The diploma thesis deals with international education of tertiary students. It aims to measure satisfaction of tertiary students with current offer and service provided in area of mobility programmes by Faculty of Business and Management of Brno University of Technology. It contains suggestions for the improvement and enhancement of services and programme offer of international activities for students with the aim to increase satisfaction and the number of people interested in activities in a foreign environment.

The development of worldmindedness is an educational objective endorsed by many prominent educators. How worldmindedness can be created and developed is a question acknowledged in much of the literature and needs to be answered if the world is to move toward a future of peace and understanding. Authorities agree that to prepare Americans for an interdependent world, the United States must incorporate global education into the nation's existing educational system. This task will require strong leadership on America's college campuses. Consequently, before an effective worldmindedness program can be established in institutions of higher learning, administrators' attitudes toward such a program must be determined. Just as a person's attitude toward nationalism/internationalism can indicate that person's response to government policies, so also are administrators' attitudes firm indicators of their interest in higher education's implementation of worldmindedness programs. For this investigation, worldmindedness was defined as a value orientation toward the human race rather than knowledge or interest in international relations. Sixty administrators in higher education in the state of Oregon were studied to ascertain if their family, personal and educational backgrounds had any effect on their worldminded attitudes. Respondents were employed at community colleges, private or state institutions, with positions in the administrative hierarchy ranging from presidents to directors or deans of academic departments. Data were obtained utilizing two instruments combined into one: a questionnaire composed of demographic socio-economic, personal and educational background information, and the "World-mindedness Scale," developed by Donald L. Sampson and Howard P. Smith. The results of the study were encouraging. Only 10.3% of the subjects were below the neutral score, 39.7% were above the mean and 31.0% were in the top third of the Worldmindedness Scale indicating strong worldmindedness. A total of 87.9% were above the theoretical neutral. The findings of the literature were supported by the study. Socio-economic backgrounds, educational experience (formal and informal), college major, course work, foreign language study, travel and type of world news garnering were found to assist in the development of worldminded attitude. No significant differences were found between administrators and institution of employment.

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There were at least five purposes in pursuing research on international education in the public community colleges of Oregon and Washington states. The first purpose was to fully demonstrate a new and original taxonomy of ten elements, or dimensions, found in defining and describing international education. A second purpose was to add to the body of knowledge and research on international education practices at the nation's community colleges through an extensive literature search and original research. A third purpose of the study was to identify and describe the current status of international educational programs and activities of the forty-three public community colleges of the two state region through the use of quantitative data obtained in a survey questionnaire. Another purpose was to identify and describe three case studies of the most highly developed community colleges, at least one from each of the two states, in the arena of international education. A fifth purpose of this study was to provide several conclusions and recommendations to those community college leaders interested in improving upon international education programs and practices. Two research questions led the investigator to utilize two different research methods: The survey questionnaire and the case study. The research questions were: 1. What is the current status of international education programs among the public community colleges of Oregon and Washington? And 2. How and why did the international education programs and activities evolve and develop at the three most highly developed public community colleges of Oregon and Washington? The first method was used to survey the field of international education and to select three of the most highly developed community colleges in the two state region. The case study method, or the second method, was used to probe deeply into the international education programs and activities of the three most highly developed community colleges in Oregon and Washington. The results of the research methodology were reported in two different chapters and provide the findings and recommendations about the field of international education. The research was also defined by nine propositions suggested at the outset of the study. It was thought that international education programs and activities of Oregon and Washington community colleges evolved and developed through: The efforts of strong presidential leadership; large community colleges found in urban areas; the presence of international students; the presence of full-time international education administrators; the presence of international education grants from external funding sources; the presence of a strong global curriculum; the presence of strong foreign language programs; the presence of full-time faculty born in other countries; and, the presence of full-time faculty who have lived and travelled abroad. The results of the nine study propositions were mixed. The research led to twelve specific recommendations for those wanting to either evaluate their existing efforts and for those wanting to enter the very dynamic and exciting field of international education

The importance attached to preparing graduates for a role on an international stage has become increasingly recognised by U.K. higher education institutions and by successive U.K. governments in recent years. At the same time, the contribution that enterprising individuals make to an economy has also gained in importance, but the answer to the question of what makes an 'enterprising individual' is still uncertain. This thesis investigates whether internationally mobile students develop or enhance certain entrepreneurial attitudes through a study or work placement period abroad and, if so, why certain attitudes may have developed or been positively enhanced by a prolonged exposure abroad. I have also considered the impact that such a sojourn has on the entrepreneurial intent and behaviour of graduates. I have followed a concurrent mixed method approach using a group of mobile students and, as a control group, students who do not undertake mobility during their degree. The results indicate that there is little difference in certain entrepreneurial attitudes between the two groups before mobility, but that the mobile students show a higher degree of (positive) change in some entrepreneurial attitudes than the non-mobile students after mobility. There are a range of factors from the international sojourn that could account for this change. The results imply that, along with other benefits of international education, an international sojourn contributes to developing potential entrepreneurial behaviour, as evidenced by the careers and activities of internationally mobile graduates. This thesis contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the fields of international education and entrepreneurship in a number of ways. Firstly it provides more insight into the entrepreneurial behaviour of graduates who have studied abroad. Secondly, my results add to the debate about what differentiates a mobile student from a non-mobile student. Thirdly, my research findings support the assertion that student mobility brings benefits (both to an individual and to the economy) by turning anecdotal indicators and suppositions about the benefits into more concrete and substantial evidence. Fourthly, and finally, through using a mixed method approach I have extended the to-date narrow focus of much of the research into the area of student mobility to provide an atypical approach to investigating international education benefits.

The purpose of this study was to identify the changes in the perceptions of a selected group of Mexican and Japanese foreign students regarding own culture, target culture, and belief system over a time of sojourn in the United States. The total population of this study included 120 Japanese and Mexican students at the University of Arizona and at Pima College, Tucson, Arizona. The students were divided into six equal cells of twenty according to nationality and length of sojourn. The instrumentation employed in this study included: The Cultural Literacy Inventory, Rokeach Dogmatism Scale E, and a personal questionnaire. The following independent variables were also introduced into the study: age, sex, marital status, mobility of residence, past cross-cultural contact, and level of English proficiency. The following independent variables were identified as significant in affecting the target culture perceptions of the students: length of sojourn, sex, marital status in combination with nationality, age, residential mobility from house to house and level of English proficiency. The following independent variables were identified as significant in affecting the own cultural perceptions of the students: length of sojourn in its effect on the intragroup homogeneity of the Mexican students only, and level of English proficiency in its effect on the intragroup homogeneity for both nationalities. The following independent variables were identified as significant in affecting the degree of openness of belief system: nationality, age, residential mobility from house to house in combination with nationality, residential mobility from town to town in combination with nationality, and level of English proficiency. It was predicted that the Mexican students would face more cultural conflict in the areas of Interaction, Association, Subsistence, Temporality, and Learning. It was predicted that the Japanese students would face more cultural conflict in the areas of Interaction, Subsistence, Territoriality, Learning and Play. The researcher offered recommendations for further research and suggestions for the use of the findings of this study as a data base for orientation programs serving foreign students, Americans sojourning abroad, and in teacher education programs.

The Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, administered by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, surveyed fifteen-year-olds for the first time in 2000. PISA focuses on mathematics, science, and reading literacy, and intends to undertake a new study every three years. The administration in 2003 added a section that measured problem-solving skills. The results from all three surveys thus far have placed Finland as the highest achieving country in PISA. Finland’s top performances in PISA astonished the educational world. More so than previous cross-national surveys such as TIMSS and PIRLS, PISA has drawn worldwide educational interest towards Finland and its educational system. PISA, unlike TIMSS, does not measure mastery of curriculum, but rather outcomes of education. PISA focuses on real-life applications of knowledge. Triggering global curiosity, the PISA has placed Finland on the itinerary of those wishing to discover the influences behind educational success. This research focuses upon Finland’s historical, cultural, and social context as a part of the Nordic countries and also its immense success in PISA. This project uncovers some of the factors contributing to Finland’s success in education, as indicated by the results in PISA. Finland’s history as a part of both Sweden and Russia has intertwined education with the movement for independence. The struggles after independence, including war and recession, have also reinforced the importance of education within Finnish society. The important status of teachers in Finland, in addition to their high quality, has further enhanced the excellence of the Finnish education system. PISA findings, however, have indicated that the Swedish-speaking Finns score lower than the Finnish-speaking Finns, a phenomenon explored within the research. This project investigates the reasons behind this counterintuitive result. The project incorporates perspectives through interviews with teachers and head teachers from the six sample schools, both Swedish-speaking and Finnish-speaking, Finnish education ministers, PISA creators from the OECD, and Finnish educational researchers and professors responsible for executing PISA in Finland. Their insight, from many different points of view, illuminated different perspectives on PISA and education in Finland.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant relationship exists between teachers' and administrators' global perspective and their receptivity to the inclusion of elements of global education in the curriculum.

Over the past twenty years, high school students in China have been learning the British Columbia (BC) public curriculum in certified private offshore schools with the intention of attending post-secondary institutions abroad. This internationalization and privatization in the Chinese education system began after critical reforms that allowed non-state actors to own and operate schools or programs that offer foreign curricula and credentials. BC offshore schools (BCOS) are one of the foreign curriculum options available to students in China and are comprised of approximately 12,000 students in thirty-seven certified schools. These students then may become international students when they migrate abroad, often to Canada. Within this setting, this case study explores the perspectives and experiences of five female first-year university students who have just recently graduated from three different BC offshore schools. The theoretical framings of sociocultural theory, second language socialization, community of practice, and transnationalism help situate the perspectives of the students in this dynamic educational phenomenon. The primary data sources include semi-structured interviews at the beginning of their first and second semesters at a large BC university and participant responses to journal prompts through the semester, as well as publicly available BC educational documents. This study’s findings indicate that graduates of BCOS were prepared for undergraduate academic courses because of their socialization into foundational research skills, essay writing, lecture listening, and project-based assessments. The similarities between the BC and university curricula have helped these participants transition from high school to university as well as from China to Canada. Each participant revealed different challenges that they faced including systematic grammar knowledge, increased reading requirements, and socializing with Canadian peers. Overall, Chinese BCOS graduates are a dynamic, diverse, and under-researched population. Participants’ socialization into the learning environments in British Columbia offshore schools has helped them prepare and learn skills necessary for favourable experiences in university. / Graduate