Autoethnography of an International Student

A Journey through Dissonance; An Autoethnography of an International Exchange Student in Educational Leadership

Iqtidar ul HassanM.S Leadership & Policy StudiesUniversity of Memphis

Introduction

• Curriculum and students’ needs (Academic/professional and cognitive)

• Determinants of needs• Profession• Cumulative learning experiences• Context

• International students needs are different

Purpose

• Exploring the nature of relationship between the Educational Leadership curriculum and the academic needs of the international students.

Questions

• To what extent the curriculum of Educational Leadership program is aligned with the needs of international students?– To what extent the content of the curriculum is

aligned with the academic/professional and cognitive needs of the students?

– To what extent the pedagogy/classroom experience fulfill the needs of the students?

Methodology

• Autoethnography (qualitative)• Subject and source of data– Personal narrative (reflective journal)– Documents • Students personal statements and study objectives• Syllabi

– Supplemental Interviews of two international students

Framework

• Parameters of internationalized curriculum as suggested by Bank (1999), Morey & Kitana (1997) and Vertesi (1999).

Needs/Content Comparison#1

Needs/Pedagogy Comparison#1

Needs/Content Comparison#2

Needs/Pedagogy Comparison#2

Needs/Content Comparison#3

Needs/Pedagogy Comparison#3

Student’s satisfaction with the academic experience

Summary/Conclusion

• Curricular Atonality• Internationalized Content/Pedagogy.• A localized orientation in content and

pedagogy• Students’ need assessment mechanism• Unfulfilling academic experience

Limitations of the study and further research

• A personal narrative/preconceived notions.• A broader qualitative/quantitative research• Students’ need assessment

Thank You