As the boundaries of the educational landscape blur with increased access to and availability of information and instruction through technologies, we must examine intelligently what and how Maricopa provides educational opportunities in a global setting not only for our current and future students, but also for our faculty and staff.
As critical and competitive educational providers in the midst of global economic development and growth, what curriculum must we have in place to insure our citizenry remain competitive in our international society? Where should our resources, and this does not just mean money, be channeled to provide strong investments in teaching and learning for an international perspective? How do we insure that our faculty and services have international and intercultural perspectives and sensitivities to build and nurture relevant and meaningful programs? Undoubtedly, courses and programs must reflect cogent thinking and design, and evaluation must be infused; we must be accountable to our learners.
In addition, have we or can we clearly distinguish between and among international, intercultural, transcultural, multicultural, et cetera education? As a third generation Japanese-American, it is clear to me that how I behave and what I value differs from my cousins in Japan, from my parents who were born in the United States, but grew up in Japan, and from my friends in Hawaii and here on the Mainland. Furthermore, the research I did for my senior thesis on the critical analysis of Asian Literature is quite different from what Patricia Pullenza Ortiz (MCC) and I are doing for our proposed book on Asian American Literature. And, what Patricia and Doyle Burke (MCC) are doing to develop an English immersion curriculum for International students is distinctly different from what the English as a Second Language faculty have designed for their courses. I believe there are distinct differences and similarities between and across cultures and with learning needs. We need to recognize clearly, however, that just because we have internationalized or interculturalized courses does not mean we have addressed all the issues related to diversity.
The articles in this issue of the Forum reflect the range of context and framework that exist on International Intercultural Education (IIE) in Maricopa. We hope you will find them enjoyable and thought provoking.
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Alan Levine --}
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