COIL - Collaborative Online International Learning

History, Background and Context of Partnership

In response to three global conjunctures: COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and subsequent Movement for Black Lives protests, and increasing influence in policy of populist perspectives, there has been a pivot in teacher education towards online communication and the utilization of accessible digital technologies to enhance global learning and foster cultural understanding. Universities are keen to internationalise for social, cultural, political, academic, and economic reasons, seeking to produce “global-ready” graduates who have acquired the intercultural competencies to be able to address issues associated with global developments and challenges.

A wealth of research conducted in the last ten years has sheds light on the pervasive presence of anti-Black, anti-migrant, and institutional racism in Canadian and United Kingdom universities, deficit informed narratives in general curricula, and a significant gap in antiracist initiatives within student-/teacher education programs. In Western European and North American universities, there is significant evidence that suggests Black students-/teachers are disproportionately less likely to engage with university international mobility programmes, despite the benefits to recruitment, employment, and promotion opportunities in their professional roles. However, there is a paucity of research which seeks to examine this phenomenon within nations, or in comparisons between Global North and Global south universities, programmes, and students. The widespread adoption of online digital technologies for pedagogical interactions has expanded possibilities for the creation of global skills programmes which focus on international interconnectedness. Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a form of virtual exchange, allowing students from different countries to use digital technology to collaborate on a meaningful project relevant to their studies.

Led by Obianuju Juliet Bushi (University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada), our interdisciplinary team was formed in response to a successful Universities Canada international mobility grant application in November 2023. The research project focuses on understanding of access and availability to international mobility opportunities for Black student-/teachers enrolled in teacher-training programmes in three case study universities in Canada, the United Kingdom and Botswana. We were keen to develop a race-based data driven approach that will assist in identifying and mitigating barriers and challenges Black student-/teacher candidate experience while considering participating in global international mobility opportunities abroad.

Study Design

The study was conducted over a single academic year (2024-25) to comprehensively examine the changes and developments in participants’ experiences over critical points in their educational experiences. The Participatory Action Research informed design enables opportunities for intervention – particularly for different stakeholders (students, mobility programme staff, academic staff, leadership), alongside capture of dynamic processes and the impact of contextual factors on international mobility. The mixed methods approach integrates quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, providing a robust framework for triangulating data and enhancing the validity of findings. The project involved three phases:

Participants

The target population comprises a range of different stakeholders who study or work in universities in Botswana, Canada, and the United Kingdom. We apply our qualitative instruments to student-/teachers enrolled in teacher education programmes across the three case studies. Additionally, focus group interviews take place with international mobility programme managers, and teacher education department leaderships. Also, using a purposive sampling strategy, focus groups will be conducted with student-/teachers who meet specific criteria, including identifying as Black, and/or of African descent or part of the African diaspora, enrolled in a university program, and having either experienced or expressed interest in international mobility for educational purposes. An estimated sample size of 300 participants will be targeted, with the aim of 100 participants included from each country. Participants will be recruited through partnerships with educational institutions, professional organisations, and community networks.

Research outcomes

Through this project, we respond to institutional needs to expand global international mobility opportunities for Black student-/teacher candidates in higher education institutions. This is achieved by applying a series of research informed pedagogical activities enabling participants to develop essential intercultural skills, while also enabling exposure to diverse, competitive educational settings globally. This achieved by an innovative research team and institutional partnership, which is guided by shared commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion within the field of teacher education, and a recognition that action is required to address social-cultural-economic-political barriers that consistently prevent Black student-/teacher candidates from participating in university international mobility programs. We are confident that this project will help bridge these gaps by developing innovative, sustainable, and culturally relevant training and mentorship pathways. We hope that this research produces a collaborative global competence community of teaching practioners whose outputs fosters collaboration, pedagogical resource sharing, mentorship and develop interpersonal and intercultural competencies beyond the duration of this ground-breaking pilot project.

Terminology

We use the term ‘Black’ throughout to refer to student-/teachers and participants who identify within the Canadian educational context as of African descent, or from the African diaspora. This includes participants who identify as African, Caribbean, Black Indigenous, Black-Canadian, and other self-identifiers.

Biographies

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