BOOK REPORT 

Pickert, Sarah M. Preparing fora Global Community: Achieving International Perspective in Higher Education 
Washington, DC: George Washington University School of Education and Human Development, 1 992. ASHE· 
ERICHigherEducationReportNo.2. 

[This series, begun in 1983, includes relatively short mono­
graphs examining problems in higher education through exten­
sive analysis of the literature. Over sixty reports have been 
published, each addressing a different issue. The present exam­
ple is the second of the 1992 series (there are eight each year).] 

When Librarian of Congress James H. Billington addressed 
the graduating class of the Georgetown University School of 
Foreign Service on May 30 of this year, he deplored the "contin­
ued provincialism" and "self-centered materialism in our general 
culture" and the failure of academia to give students a "sense of 
the great forces of ethnicity, nationalism, and religion that" bind 
people together and drive them to forms of actions that elude our 
radar screens of predictability and that cannot be programmed on 
our computers." Noting that President Clinton is one of the 
School's alumni, he urged graduates to bring back to the school 
the "insights and practical wisdom that can come only when 
experience is combined with reflection," and advocated more 
alumni participation in the school's ongoing work. 

Summary 
This work emphasizes the need for today's students to 

develop a global world view that will empower them to place 
their own future lives into a broader perspective, thus improving 
their ability to 1) deal with problems of all kinds on a long-range, 
global basis, rather than the local and short-term perspective we 
are now apt to employ, 2) function competently in an interna­
tional environment, and 3) make personal and public policy 
decisions as responsible world citizens. 

The author defines international higher education as repre­
senting 1) international relations (study of relations among 
countries), 2) area studies (study of particular regions of the 
world), foreign languages and cultures, comparative and interna­
tional approaches to individual disciplines, and 3) environmen­
tal, global, .or peace studies, which examine issues affecting 
more than one nation. Tbis broad definition obviously cuts 
across disciplines and departments and involves bi-directional 
exchange of students between the U. S. and other nations. A brief 
history of international education, especially in the U. S ., leads 
into an expression of the need to take a more activist stance and 
a description of current actiyities at the state and national level. 

Educlltlon Llbrarl- • Vcl 1 7, No. 3 

Higher education institutions in the U.S. must undertake a 
variety of practical tasks to move ahead in international educa­
tion. These include curriculum reform, educational mobility, and 
administration. 

Curriculum Reform 
Chief among the curricular reforms have been the changes in 

foreign language requirements. For the twenty years 1967 to 
1987, the number of language majors declined drastically; in 
1991, only 7.8 percent of college students in the U. S. were 
enrolled in foreign language classes. Several innovative foreign 
language programs exist; one of those described is at Lehigh 
University, which established a media resource center featuring 
satellite reception of foreign language programming from around 
the world. 

Core courses, including some with international content, are 
reappearing at U. S. institutions of higher education. Examples 
include programs that 1) use team teaching and no-n-traditional 
methods to raise students' awareness of political, cultural, societal, 
and international issues, 2) integrate the study-abroad experience 
into the home institution, 3) integrate foreign language ins !ruction 
into several disciplines, partly as preparation for study abroad, 4) 
integrate international aspects into basic technical courses and 
other existing courses, or 5) focus on a certain topic, but just on 
one area of the world. Some of these programs have had funding 
from the Fund for the Improvement ofPost-Secondary Education. 

Faculty members in specific disciplines have identified ways 
to integrate international aspects into their courses and have 
entered into interdisciplinary projects, such as area studies, inter­
national relations, global education, peace studies, and ethnic/ 
multicultural studies. Professional schools have developed a 
special interest in international aspects of their fields : business, 
mining and engineering, education and social work. 

Telecommunications and other simulation activities, as well 
as real links with students in other countries, have aided the 
development of international education programs. Foreign stu­
dents in the U. S. usually take special courses to raise their 
awareness of U.S. institutions, politics, language, and day-to-day 
coping skills, but many educators believe- they should also be 
exposed to multi-cultural education programs. Encouraging U. S. 
students to communicate with and learn to understand foreign students 

:u -



on their campuses is one way to benefit from the exchange. 

Educational Mobility 
Study abroad is the second most common component of 

international education after foreign-language learning. Such 
programs are popular with students, faculty members, and insti­
tutions. 

In Billington's address, for instance, he noted that half the 
Georgetown Foreign Service School graduates had studied abroad. 
Many believe the need for U. S. students to have a first-hand 
knowledge of at least one foreign country is critical to economic 
viability. Whatever drives students to go abroad to study, more of 
them are doing it all the time. Barriers to foreign study include 
lack of foreign language skills at a level necessary to take 
substantive courses in the language of the host country, faculty 
concern about the quality of the curriculum in study-abroad 
programs, and administrative details such as delay in graduating. 
High school students are also studying abroad; their experience 
has been well-researched. 

Coordinating study abroad throughout the student's aca­
demic career has been overlooked, but some successful steps 
have included orientation programs, reports on the impact of the 
foreign experience on the graduating student's education, work 
on pre-planned projects, and evaluation of the student outcomes 
of the study-abroad program. 

Programs for faculty are also designed to enrich their multi­
cultural experience and to encourage them to provide positive 
reinforcement for the concept with students. Current reward 11,nd 
incentive systems fail to engender enthusiasm; they need chang­
ing. 

The advantages of a two-way learning process between 
students from other countries and their hosts on this side of the 
Atlantic are extremely valuable. Billington also pointed out the 
value of this learning at home, commenting on the diversity in 
class membership and reflecting that the U.S. is "accommoda t[ ing] 
substantial populations from every continent in the world." 

Administration 

Coordination Through International Organizations 
The European Community (EC) places a high priority on the 

integration of higher education across national borders; it there­
fore supports student exchange programs wholeheartedly. Ex­
changes may be among EC countries (ERASMUS) and other 
non-member countries (fEMPUS). These programs are placing 
heavier demands on the countries' foreign-language teaching 
programs and new approaches are constantly being sought. 
Suggestions for future study include work on attitude change, 
comparative studies of the experience of students from the U.S. 
and from other countries, the federal role, and possible coordina­
tion with programs in other countries. 

Administering International Education 
The integrated coordination of the various aspects of inter­

national education: foreign-language study, study-abroad pro­
grams, and hosting foreign students in the U. S., is a new field of 
higher education administration. The author notes several exam-

- 24  

pies of evaluating institutions with regard to international educa­
tion activities and expresses a need for tracking trends and 
directions. 

Consortia! arrangements often facilitate international edu­
cational activities, giving member institutions the opportunity 
for a greater variety of projects and offering strength in fund 
raising and grant seeking. 

Before undertaking to promote international education, in­
stitutions need to take stock of where they are. A checklist of 
activities to evaluate is included here. Five top priorities for 
institutions adding to their international programs are: 1) es­
tablishing cooperative relationships with institutions iri other 
countries, 2) offering study-abroad opportunities, 3) encourag­
ing foreign-language study, 4) recruiting and training foreign 
students, and 5) including more international content in the 
curriculum. Two-year institutions included in the steps to more 
international activity improving library international collections. 

Comment 
Administrative arrangements may include cross-border ac­

cess to information using electronic networks and computerized 
databases. Another library-related project is the UNESCO -
ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education's English/French 
thesaurus project that will facilitate foreign access to ERIC 
higher education documents. Relatively little is included in the 
monograph about library and information needs related to inter­
national education in general and specific aspects of it. 

In suggesting research in this area, the author mentions the 
need to analyze the effectiveness of administrative structures 
above the level of the individual institution. It might be valuable 
to consider a library/information studies international education 
agenda which relates to reference collections of information 
about studying abroad; collections particularly suited to students 
for whom English is a foreign language; inclusion of foreign­
language material in a variety of subject fields; enhancement of 
foreign-language programs through the use of computer simula­
tion programs in library-located language labs; and emphasizing 
international content in the general collection of print and non­
print materials. 

Conclusion 
The author concludes with a plea for promoting an interna­

tional perspective, enjoining individual faculty and administra­
tors to encourage suchaperspective on theircampuses andsuggest­
ing specific ways they can address curriculum reform, educational 
mobility and administration of international education. 

An excellent Executive Summary, characteristic of the series, 
presents an overview of the topic which can stand alone in provid­
ing a gloss on the content. The bibliography is extensive and up-to­
date. The index is conceptual, rather than word-specific; for 
instance, while the text has limited library-related information, the 
index does not contain the keywords "information," "network," 
"library," or "thesaurus," although they do appear in the work. 

JoAn Segal ,  is a Consultant at Vintage Ventures in Boul­
der , Co. 

Education Llbrarl- • Vol 17, No.3