Internationalization of Education and COIL Pedagogy
As per the American Council on Education (ACE), colleges and universities within the United States have expressed a commitment to internationalization of education (ACE, 2017). The internationalization of education is an iterative process, mostly because of the constant shifts in global demands, post-secondary education expectations, and the continued evolution of socio-political climates throughout the world. These dynamic and ever-changing variables impact how internationalization is carried out; and specifically, how the process of globalization impacts the opportunities for implementation of strategies to support internationalization in higher education (Knight, 2003). For the purpose of this chapter, internationalization is defined “as the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions, or delivery of postsecondary education” (Knight, 2003, p.2).
There are many ways in which higher education institutions (HEIs) address internationalization, including study abroad as well as virtual study abroad programs. One particular framework used in institutions of higher education to advance the mission towards internationalization is Virtual Exchange (VE). VE is a “pedagogical approach which involves the engagement of groups of learners in extended periods of online intercultural interaction and collaboration with partners from other cultural contexts or geographical locations” (O’Dowd, 2020, p. 2). VE programs also referred to as cross-border online education programs and transnational online education programs that create the opportunity for students to interact with individuals from other geographical locations both synchronously and asynchronously.
Although facilitated virtually, campus inequities are still perpetuated in global learning programs (Duranczyk & Pishcherskaia, 2018; Mudiamu, 2020), and most studies on digital inequities fail to address how formal inequities (access and resources) in education are intertwined with durable social inequities (i.e., race, class, ethnicity, gender, and other lines of oppression). There is an urgent need to comprehensively study inequity in digital international higher education programs such as Collaborative Online International Learning or COIL (Collin & Brotcorne, 2019; Papendieck, 2018; Slapac et al., 2023).
The team of researchers did just this and findings of their study indicated that VE programs such as COIL need to be designed to include cultural practices and support a culturally sensitive environment for underrepresented participants. Students, in this case Hispanic students, were allowed to connect to their international counterparts through ‘home’ language and cultural commonalities (Laird, 2015; Marino & Tadal, 2022; Numanee et al., 2020). In this instance, COIL was able to provide underrepresented college students with global learning opportunities which advance social and economic mobility (Appiah-Kubi & Annan, 2020; Esche, 2018; Mudiamu, 2020; O’Dowd, 2020) by building global knowledge and skills for the 21st century workplace (Standley, 2015).
Interestingly, while implementing VE programs such as COIL, faculty could also be impacted by issues of inequity related to their academic-professional growth. Basically, faculty are expected to fulfill increased demands of expectations, responsibilities, and time, negatively impacting minorities and women faculty particularly (Witkowsky & Gibbes, 2020). Furthermore, these inequities could be exacerbated if institutions do not commit in deeper ways (Witkowsky & Gibbes, 2020). Some of the main obstacles would be lack of institutional structure that can provide a balanced load between time and academic responsibilities, and lack of monetary incentives to participate in academic development opportunities. For example, Slapac et al. (2023) emphasize the urgent need for institutional logistical and technology support to make faculty participation in internationalization training opportunities, such as COIL, possible.
The authors propose that one way to address these challenges in the implementation of VE programs, such as COIL, could be through exploring and addressing faculty experiences. This will help identify instrumental strategies in establishing expectations, regulating behaviors through intercultural and technology training and support, and facilitating interactions that allow for the creation of inclusive and supportive environments (Brighton, 2020; Ho & Lin, 2016; Kavrayici, 2021; Keshavarz et al., 2022; Pearl et al, 2023; Seufert et al., 2022).
Finally, researchers (Vatrapu & Suthers, 2007) advise VE faculty to document the intersections and relationships between learning and technology, and their socio-cultural structures to better inform the design, implementation, and delivery of VE courses such as COIL. Documenting these experiences will allow for the careful construction of VE learning spaces that prioritizes the building of mutual values between cultures (Wimpenny et al., 2022).