ITAs and Globalization in Higher Education

• In Event: Transdisciplinary Approaches to International Teaching Assistant Research within Applied Linguistics

Summary

This presentation shows how the increasing ITA presence on US campuses is intertwined with the growing worldwide scholarly dominance of English and TESOL. The historical and current trends in the “push” and “pull” factors driving growth in international flows will be discussed within the context of education policy.

Abstract

This presentation reviews how higher education institutions in the U.S. and other Anglophone countries came to cultivate and actively recruit international student enrollments to internationalize campuses and also as a source of income. We show how the increasing ITA presence on US college campuses has been intertwined with the growing worldwide scholarly dominance of English and TESOL. Additionally, we explore historical and current trends in the “push” and “pull” factors driving growth in international flows from and to the U.S. and contextualize them in education policy in the U.S. and abroad. Furthermore, we explore how these push and pull factors have evolved over time in tandem with demand in global labor markets (Institute of International Education, 2016). The presentation will conclude by pointing out recent trends in U.S. and international economic, immigration, and higher education policy and speculate as to future prospects for ITAs at American universities. For example, we address possible effects of slowing economies, increased nativism and increasing concerns over visas and international student reception in western industrialized democracies, decreasing state and federal funding for graduate assistants both at US universities and by sponsoring foreign governments.

Author

• James Coda, The University of Georgia - LLED