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The student exchange programs are venues for learning opportunities by offering multicultural contexts. This study reports on the experiences of ten prospective English language teachers in a virtual student exchange program to investigate likely skill development in a multicultural and open and distance learning setting. This descriptive study used the qualitative method. The textual data were elicited through eighty reflective essays written by the participants. Virtual classroom observations and WhatsApp chat data ensured data triangulation. The results revealed the themes as developed learning and life skills and enhanced internal gains. It was found that internal outcomes, such as self-confidence, empathy, and self-reliance, were enhanced rather than external gains. One of the limitations of this study was the brevity of the exchange program, which lasted only eight days. Additionally, the current study is a small-scale study, which limits the generalizability of the results. Last but not least, only two participants placed in the researcher's class were observed. The study poses a few implications for education policymakers, curriculum developers, and teachers. In light of the results, it is posed that adding a multicultural aspect to the teacher training curriculum is imperative for teacher empowerment. Though the literature on student exchange reports findings on the gains and challenges, there is a scarcity of studies delving into what skills students develop and how with vivid examples. In this respect, this study adds to the relevant literature.

Our principal objective is to explore if interculturality is relevant for the success of a bilateral student mobility program, Mexico-Japan Technical and Academic Exchange Program (MJTAEP). First, the authors explain their methodology and objectives of field work. Second, they situate their analysis within a framework of growing academic cooperation, common ends, and variability, depending on national objectives. Third, they consider the motivations/aspirations of Mexican fellowship holders, as stated by respondents to an electronic survey (106), as well as in-depth interviews (21). The authors look specifically at the quality of courses aimed at providing linguistic, cultural, and technical tools to the Mexican grantees. Two topics are evaluated in detail: (1) the drivers and obstacles of academic integration of Mexicans in Japanese universities, and (2) the acquisition of hard and soft skills (relationships with sensei, alumni or administrative officers and knowledge/proficiency requirements) to facilitate student incorporation in the host society and institutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic impeded the regular international student mobility (ISM) and educational exchange across the world. In response, China has witnessed a proliferation of TNHE partnerships formulated as "Internationalization at Home" (IaH), which has seemingly alleviated the immobility of students, faculty, and educational resources within a transnational lens. However, the changing trend of China's TNHE policies and practices and its impact in the pandemic context have not been systematically studied. To fill this gap, this study longitudinally traces China's TNHE policies and practices from globalization to post-pandemic glocalization by analyzing policy documents and three cases in the TNHE and pandemic IaH fields. Informed by the concept of global-national-local imbrications, this study tracks the trajectory of China's TNHE development and clarifies the interconnections among changing policies and practices across different contexts. Our findings can provide reference for the further improvement of TNHE in China and the integration of different TNHE practices into international education in the post-pandemic era. Given the methodological limits of the case-study approach, future research can offer a more comprehensive picture of TNHE in the (post)-pandemic era by collecting data from more sources and contexts.

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is often framed as an example of a broader practice known as Virtual Exchange (VE). The term Virtual Exchange has increasingly been used as an attempt to unify a fragmented field of Higher Education practice and is often used interchangeably with the term COIL. However, the design of COIL, with its strong focus on collaborative and intercultural learning, is often very different to other VE initiatives. Labelling all VE initiatives, including COIL, generally as VE, can lead to both educators and researchers having difficulty identifying and distinguishing COIL. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review of VE and define COIL and its key characteristics. This article also describes how theory can inform practice and explains why continued interchangeable use of the term COIL with the umbrella term Virtual Exchange is unhelpful for future research and practice.

The future of teaching will increasingly rely on overseas-trained teachers (OTTs) to address teacher shortages. While research on OTTs in the United States is expanding, studies focusing on Afro-Caribbean teachers are emerging. Despite the growing call for more teachers of color, Afro-Caribbean OTTs' contributions are often overlooked due to their immigrant status. We propose the concepts of "radical transparency" and "fugitive care" to articulate how these teachers' classroom practices offer alternative possibilities for schooling, making the learning process both explicit and equitable for all students. Drawing on a Transnational Black Feminist Framework (TBF), we highlight the unique politics of care practiced by these teachers, revealing gaps in our cultural understanding and underscoring their vital, yet understudied, contributions to education.

This study focuses on the potential academic benefit of virtual international exchange for community colleges and the students they enroll through a comparison of virtual exchange and study abroad. Using data from two community colleges in the US Southeast, this study draws upon the notion of socioacademic integration. Specifically, this study theorizes that both virtual exchange and study abroad have a positive relationship with students' academic outcomes given their potential to foster socioacademic integrative moments. However, given the scalability of virtual international exchange, it was expected that these programs are associated with a greater relationship to students' academic outcomes in the aggregate. This study's results generally confirm these expectations, although findings for virtual exchange are less positive compared to study abroad. Results have implications for the establishment and success of both approaches to international education programming at community colleges. The potential for virtual international exchange to reach a larger group of students compared to study abroad, thus having a greater aggregate impact on students' success and outcomes, has key policy implications particularly for community colleges, for which service to the community is an integral component of institutional mission.

As opportunities for face-to-face teaching, in-person conference attendance, travel, professional exchanges, digital collaboration, and formal institutional and organizational partnerships have gained traction, English language teaching (ELT) professionals have the chance, once again, to engage in numerous types of collaboration. In this article, the authors begin by presenting a case study of their own cross-cultural partnership. Their collaborative efforts, which took place in both face-to-face and virtual modalities, centered on a joint ELT research project and related activities. In their case-study presentation, they describe the circumstances that led to their collaboration; the authors also provide a snapshot of the emphases of their joint research, the research-related activities that they engaged in, and the results of their efforts. The authors then turned to the lessons that they learned from their collaboration, lessons that they have framed as tips for successful collaborative efforts.

Purpose: This study examines the impact of international academic mobility on knowledge exchange between China and the West, including its potential benefits and risks, specifically in the humanities and social sciences (HSS) fields. Design/Approach/Methods: This study employed qualitative research methods; specifically, data were collected through interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: With increasing knowledge flows in global academia, Chinese HSS scholars are benefiting from international academic mobility. They engage in various activities, such as international visits, conferences, and research collaborations, and praise the role of mobility in building an understanding of Western culture and knowledge, including research dynamics, embodied and encultured knowledge, and location-specific textual materials. However, international mobility has inadvertently exacerbated global knowledge asymmetries, with some Chinese scholars uncritically adopting Western paradigms. Nonetheless, pioneering Chinese HSS scholars aim to promote a two-way knowledge exchange between China and the West by fostering cultural reflexivity and enhancing their global visibility. Originality/Value: Chinese HSS scholars serve as an illuminating example in the context of global knowledge asymmetries dominated by the Anglo-American West. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for fostering equitable and inclusive knowledge exchange between Western and non-Western societies through international academic mobility.

This paper presents a midterm review of a 4-year factor analysis project aimed at validating an outcome-based assessment of study-abroad programs attended by Japanese students. This paper outlines how the results from the initial two years captured changes in perceptions and reasons for studying abroad. It found that students have become increasingly focused on how the experience will impact their future careers. This is a shift from those who studied abroad before the COVID-19 pandemic. Those students motivations for studying abroad were primarily internal and experiential, such as wanting to improve their language skills and experience life in another country, or external and passive reasons arising from the circumstances or opinions of family or friends. The research also indicates how awareness of this shift could assist administrators in designing and conducting successful international experiences.

What are the meanings and aims of social sciences in a global social environment marked by ever-growing processes of exchange, connection, inequality and conflict? How do we contend with the social sciences as the science of modernization? How do we account for the Western-centered biases ingrained in their proclamations? And in what ways are the social sciences useful to scholars and professionals in different societies? These questions figure at the heart of IDEAS (International Digital Exchange between Africa and Switzerland), a project that aimed to examine them across continents and generations. [This article was written by the IDEAS Collective. Note: The publication date (2023) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct publication date is 2024.]

In the last three decades, there has been a rush towards internationalizing higher education. The international double/joint degree programs are one of the drivers of internationalisation activities. Many African universities have evolved to offer their students these opportunities for academic mobility. This study is a phenomenological understanding of the experiences of African students in Canada on exchange partnerships for international double/joint degree programs (IDDP), using Bourdieu's toolbox. The result shows a gap between the ideal expectations and the instrumental aspects of the programs. Students seem satisfied, despite the challenges faced by participating in these programs.

This study explores the experiences of short-term study abroad faculty at a liberal arts university in the Midwestern United States. We distributed a qualitative survey to all faculty who taught short-term study abroad courses at the institution, interviewed four short-term study abroad leaders, two short-term study abroad co-leaders, and reviewed the practices and history of the institution's study abroad office. Study participants' experiences were consistent with role complexity and ambiguity. Role-related challenges included preparing for the program and for reentry, managing the academic side of the course, monitoring students' and faculty members' physical and mental health, and facilitating group dynamics. Perceived benefits included cultural enrichment, professional growth, and the ability to enhance students' lives. Our study suggests that tolerance and the ability to handle complexity are critical leadership skills for faculty, and that short-term study abroad faculty need support and professional development to prepare for their multifaceted and complex duties.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of language policy in the Philippines, with a particular emphasis on the status, challenges, and future prospects of Chinese language education within the national framework. The study is structured into five distinct sections. Firstly, the historical development of language policies in the Philippines is explored, tracing the transitions from colonial to contemporary eras and assessing their implications for language education. Secondly, an in-depth exploration of the present landscape of Chinese language education is provided, evaluating its integration into the Philippine education system and the effectiveness of existing programs. Thirdly, a critical examination of the current state of local Chinese language teacher training is conducted, analyzing the approaches used to foster a sustainable local teaching workforce. Fourthly, strategic pathways for the next decade are outlined, focusing on the localization of Chinese language education in alignment with the plans of the Philippine Department of Education and broader educational objectives. Finally, the concluding section synthesizes insights garnered from the preceding sections, reflecting on the significance of these developments for the future of Chinese language education in the Philippines. It underscores the pivotal role of Chinese language education in promoting cultural and educational exchanges and facilitating the modernization processes in both China and the Philippines. By addressing these dimensions, the paper offers a comprehensive overview of the intersection between language policy and Chinese language education in the Philippines, providing valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers engaged in language education and policy planning in multilingual and multicultural contexts.

This paper uses the author's time as a Fulbright Roving Scholar in American Studies to Norway as an entrée into exploring human rights discourse and Human Rights Education in Norway, a country that is often thought of as one of the centers of human rights work in Europe--and appreciates this association. It begins by situating human rights in Norwegian law and history, connecting it to the author's home and teaching context. It then recounts the experience of serving as Roving Scholar, connecting it to observations both positive and potentially detrimental within Norway, concluding with some brief thoughts on a balance between Norwegian and American education systems.

This paper explored students' experiences in an international virtual student mobility (VSM) program at a Japanese national university implemented in collaboration with partner universities in the Asia Pacific region and Europe. Through students' narratives, the study discerned how students perceive "mobility" and the concept of "international students" after participating in a virtual student mobility program. Findings revealed a tension between students' understanding of "mobility," official narratives, and students' actual experiences. While VSM programs facilitate communication and knowledge exchange across borders and develop cross-cultural communications, prevailing binary definitions in student mobility, such as "inbound" vs. "outbound," "domestic" vs. "international," or "study abroad" vs. "internationalization at home," limit VSM potential to be fully realized. This misalignment of the traditional understanding of student mobility that emphasizes place and borders challenges the official narrative of student mobility and urges educators to re-align and re-frame how we understand "international students."

This article provides a comparative analysis of international education strategies employed by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It explores how both superpowers sought to disseminate their ideologies globally, leading to direct competition. The US and Soviet Union utilized international education to cultivate friendly elites and countries aligned with their respective values. Both nations implemented educational exchange programs and aimed to establish or reform educational systems abroad. The paper evaluates the effectiveness of these strategies, shedding light on the contrasting approaches adopted by the US and the Soviet Union in their pursuit of influence through international education during this era.

This study presents an international collaboration in the Students Meet Internationally through Language Education (SMILE) project and investigates how the SMILE project impacts Thai EFL students. This program provides students with opportunities to use English as an Authentic Communication Tool (E-ACT) by sharing their experiences and culture with high school peers in Japan online. Thirty-one Thai twelfth graders from a public high school in Bangkok participated in the SMILE project in the 2022 academic year. The course of the SMILE project we describe in this paper consisted of four collaboration classes (50 minutes, four times), and each class consisted of two sessions (25 minutes, twice). In each session, the Thai students met Japanese students in the same school grade in small groups with four or five students in total. These classes were conducted via online channels. Thai students' data were collected from class observations, interviews, and questionnaires. The results revealed that the Thai students: (1) increased their confidence in using English; (2) gained broader perspectives from the cultural exchange sessions; (3) were eager to have similar collaborations with new Japanese students; and (4) showed clear enjoyment in their activities. Given these benefits, we conclude that the experience that student participants gained through the SMILE project had a substantial impact on them, which is likely to change their attitude toward studying English in the future. Besides, we discuss how current approaches to learner psychology may or may not be applied to our findings. Based on the results, the authors argue that having students with different first languages meet online should be conducted more widely in EFL circumstances.

Brexit raised the question of whether the UK will continue to attract internationals. Here the focus is on academic staff - a critical component of the "War for Talents" discourse and current geopolitics in the field. Despite a clear trend of loss of EU internationals, at least among western EU countries, the UK more than compensates for this fall with extra-EU internationals. This is even more evident among younger generations. However, the most notable effect, also having a long-term impact as far as it deals with newer generations, is about average quality of such talents (in this study: salaries at parity of age). Brexit is reducing the capacity to attract/retain the best academics. This happens especially among younger cohorts, and if they come from countries that perform better in GDP per capita, R&D investment, but also national ranking in tolerance and creative class scores. Overall, Brexit is detrimental to the UK in relation to attraction of talents, cutting through a long-term pattern of success.

Virtual exchange programs represent a relatively novel approach designed to foster a more global perspective and promote discipline-specific learning; however, this approach has not been widely adopted in sociology. This article reports findings on student experiences and learning in a virtual exchange program involving two large introductory sociology classes in Hong Kong and Atlanta. A postsurvey invited students to reflect qualitatively on their experiences, and six major themes emerged from the data: (1) global application of sociological knowledge, (2) social and cultural relativism, (3) breaking the shell and gaining intellectual and social flexibility, (4) social networking opportunities, (5) challenges and adjustments, and (6) keeping contact beyond school. Based on our experience and the students' feedback, we conclude that virtual exchange is an effective pedagogical approach for internationalizing sociology curricula, enhancing intercultural competency, and deepening students' understanding of core sociological concepts.

This study investigates the impact of connectivism on knowledge acquisition and the willingness of higher education students to apply that knowledge in practical settings. Using an experimental design, it investigates how connectivism manifests in learning processes, particularly focusing on a collaborative online international session (COIL) with 92 business management students from the UAE and South Korea. These students participated in a COIL session aimed at enhancing their understanding of diversity and inclusion management concepts. The study utilized an independent t-test to evaluate the effectiveness of COIL, comparing groups exposed to different modes of participation (connectivism mode and nonconnectivism mode). The results highlight connectivism's role in increasing students' willingness to utilize acquired knowledge. As a connectivism approach, COIL proves pivotal in applying learning practically. This research offers significant insights for curriculum designers, educators, and scholars, demonstrating the impact of social connectivism on learning enhancement. It provides valuable information for incorporating connectivism into traditional educational models, thereby enriching the theoretical and methodological understanding of the relationship between connectivism, COIL, knowledge acquisition, and application willingness. This study is particularly relevant for educators looking to integrate innovative methods in their teaching and expand the scope of knowledge and skill development for future work.

International Online Collaboration Competencies (IOCCs) are considered essential for global virtual teams, yet no consensus exists on what experts consider as IOCCs and which competencies are involved. To develop a framework to support higher education in designing learning tasks and evaluation instruments for the acquisition of IOCCs, a three-round consensus study was conducted among a purposive sample of academic and field experts in international online collaboration. The final IOCCs framework includes a definition of IOC and 34 IOCCs within six competency domains: (1) information and communication technology, (2) international and intercultural, (3) communication and language, (4) collaboration, (5) management and organization, and (6) domain-specific. The framework may be a benchmark for program development for Internationalization of the Curriculum (IoC), evaluation, and continuous professional development. Further research is needed to evaluate how this IOCCs framework can be integrated into higher education settings to teach and evaluate IOCCs.

International teaching experiences, even if short-termed, are great opportunities for student teachers to challenge their assumptions and scrutinise their beliefs, to discover different ways of approaching teaching and learning, and to better understand their own education system through a global education lens. They offer student teachers the context to develop their teaching competencies and serve as the milieu to crystallise their teacher identity and build a more global mental schema of teaching. This exploratory study examines how the National Institute of Education, Singapore, strived to broaden student teachers' perspective by providing them with the opportunity to do their teaching assistantship overseas. Specifically, the inquiry question of the study was to find out what student teachers learned during their international teaching assistantship. To answer the inquiry question, reflective journals of 13 student teachers who participated in 5-week international teaching assistantship in Denmark (n = 5), Sweden (n = 4) and the United States of America (US) (n = 4) were analysed. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse, and report themes that emerged from the qualitative data. The themes were coded as "connection to a wider world (sub-themes: culture awareness, alternative viewpoints, global education lens)", "observations of the school (sub-themes: class size and composition, learning assessment, technology integration)", "professional growth (sub-themes: teacher as facilitator, understanding class profile, classroom management practices)", and "personal growth (sub-themes: overcoming personal limitations, greater flexibility and willingness to change)". Despite the student teachers in Denmark and Sweden facing language barrier challenges, the results indicate that all the student teachers benefited immensely from the experience. They developed broader perspectives of societies and education, made important observations of the schools, and grew professionally and personally. They noted that although there were differences in the different education systems, there were similarities in the role of teacher as facilitator, as well as curriculum goals and pedagogical approaches. They had greater appreciation of their roles as teachers and the importance of knowing their students. They overcame personal limitations and became more flexible and open to changes. The article concludes with suggestions on how to improve such experiences to enhance the growth and cross-cultural competency of student teachers.

China has actively internationalized its doctoral education by funding students to study abroad via the China Scholarship Council. Nevertheless, little is known about the scholarship recipients' perceptions of their study sojourn, especially those on short-term exchange programs. Based on 100 visiting doctoral students' study reports, the study employed a sentiment analysis and was guided by the ecological system theory to untangle how this cohort affectively evaluated academic and non-academic dimensions of the study sojourn as a multi-layered ecological system. Via a computer-based SKEP analysis, the study contributes new objective insights regarding the perceived nature of an overseas sojourn, which is predominantly positive. In particular, it reveals positive perceptions regarding the funder and institutional prestige, indicating that the recipients' increasing national pride may be harnessed as a soft pulling force for nation-building. This paper ends by offering implications that may potentially benefit doctoral education in China and other countries.

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the participation experiences of a sample of Chinese teacher trainees and their Finnish teacher trainer on an in-service teacher training program exported from Finland to Beijing, China. Design/Approach/Methods: Six science teachers from Beijing and their Finnish teacher trainer participated in semi-structured interviews. From the ideological perspective of international education, a total of eight semi-structured interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Findings: The results show that all interviewees were highly motivated to learn from the Other's education system and culture. Some participants benefited from a broader understanding of the Self's and the Other's education systems, while others did not. The interviewees also described some participation challenges, such as language barriers and practices that adapted learner-centered teaching approaches in Beijing schools. Furthermore, the interviewees mentioned future expectations of more in-depth communication between Finland and China. Originality/Value: Some recommendations for better training outcomes, improving the quality of participation experiences, and reaching more mutual understandings were discussed at the end of this study.

The International Virtual Exchange Project (IVEProject) has been connecting students across multiple countries through asynchronous forums on a large scale since 2015. However, considering the variety of virtual exchange methods and the advantages they bring to the field of foreign language learning, there is an increased need to explore the pedagogical possibilities of combining asynchronous and synchronous modalities, particularly across multiple institutions and countries. This short article reports on a pedagogical innovation which involved adding synchronous sessions conducted over Zoom to the asynchronous IVEProject forums. The authors arranged eight weekly Zoom meetings in which students from China, India, Japan, Jordan, Palestine, Türkiye and Syria participated in May-July, 2021. After the final session, a survey was administered to participating students and their teachers to explore their experiences. The results show that the majority of students appreciated and benefitted from the opportunity to communicate synchronously with peers from other countries. The paper also reflects on the benefits and challenges of combining synchronous sessions alongside the asynchronous IVEProject forums, aiming to derive lessons learned from this project in the hope that this will aid future EFL instructors in creating engaging virtual exchange projects which involve participants from multiple cultures and countries.

In recent years, obstacles to physical mobility, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have hastened the turn towards online platforms for educational and social activities. Many study abroad programs have had to adapt to such circumstances and embrace virtual environments in the face of limited physical mobility. In this case study, we look at how one multi-university program, the UGPN Academy, was able to expand international student learning efforts despite travel limitations due, in part, to adapting to online communication technologies and environments. Through comparison of surveys administered to participants pre- and post-participation, students reported that having an online community as a source of social support, as well as learning about different experiences during a global pandemic, were two strengths of the program. In addition, students reported becoming more familiar with different online technologies as well as feeling more open to people from diverse backgrounds and international careers. These findings contribute to a further understanding of Internationalisation at Home (IaH) as a useful model that can be extremely valuable in its own right. Although IaH is not a replacement for physical mobility, it may provide its own benefits, such as providing a collaborative, diverse online community as a source of social and professional support, networking and opportunities for international learning experiences for students who are unable to participate in traditional study abroad programs. Diversifying and further integrating such virtual platforms can then be seen as a part of best practices rather than a replacement for traditional modes of international cultural exchange.

Objectives: Two sets of intercultural learning resources incorporating Global Englishes learning content were developed for self-access use in the higher education context. The resources were investigated in terms of student learning experiences across two contexts in Japan: an English language major program and a nonlanguage major program. The aim was to develop an understanding of student learning experiences to inform practical implications for self-access learning in these areas. Method: The educational resources were investigated in a qualitative content analysis of reflective writing and supporting survey data from 30 students across the two university programs to understand how (and if) they supported student learning as well as how the resources and form of learning were perceived by the students. Results: Resources in both universities led to similar learning outcomes, showing that self-access resources can support intercultural and Global Englishes learning. A longer time requirement was necessitated by one set of resources, which was criticised by students. Students also indicated a preference for collaborative learning aspects. Conclusions: This pedagogically focused article contributes to the discussion around digital resources for intercultural and Global Englishes learning. Short-form resources integrating these areas may be more effective for self-access learning than resources requiring multiweek commitments in both language and nonlanguage major programs. Aspects of collaborative learning in self-access engagement appealed to students. Implication for Theory and/or Practice: Carefully designed short resources based on the conceptual framework and on recommendations outlined in this article may lead to effective self-access student learning, particularly in resources involving collaborative work.

International mobility programmes, both in-person and virtual, aim to build human capital. Though there is evidence of their impact on skill development, there is scant research on career and professional benefits. Moreover, because virtual mobility is a new concept, there has been little investigation into how this mode affects the perceived benefits. Using the lens of human capital theory, this study explores outcomes of in-person and virtual mobility in the Queen Elizabeth Scholars-Advanced Scholars programme, which includes doctoral, post-doctoral and early career scholars. Through interviews with 23 scholars, we explore the perceived impact of the programme, considering mode of delivery, on the career and professional development of scholars. Despite challenges with the unexpected shift to virtual mobility during COVID-19 lockdowns, both in-person and virtual mobility scholars reported benefits to their career and professional development. These results suggest that virtual mobility may be considered as a viable option to enhance the flexibility, inclusivity, and accessibility of such programmes.

The present study draws on earlier research on learner-learner dyadic interactions in an e-tandem virtual exchange and examines negotiation of meaning episodes based on the qualitative data. These data come from learner-learner interactions during oral tasks carried out using a video conferencing tool. The aim is to unveil the interactional patterns that emerge during negotiation of meaning episodes which have been deemed beneficial for L2 development, particularly those which offer opportunities for modified output to occur (Gurzynski-Weiss & Baralt, 2015; Long, 1996; Pica, 1994; Schmidt, 1990). The results highlight the role that metalinguistic information plays in scaffolding the process of negotiation of meaning and emphasize the benefits of e-tandem exchanges where learners alternate between the roles of expert and learner, depending on the language used during each language-related episode.

The Fulbright Program is the United States' flagship educational exchange program. Since 1946, the program has been heralded as a program that promotes mutual understanding across cultures. However, the Fulbright Program's role as a U.S. Department of State initiative warrants further examination of how this educational exchange program functions as a foreign policy effort on behalf of the United States. This mixed methods study uses data presented in five years of data available in the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board's Annual Reports of the program. The study finds seven themes present in the written content of the annual report: Human rights, peace and security; access, diversity, and opportunity; collaboration and partnership; mutual financial investment; excellence as a result of Fulbright; program impact; and solving global problems.

This paper reports the results of a narrative inquiry study on exchange programs, intercultural awareness, and professional development in eight former participants of the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant--FLTA--program. This study used written narratives to collect data from eight participants of the FLTA scholarship program who belonged to the cohort 2017-2018. The results of this study showed that after being a FLTA, participants improved their English language skills; they became more aware of their teaching practices by implementing and adapting different teaching methodologies, they experienced cross-cultural interaction, and understood better cultural differences which really fostered their personal and professional development as English language teachers in their home countries.

Although virtual exchange has been widely discussed during the (post-)pandemic era, how students do reflexivity in this context has yet to be fully explored. This study invites students from Chinese and Finnish universities to think aloud and reflect on their virtual exchanges by presenting them with video clips of their online intercultural encounters. This is referred to as "think-aloud reflexivity" in this study. Grounded in Foucault's (1988) "technologies of the self" and Clark and Dervin's (2014) "multidimensions of reflexivity," the study 1) identifies and analyses moments of think-aloud reflexivity as triggered by the video clips presented to students; and 2) examines how students' reflexivity is constructed. Research findings, based on an analysis of students' speech acts (Austin, 1962), reveal three ways of constructing reflexivity: "evaluating," "clarifying" and "reviewing." Three themes also emerge while doing reflexivity in the study: "self-criticality," "empathizing with others," and "reconceptualizing doing interculturality." Recommendations for international telecollaboration are given based on the findings, inviting scholars and researchers to un-re-think the notion of reflexivity in intercultural communication education.

The ever-increasing interconnectedness of the world and the diversity in demographics call for the training of global awareness and cultural competence among leaders and educators. This study, using qualitative methods, examined how 19 participants and their mentors from a United States university perceived a six-week long immersive global experiential practicum in China, and what impact the global experiential practicum had on the development of their global awareness and cultural competence. Data generated from the open-ended questionnaires, participant reflections and observations were analyzed and interpreted. The results indicated that the participants perceived the practicum as an eye-opening and life-changing experience with implications for their future careers, and also realized some existing challenges in the practicum. The practicum with cultural engagement, teaching practicum and leadership externship in the host country, supported the growth in professional identities and development of global awareness and cultural competence for the participants on multiple levels.

Within an ever-increasing time of globalisation, globalised learning and international mobility, international professional experience can provide a range of opportunities for personal and academic growth. Perhaps unsurprisingly, pre-service teachers commonly attest to the positive impact of international placements. What is less well understood is the impact on the learning and teaching that occurs at the university curriculum level prior to and after an international placement. An emergent aspect of this research and the focus of this paper is the impact of these experiences in terms of what they offer the university teaching and learning context. To gain a further understanding of the extent of these impacts, a set of reflective narratives from 10 pre-service teachers and seven teacher educators were gathered and analysed using inductive, thematic analysis. The findings showed that for pre-service teachers and teacher educators that context both culturally and educationally were paramount. The reflections highlighted the impact on the development of a range of general capabilities for both sets of participants. Additionally, international placement experiences increased levels of reflection for both pre-service teachers and teacher educators, which led to further understanding and refining their teacherly identity.

This study explores how a long-running, special education teacher education-focused international immersion experience has grown over time to include robust international exchange between home and host institutions and how participation influenced past participants' professional practice. This research fills a gap in the research linking special education teacher preparation and international immersion experiences by focusing on a twenty-year-old immersion program which places preservice special education teachers in Scotland for a five-week experience including a homestay, school-based practicum, and travel. Researchers included two groups for this multiple case study design: Scottish school partners and preservice U.S. teacher participants. Interviews and reflections from each group were analyzed using the Relational-Cultural Theory framework to understand how this program grew and led to mutually beneficial partner and participant exchanges. Findings indicate that trusting relationships emanating from long-term interactions are key for meaningful exchange and that participation in the 2019 program influenced current teachers' professional decisions and trajectory.

Providing students opportunities to travel outside their home country to engage new cultures and perspectives increases global awareness and desirable workplace skills. Students are most influenced to go abroad by cost, course(s), length, and destination, and by family, peers, and advisors. This study examined data from 1,807 students at a U.S. university who participated in faculty-led, exchange, or provider programs over three years. We described students' personal characteristics, influences on going abroad, value derived, and perceptions of safety. Statistically significant relationships between program type and participant characteristics were found. Principal influencers on students' pursuit of global experiences included the study abroad website, faculty members, and former student participants. Their perceived value of study abroad was high. Participants believed their experience was a good investment and would recommend it to others. These results may assist education abroad professionals in their engagement with various student populations to encourage and enable global experiences.