Browsing by Subject "International"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Agendas, Actions, and Accountability in International Development: A Case Study of the USAID Education Strategy for 2011-2015
    (2014-12) Willis, Garth
    Beginning in 2010, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented a series of institutional reforms designed to rebuild USAID as the world's premier development agency. This research examined one component of this larger reform effort, the USAID Education Strategy for 2011-2015: Opportunity Through Learning. The purpose of this research is to examine how the current agenda for basic education was determined, what actions occurred based on this agenda, and how USAID will be held accountable for results. The problem is that while new strategies are routinely developed and implemented, without accountability for results lessons learned to do not inform future policy. The education strategy is an exemplary case study to examine USAID's redesigned approach to international development as: 1) it is the first sector strategy developed under Administrator Rajiv Shah and paved the way for future strategies, 2) it resulted in significant changes to priorities and programs in education, and 3) it represents an unprecedented commitment by USAID to be held accountable for results. This case study of the 2011 Education Strategy provides insights into USAID's new operational model and the implications the model poses for international development assistance. Lessons learned can also inform other global agendas including the design of education indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals. The research uses a framework of agendas, actions, and accountability to analyze the political context and alternative agendas that are the drivers of strategy development and implementation at USAID. This research highlights how agendas are formulated and strategies developed, how ensuing actions depend on both bureaucratic and political processes to deliver results, and how accountability for results is an ambiguous process that has profound implications for the development agenda. Through a document review and interviews with policy specialists and technical experts at USAID, this research adds to existing research by examining and critiquing the policy processes of agendas, actions, and accountability in the context of international development, where decisions are shaped by a global set of actors and contexts.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Classrooms without borders: the characteristics of international secondary schools that offer online courses.
    (2009-07) Fischer, David Allen
    The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of international schools that offer online courses. Secondary school principals of international schools were surveyed using a newly constructed survey instrument. Eighty three secondary school principals responded to the survey for a response rate of 61%. The principals that responded were from a random sample of international schools as well as a purposeful sample of international schools that offer online courses through the Virtual High School. The results showed that 16 of the schools, from the random sample of 60 international schools, were offering online courses. These courses were largely being offered by external course providers that are accredited and based in the United States. The main reason these schools gave for offering online courses were to offer course not otherwise available at their school and the most common type of courses they offered were elective courses. Finding from this study also showed that there was a relationship between institutional factors of international school and whether they offered online course. The strongest associations were the size of the school, interest coming from the school community, knowledge of the online course options available, and the ease of recruiting highly qualified teachers. One conclusion that could be drawn from this research is that the number of international schools that offer online courses is quite low when compared to schools in the United States. There could be many reasons for this, one of which is that many of the administrators at these international schools are not fully aware of the online course options that are available to them. It is hoped that this dissertation might better inform the leadership of these schools about the advantages of offering online courses and how these courses might benefit their students.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Faculty Member Engagement in the Context of Internationalization at Home at the University of Iceland: A Collective Case Study
    (2018-05) Dinger, Casey
    Internationalization at Home (IaH) has been promoted as means to increase international and intercultural education on the home campus. Considering Iceland’s recent increases in immigration, such education is crucial not only for students and members of the academic community, but also for the populations in greater Iceland. This study examines faculty members’ engagement in the practices of IaH at the University of Iceland. Employing a collective case study methodology, this investigation includes multiple streams of data including interviews, documents, photographs and observation to understand the specific practices of IaH and subsequent development that stems from the participants’ engagement. A portrait of adult learning constructed from a variety of learning theories and concepts is used in interpreting growth from practices of IaH. Key findings indicate that participants understand IaH as a project of integrating cultural diversity in the campus community and that their role in IaH centers around fostering awareness of diversity through practices of teaching, research, building and maintaining networks and connecting with Icelandic society. Additionally, participants learn through this engagement, particularly through critical reflection, dialectical thinking and authenticity in teaching. This growth develops a more transformative internationalization for themselves and their institution. The findings are useful in understanding how IaH is enacted and has implications for supporting internationalization of faculty at the University of Iceland.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    International students' language and culture learning experience in study abroad
    (2014-08) Kong, Kaishan
    This dissertation is a study of Chinese students' language and cultural learning experience through mediational means in a study abroad context. While there is extensive quantitative research to measure linguistic gains or cultural adjustment, there is limited research on study abroad participants' perspectives on their language and cultural learning experience through a sociocultural lens. This dissertation contributes new knowledge in Asian students' sojourn experience. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine, from Chinese students' perspectives, what mediational resources were used and how they used the materials to foster learning in a study abroad context. Data sources included in-depth interviews, ethnographic observations, focus group discussion, social media post and other documents. Sociocultural theory, mediation in particular, was adopted as the theoretical framework for this study because it resonates with my assumption that learning takes place in interaction between individuals and other materials and other people. Study abroad contexts are unique in offering multiple forms of resources that can be similar or different from the students' background. International students' interaction with materials and people in this study abroad community can be a mediational process that leads to learning. It also fits in my purpose of the study to examine the learning process but not the product. This study was not to measure the students' linguistic outcomes or cultural skills; instead, it was to attain more in-depth understanding of their personal experience in learning English and multiple cultures in the United States. Findings show that participants used multiple resources to mediate learning, including tools such as textbooks and on-line technology and semiotic systems such as language, email communication and peer review. Language, including dialogues with other people and private speech, stood out as powerful mediation means. Data also showed that emotions, identities and motivation played a crucial role in mediation. They not only influenced participants' choice of materials but also became mediational means themselves. These findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for study abroad students, instructors and program administrators. Students are encouraged to become reflective learners and to raise awareness of selecting multiple resources to mediate learning through various strategies. For instructors, this study also shows the importance of various pedagogies to address students' need and the significance of understanding students as individuals in a broader sociocultural context. It is also suggested that training, guidance and mentorship should be offered through the entire study abroad journey and beyond.This project confirms findings from many existing papers that study abroad is a complex experience. There are multiple affordances for learning but there is no definite causal relationship with linguistic gains. Students' interaction with mediational means can produce learning. It also extends the discussion of mediational tools and signs, by showing evidence of how emotions, identities and motivations mediated learning. This study exemplifies efforts to break the either-language-or-culture dichotomy that is often seen as the focus of research, and to inspire more future research on both aspects.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Secondary analysis of international programs and services at Minnesota State two-year colleges 1998, 2000-2003
    (2011-06) Johnson, Allyn Blaine
    Two-year colleges serve the educational needs of approximately 6.6 million students and comprise 35 percent of all degree granting colleges in the United States. There are increasing demands for two-year institutions to provide programs and activities to prepare students for the global society. Because undergraduates are more likely to experience internationally oriented course work and study abroad at four-year compared to two-year institutions, there is growing urgency for two-year colleges to establish international education as a priority. National studies, however, reveal serious gaps in internationally oriented programs and practices among two-year institutions. While providing an overall snapshot of international education progress, national studies tend to lump two-year colleges into one category thereby excluding different types of community colleges with dissimilar missions. The importance of forming partnerships appears in the literature but systematic research examining the role partnerships play in two-year college internationalization initiatives is scarce. Survey responses collected by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities [MnSCU], Office of International Education, from 1998 thru 2003 provided basic data for this study. Respondents included thirty two-year public institutions. Four categories of international indicators were established: (a) institutional support for internationalization; (b) curricular and co-curricular programs and activities; (c) international student programs and services; and (d) faculty international opportunities. Findings indicate limited progress of international initiatives among Minnesota two-year institutions. Curriculum and study abroad deficiencies are notable and examined in detail. Significant variations occur between institutional types and consortium membership status. Variation is also noted among consortium members when size and type of institution are considered. Recommendations include ideas for further research involving two-year institutions in general and the Minnesota two-year colleges specifically.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Teacher perceptions of the influence of principal instructional leadership on school culture: a case study of the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India.
    (2009-04) DuPont, Jonathan Payne
    The purpose of this case study is to examine the influence of principal instructional leadership on school culture in the American Embassy School (AES) in New Delhi, India. Using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods, this case study addresses three key research questions. Two existing survey instruments, the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale developed by Philip Hallinger (1987) and the School Culture Survey developed by Steven Gruenert (1998), were both used as part of one electronic survey of teachers at AES. The response rate was a high 86% with a total of 132 teachers responding. Both scales proved to be highly reliable in this international context with a coefficient alpha of .97 for the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale and .93 for the School Culture Survey. In addition, study methods included interviews, focus groups, and a document analysis to ensure triangulation. Data were from three divisions: the elementary school, the middle school, and the high school to analyze the research questions. Among major results were the following: the elementary school has strong principal instructional leadership while the high school has weak principal instructional leadership. Results for the middle school were mixed. Teachers in the elementary school viewed their school as having a positive and collaborative school culture while the middle school teachers had mixed views and the high school teachers had the least positive views of their school culture. Numerous and strong relationships were found between many instructional leadership factors and school culture factors suggesting the importance of principals using an instructional leadership approach. As instructional leaders, principals can create a positive and collaborative school culture. By helping teachers collaborate, instilling collective leadership, and communicating a shared vision, principals can contribute to developing a positive and collaborative school culture. Another finding is that forging strong personal relationships with teachers contributes importantly to school culture. This dissertation may inform thinking about how principal instructional leadership can contribute to improving student learning indirectly through a positive and collaborative school culture.