Internationalization as De-Westernization of the Curriculum

Abstract

Internationalization of the curriculum points to the interdependent and interconnected (globalized) world in which higher education operates. However, while international awareness is crucial to the study of journalism, in practice this often means an Anglo-American curriculum based around Western principles of journalism education and training that are deeply rooted in Western values and traditions. This tendency to privilege Western thought, practice, and values obscures from view other journalism practices and renders Western models of journalism desirable, replicable, and transplantable to any part of the world. This article discusses the engagement of a small group of staff in the process of thinking through the meaning of internationalization of the curriculum in their particular disciplinary and institutional context. The staff are located in a school of journalism and communication at a large research intensive university in Australia. The article describes the thinking behind their decision to focus internationalization of the curriculum on “critical de-Westernization” and social imaginaries. This was a gestalt shift resulting from discussion of the way in which “taken for granted” disciplinary canons had hitherto been uncritically embedded into the curriculum. It is argued that treating internationalization of the journalism curriculum as critical de-Westernization has conceptual and practical benefits in a globalized world.

Two Decades of Research Into the Internationalization of Higher Education: Major Themes in the Journal of Studies in International Education (1997-2016)

“…The themes “countries,” “curriculum,” and “internationalization” form a line, showing that the internationalization of the curriculum gained importance in different contexts and occurs with regard to frameworks , approaches , and as an institutional process within the field of internationalization . The internationalized curriculum can also be read as an example of the need for internationalization at home, for example, the latter is perceived to foster educational and social understanding as Jon (2013) shows for domestic students in Korean higher education; the benefits of this type of internationalization are suggested to exceed even those of studying abroad (Soria & Troisi, 2014); and there is a suggested role for internationalization in the “critical de-Westernization” (Breit, Obijiofor, & Fitzgerald, 2013, p. 129) of the curriculum. Articles linked to the institutional management of internationalization are those addressing the use of a virtual classroom to foster exchange between Colombian and U.S. students (Patterson, Botero Carrillo, & Solano Salinas, 2012); and increasing the success of international collaboration through well-managed interaction and communication (Spencer-Oatey, 2013).…”

An Organizational Change Perspective for the Curriculum Internationalization Process: Bridging the Gap Between Strategy and Implementation

“…Further, some of the rare studies published in management-related journals used other terminology, reflecting a different focus and approach. For example, Jaklič and Karageorgu (2015) talked about “organizational learning” and “improvement processes” aiming for innovation and a positive impact on organizational performance. Overall, however, any empirical investigation of the process of organizational change was mainly incidental.…”

“…Next, we identified 43 articles with the search string "change" (e.g., Breit et al 2013;Killick 2020). Additionally, some publications, like Schuerholz-Lehr et al (2007), Robson (2011) and Green & Mertova (2016), referred to "transformative processes" to stress the deep level of change involving significant reforms with high impact.…”

Journalism education, research, and practice in Africa: Toward a transformative approach

“…Scholars have claimed that the inability of journalism (and communication) programs of study to recognise non-Western professional journalism practices, cultures, and traditions have undermined rather than enhanced the discipline (Breit, Obijiofor, and Fitzgerald, 2013;Hafez, 2009;Miike, 2010;Wasserman and de Beer, 2009). Apart from demands for de-Westernisation of journalism education and practice, there are also growing calls for diversification of journalism education curriculum to develop an all-encompassing syllabus.…”