Stories of Higher Education Teachers’ Experiences of Collaborative Online International Learning : A Narrative Inquiry

Beer, Nicola and Budd, Richard (2025) Stories of Higher Education Teachers’ Experiences of Collaborative Online International Learning : A Narrative Inquiry. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to explore the experiences of higher education teachers who have engaged with Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as an Internationalisation at Home (IaH) initiative. Accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, COIL as an approach to internationalisation has gained traction in recent years. It offers an opportunity for students to develop vital intercultural and employability skills without the need for international travel. This makes COIL a more inclusive and sustainable approach to internationalisation than traditional methods such as student mobility. However, whilst research on the practice of COIL is growing, it has primarily focused on the experiences and outcomes for students. Recognising that the success of COIL relies primarily upon the efforts of educators, this research sought to centre their experiences to better understand the context within which COIL can thrive. The research utilised a narrative approach, collecting stories from COIL teachers through unstructured interviews. Using Cultural Intelligence (CQ) as a theoretical framework, these stories were interpreted and weaved together to co-create the final narrative which forms the findings chapters of this thesis. The findings illustrate the complexity of the context within which COIL teachers operate. The narrative illuminates how their motivation to, experience of, and ultimately their ability to successfully design and teach a COIL, are all influenced by their own international history, level of CQ and institutional culture. In revealing the complex relationship between these factors, this research provides valuable insight for institutions, educational leaders and practitioners wishing to develop COIL.