Internationalisation of the higher education curriculum in criminology: a role for the southern criminology project

ABSTRACT

Contemporary issues of global significance for criminology include transnational crimes and relative inequality. To equip higher education students to become global citizens who can contribute to solutions, internationalisation of the curriculum is essential. This paper documents the process of a first cycle of internationalisation of the criminology curriculum. As an emerging paradigm, southern criminology provides direction for the process. The paper critically reflects on the institutional and disciplinary contexts at an Australian university. It evaluates the extent to which the materials for a core theory unit reflect an internationalised curriculum and outlines next steps to be undertaken. This documented process highlights southern criminology as a valuable lens through which to identify knowledge gaps and plan personalised professional development. It acknowledges the need to engage in ongoing cycles of internationalisation and make improvements in response to new resources and knowledge. The paper invites further discussion and examples of approaches to internationalisation.

KEYWORDS:

• Curriculum review
• democratisation of knowledge
• internationalisation of the curriculum
• southern criminology
• southern theory

Acknowledgements

Thank you to staff at the Tasmanian Institute of Learning and Teaching. Thanks especially to Dr Wendy Green for her support and helpful comments on an earlier draft.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Loene Monique Howes http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5656-6121