Motives and Measures of Higher Education Internationalisation: A Case Study of a Canadian University

Abstract

Internationalisation is the inclusion of international, intercultural and global dimensions into the objectives, policies and practices in the delivery of postsecondary education. The objective of the research was to investigate the types of partnerships and internationalisation approaches that exist in higher education, the motives of internationalisation and the most appropriate approaches to measuring the quality and progress of internationalisation in higher education. A number of studies on internationalisation have been carried out. However, there is a limit on the scale and amount of research undertaken on measuring the output of internationalisation in higher education, in particular in the context of the Canadian higher education system. This paper is based on case study research to determine the motives of internationalisation in higher education in a Canadian university and it uses the Knight Internationalisation Tracking Measure to test the quality and progress of internationalisation in the university. The research entailed document analysis, interviews and surveys which were designed to gather data on internationalisation practices and objectives from university staff involved in the management of internationalisation and international partnerships. The content of the interviews and surveys were based on the measures defined by the Knight Internationalisation Tracking Measure. The research found that higher education institutions are motivated by the prospects of attracting additional income to make-up for the reduction in government funding. In addition, internationalisation offers access to staff development opportunities, internationalisation of the curriculum, and wider benefits leading to societal development. These findings and recommendations are drawn from a single case study.