The Causes and Remedies for Marginalization and Underrepresentation in Global Virtual Exchange Initiatives: A Comprehensive Survey of Stakeholders in Four Geopolitical Sectors

Principal Investigator: Dr Nael Alami, Dr Mirjam Hauck

Consortium Partners: Dr. Loye Sekihata Ashton (Class2class), Dr Kwesi Ewoodzie (Culture Beyond Borders), Dr. Muge Satar (Newcastle University, UK),  Dr. Liudmila Klimanova (University of Arizona, Tucson), Dr James Elwood (Meiji University Japan)

Focus Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America

Dates: December 2020 - December 2021

Virtual exchange (VE) refers to pedagogically-structured online collaborative learning between groups of students in different cultural contexts or geographical locations.

Funded by the US-based Stevens Initiative, this large-scale study was the first of its kind. It sought to establish reasons for underrepresentation in global VE initiatives in terms of political and governmental, institutional and administrative, technological, pedagogical, cultural and personal challenges including mental and emotional aspects. The research used questionnaires and interviews with educators and administrators from marginalized and/or underrepresented regions to identify the challenges and pitfalls they faced in implementing VE as an Internationalisation at Home (IaH) strategy.

Through this research, the project aimed to identify concrete examples and formulate recommendations for VE programs and policy making that address issues of access and inclusion and enhance the positive impact of VE for affected student populations.

What were the findings?

The research found that the leading 5 causes for marginalization and underrepresentation in global VE initiatives included:

lack of clear processes for curricular change,
national and local political regulations,
lack of incentives for virtual exchange program design and implementation,
incompatibility of partners’ digital tools and resources,
the extensive time and effort required for virtual exchange program development.

The study also found that although challenges differed between regions, most challenges would fall into the two main categories of incentives and access.

From this research, the project recommended a number of steps including creating specialized VE assistance roles; incentivizing VE faculty appropriately with funding and career progression; encouraging the establishment of VE partnerships directly with faculty and aligning VE efforts with institutional/regional IaH goals.

Publications

Journal of International Students, special issue on Virtual Exchange. Paper title: “The Causes and Remedies for Marginalization and Underrepresentation in Global Virtual Exchange Initiatives: A Comprehensive Survey of Stakeholders in Five Geopolitical Sectors.”