ACADEMIC MOBILITY OF TEACHERS AS A TOOL FOR THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The article examines academic mobility of teachers as a tool for the internationalization of higher education in the context of Sino-Uzbek cooperation. The purpose of the study is to analyze the pedagogical and institutional effects of short-term academic mobility of teachers at pedagogical universities. The methodological framework of the research is based on a qualitative case study approach, including participant observation, analysis of classroom teaching, methodological activities, and academic supervision of students. The empirical basis of the study is the experience of academic mobility of teachers from Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages at Weinan Normal University (PRC).

The findings demonstrate that substantively structured academic mobility of teachers contributes to the transfer of pedagogical practices, the development of students’ intercultural communicative competence, and the formation of sustainable professional links between partner universities. It is shown that teacher mobility can function as a catalyst for institutional forms of internationalization, including the initiation of student mobility. In particular, as a result of the implemented program, two students of a Chinese pedagogical university are currently participating in an exchange program at an Uzbek higher education institution, which indicates a transition of academic interaction into a sustainable phase.

The scientific novelty of the study lies in the analysis of short-term academic mobility of teachers as a system-forming element of the internationalization of pedagogical universities. The practical significance of the research consists in the possibility of applying the presented conclusions in the design of academic mobility programs oriented toward language and teacher education..