Education Crossing Borders

The chronicle of a ten-year partnership between MIT and Singapore's Education Ministry that shows cross-border collaboration in higher education in action. In this book, Dara Fisher chronicles the decade-long collaboration between MIT and Singapore's Education Ministry to establish the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Fisher shows how what began as an effort by MIT to export its vision and practices to Singapore became an exercise in adaptation by actors on the ground. As cross-border higher education partnerships become more widespread, Fisher's account of one such collaboration in theory and practice is especially timely. Despite the prevalence of cross-border higher education initiatives, there is little understanding of how these partnerships work. This book fills the gap, offering an in-depth ethnographic case study that draws on organizational behavior literature for theoretical support. Fisher describes the sometimes divergent priorities of the Singapore government and MIT as planning began in 2007; chronicles how the founding faculty, staff, and students sought to shape the new university; shows that MIT left decision making to local actors on matters it regarded as low priority (only to discover later that some of these decisions did not align with MIT values); and examines SUTD's efforts to build an independent identity as Singapore's fourth major public university within the Singaporean higher education ecosystem. Finally, Fisher develops a framework for understanding how MIT's identity and practices were communicated to and then localized by Singaporeans, examining this in terms of politics, culture, institutions, and individuals.

Uncovering aspects of university culture which are often hidden or misunderstood, this book brings together international perspectives, showing the matches and mismatches between experience and expectation, as both staff and student face new academic cultures. Drawing on the stories of students and members of staff in the higher education sector as starting points for analysis, this book considers aspects such as the dynamics and pragmatics of university settings, from tutorial to lecture; the assignment and multiple text types from reflective logs to essays; different interpretations of grades, grading and feedback. Topics are explored with examples from critical incidents and narratives in international contexts – both where staff or students cross cultures and borders, and where they are functioning within the university culture with which they are most familiar. Ideal both for those new to learning and teaching in higher education, and those seeking to refresh their practice, this must-read book uses case studies and narratives to illustrate key challenges academics and students face. With consideration given to learning across cultures, the narratives and topics lead to enquiries which the reader can ask and research for themselves to find helpful answers to explain their own university experiences.

A critical resource for K-12 educators that serve BIPOC and first-generation students that explores why inclusive and culturally relevant pedagogy is necessary to ensure the success of their students The practices and values in the US educational system position linguistically, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse children and families at a disadvantage. BIPOC dropout rates and levels of stress and anxiety have linked with non-inclusive school environments. In this collection, 3 educators tell and will draw on their experiences as immigrants and educators to address racial inequity in the classroom and provide a thorough analysis of different strategies that create an inclusive classroom environment. White educators that serve BIPOC students will benefit from these reflections on incorporating culturally relevant pedagogies that value the diverse experiences of their students. With a focus on Haitian and Dominican students in the US, the authors will reveal the challenges that immigrant and first-generation students face. They’ll also offer insights about topics such as: • How do language policies and social justice intersect? • How can educators use culturally relevant teaching and community funds of knowledge to enrich school curriculum? • How can educators center the needs of the student within the classroom? • How can educators support Haitian Creole-speaking students?

This book examines issues that have emerged as higher education systems and individual institutions across East Asia confront and adapt to the changing economic, social, and educational environments in which they now operate. The book’s focus is on how higher education systems learn from each other and on the ways in which they collaborate to address new challenges. The sub-theme that runs through this volume concerns the changing nature of cross-border sharing. In particular, the provision of technical assistance by more industrialized countries to lower and middle income countries has given way to collaborations that place the latter’s participating institutions on a more equal footing.

Border-crossing in Education comprises a series of case studies covering a variety of cultural areas, in order to reveal the density of connections and exchanges that inform educational practices, policies, and systems. It attaches particular importance to individual and collective actors that govern these flows – initiating, promoting, or reconfiguring transfers of policy models. The contributors explore various aspects of the circulatory mechanisms that have been deployed in the field of education during the modern and contemporary period. Varying the observation scales, from local to international, they demonstrate the multilateral character of the circulatory dynamics observed. The implementation of rich and varied approaches to these complex processes offers a perspective that complements and renews our knowledge of the genesis and evolution of educational policies and systems, most notably highlighting their foreign inspirations. However, these studies do not merely evoke borrowings and hybridization, as if national borders proved porous or non-existent. Instead they show that the phenomena of resistance, reinterpretation, and rejection are also an integral part of transnational mechanisms of exchanges. The book thus demonstrates the relevance of a historical approach in addressing these transnational mechanisms in the field of education and childhood policy. This book was originally published as a special issue of Paedagogica Historica.

This book explores the processes of self-understanding that take place in a group of Chinese women studying in universities in the United States. In the past few decades, there has been an increasing number of Chinese women attending U.S. universities, yet their psychological experiences within American culture have not been a focus of study by researchers in higher education. Those who crossed geographic, cultural, and psychological borders to study in the U.S. described their change as a basic psychological process called 'reweaving a fragmented self.' This book contributes to the educator's understanding of the diversity of international women's student experiences, expectations, and desires.

This is the first book to address the learning experience of transfronterizxs, border-crossing students, in a dual language program. Educating Across Borders explains how transfronterizx language, literacy practices, and knowledge are used in the educational system.

"Cross-border Partnerships in Higher Education is a welcome addition to the academic literature on the scope and impact of international partnerships in a very dynamic higher education market. Robin Sakamoto and David Chapman should be congratulated for this excellent contribution that can guide higher education institutions all over the world in thinking more strategically and achieving better results as they engage in cross-border partnerships."--Jamil Salmi, Tertiary Education Coordinator, The World Bank, Washington, DC.