<p>Internationalization in higher education is an issue of growing importance as the forces of globalism continue to push both social and economic connections from local to global. While this topic is becoming increasingly vital to the health and influence of educational institutions, many, including those within South Dakota, are unaware of the foreign language capabilities or international experiences and attitudes toward internationalization of their full-time faculty members. </p><p> This study investigated the attitudes of, experiences in, and exposure toward internationalization by faculty members across the six public universities within the South Dakota Board of Regents system. Faculty members’ foreign language background and ability, as well as both their perceptions on the value of internationalization of higher education and their perceptions on institutional receptivity toward internationalization were also examined. Data collected from SD faculty members (n=479) were then compared by demographic factors including gender, age, academic travel, and home institution to discover any trends or connections within these subgroups. </p><p> The findings of this study suggest that South Dakota faculty members not only have a vast and varied background in internationally related experience, but they also overwhelmingly express a desire to further their academic–k international connections through teaching, research, and service. Results also showed significant differences among faculty perceptions among the six state institutions and between groups of faculty who have traveled for academic purposes and those who have not. </p><p> Along with the findings and discussion of the results of this study, recommendations for improving practice are provided, as are suggestions for future research. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3607699 |
| Date | 14 February 2014 |
| Creators | Doyle, Kevin |
| Publisher | University of South Dakota |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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