Fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: Metaphors and challenges in the Japanese context

The sustainability of many Japanese institutions of higher education is dependent on the injection of large numbers of foreigners. This requires addressing the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation. In this article, the authors contrast the literature on internationalisation in Japan (kok...

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Main Authors: Whitsed, Craig, Volet, S.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Sage Publications, Inc 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66961
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author Whitsed, Craig
Volet, S.
author_facet Whitsed, Craig
Volet, S.
author_sort Whitsed, Craig
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The sustainability of many Japanese institutions of higher education is dependent on the injection of large numbers of foreigners. This requires addressing the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation. In this article, the authors contrast the literature on internationalisation in Japan (kokusaika) with the Anglo-European discourse on internationalisation andhighlight the limited attention given to intercultural dimensions in the Japanese context. The authors examine how the constrained professional situation of foreign English teachers seems to inhibit the generation of opportunities for promoting reciprocal intercultural understanding. The authors discuss how these teachers' use of metaphorical constructs, such as uchi/soto andomote/ura, to frame their experience in the Japanese higher education context provide conceptually powerful tools with which to consider internationalisation in the Japanese higher education context. The authors conclude by arguing that metaphors that stress notions of difference andotherness are problematic as they create challenges for addressing the intercultural aspects of internationalisation in the Japanese context. © 2011 Nuffic.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-669612018-05-18T08:07:18Z Fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: Metaphors and challenges in the Japanese context Whitsed, Craig Volet, S. The sustainability of many Japanese institutions of higher education is dependent on the injection of large numbers of foreigners. This requires addressing the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation. In this article, the authors contrast the literature on internationalisation in Japan (kokusaika) with the Anglo-European discourse on internationalisation andhighlight the limited attention given to intercultural dimensions in the Japanese context. The authors examine how the constrained professional situation of foreign English teachers seems to inhibit the generation of opportunities for promoting reciprocal intercultural understanding. The authors discuss how these teachers' use of metaphorical constructs, such as uchi/soto andomote/ura, to frame their experience in the Japanese higher education context provide conceptually powerful tools with which to consider internationalisation in the Japanese higher education context. The authors conclude by arguing that metaphors that stress notions of difference andotherness are problematic as they create challenges for addressing the intercultural aspects of internationalisation in the Japanese context. © 2011 Nuffic. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66961 10.1177/1028315309357941 Sage Publications, Inc restricted
spellingShingle Whitsed, Craig
Volet, S.
Fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: Metaphors and challenges in the Japanese context
title Fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: Metaphors and challenges in the Japanese context
title_full Fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: Metaphors and challenges in the Japanese context
title_fullStr Fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: Metaphors and challenges in the Japanese context
title_full_unstemmed Fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: Metaphors and challenges in the Japanese context
title_short Fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: Metaphors and challenges in the Japanese context
title_sort fostering the intercultural dimensions of internationalisation in higher education: metaphors and challenges in the japanese context
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66961