A Study Of International Activity In Canadian Universities

In communications, health care, and economics, events, discoveries, and decisions that originate beyond national borders today routinely influence national policies and practices. But how are our system of education, and particularly our universities, affected by globalization? A New World of Knowledge examines how globalization has obliged universities in Canada to reassess and rethink the international dimension of their mission and practice. All now include an international dimension in their mission statement. Is this a true statement of educational principles? Or is it simply a marketing message intended to position the university to cope with budget reductions through the sale of educational services? A New World of Knowledge looks at the important role that Canadian universities have played in shaping Canada's response to the problems of international development. It provides the historical backdrop and level of analysis needed to properly inform choices for the future of higher education in Canada and abroad. The book will interest teachers and administrators in institutions of higher education, especially in international affairs and educational studies; practitioners in organizations that depend on university linkages (such as in NGOs and research-granting organizations); government officials in the education sector; and students looking for an international education.

Canada has become one of the most popular destinations for international students at the higher education level. A number of complex factors and trends, both in Canada and globally, have contributed to the emergence of Canada as a destination for international higher education. However, more research is still needed to better understand the experiences of international students in Canada considering the rapid growth in numbers as well as the social, political, and linguistic singularity of Canada as a destination. Multidisciplinary Perspectives on International Student Experience in Canadian Higher Education is an essential scholarly publication that explores international students' experiences in Canadian colleges and universities. It seeks to explore the various factors, aspects, challenges, and successes that characterize the international student experience in Canadian higher education from the perspective of international students and the academic communities to which they belong. Featuring a wide range of topics such as information literacy, professional development, and experiential learning, this book is ideal for academicians, instructors, researchers, policymakers, curriculum designers, and students.

This book explores how the recruitment and retention of Asian international students in Canadian universities intersects with other institutional priorities. Responding to the growing need for new insights and perspectives on the institutional mechanisms adopted by Canadian universities to support Asian international students in their academic and social integration to university life, it crucially examines the challenges at the intersection of two institutional priorities: internationalization and anti-racism. This is especially important for the Asian international student group, who are known to experience invisible forms of discrimination and differential treatment in Canadian post-secondary education institutions. The authors present new conceptualisations and theoretical perspectives on topics including international students’ experiences and understandings of race and racism, comparisons with domestic students and/or non-Asian students, institutional discourse and narratives on Asian international students, comparison with other university priorities, cross-national comparisons, best practices, and recent developments linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Foregrounding the institutional strategies of Canadian universities, as opposed to student experience exclusively, this direct examination of institutional responses and initiatives draws out similarities and differences across the country, compares them within the broader array of university priorities, and ultimately offers the opportunity for Canadian universities to learn from each other in improving the integration of Asian international students and others to their student body. It will appeal to teacher-scholars, researchers and educators with interested in higher education, international education and race and ethnic studies.

Canada was one of the first Western countries to sign an agreement to provide development aid to China in 1983, and the Canadian International Development Agency invited universities to cooperate in ways that would facilitate "the multiplication of contacts at the thinking level." In Canadian Universities in China’s Transformation, leading scholars from Canadian and Chinese universities elaborate on the historical experience of collaboration in areas as different as environmental science, marine science, engineering, management, law, agriculture, medicine, education, minority cultures, and women’s studies. Contributors use theoretical frames such as dependency theory, human capital, the knowledge economy, and Habermas’s theory of communicative action, to facilitate a striking dialogue between Canadian and Chinese perspectives on common questions. They provide insights into factors that ensured the long-term success of some partnerships, as well as barriers that hindered others, and vivid lessons for current collaboration. Case studies include a project that began with the training of Chinese judges developing into reciprocal programs in legal education in China, Canada, and Latin America, and an examination of how joint environmental research has had policy impacts at national and international levels. Presenting the story of universities working together in the era after the Cultural Revolution, Canadian Universities in China’s Transformation is a unique account of partnerships in knowledge production and application and their resulting impacts.

Over the past decade, Canadian universities have experienced significant growth in the numbers of international students and the revenue they represent, a result of both federal policy and the revenue needs of universities. As revenue generation has become an essential element in balancing budgets with international student income as the most significant and stable revenue opportunity, the position of the Senior International Officer (SIO), has inevitably gained prominence. Little empirical research is available on the SIO position, a senior administrative position that exists in most universities in Canada and is accountable for all international activity in Canadian universities. SIOs are expected to add economic value to their institutions and by extension their region or country, as well as to contribute to transformative humanistic goals, such as the development of globally aware graduates (Yemini, 2015). The inherent tension in attracting international students for economic reasons together with the transformative discourse of internationalization is a challenge of SIOs working in Canadian universities. This dissertation explores the impact of the Canadian federal policy context and the expectations of universities with respect to the SIO role on the experiences of those in the role. The focus of the study is on the tensions of the SIO role in balancing expectations to achieve both economic and transformational outcomes, and will employ a qualitative, critical approach. The study itself is divided into three phases: a chronological analysis of federal international education policy in Canada from its beginnings until the present day; a critical discourse analysis of the executive search position briefs through which Canadian universities attract SIOs to the leadership role; and a critical examination of interviews with the incumbents recruited into the university SIO role. The purpose of the research is to understand the experiences of these leaders in carrying out their mandates for campus internationalization. The findings show that SIOs are concerned with the growing focus at this time on internationalization for economic outcomes at both the federal and institutional levels. While SIOs continue to support these economic outcomes, the research shows they find covert ways to implement a more comprehensive internationalization to achieve academic and socio-cultural outcomes. This dissertation demonstrates that SIOs in Canada are committed to a comprehensive approach to internationalization, despite the overwhelming focus on economic outcomes in the discourse of federal policy and institutional expectations and aims for international education.

In the early twenty-first century international education emerged as an almost ubiquitous concept within discussions of educational curriculum; the objectives of schools, universities, and colleges; and government policies for K–12 and higher education. Although far from a new phenomenon, many jurisdictions now view international education as a highly competitive global industry. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of international education policy in Canada, tracing the complex history of when, how, and why it emerged as a policy area of strategic importance. Illuminating a uniquely Canadian perspective, influenced by regional interests and federal-provincial tensions, International Education as Public Policy in Canada addresses challenging questions: Why was Canada a latecomer in addressing this policy issue? What is the relationship between international education and Canadian immigration policy? How did international education develop as a major Canadian industry? The resulting essays from leading scholars contribute not only to the growing Canadian literature on international education policy but also to a critical, global conversation. Contemplating where the Canadian story of international education is headed, International Education as Public Policy in Canada calls for a broader debate on ethical practices in internationalization, focusing on inclusion, equity, compassion, and reciprocity.

This report addresses three broad questions: how the government can best support the international activities of Canada's scientific research community in universities, academic research institutes, and government & private sector laboratories; how to best support the international science & technology (S&T) activities of Canadian industry; and the extent to which Canada's international S&T policies & support mechanisms are effectively linked with other government policies, such as those related to trade, investment, and international co-operation. Work conducted for the report included review of information contained in briefs & presentations, consultations with key stakeholders, review of policies & activities of other countries regarding international S&T, and regional workshops. After the introduction, section 2 discusses the link between S&T and economic growth. Section 3 presents the context of Canada's international S&T activities, with comparisons to other countries. Sections 4 to 6 review current Canadian international activities and issues to be addressed in the areas of science (including social science), technology, and government policies. The final section presents a vision of Canada as an important player in international S&T and makes recommendations to achieve that vision. Appendices include an inventory of Canada's federal participation & investment in international S&T and examples of sources of funding for international S&T projects.

Canadian universities are being slowly but inexorably corporatized. Casualizing academic labour, remaking students into consumers of education, implementing corporate management models and commercializing academic research all point to the ascendance of business interests and values in Canada’s higher education system. Academia, Inc. examines the tensions that result from the merging of two fundamentally incompatible institutions — the university and the corporation. Brownlee argues that moving from liberal education to corporate job training, public service to profit-making and critical research to commercial invention radically undermines the goals of higher education. Investigating the history, causes and impacts of corporatization, this book explores how this transformation has taken shape and its ramifications for both universities and society as a whole. Brownlee suggests several strategies for resisting this process.