Internationalisation in leadership education: Opportunities and challenges in an Erasmus Intensive Programme
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.3900Keywords:
internationalisation, leadership education, Erasmus Intensive ProgrammeAbstract
Over hele verden fremmes internasjonalisering som en viktig dimensjon for studiekvalitet, og internasjonalisering løftes som en sentral dimensjon i skolelederutdanning. Et viktig mål for Erasmus-programmene er å fremme studentmobilitet. Antallet studenter på slike utvekslingsprogram har økt gradvis gjennom en årrekke, men vi har per i dag lite kunnskap om på hvilken måte slike program bidrar til økt kvalitet, og hvilken betydning deltakelse i slike program har for studenters læring. I denne artikkelen undersøker vi et Erasmus Intensive Programme (EIP), Leadership for Democratic Citizenship in European Schools. Deltakerne var masterstudenter i utdanningsledelse fra Spania, Tyrkia, Polen, Norge, England og Irland. Hensikten med denne artikkelen er å undersøke studentenes muligheter for kunnskapsutvikling. Vi tar utgangspunkt i Wells’ læringssyklus når vi analyserer survey-data, intervjuer og kursmateriell. Tre områder viser seg å være vesentlige for studentenes læring: kommunikasjon, kritisk tenkning og studieinnholdet. I artikkelen diskuterer vi hvordan ulike aspekter ved disse områdene bidro til, og i noen tilfeller begrenset, studentenes muligheter for å utvikle lederkompetanse.
Analysen viser at designet av dette EIPet hadde et potensial for å gi gode muligheter for studentenes læring. Men den viser også at i et internasjonalt program er det utfordringer knyttet til kommunikasjon og utvelgelse av innhold. Dessuten tyder resultatene på at for å nå målsettingen om å bidra til at studentene utvikler kritisk tenkning kreves et lengre forløp enn et to-ukers internasjonalt program.
Nøkkelord: internasjonalisering, skolelederutdanning, Erasmus Intensive Programme
Abstract
Internationalisation in higher education is promoted as positive and important in education policies world wide, and an international perspective is regarded as crucial in leadership research and education. A central aim of the Erasmus Programmes is to increase student mobility, and although the number of students in such programmes has increased steadily over the years, we know less about the challenges and benefits for students and staff who participate, and how the experience of studying abroad may contribute to students’ learning. The focus in this paper is on the Erasmus Intensive Programme (EIP) Leadership for Democratic Citizenship in European Schools for master students in educational leadership from Spain, Turkey, Poland, Norway, Ireland, and England. The aim is to explore the students’ opportunities for learning. Wells’ cycle of knowing is used as an analytical approach in an analysis of survey data, interviews and course material. The findings suggest that three key areas were pivotal for the students’ opportunities for knowledge building: communication, critical thinking and the course curriculum. In the paper we discuss how aspects within these three areas enhance, and in some cases hinder, the development of the students as critical change agents able to lead democratic schools and engage in improvement.
The analysis indicates that the EIP had a potential to create learning opportunities. However, we point to challenges related to language and communication and choice of curriculum content. Moreover, our study indicates that designing for criticality is problematic in short term international programmes.
Keywords: internationalisation, leadership education, Erasmus Intensive Programme
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Content published in Acta Didactica is - unless otherwise is stated - licensed through Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 4.0. Content can be copied, distributed and disseminated in any medium or format under the following terms:
Attribution: You must give appropriate credit and provide a link to the license
Non-Commercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
No derivatives: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
No additional restrictions: You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notice: No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
Authors who publish in Acta Didactica accept the following conditions:
Author(s) retains copyright to the article and give Acta Didactica rights to first publication while the article is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. This license allows sharing the article for non-commercial purposes, as long as the author and first publishing place Acta Didactica are credited.
The author is free to publish and distribute the work/article after publication in Acta Didactica, as long as the journal is referred to as the first place of publication. Submissions that are under consideration for publication or accepted for publication in Acta Didactica cannot simultaneously be under consideration for publication in other journals, anthologies, monographs or the like. By submitting contributions, the author accepts that the contribution is published online in Acta Didactica.