For more than a decade, international business educators have worked hard to develop and expand international business programs.  Academic and experiential curricula has been developed that provides interested students with a strong academic foundation as well as numerous opportunities for cross-cultural experiences, allowing students to develop the skills needed for success in an international environment.  Kedia and Cornwell (1994) identify three levels of involvement in international education: global awareness, global understanding, and global competency; each level progressively involving a more in-depth study of and integration into the international environment.  In a study looking at differences between international business curriculum at AACSB member institutions, Manuel, Shooshtari and Fleming (2002) found that 27 percent of respondents indicated that the third level of involvement, global competency, was the appropriate level to provide.  However, only six percent of respondents provided this level of  international education. 

According to Kedia and Cornwell (1994) global competency involves overseas experiences for the student.  It is these experiences that give students first-hand knowledge of other countries. As a result, they begin to build the skills needed for success in the global environment.  From a managerial perspective, the need for global competency is well supported. Managers for the 21st century need to be internationally mobile, and able to handle intellectual and cultural diversity (Cribbs, 2000). They need to be internationally minded. Overseas or cross-cultural experiences, both in and out of the classroom, aid in the development of international managers.  With this in mind, it would make sense that business schools develop international curricula at the global competency level.  International business educators clearly understand what is needed to educate and train students to become international managers.  What is not so clear is how to identify potential students for these types of programs.

The good news is that in 2000, almost ten percent of students at four-year universities studied abroad (Thomas, 2000).  This includes all university students, not just business students.  The number of students has consistently increased each year, more than doubling since 1991/92 to more than 160,900 students (The Open Doors 2003 report). Additionally, the number of students graduating from high schools nationally is predicted to continue to rise until 2008/09 (Jacobson, 2004). Thus, international business educators have an opportunity to increase the student numbers in  international business programs.   Although there are positive trends in study abroad participation and the number of students college-bound (assuming the percentage of college-bound high school graduates remains the same or increases), consideration should be given to the development of ways of creating greater interest in competency-based international business programs.  As more competency-based international programs are developed, there will be greater competition for students interested in this field of study.  What characteristics and/or experiences does a globally oriented student have prior to entering university?  Is there an appropriate and valid instrument for measuring how globally-oriented or internationally/world-minded (Sampson and Smith 1957) a student (or other individual) is? 

Answers to these questions will help business schools better target students for their international business programs. An instrument of this type would also have many other research benefits as well.

Affecting the Socialization Process

Another question to be addressed is how a person develops a propensity for a global-orientation? Can international business educators help ‘create’ globally-oriented students?  In other words, can people be socialized to become more globally-oriented?  Social change is the “structural transformation, rather than the network of actions and interactions predicated in the routine operation of the institutional structure” (Ryder, 1965, p. 843). From the time we are born, our socialization process begins, with the family being the principle influence.  However, when family does not have the knowledge for socializing a child (for example, technical skills), other institutions (membership groups) take over the responsibility for socialization.  In these cases, schools become the primary channel for formal social change (new knowledge, skills, etc.).  And, “the earlier a situation imposes itself, the more likely it is to add an enduring element [to socialization]...” (Ryder 1965, p. 852).

International business educators need to start early in helping students develop a global-orientation and thus a potential interest in developing global competencies (in international business).  Do international business educators need to begin teaching K-12 students?  No.  However, as the experts in international business education, these educators should be working with K-12 educators to develop curriculum that could be integrated into the K-12 classroom.  One needs only to look at the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.  Within this organization, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is responsible for developing and implementing topic-specific educational standards for K-12 education. Second-language proficiency (Spanish only) assessment begins in 2004.  Economics is scheduled for 2006 and world history proficiency will not be assessed until 2010 (NAEP).   Currently, there is a paucity of curricular materials that can be used in the K-12 system that address basic foundational elements of the international environment.

The questions at hand are: how do you go about doing this?  What is an ideal curriculum?  What types of interdisciplinary cooperative arrangements are needed for the greatest effectiveness and efficiencies?   And, of course, how are the outcomes measured and assessed? All of these questions serve as starting points for a research agenda on international business education.

Cribbs, Gillian (2000) “Taking on the World: INTERNATIONALISATION” Financial Times Survey.  April 3.

Jacobson, Jennifer (2004). “In Baby Boomlet, Number of New High-School Graduates is Projected to Rise.”, The Chronicle of Higher Education. February 6.

Kedia, Ben. and T. Cornwell (1994) “Mission Based Strategies for Internationalizing U.S. Business Schools” Journal of Teaching in International Business. 5(3) 11-29.

Manuel, Timothy, Nader Shooshtari, and Maureen Fleming (2002). “Differences in the Effectiveness of Internationalization of Undergraduate Business Education in Achieving Job Placement Success.”  Journal of Teaching in International Business. 14(1), 7-32.

National Assessment of Educational Progress, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Http://nces.ed.gov

The Open Doors 2003 Report.  Institute of International Education, www.iie.org.

Sampson, Donald and Howard Smith (1957). “A Scale to Measure World-minded Attitudes.” The Journal of Social Psychology. 45, 99-106.

Thomas, Karen (2000) “Credit this: More go Abroad to Study, but Most Pass on Chance for Four Years Overseas: [Final Edition]” USA Today. October 5, p.8.