Brookes International HE Reading Group

The Brookes International HE Reading Group is hosted by the Oxford Centre for Academic Enhancement and Development (OCAED) and meets monthly throughout the year (online) to discuss recent and/or seminal articles and publications that could make a difference to the way we think about our teaching, curriculum or students’ experiences whilst debating key issues and networking in a supportive, convivial environment.  Whether you are a seasoned educational developer, researcher, subject lecturer, PhD student, college affiliate, or senior manager, everyone is welcome. The articles are chosen to provoke reflection, insight and debate, and for 2023-24 we are delighted to announce that our core theme will be internationalisation (broadly understood). Anyone from across the international Higher Education community is most welcome. Please send suggestions for articles to read to Dr Adrian J. Wallbank (a.wallbank@brookes.ac.uk).

How to join

To take part in the sessions, please book your place here:

Semester 1

Internationalisation has been a major thematic field in the scholarship of teaching and learning literature for at least the last four decades and has been claimed to be ‘a vital aspect of higher education in the twenty-first century’ (Klopper, 2020). Its causes, benefits and impact upon the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment have been subjected to considerable debate and the topic sometimes becomes entwined with wider political agendas and theoretical positions. Furthermore, the pandemic has led to ‘a growing focus on and interest in the ways that, for example, international (im)mobility…shapes practices’ (Mittelmeier and Yang, 2022).  As such, there’s plenty for us to discuss, and an international perspective with reference to the literature should prove mutually beneficial for us all, irrespective of our discipline or institution. 

Wednesday 27 September 2023, 2.00pm - 3.00pm

What better place to start our series on internationalisation than de Witt and Altbach’s (2021) review of recent trends and the future of internationalisation in ‘a critical time of transformation as a result of nationalist-populist developments, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic’. This wide ranging survey, taking in issues such as massification, the global knowledge economy, institutional reputations and academic freedom, offers an ideal platform for us to get discussions started around our core theme for this year’s sessions. Please book your place above to join this session.

Paper: Hans de Wit & Philip G. Altbach (2021) ‘Internationalization in higher education: global trends and recommendations for its future’, Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 5:1, 28-46, DOI: 10.1080/23322969.2020.1820898

Wednesday 25 October 2023, 2.00pm - 3.00pm

This session will focus on Bamberger, Morris and Yemini’s (2019) recent dissection of the topic in respect of how it is ‘entangled’ with neoliberalism, inequalities and progressive humanitarian values whilst analysing the issues in a way that critiques the often dominant, North American, eurocentric focus. The theoretical and philosophical perspectives that run throughout this paper are sure to provide us with plenty to discuss.   Please book your place above to join this session.

Paper: Bamberger, A., Morris, P., & Yemini, M. (2019). ‘Neoliberalism, internationalisation, and higher education: Connections, contradictions, and alternatives’. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 40(20), 203–216. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2019.1569879

Wednesday 22 November 2023, 2.00pm - 3.00pm

Moving on from our focus on issues pertaining to trends and theoretical perspectives, in this session we take a critical delve into the student experience by discussing Soong and Maheepala’s (2023) recent paper examing decreases in international student wellbeing since the pandemic. The paper considers the situation in South Australia during the height of the pandemic, and offers insights into how local community engagement can help improve the student experience.  Please book your place above to join this session.

Paper: Hannah Soong & Vihara Maheepala (2023) ‘Humanising the internationalisation of higher education: enhancing international students’ wellbeing through the capability approach’, Higher Education Research & Development, 42:5, 1212-1229, DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2023.2193730

Wednesday 20 December 2023, 2.00pm - 3.00pm (to be confirmed)

In this session we consider internationalisation in respect of the challenges presented by the pandemic with a particular emphasis upon knowledge mobility. In this paper, Yue, de Souza and Townsin (2023) examine the emergence of ‘internationalisation at a distance’ in respect of the affordances of information and communication technologies and impact the lack of immersion has had / is having on students’ identity construction.  Please book your place above to join this session.

Paper: Yun Yue, Denise De Souza & Louise Townsin (2023) ‘No human mobility: how is knowledge mobile in a context of internationalisation at a distance? A case study’, Higher Education Research & Development, 42:5, 1165-1181, DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2023.2216643

Previous sessions and recordings

Theme: Assessment and Feedback

Assessment and feedback has always been central to discussions around pedagogy, and as Knight (1995, p.13) stated, ‘assessment is a moral activity. What we choose to assess and how shows quite starkly what we value’. With issues such as modularisation, meaningful assessment, validity, constructive alignment, inclusive assessments and recent concerns about over assessment, there’s plenty for us to discuss, and an international perspective with reference to the literature should prove mutually beneficial for us all.