THE NEED FOR PEDAGOGICAL CUSTOMIZATION IN TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION: PROBLEMS AND A SOLUTION IN THE CARIBBEAN CONTEXT

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1 THE NEED FOR PEDAGOGICAL CUSTOMIZATION IN TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION: PROBLEMS AND A SOLUTION IN THE CARIBBEAN CONTEXT Dr. Bonalyn J. Nelsen Director of Graduate Studies, professional Development & Workforce Training University College of the Cayman Islands BNelsen@ucci.edu.ky

2 Quality issues in Transnational Education TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION (THE) is defined as any form of tertiary education in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based. 1 TNE is of the most dynamic trends in tertiary education. By 2025, TNE is projected to grow threefold 8 million students.2 The U.S., U.K., Australia & New Zealand are largest providers of TNE.3 BUT growth in TNE has gone hand-in-hand with concerns and complaints about poor quality: Two separate concerns: poor learning outcomes & cultural politics. Poor program quality negatively impacts multiple stakeholders in recipient countries: students, families, employers, governments. Also negatively impacts provider institutions from abroad.

3 Today s Presentation This paper will focus on a previously unexamined driver of poor program quality and learning outcomes in TNE: use of pedagogical materials that are not customized or localized to contexts in recipient nations. Discussion: Negative consequences of a lack of customization/localization in TNE. Reasons for using non-customized and non-local materials. Offers case research as one practical, low-cost remedy to the problem of non-customization/non-localization. Case study of case research workshop with the business faculty at Pontifica Universidad Catolicá Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), a private university with campuses in Santiago and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Workshop successfully trained PUCMM faculty and graduate students to produce locally-relevant cases on country- and region-specific issues, initiatives and companies

4 Why are quality issues in TNE especially important to Caribbean nations? The Caribbean Basin is a very attractive market for provider institutions of TNE (all types) wishing to expand operations due to unmet need, location, stability, language, demographics, etc. One example: Table: Withdrawal rates among largest U.S.-based private, for profit providers of TNE4 Company Schools Operated Withdrawal Rate Bridgepoint Education Washington Post Ashford University 84 % Kaplan 69 % Corinthian Everest, Heald, WyoTech 66 % Apollo Group University of Phoenix 66 % EDMC The Art Institutes, Argosy, Brown Mackie 64 %

5 Problems Associated with Limited Exposure to Country- and Region-Specific Materials in TNE Students: Few opportunities to learn about or analyze problems and issues relevant to their own countries and regions, adapt and apply the skills and knowledge gained to their home context, limited exposure to successful organizations, entrepreneurs, leaders, trends and opportunities at home. Instructors: Because materials intended for North American and Western European audiences often contain content irrelevant to students in other regions, student engagement (and poor evaluations) may be a problem. Provider Institutions: widespread use of non-localized pedagogical materials place reputations, revenues, and reaching goals at risk because it contributes to poor educational quality and learning outcomes.

6 Problems Associated with Limited Exposure to Country- and Region-Specific Materials in TNE Host Country Employers: Because students enrolled in TNE programs acquire some knowledge that is inapplicable to their countries and/or have limited ability to practice adapting and applying Western curricula to local contexts, they lack skills and abilities desired by local and multinational employers. Host Country Governments: Importing Western education programs is a means of meeting unmet demands for tertiary education at home, modernizing domestic colleges and universities, providing education that meets rigorous international standards and developing the human capital needed to accelerate economic growth and nation-building. These goals may go unmet if customized/localized materials are not used. Problem is exacerbated if students mistakenly believe that Western countries featured in pedagogical materials are where opportunity lies contributes to :brain drain.

7 Reasons for Limited Exposure to Country- and Region-Specific Materials in TNE Reasons for limited or no exposure to country- and regionspecific materials in TNE are rooted in issues of production, publication and provision: Production: Limited or no credit for pedagogical research in tenure and promotion, lack of local knowledge and contacts, limited time in host country, publishing pedagogical materials for TNE in addition to regular workload on home campus. Publication: Customization of pedagogical materials is very expensive, materials may not exist, smaller publishers may choose to focus on North American and EU markets due to size and relative lack of price sensitivity. Provision by Provider Institutions: Contrary to value proposition of offering the same education as would be received on the home campus, increases costs and lowers profitability, incompatible with business models of private, for-profit education providers.

8 The Role of Case Research in Localized Transnational Education: A Caribbean Example Case research presents one practical, low cost way to create local and regional-specific pedagogical material for use in TNE. Case research defined as the development and dissemination of teaching cases is one such method. Teaching cases featuring local issues, problems, organizations, persons, and trends can be paired with texts and other materials used by provider institutions to localize content. Benefits: Can be produced by local faculty, students and/or industry professionals working alone or in partnership with faculty from provider institutions. Familiarizes students with local issues, problems, and opportunities and provides practice in applying and adapting Western theory, concepts and techniques to local contexts. Provides faculty and students in the host country new opportunities to publish in internationally recognized, peerreviewed publications.

9 One Effort to Localized TNE Via Case Research: The Case of PUCMM in the Dominican Republic Graduate program in Service Management offered via partnership between Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT in New York, USA) & Pontifica Universidad Catolicá Madre y Maestra s (PUCMM) Santiago and Santo Domingo campuses. Program Description: Curriculum and course content imported without modification from New York. Instructors from RIT taught using fly-by s. Same pedagogical materials used in New York and the D.R. Problems: Students struggled to see relevance of some concepts and techniques That will never work here. Students often disengaged, esp. weaker students. Stronger students were universally convinced that they must emigrate to El Norte after graduation to further their careers lack of familiarity with local opportunities and brain drain.

10 The Role of Case Research in Localized Transnational Education: A Caribbean Example The Solution: Stage # 1: Initiated case research projects with graduate student. Co-investigated and wrote critical incident based on problems and strategies discovered while visiting a successful local business. Presented and /or published two cases: 1. Nelsen, Bonalyn J. and Hernandez, Edwin (2011). Snow tires in the Caribbean: An exercise in creative idea generation. Journal of Hospitality Management, 4(4), March-April. 2. Nelsen, Bonalyn J. and Hernandez, Edwin (2011). Two women in a Man s world: The success of Neumatic Tire Company in Santiago, D.R. Case presented the 33 rd Annual Society for Case Research s Summer Case Writer s Workshop, held in Rochester, NY USA on June 23-25, Result? Growing interest in case writing and awareness of local/regional entrepreneurship andopportunities.

11 The Role of Case Research in Localized Transnational Education: A Caribbean Example The Solution: Stage # 2: Offered a 3.5-day case research workshop to interested business faculty at PUCMM to teach rudiments of case research and writing and encourage future collaborations with students in industry professionals. Conducted in English with Spanish translation. Instructed faculty on all aspects of researching, writing and publishing teaching cases that focus on local issues, problems, organizations, opportunities, etc. Faculty attendees subsequently investigated and co-wrote case based on problems and strategies discovered while consulting for a local business: 1. Marguez, C. and Perez, A. (2011). Problems of start-up and Governance in a member-owned banana cooperative. Case presented the 33 rd Annual Society for Case Research s Summer Case Writer s Workshop, held in Rochester, NY USA on June 23-25, 2011.

12 Summary Locally-oriented and produced (or co-produced) teaching cases offer many benefits: Engage and familiarize students with local problems, issues, organizations and opportunities. Students practice applying Western theories, concepts and techniques to local issues and contexts. Students gain practice in applied research skills. Improved relevance of education and sense of pride. Faculty gain skills to publish in international journals and win notice and acclaim of wider academic audiences. By learning to produce their own cases, local universities become pedagogically independent and sustainable. Locally relevant, customized curricula and courses offer competitive advantage in a global marketplace. Presumably, employers receive better qualified job candidates after graduation.

13 Bibliography 1. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, The Global Competition for talent: Mobility of the Highly Skilled, at accessed 5 February, Wildavsky, B. (2010). How Global Universities Are Shaping the World. Princeton University Press. 3. Altbach, P.G. (2009. Higher Education Crosses Borders, Change, march- April. 4. Newman, D. (2012). The next bursting bubble. TheMotleyFool Investment Study, at bubble-.aspx, accessed on 3 March, 2012.