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Internationalization efforts in higher education have often been categorized according to Jane Knight’s binary of “Internationalization at Home” (IaH) and “Internationalization Abroad” (IA). However, a rising number of technology-supported activities have created new opportunities for university internationalization. For example, students can now remain “at home” while using technology to study with an institution or program that is simultaneously located “abroad.” We have conceptualized these activities as a new third category called Internationalization at a Distance (IaD). In this article, we introduce the concept of IaD and outline an in-depth case study of an international distance education provider at scale, the University of South Africa.

As universities worldwide rapidly internationalise, higher education classrooms have become unique spaces for collaboration between students from different countries. One common way to encourage collaboration between diverse peers is through group work. However, previous research has highlighted that cross-cultural group work can be challenging and has hinted at potential social tensions. To understand this notion better, we have used robust quantitative tools in this study to select 20 participants from a larger classroom of 860 students to take part in an in-depth qualitative interview about cross-cultural group work experiences. Participant views on social tensions in cross-cultural group work were elicited using a unique mediating artefact method to encourage reflection and in-depth discussion. In our analysis of emergent interview themes, we compared student perspectives on the role of social relationships in group work by their academic performance level. Our findings indicated that all students interviewed desired the opportunity to form social relationships with their group work members, but their motivations for doing so varied widely by academic performance level.

The influence of internationalised versus local content on online intercultural collaboration in groups: A randomised control trial study in a statistics course. Computers & Education, 118 pp. 82-95. For guidance on citations see FAQs.

Richardson (2008b) outlined known relationships between gender, ethnicity, and academic attainment in UK higher education. In the period since this publication, many changes to the higher education sector have occurred, including raising tuition fees, an increased focus on widening participation, and an increasing interest in diversifying the curriculum. There is a need for an updated and expanded literature review to highlight whether the relationships between gender, ethnicity, and academic attainment remain the same one decade later. This article synthesises the current literature related to the impact of gender, social class, and ethnicity on higher education participation and academic attainment. We highlight the important role of intersectionality in understanding overarching trends. Altogether, this literature review shows that there are persisting inequalities in both participation and attainment based on gender, social class, and ethnicity. To conclude, we provide several suggestions for improving our understanding of these phenomena in the decades to come.

Much research in face-to-face contexts outlines the importance of early adjustment on students’ higher education experiences. However, few studies have replicated this research in distance learning contexts to unpack the early multifaceted adjustments associated with studying in absence of a physical campus. This is particularly needed from a Global South perspective, where countries like South Africa have become regional hubs for distance learners. To explore distance learners’ adjustment experiences, this study analysed results from a Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) with 320 distance learners at the University of South Africa, mixed with qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended questions. The results outlined key factors that impact distance learning experiences for students in South Africa, including demographic variables, class, language, and access to resources. These findings, compared with similar work in face-to-face contexts, suggest areas in need of additional support from distance education providers in South Africa and beyond.