Résumés
Abstract
This article reports on an interview-based assessment of the 8-year experience of a North‒South university partnership between a Canadian university and three universities in a Sub-Saharan African country. The partnership concerned an atypical student exchange program whereby Southern graduate students travelled North to study while Northern undergraduates travelled South to perform international service-learning internships. The article asks if the partnership demonstrates the characteristics of a near-symmetrical partnership and why or why not. After explaining why the partnership appears to be near-symmetrical, the article identifies four factors that appear to have contributed to this near-symmetrical status (the atypical nature of the exchange program; thick ties between a small number of key actors, including a boundary spanner; inclusion of self-confident Southern partners; and positive effects of funder regulations) and suggests how these factors contributed to greater partnership balance. The conclusion presents recommendations for funders and university partners.
Keywords:
- partnerships in education,
- Global North,
- Global South,
- balance,
- boundary spanner
Résumé
Cet article rend compte d’une évaluation basée sur des entretiens d’un partenariat universitaire Nord-Sud d’une durée de 8 ans entre une université canadienne et trois universités d’un pays d’Afrique subsaharienne. Dans ce partenariat, il s’agissait d’un programme atypique d’échange d’étudiants dans le cadre duquel des étudiants diplômés du Sud se sont rendus dans le Nord pour étudier tandis que des étudiants de premier cycle du Nord se sont rendus dans le Sud pour effectuer des stages internationaux d’apprentissage par le service. L’article explore la question de savoir si ce partenariat présente les caractéristiques d’un partenariat quasi-symétrique, ainsi que les raisons de cette évaluation. Après avoir expliqué pourquoi le partenariat semble presque symétrique, l’article identifie quatre facteurs qui semblent avoir contribué à ce statut de quasi-symétrie (la nature atypique du programme d’échange; les liens étroits entre un petit nombre d’acteurs clés, y compris un passeur de frontières; l’inclusion de partenaires du Sud faisant montre d’une grande confiance en eux-mêmes, et les effets positifs des réglementations des agents de financement) et suggère comment ces facteurs ont contribué à un plus grand équilibre dans le partenariat. La conclusion présente des recommandations à l’intention des agents de financement et des partenaires universitaires.
Mots-clés :
- partenariats dans le domaine de l’éducation,
- pays du Nord Global,
- pays du Sud Global,
- équilibre,
- passeur de frontières
Parties annexes
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