Enhancing, Enriching, or Encumbering? Lessons of Schools’ Internationalization in Polande Image of Jews in Polish Memes and Twitter Posts

Pachocki, Michał

Planned object

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Title: Enhancing, Enriching, or Encumbering? Lessons of Schools’ Internationalization in Polande Image of Jews in Polish Memes and Twitter Posts

Level of degree:

Degree discipline :

sociology

Degree grantor:

Institute of Philosophy and Sociology PAS

Type of object:

Thesis

Abstract:

School education internationalization is a complex process that may be carried out in many ways, both by top-down and grassroots activities. Although it mainly brings positive changes, enhances the skills of teachers and learners, and enriches the school’s daily performance, culture and community values, it is also impossible to overlook the internationalization encumbering risks. This dissertation aims to explore internationalization qualities and provide testimonies for the links between teachers' individual transnational mobility experiences and the overall internationalization of their school settings. The subject of the research are primary and secondary schools using the Erasmus+ programme between 2014-2020. The first part of the dissertation refers to the different internationalization patterns that apply to school education, primarily focusing on the school community members (mainly teachers) and drawing on theories that scrutinize institutions from the perspective of their internal relations, mutual contacts, and knowledge exchange. Following the theoretical assumptions, the next part discusses the EU’s general approach towards improving education quality in the Member States. It describes how the legal frameworks of the EU and policy strategies linked the enhancement of the quality of education with the granting policy. Next, the mixed methods approach used in the research to reinterpret data obtained between 2016–2020 is explained. The data in this dissertation stems from different research activities performed by the author during his work at the Erasmus+ National Agency in Poland. The research results are described in the subsequent chapters, focusing on transnational mobility individual and institutional impact, internationalization quality factors and obstacles that might hinder its positive outcomes. Each aspect has been described in a separate chapter, accompanied by data reflecting the testimonies of various informant groups. This research shows that teachers’ in-service training abroad can result in international learners’ exchanges, international cooperation projects with foreign partner schools and other organizations and encourage participation in international education programmes. Internationalization aims to increase the school community members’ knowledge of different cultures, languages, and ways of thinking, encouraging them to gain experience in an international environment.