The Pertinence of a Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Internationalized Higher Education | Heringer | International Education Studies | CCSE

The burgeoning process of internationalization of higher education has greatly transformed university classrooms with the presence of innumerous nationalities. Thus it is imperative that professors are well equipped to teach in such culturally diverse context while sustaining the goals of internationalization. Although a culturally relevant pedagogy has been widely used in many educational settings, including higher education, there is a paucity of studies looking for its pertinence in an internationalized context. Then, based on Gloria Ladson-Billings’ (1995) theoretical framework, this critical phenomenological study depicts the extent to which that approach is also pertinent for informing post-secondary teachers’ work with international students in modern days. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten experienced professors across different faculties at a mid-sized Canadian university. Findings reveal that this pedagogy is highly appropriate to illuminate professors’ practices, but this relevance also points to fundamental and urgent aspects that must be taken into consideration when aiming at a democratic and true internationalized education.