University Affairs Advances Ethical Internationalization

Canada's University Affairs magazine's most recent issue looks at the ethical implications of internationalizing education. “There is a groundswell of demand among students to have international experiences” writes Moira MacDonald, who reports that three precent of undergraduates have an university related international experiences.

How many of these programs where ethical and how many were just university sponsored voluntourism?

Read the full article here: http://www.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/making-volunteering-abroad-ethical-experience/

Visiting my alma matter a month ago, there were flyers distributed by the business faculty promoting a for-profit voluntourism outfitter. It was the standard promotional fair, showing pictures of exclusively white students teaching or holding children of colour. There were then photos of the students white-water rafting and riding elephants before listing an exorbitant tour price tag.

Perhaps most unsettling is the fact that these harmful practices which produce big bucks for western mass tourism companies, operates under the guise of 'global citizenship,' 'social good,' or international education and traditionally as a way to build up better university admission letters or pad a resume.

Fortunately, as the University Affairs feature points out, Canadian institutions of higher learning are beginning to identify their role and relationship with irresponsible practices and shift towards reimagining critical and conscious global education.

They provide readers with a list of what to look out for when determining if an international placement program is ethical:

Appropriate behaviour and cultural sensitivity: this includes a range of practical issues including dressing appropriately, acting respectfully and being sensitive to different cultural norms.
Power relationships and privilege: asymmetrical power relations characterize many student mobility programs. Practices such as gift-giving can perpetuate stereotypes of the “giving North” and the “needy South.” Likewise, students require opportunities to help them reflect on and understand how privilege is historically rooted and reproduced through systemic inequalities.
Exploitation of host communities: research-based student mobility programs frequently use host communities as research participants to get data for course work, research papers or theses. When that information is not shared with, or is not used to influence changes in, host communities, those communities gain little from the experience.
Over-emphasis on career and skills development: many universities promote skills-building and career advancement over other important learning outcomes, such as cross-cultural understanding and social justice. That puts the focus of student mobility exclusively on the benefits for students with little regard for host community needs and aspirations.
Making sense of unethical scenarios: students may encounter unethical practices including corruption or graft; physical violence against women, children, people with disabilities or animals; ridicule of LGBTQ people or of those who behave outside societal norms. In these scenarios, students may react in ways that can do harm to themselves and the people around them.