From Laoshi to partners in learning: Pedagogic conversations across cultures in an international classroom

Abstract

Under the impact of accelerating globalization in the education sector, classrooms in Canadian higher education are becoming more and more internationalized with respect to the diversity of students, curriculum, educational philosophies and pedagogical relationships. This hermeneutic case study looked into the highly contested pedagogic issue of developing critical intellectuals in a Canadian international graduate program where the majority of the students are Chinese. Findings of this study affirm that the fundamental educational philosophies and values have become complicated conversations in a globalized learning environment. We argue that educators who teach international students to critique the unquestioned adoption of concepts that typify the academic fields’ present circumstances and engage in a continuing dialogue about how to create the critical meeting ground where criticality meets harmony.

Keywords: globalization, internalization of higher education, criticality, harmony, Chinese international students