Analyzing the Impact of Higher Education Internationalization on Learning Community Development in Balochistan

Abstract

This Quantitative study explores the relationship between the internationalization of higher education and development of learning community in the context of Balochistan province of Pakistan. The universities' priority for internationalization is to link between curriculum, academic interaction, cultural diversity, collaborative learning, knowledge sharing, student engagement, intercultural communication, academic participation and sense of belonging. The global integration of universities in Balochistan is growing and already the universities are connected with other academic networks of the world, online seminars and international collaboration and intercultural learning opportunities, but how these elements are used to support learning communities has not yet been explored. This study was of quantitative survey type with a sample of 210 students of Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Alhamd Islamic University Quetta, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University, Quetta and University of Balochistan, Quetta. An internationalization and selected indicators of learning community development measurement using structured questionnaire were employed. The data were analyzed by SPSS, descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. The findings show that the internationalization practices are positively related to academic interaction, cultural diversity, collaborative learning, knowledge sharing, student engagement, intercultural communication, academic participation and sense of belonging. The results suggest that the internationalized academic practices can enhance inclusive, interactive, and collaborative learning climate in HEIs of Quetta.

Keywords: Higher Education Internationalization; Learning Community; Student Engagement; Cultural Diversity; Collaborative Learning; Balochistan.