CURRICULUM INTERNATIONALIZATION AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Abstract

American higher education is striving to create the appropriate academic environment in order to prepare students to be interculturally competent for the realities of the twenty first century, and curriculum internationalization is part of this process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the process by which the curriculum is becoming internationalized at the community college level of American higher education. The research explored (1) the external environment's impact on the decision to implement curriculum internationalization; (2) the subsystems' interaction with curriculum internationalization; and (3) the policies, practices, and procedures that were put in place to support curriculum internationalization at select Community Colleges. This study used a case study design with comparative analysis to investigate three North Carolina Community Colleges and how these institutions underwent the process of curriculum internationalization. Data were collected from the participating sites through semi-structured interviews, institutional documents, and site observations. The cases were cross-analyzed to examine similarities and differences which revealed relevant points and themes. This study concluded that (a) all subsystems are necessary components in the process of curriculum internationalization; (b) a designated contact person or group is necessary for the flow of information; (c) the extracurricular subsystem should be utilized for the expression of cultural diversity and not as a means to gain faculty support for curriculum internationalization; (d) assessment plans should be an active component of curriculum internationalization; and (e) a grassroots movement of curriculum internationalization among faculty enables an institution to begin the process at a greater pace.