Abstract
This book focuses on international and global dimensions of education across multiple levels of schooling. In particular, it explores the process of internationalisation from different angles, including policy-making, curriculum implementation, media discourse and individual agency. The book sets out to illuminate and analyse the key opportunities and tensions arising from internationalisation with reference to popular discourse, policy, curriculum, pedagogy and students’ identity, and to connect the process of internationalisation with its outcomes at individual level, which the author suggests is the production of global citizens. Of particular interest is the author’s argument that internationalisation should be studied as one multifaceted phenomenon that is common to both schools and universities, rather than using different terms and approaches. (Typically, for instance, the term ‘internationalisation’ is used to refer to the process in higher education, whereas ‘international education’ often refers to the process at school level). This is because the economic, academic, political and social rationales driving internationalisation can be applied at both the university and school levels, nationally and institutionally.
In Part I of the book, Yemini considers different definitions of globalisation, which she argues is necessary in order to understand the rise of internationalisation in policy and practice. She notes that globalisation and neoliberalism have been influencing education systems significantly, leading to the process of internationalisation, which can be seen most evidently through student mobility, international student recruitment campaigns and cross-border education. Reminding the reader about some of the negative consequences of globalisation that are often overlooked in developed countries, such as widening social and economic gaps and deepening social inequality, she notes that these consequences are partly brought about by changes to the modern workplace and the expansion of the modern labour market, requiring those with certain skills and competences to be able to compete in today’s globalised society. Yet only some schools in a few countries are implementing school policies and curricula that promote 21st century skills and education for global competence, meaning that some students are likely to have an advantage compared with others.
The author acknowledges the complexity surrounding the discourse on internationalisation and its related concepts, which are each open to multiple interpretations. She draws on Knight’s (2004) definition of internationalisation as ‘a process of the integration of international, global and intercultural dimensions into the aims, functions and delivery of education’. Yemini argues that there is a need for a more detailed and structured approach to thinking about and investigating the process of internationalisation, and her intention in this book is to unpack in detail the ‘international, global and intercultural dimensions’ of education in order to propose a new framing of the term ‘internationalisation’. What is particularly significant about the book’s contribution is that the author approaches this through discussing a number of illuminating empirical studies with which she was involved, and which investigated issues relevant to internationalisation. This approach leads to new theoretical insights in the areas investigated through each chapter. The empirical studies are also interesting methodologically, as they adopt varying methodological approaches, which are described in detail. Yemini also includes notes on the limitations of the studies’ methodologies, enabling the reader to gain a sense of the scope of the research conducted and to potentially identify and consider new methodological approaches that could be employed for investigating similar issues in future research.
European mobility programmes are seen in this book as a key part of the internationalisation process, given that although they are located in a European context, they have international aims, including attracting the best staff and students from around the world, increasing international outreach and visibility, and fostering international networks for excellence. The author argues that European Commission mobility policies for both schools and higher education (i.e. the Comenius and Erasmus schemes, later merged under Erasmus+) are one of the most important aspects of internationalisation as they enable young people to develop the skills and international competences needed to actively participate in the labour market. I agree with these points, although given that these programmes are largely Eurocentric, it would have been useful for Yemini to have critically examined the relationship between the ‘European dimension in education’ and the internationalisation process in order to reveal a more nuanced understanding of this relationship. In general, the exploration of this dynamic relationship is still an under-researched area.
Part II of the book focuses on Global Citizenship Education (GCE), beginning with an analysis of empirical articles relating to GCE in primary and secondary level schooling published during the period 2005-2015. Yemini’s analysis consolidates much of the empirical knowledge to date and reveals gaps in the field, which is useful to scholars researching this area. The author notes that the majority of studies considered here lacked a critical approach to GCE, and concentrated on GCE in developed countries with a focus on technology and travel opportunities. She also found that GCE often does not take into account individual differences between students, nations or regions (what she refers to as a ‘one size fits all’ approach), and that there is an assumption that mobility and contact with others is essential to practising global citizenship. It would have been interesting to see more theoretical literature included in the discussion of some of these findings. For example, on the issue of the importance of contact, the author could perhaps have referred to contact theory, including Allport’s (1954) contact hypothesis, as a means of offering further critical insight into this area. Indeed, the book might have benefitted from including an earlier theoretical section exploring in detail some of the key concepts referred to and their related terms, before considering key concepts and processes through empirical case studies.
Yemini found in her analysis that teachers responsible for GCE are concerned about appearing unpatriotic, have vague notions of global citizenship and of how to implement it, and feel uncomfortable dealing with controversial and sensitive issues – and therefore often avoid them. For this reason she suggests that teacher education programmes should focus more on the difficulties of implementing GCE rather than on its benefits. I would argue that both are equally important: teacher training in this area should enable teachers to reflect critically on the benefits, challenges and tensions of GCE in order to enhance their understanding of the subject area, and to reflect critically on the possibilities and challenges of implementing GCE in their particular contexts, with more concrete guidelines and support from their institutions. One could also ask to what extent education should focus on global citizenship per se, as opposed to cosmopolitan citizenship (see e.g. research by Starkey and Osler), intercultural citizenship (see e.g. Byram) and other types of citizenship and related concepts. Indeed, Yemini points out that concepts such as global education, cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan and world citizenship, transnational citizenship and global-mindedness are all intertwined, and are often used as synonyms in the discourse of GCE. She suggests that a more comprehensive review of these concepts is needed.
It is perplexing in Part II that, while Yemini recognises the issue around the supremacy of Western culture and the dominance of English on the one hand, she advocates the use of English in academic writing on the other. For example, on page 81 she observes that most studies include ‘post-colonial assumptions such as regarding English as the universal language and considering the provision of English language education to countries in which English is not the official language as global citizenship education in itself’. In line with this, she talks about ‘the Western bias in the sources of knowledge regarding the concept of global citizenship’, which assumes that global citizenship is the same, and can be taught in the same way, regardless of context and other differences. Yet earlier (page 67), it is stated that ‘we feel that scholars dealing with issues of a global nature should be encouraged to write in English in order to make their conclusions accessible to a larger number of people and enable an all-encompassing global body of knowledge to emerge’. The issue here is that such a strategy perpetuates the dominance of English as the lingua franca, inevitably promoting the exclusion of other languages in academic writing, thus reinforcing the idea of internationalisation as a new form of colonialism. An important aspect of international and intercultural dimensions of education, in my view, is encouraging academic writing and publications in languages other than English in order that other voices and perspectives are heard in a non-exclusive way. Similarly, for teaching and research purposes, scholars, academics and students should try where possible to draw on academic articles written in languages other than English. I acknowledge that language barriers make such an approach particularly challenging, having found in my recent research on lecturers’ views of internationalising the curriculum in UK universities that academic staff find it difficult to locate good quality articles written in other languages.
Part III of the book focuses on the International Baccalaureate (IB), followed by the book’s conclusions chapter. Yemini presents findings from a study that looked at Israeli education stakeholders’ perceptions of the IB, noting in particular the view of interviewees that national education systems are not keeping up with rapid global change. The IB was largely seen to offer a high quality academic education that provides access to higher education, gives students and schools a competitive edge, and equips students with English proficiency. In addition, the IB was seen to provide global content and to encourage global-mindedness or international-mindedness (terms used synonymously in the book), in line with the ideological mission of the IB programmes in aspiring to promote intercultural understanding and a global education. Also discussed here is the establishment of a new international school for peace and sustainability in Israel known as the Israeli Eastern Mediterranean International School (EMIS), which opened on 1 September 2014. EMIS aims to ‘educate for peace in the Middle East’ (p.165) by bringing ‘students from hostile countries in this volatile region together with students throughout the world’ (p.145). Yemini describes the Israeli education system and explains how and why EMIS was set up as part of Israel’s national education system rather than being established as a private school. Interviewees (stakeholders involved in the establishment of the school) viewed the IB as well-known, prestigious and neutral, in terms of not being associated with a particular country. The school was seen as innovative and as a step in the direction of moving the Israeli education system towards embracing global educational trends and curricula for global progress (particularly if the IB is introduced in other schools).
In the conclusions chapter, Yemini re-emphasises the complexity of the discourse on internationalisation and its associated related terms, and very briefly traces its evolution, critiquing the accepted definition given by Knight (2004, 2008). She notes in particular that Knight’s definition is not clear with respect to the relationship between the three dimensions (international, intercultural, global) and raises the question as to ‘whether the process of integration in only the intercultural dimension can be treated as internationalization if it lacks global and international dimensions’ (p. 182), proposing a new definition that she hopes will spark new research directions in the field that can further understanding of and around internationalisation. This new definition, intended to complement rather than reject existing definitions, sees internationalisation as ‘the process of encouraging integration of multicultural, multilingual and global dimensions within the education system, with the aim of instilling in learners a sense of global citizenship’ (p. 184). The author highlights that the terms ‘multicultural’ and ‘multilingual’ reflect the abilities that should be developed in learners, and that the desired outcome of internationalisation is to develop global citizenship in learners. This definition, she argues, therefore focuses specifically on the learner’s education and cosmopolitan capital at all levels of education.
While I do not disagree with the proposed new definition, and appreciate its focus on learning and the learner, it would have been helpful if the author had explained in more detail why these particular terms were chosen over other related terms. For example, why the focus on ‘multicultural’ as opposed to ‘intercultural’ as used by Knight? Also, if there is no focus on multilingualism in a learner’s education (which is the case in most international schools, some of which focus on bilingualism at most), then does this mean that learners are not experiencing an international education? Furthermore, why is global citizenship seen as the most desired outcome as opposed to other forms of citizenship and other competences such as intercultural competence? The author acknowledges, for example, that intercultural competence and cosmopolitanism are other desired outputs of internationalisation that correspond with global citizenship, but does not explore the similarities and differences or the relationship between these terms.
Indeed, throughout the book Yemini refers to many complex concepts and terminology related to internationalisation and global citizenship, some of which have been only broadly defined. For example, in Chapter 3 Yemini aims to conceptualise how the ‘global dimensions in education’ are situated and framed in media discourses in the UK and Israel. In discussing the concept, the author relates the dimension to similar terms such as global education, international education and global citizenship education (to name but a few). It would have been helpful here to show more clearly the relationship between the terms and concepts drawn on, including how they are similar or different, and to explain more clearly how they fit within the concept of internationalisation more broadly; for example, how the ‘global dimension’ differs from international and intercultural dimensions. Perhaps a model, typology or framework showing the connections would have been helpful.
The term ‘international competences’ is also referred to in Chapter 2, but is not defined, and one is left wondering how this term compares with related concepts such as ‘global competences’ and ‘intercultural competence’ (a term mentioned only in the conclusions chapter). In fact, particularly absent in the book is the exploration of the ‘intercultural dimension’ aspect of Knight’s definition of internationalisation. It would be interesting to explore this aspect further as it is generally neglected in the literature on international and intercultural education, which has focused to a greater extent on models and on measuring scales of intercultural competence.
Despite arguing that a more detailed review of the concept of internationalisation and its related concepts is needed, which Yemini herself acknowledges in Chapter 4, in my view this book provides some fascinating insights into internationalisation processes, policies and discourses – particularly in relation to global citizenship – and raises new angles and directions for further research in the area. Yemini draws on a wealth of empirical and theoretical literature to highlight key discourses, models and typologies of internationalisation, and documents many of her own empirical case studies (which focus predominantly on the Israeli education context), making this an invaluable resource to those interested in the internationalisation of education, global citizenship education, international education (including international schools and the International Baccalaureate) and comparative education. In general, the book is very accessible to both specialists and non-specialists in the field, and is likely to be particularly useful to students and researchers in these fields, as well as to be of interest to teachers at both secondary and tertiary levels.