Yes / The central aim of the paper is to examine the nature and function of higher education in Africa, and to explore the potential for partnerships between institutions in the Global North and South to assist in meeting the current capacity challenge. The paper starts with a critical exploration of the contemporary shifts taking place in higher education around the world and how this is transforming academic and professional identities. Following this is an analysis of the rationales that drive the process of ¿internationalisation¿ of higher education. We argue that internationalisation and globalisation present both a challenge and an opportunity for the rapidly expanding systems of higher education in Africa. We then go on to consider how international partnerships might support the development of Higher Education institutions in Africa and we present a critical analysis of the pitfalls and potentials of such collaborations. We also reflect on a long-term collaborative relationship between the Universities of Bradford (UK) and Mzumbe (Tanzania). From this we take the view that robust and strategic long-term partnerships can avoid neo-colonial relationships and offer potential for both partners, but this requires institutional commitment at all levels. This literature review serves as a foundational study, which will feed into further papers reflecting on the evolution and practice of the partnerships in place between JEFCAS (University of Bradford) and HE institutions in Africa.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Columbia International University, 2007. / "December, 2007." Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-169).

In the thesis, the main focus is concentrated on the regulation of tertiary education sector by means of the accreditation. According to The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), there are chosen the countries with the highest representation of universities in Top20-Top500. Especially in the point of view of their regulation, the systems of tertiary education of those countries are analyzed and divided into two groups: (1) In the first group, there are systems running liberally (or on more liberal base); and (2) In the second one, there are the systems considered as behaving more regulative to tertiary sector. The comparison of those two groups is trying to answer the question if the regulation might be the reason of successfulness or unsuccessfulness of the given group. In comparison of world's best practice, special attention is dedicated to the Czech Accreditation Committee and accreditation process transparency in the Czech Republic. Due to the lucidity, there is to found the illustration of the systems according to each analyzed country at the end of the thesis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate a class-to-class online English-Portuguese "Teletandem” program that was conceived, negotiated, and implemented cross-collaboratively between the foreign language instructors and language resource center (LRC) staff at two large state universities—one in the United States and the other in Brazil. Ten English language students in Brazil were paired with 10 Portuguese language students in the U.S. for a 10-week Skype®-based tandem language exchange (TLE) project that was jointly delivered online across an international university partnership. A qualitative case study design was used to examine the attitudes, perceptions, views, and behaviors of the teachers, students, and LRC staff who participated in the project. The objective of the study was to shed light on the factors that facilitated and hindered teletandem design, implementation and sustainability. Participant feedback was interpreted and contextualized by the researcher to provide rich descriptions of how Teletandem was optimized and how it impacted student learning. The findings suggest that Teletandem is an innovative, low-cost, high-impact language learning activity with vast pedagogical implications. As a lab supplement to traditional instruction, it enabled students at both sites to accelerate L2 development through authentic immersion and practice while making social connections with native speakers abroad. In addition, the results showed that—for many students—Teletandem heightened intercultural awareness, boosted confidence in the L2, and strengthened fluency skills while rendering a transformational learning experience.

In an international university in Thailand, with students coming from 92 different countries, faculty members reported a need for professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to understand faculty members' needs and preferences in the undergraduate department to help the administration offer appropriate PD programs. In accordance with the situated cognition theory, professional learning was approached as a social process embedded in workplace interactions. Research questions pertained to teachers' perceptions about their learning needs, program preferences, and the relationship between PD and student learning outcomes. In this descriptive case study, data were collected from fulltime faculty members via a focus group of 5 participants and 8 individual face-to-face and email interviews. In accordance with a maximum variation sampling strategy, the sample included faculty members from varied academic and cultural backgrounds and diverse lengths of experience in the university. Thematic coding analysis revealed 4 themes: (a) a desire to learn specific content such as classroom management techniques, pedagogy for university-level students, assessment design, and instructional technology; (b) a desire to observe and apply new techniques to better engage diverse students in large classes; (c) a desire to learn collegially to share context-relevant information; and (d) expectations from the university administration. As a result of this study, tailored recommendations for this university were derived to contribute to social change. Appropriate PD programs can enable faculty members to hone their pedagogical skills and improve student learning experience in this multicultural setting.