Breaking Barriers—Equity, Inclusion and Global Readiness in Higher Education

Dear Colleagues,

Call for Papers: Special Themed Issue on Breaking Barriers—Equity, Inclusion and Global Readiness in Higher Education

As global interdependence increases, higher education institutions face a critical challenge: preparing graduates to succeed in an interconnected, multicultural, and rapidly changing world (Ul Hassan, Murtaza, & Rashid, 2025). Traditional approaches that prioritize rote content delivery are no longer sufficient. Today’s graduates need intercultural competence, global awareness, critical thinking, and the ability to navigate complexity (Aoun, 2017; Moses, 2014). This Special Issue invites scholars, practitioners, and institutional leaders to contribute research, theory, and case-based insights that address how higher education can break institutional barriers and promote equity, inclusion, and global readiness.

Strategic leadership is central to this work. As Gleason (2020) notes, higher education must transform not only its curricula but also its institutional structures and cultures to support meaningful inclusion. This transformation requires inclusive hiring practices (Fradella, 2018), culturally responsive pedagogy (Kambutu & Nganga, 2008), and intentional engagement with both domestic and international forms of diversity (Fradella, 2018; Gleason, 2020). Moreover, as Nganga, Kambutu, and Russell (2013) emphasize, the global context presents opportunities for cross-cultural learning but also challenges that must be addressed through equity-minded policies and faculty development.

We especially welcome submissions exploring the following:

• Curricular innovations and pedagogies that develop global competence, including opportunities for advancing inclusive, participatory, and decolonized approaches to diversity and global perspectives.
• Inclusive leadership practices and strategic policy reforms.
• Intersections between global and domestic diversity efforts.
• Globalization, national identity, and institutional responses to sociopolitical tensions.
• Case studies of faculty and student development in cross-cultural or international contexts.

We inviteoriginal research articles, empirical studies, and case studies; qualitative methodologies and mixed methods approaches are especially welcome.

Manuscript Submission Deadline: March 30th, 2026

References

Aoun, J. E. (2017). Robot-proof: Higher education in the age of artificial intelligence. MIT Press.

Fradella, H. F. (2018). Supporting strategies for equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education faculty hiring. In Diversity and inclusion in higher education and societal contexts: International and interdisciplinary approaches (pp. 119–151).

Gleason, N. W. (2020). Conclusion: Strategic leadership for diversity and inclusion in higher education. In Diversity and inclusion in global higher education (pp. 285–304).

Kambutu, J., & Nganga, L. W. (2008). In these uncertain times: Educators build cultural awareness through planned international experiences. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(4), 939–951.

Moses, Y. T. (2014). Diversity, excellence, and inclusion: Leadership for change in the twenty-first century United States. In Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education (pp. 68–101). Routledge.

Nganga, L., & Kambutu, J. (Eds.). (2015). Social justice education, globalization, and teacher education. IAP.

Nganga, L., Kambutu, J., & Russell III, W. B. (2013). Exploring globalization opportunities and challenges in social studies: Effective instructional strategies. Peter Lang Publishing.

Ul Hassan, M., Murtaza, A., & Rashid, K. (2025). Redefining higher education institutions (HEIs) in the era of globalisation and global crises: A proposal for future sustainability. European Journal of Education, 60(1), e12822

We are looking forward to your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Lydiah Nganga
Dr. John Kambutu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• equity in higher education
• inclusive leadership
• global citizenship education
• intercultural competence
• decolonizing curriculum
• strategic policy reform
• diversity in academia
• globalized pedagogy