Date of Submission

8-5-2023

Document Type

OIP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

internationalization, global engagement, study abroad, COIL, virtual exchange, transformative leadership, distributed leadership, change path model

Abstract

The Canadian federal government, national associations, and internationalization scholars have identified the need and demand for Canadian students to acquire global skills and competencies during their post-secondary education. Opportunities to acquire global skills can be offered through a wide variety of global engagement programs, such as study-abroad exchange programs, faculty-led excursions abroad, and other programs that allow students to interact with the global world. However, these programs are costly and do not consider the significant financial resources students require to participate in such activities. Most at-home students are left out of global engagement programming and therefore do not have the opportunity to acquire global skills during their time in college.

This organizational improvement plan (OIP) addresses the need for broader concepts of internationalization that include global engagement opportunities for at-home students. Using distributed and transformative leadership approaches and the change path model, this OIP provides an equitable solution to the problem of practice (PoP) by implementing virtual exchange initiatives, known as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), at a large college in southern Ontario. These initiatives provide a wider audience of at-home students with opportunities to work with students from around the world and acquire skills that are much needed and in demand in a global economy.

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