PhD ceremony Ms. M. Troia: On enhancing professional development within an internationalisation context

PhD ceremony: Ms. M. Troia, 12.45 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: On enhancing professional development within an internationalisation context

Promotor(s): prof. M.S. Schmid

Faculty: Arts

Troia’s dissertation describes an investigation into the challenges facing lecturers engaged in the process of internationalisation of the curricula of Bachelor and Master degree programmes at one university of applied sciences. The problem statement was: How can professional development interventions for teaching staff involved in internationalisation of the curricula at a university of applied sciences be designed and implemented to enhance English, intercultural and pedagogic learning in multiple modes of delivery?

The research involved three iterations during which a professional development programme was offered to small groups of teachers. Findings from one iteration were used to improve the design of the programme in the next iteration. At the end of the process analysis across the iterations demonstrated that both the stand alone and embedded modes could be based on the same programme template when a contextualisation protocol was employed. Both modes proved to be viable (i.e. practical and sustainable), legitimate (i.e. internally coherent and derived from conceptual frameworks) and effective, although the embedded mode was more sustainable and resource effective.

Further, factors that stimulated or constrained learning for English, intercultural and pedagogic domains were identified using three approaches to learning as lens (self-directed, accommodative [transcending existing knowledge and skills] and informal, practice-based learning). Finally, a set of four principles and heuristics for professional developers was produced.