Internationalising teaching and learning: perspectives and issues voiced by senior academics at one Australian university

This paper focuses on the gap between rhetoric and practice in internationalising the curriculum (IoC) from the perspectives of academics in key curriculum leadership positions at one Australian research intensive university. It draws on an institutional research study, which found a range of understandings regarding IoC, as well as a number of commonly perceived challenges, such as the need to: 1) ‘concretise’ internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC)/internationalisation of teaching and learning, in a way that would account for disciplinary differences; 2) clarify uncertainty about leadership and responsibility for IoC; 3) address common misconceptions (such as that local/Australian issues have no place in an internationalised curriculum); 4) harness the cultural diversity of staff in order to enrich teaching; 5) address wider student welfare issues and create a more cosmopolitan campus. Interviewees’ suggestions of how these challenges should be addressed will also be discussed.