If Michael Ignatieff, leader of the federal Liberal party, has his way he will "'internationalize' an entire generation of young people." This idea adds another layer to the emerging discussion of international activities that can benefit students and the post-secondary education community in Canada. The Ontario government announced in the spring it wishes to see the number of international students increase by 50% in the next five year.
Hearing stories from friends that took advantage of the opportunity to study abroad I now look back on my own student experience and wish I had given traveling abroad to study more thought. Perhaps the increased attention of these international activities will entice current and future students to consider the opportunities of connecting with an international student on their campus or going abroad to enhance their own student experience.
I would challenge this push to 'internationalize' young people and ask, "What does it mean to 'internationalize' a person or a generation of people?" Working at an international study centre, as I do, has made me question what we want to gain when we give students opportunities to have international and intercultural experiences.
ReplyDeleteSo, what are our goals?
Why are those are our goals?
What are we doing to ensure students have the experiences we want/need them to have in order to meet those goals?
How will we know we have met those goals?
Honestly, though it is hard to say definitively without hard data, I would say anecdotally that many students that come through my institution do no fully embrace their international experience on the level I would personally like to see them embrace it.