I suppose I should start by introducing myself.
Hello. I’m Caitlin. I am many things, though mainly just a human sharing an experience with you on this planet as we float through the cosmos. Here are some words that ha ve been used to describe me:
student, teacher, educator, third-culture kid, lion of justice, culturally confused, cook, human bridge, ฝรั่ง, queer, global nomad, musician, transcultural communicator, shy, extroverted, artist, deep, 老外, manager, team player, fiercely independent, dancer, Buddhist, artist, omnist, poet, writer, traveler, systems thinker, facilitator, philosopher, optimist, cynic, goofball, academic, elusive, cosmic elf, tech wiz, verbal processor, creator
Maybe that helps a little?
I recently completed coursework in a dual-degree graduate program for Public Administration and International Education Management. The reason I decided to pursue these programs is because they seemed (at first, anyway), to be ideal environments in which I could pursue a questions of interest surrounding a number of things I had been curious about. This included 1) equitable and liberatory education practices in the global age of the 21st century, 2) organizational structures and models that are conducive for this liberatory work, and 3) strategies to foster cultures of diversity and inclusion within organizations.
I soon realized upon enrolling in the program and completing a year that while there were some folks that shared similar interests, the programs were way more concerned with getting students trained in best practice managerial-style work than actually encouraging critical thinking within these fields (though I suppose this was to be expected since the emphasis of the program was for its students to secure employment). I made the decision to complete the program out of sunk cost and reverted into my brain to entertain the questions I had and to play with ideas around them.
To put it succinctly, this project is a means to channel these thoughts, work, and energy out myself and into forums where they can be in conversation with other ideas and works. These short pieces will offer musings from the borderlands of cultural identity, they will explore tensions and (my) perceived contradictions within the field of international education, and propose paradigm shifts for a changing world, one marked by the current human-created climate crisis.
This may sound like a lot, even a lifetime of work, but we have to start somewhere. Perhaps the best way to start is to reflect on some basic questions.
As a preface to this self-interview, I’d like to acknowledge my position of privilege as someone who had access to travel, international schools, and expat communities at a very young developmental age. Not only that, but I also have been educated at both the undergraduate and graduate level, certainly a position of class privilege. My experience has certainly shaped the way that I frame and understand these concepts, and I’m not necessarily advocating for folks to blindly adopt them as their own. This is merely a means to share perspectives and to add to conversations.
How do you define “international education”?
Well, this is a lot to unpack. I’ll start by framing how I understand “international.”
I will note that my understanding of this term has been deeply influenced by my lived experience growing up as a Third-Culture Kid (TCK) in a bi-cultural household (UK/US) in Southeast Asia (more on this point in a later post). My early childhood years were spent in international schools, and all of my friends came from families of mixed ethnicities, cultures, nationalities, religions, classes, and more. So while I grew up in “international” schools, I didn’t actually perceive them to be anything other than “schools;” having a multiplicity of human experience and expression in an education-type setting was thus, the norm. So for me, “international” isn’t defined by the number of nationalities or cultures represented at a school, the percentage of expatriates in a given population, the quantity of instruction time focused on another country’s history, etc. Being “international” is an attitude - one that consciously approaches the complexity of human expression and existence (class, race, history, culture, gender, age, etc.) with compassionate curiosity and an open mind to learn and grow through the convergence and divergence of experiences.
Now let’s look at “education.” I used to believe that “education” was synonymous with “schooling.” Needless to say this oversimplified understanding of the term has been cracked, reshaped, and continues to evolve over time. The first time I ever took a class on education, it was taught by a professor who was drawn to education as a site for liberation, based on their own scarring experience within their school system. As it stands now, I understand education to mean a process of learning, marked by engagement with the subject matter and underscored by inquiry of the self in relation to the subject matter at hand. It is an ever-unfolding process in which one is at liberty to ask all of the prefaces to questions - what is being taught, who is teaching me this, how are they teaching, why is it being taught in this way, and who does it serve? What values are being upheld, and which ones are left out?
So, combine these two words and my respective understanding of them, “international education” is the continual fostering of critical awareness related to:
- The multiplicity of human expression and experience
- Understanding of power and how it serves to shape ideas and experiences
- A deep awareness of self and one’s positionality of power
- A love and appreciation for our planet as a shared resources by all living beings that inhabit it
Any education in the 21st century, a time marked by global connectivity with instantaneous information sharing, ought to strive to encourage these points above. I invite all those who consider themselves international educators to regularly pause and consider how they themselves relate to this concept of international education. That is, if you haven’t already.
What do you perceive to be the biggest challenges in this field?
Well, there are several. Some main ones stick out:
The implicit assumption that internationalization of campuses and curricula is an inherently good thing for everyone. While I’d like to see more internationalization of schools (though more aligned with the definitions I offered above), the current modality of internationalizing campuses is quite apolitical. To me, not framing internationalization in a critical or political way is a disservice to students who embark on academic journeys through these systems. In many ways it feels like some sprinkles on an ice cream sundae -- a beautiful decoration but adding no actual flavor to the experience of its consumption.
Tangentially related to the above point: the seeming paradox of international education as the means of making students more “globally minded” yet the nature of student mobility requires harming the planet itself. While there is a part of me that is somewhat excited for students to explore new places and broaden their worldview, the thought of carbon emissions from the resulting increase of student mobility makes me shudder. With recent headlines and reports of the current climate crisis, my sincere hope is that the field of international education can put this point at the forefront of knowledge-generation and formulation of best practices. Are there creative ways we could imagine how to incorporate the benefits of study abroad in ways that wouldn’t require students to fly far distances? The climate crisis will inevitably (if it hasn’t already) pose an existential threat to the field; hopefully it will spur some critical creative thinking that can align “globally minded” and “planetarily conscious.”
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I think I’ll stop here for now in offering some points for reflection. There will inevitably be more as the field of international education continues to be explored and critiqued. My simple invitation is for scholars and practitioners within the field (including anyone who understands themselves to be an educator of any kind) can pause, take a moment, and engage some critical thought whenever confronted with ideas about “international-ness” or “global-ness.” Are these ideas being brought up in a way detached from the realm of political implications? What students are these programs serving, who are they leaving out? Why? And of course, how, if at all, do these ideas include and uphold the sanctity of the planet we all share? Afterall, students that may not ever have a chance to go abroad will still feel the same effects of the climate crisis as those who contributed to it with their carbon emissions.
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