From "Cultural Diversity" to a "Culture of Diversity": A Case Study of the Internationalization of Higher Education

• In Event: 33.079 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 33.079-10 - Differing Perspectives on Global Higher Education (1)

Abstract

This research looks at how internationalization at a Mid-western university is taking place in individual and institutional levels and how international student population helps to foster intercultural understanding. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, we identified four themes: a) Personal growth and academic development; d) Agency and engagement of international students; c) Networking and community building; d) Development of diverse perspectives about educational issues. This project serves as a model of how universities can engage international students in advancing the intercultural dimension of internationalization. It demonstrates how to create an environment hospitable to global diversity, and how to transform the existing “cultural diversity,” --biological and demographic diversity, to a “culture of diversity,” --the intellectual and epistemological transformations.

Authors

• Xiuying Sophy Cai, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Mauricio Pino-Yancovic, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso