Introduction Researching International Pedagogies

We live in interesting times. The past 20-year period has witnessed an amazing expansion of opportunities for mobility that has enabled students and lecturers to participate in an international higher education experience. Today, the effects of globalisation are undeniably evident in all aspects of higher education ranging from the development of economic and political strategies for institutional and national educational growth to a focus on individual learning designs for students. In English-speaking countries, the development of international education has in some instances brought about welcome opportunities for lecturers and students to augment the mundane teaching in local lecture halls with the inclusion of different cultural and social experiences brought about by international mobility. The novelty of internationalisation has meant professional opportunities of an exciting kind to some, transporting scholars to exotic offshore locations in the academic pursuit of knowledge innovation and transnational advancement. A dichotomous response to the increased international education market has been its sudden augmentation in global student mobility with its ensuing and sometimes locally unprecedented influx of incoming international students.

Regardless of its ‘foreign exotic appeal’ or its imposed local constraints, the aftermath of this globally rapid and expansive education market (Altbach & Knight, 2007) has left the teaching and learning community in uncertainty. The international education terrain is currently seeking direction in areas of both pedagogy and policy (Adams & Walters, 2001; Ninnes & Hellstén, 2005). While policy aspects of international education have received due interest from the community of scholars (e.g. Ball, 1998; Crossley & Watson, 2003; Knight, 1994), research has not afforded sufficient attention to the applied aspects of internationalisation, that is, the teaching and curriculum contexts of this global endeavour. The mounting pressures brought about by economic incentives that drive curriculum renewal, increase academic workloads, alter teaching conditions and generate technological advances have added considerable complexity to the task of quality teaching and research in pedagogy. There is a need for a reconsideration of pedagogies that acknowledge international education through the development of sustainable contemporary academic practices.