, modernizing the content of academic activities in the context world trends, realizing their potential in striving for higher positions in the national ratings of multidisciplinary universities, in the international ratings of sustainable development "Green Metric".

Trend of environmental science project: A reflection of Thailand GLOBE student research competition

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is an international science and education program that promote teaching and learning of science, enhance environmental literacy and awareness. The Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) acted as a country coordinator. IPST has implemented GLOBE throughout the country. One of the important approach is “GLOBE Student research competition (GLOBE SRC)”, this project aim to promote students to learn and share Earth System Science (ESS) research. The research focused on environmental science by using GLOBE measurement protocols. This study reflected outcome of the project such as the amount of ESS research, type of environmental science research and learning outcome of the project in 2009 - 2020. A total of 451 researches were analyzed in term of title and abstract. The result indicated that Survey research is 69%, Experimental research is 26%, and Invention research is 5%. The trend of the Experimental research increased and Invention research slightly increased in the last six years. The result indicated that this approach enabled students to improve their scientific inquiry, scientific thinking and scientific attitude. They received learning experiences that build 21st century competency to assist them in the future.

Formation of linguistic competence of a foreign language teacher (on the example of language) in the system of lifelong learning

The purpose of the academic paper is to establish how effective the introduction of additional courses to advanced training courses is, informing foreign language teachers about world international educational programs in the lifelong professional development system; determining the impact on the knowledge quality of introducing a set of educational activities aimed at the formation of linguistic competence. Empirical, statistical and theoretical methods have been used in the research. In order to diagnose the awareness of teachers about the lifelong learning system and the effectiveness of improving linguistic competence after completing advanced training courses, the methods of questioning, observation, as well as the experimental method have been used. The result of the present research is substantiation that a comprehensive approach to lifelong learning programs contributes to the formation of linguistic competence; it should be permanent and be part of the program of training and retraining of English teachers.