International Education Leadership Experiences In Canadian Universities

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.

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.

Cross-cultural experiences in university settings have a significant impact on students’ lives by enriching the learning process and promoting cultural awareness and tolerance. While studying abroad offers students unique learning opportunities, educators must be able to effectively address the specific social and academic needs of multicultural learners. Exploring the Social and Academic Experiences of International Students in Higher Education Institutions is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on the issues surrounding study abroad students in culturally diverse educational environments. Featuring various perspectives from a global context on ensuring the educational, structural, and social needs of international students are met, this book is ideally designed for university faculty, researchers, graduate students, policy makers, and academicians working with transnational students.

Leadership Experience for Academic Directions (LEAD) is a program that was developed as a service learning program for teacher candidates in preparation for the teaching career. As youth populations continue to diversify and as the issues impacting youth continue to surface, it is the responsibility of educators, administrators, and the governments to provide all the opportunities for youth to succeed academically, socially, and personally. Teachers especially are instrumental in making this happen; therefore, it is imperative that teachers come into the profession with the cognitive and non-cognitive skills to motivate youth to succeed. The Handbook of Research on Leadership Experience for Academic Direction (LEAD) Programs for Student Success s a critical scholarly book that explores the many facets of the teaching profession as they relate to working with at-risk youth and helping them reach their full potential. This book provides the groundwork for programs that will succeed at the K-12 education level and at the teacher education level. Featuring a range of topics such as human capital, mental health, and social learning theory, this book is essential for academicians, teaching professionals, administrators, professional development educators, policymakers, researchers, and students.

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 book explores how to be fully cross-cultural and intercultural with research and theory building in educational leadership. It adopts an integrated approach to the examination of common issues across and between cultures and contexts. Each chapter examines an issue or a set of issues that builds on evidence from a minimum of three countries across at least two continents. The data collection methods are consistent for all countries and therefore allow meaningful conclusions to be drawn across the field. All six continents are represented in the book, including both developing and developed countries, to ensure an open dialogue and an innovative approach to lay the foundations for future research.

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.

While the role of the university president has evolved dramatically in recent years, the recruitment pool and selection process have changed little since the 1960s. In Leadership Under Fire, Ross Paul combines leadership theory, interviews with eleven of Canada's most successful presidents, and thirty-five years of personal experience to shed light on the complexity and importance of leading a university and identifies some of the critical challenges and opportunities facing Canadian universities today. Paul illuminates some of the ways in which Canadian universities are unique and uses these differences to make clear the importance of organizational, cultural, and institutional fit for leaders confronting critical academic issues such as academic leadership and accountability, student success and support, university funding and fund-raising, strategic planning, government and community relations, and internationalism. His analysis reaffirms some long-standing practices, while arguing that changes are badly needed in others. While much has been written about university leadership elsewhere, Leadership Under Fire focuses on Canada and some of the men and women who have made a real difference to the quality of its post-secondary institutions. Paul builds on their stories to offer useful perspectives and advice at a time when the quality of universities was never more critical to the country’s economic, social, and political success.

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.