Internationalization Of Higher Education Research Articles

Mapping the historical development and landscape of research about transnational higher education: a scientometric analysis from comparative and international perspectives

ABSTRACT Transnational higher education (TNHE) has become an important research topic in international higher education (HE). Many universities have actively engaged in developing TNHE for diverse development goals, such as enhancing the internationalisation of HE, gaining financial benefits, and improving HE quality. While many researchers have explored TNHE-related issues from various perspectives (e.g. policy and management, learning and teaching, employability), relatively few studies have reviewed the historical development and landscape of TNHE research from comparative and international perspectives by adopting scientometric analysis. To fill this gap, we utilised CiteSpace to analyse TNHE-related research systematically. Based on reviewing journal articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection database, we illustrate the landscape of TNHE research (e.g. the overview of publication development, researchers, and research themes). Then, we summarise the current research status of TNHE and provide suggestions for future research.

The International Students’ Experiences of Their Intercultural Communication Competence in Indonesia

The study examined how, in the age of globalization, education had advanced to a new level where the sharing of information had transcended national boundaries and examined intercultural communication competency based on the experiences of foreign students in Indonesia. But educational establishments weren't completely equipped to meet these contemporary demands. Even though intercultural communication research is not new, concerns about emerging cultural diversity have only recently gained a lot of attention. As a result, intercultural communication competency (ICC) in educational sectors is still quite low and needs further investigation. The study used a descriptive qualitative methodology in conjunction with a case and phenomenological investigation strategy. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data, along with research material. Through the analysis of the interactive multicultural building model—which is bolstered by the ideas of intercultural communication and the internationalization of higher education—the research findings demonstrate the persistence of disparities and opinions, as well as an evaluation of the three-perspective model that serves as the main focus of the study. It consists of three processes: behavioral (intercultural adeptness), cognitive (intercultural awareness), and emotional (intercultural sensitivity). In addition, there are other difficulties that need to be overcome.

A geopolitics of knowledge analysis of higher education internationalisation in Kazakhstan

AbstractThis critical interpretive paper deploys Walter Mignolo's geopolitics of knowledge concept to examine higher education internationalisation in Kazakhstan. Amidst growing concerns about economic and environmental sustainability, elitism and cognitive justice, among other critical issues, internationalisation remains a vital government policy. By tracing Kazakhstan's development since independence from the Soviet Union and focusing on key higher education development policy frameworks, the paper argues and illustrates that: (1) the internationalisation of higher education in Kazakhstan promotes a specific representation of the world that is considered universal and modern; (2) the internationalisation of higher education in Kazakhstan illustrates the existing hierarchical global higher education system that is dominated by the West as centres of knowledge and learning while allocating other countries peripheral roles; and (3) the geopolitics of knowledge concept enables the reading of higher education internationalisation beyond what is knowledge to who, why and where knowledge is produced. The data for this paper came from a qualitative study that involved 15 semi‐structured interviews with graduates who studied abroad at Western universities through the government‐sponsored Bolashak Scholarship. Three focus group sessions with 21 graduate students at Nazarbayev University complemented the interviews. The qualitative data suggest that Mignolo's geopolitics of knowledge offers a close‐to‐perfect description of the internationalisation of higher education in Kazakhstan. The conclusion drawn from this post‐Soviet study is the universalisation of Western knowledge as nations utilise it for meaningful development, despite decolonial and cognitive justice concerns.

Intentionality as a relational agency in the internationalisation of higher education

ABSTRACT Internationalisation of higher education is often interpreted as an intention of nation-states, universities, or other organisational units pursuing a better environment and practice for cross-border exchange and learning. The agential roles of individual scholars are often overlooked, or are interpreted as offshoots of institutional intentions. This paper argues that academics are not only the participants of various international projects but also the key agency shaping the assemblage of interests, resources and processes that enable successful relations. However, given the complexity of organisational legacies and competing interests, this assemblage can lead to unintended consequences. Making sense of a relational agency may require dealing with cultural misinterpretations that thwart the organisational constructs of internationalisation.

What makes academics (in)active in higher education internationalisation: evidence from Cambodia

ABSTRACT This study explores the international engagement of academics and the factors influencing their engagement in internationalisation efforts in Cambodian universities. Data were gathered through online semi-structured interviews with academics and university administrators and later coded and analysed using reflexive thematic approach. The findings revealed that academics predominantly participate in outbound capacity development, with limited engagement in joint research projects and the internationalisation of curriculum and teaching. At the individual level, factors such as competencies, networking opportunities, sense of belonging, employment nature, and demographic attributes were found to influence the engagement in internationalisation. Additionally, institutional leadership, policies, human resources, and institution type were key institutional factors shaping their engagement. For effective promotion of engagement in internationalisation, greater commitment and support from the government and universities are crucial. This paper provides valuable insights into the experiences of Cambodian academics, contributing to the limited literature on higher education internationalisation in developing countries.

Intersectionalities in internationalization studies:

This systematic review explores the intersection of race, gender, and social class in the context of internationalization of higher education (IHE) research in Brazil. Historically, the development of the Brazilian educational system has responded to the elite's demands and reproduced Western-European values and knowledge. The exponential growth of IHE has led to increased scholarly interest in various interdisciplinary research areas, with a possible move in studies and practices from a neoliberal to a more critical, decolonial, and diverse perspective. This article aims to investigate to what extent Brazilian researchers have investigated the intersectionality of gender, race, and class in IHE. Using two scientific databases, the study provides an overview of recent Brazilian academic Doctoral Dissertations, Master’s Theses, and academic articles published between 2015 and 2022. The theoretical framework of intersectionality (Crenshaw, 2002; Collins & Bilge, 2021; Akotirene, 2019) is presented to help recognize the interaction of different social markers of inequalities in IHE. The results pointed to a small number of publications related to this theme and continuous interest in the Science without Borders (SwB) mobility program. A particularly privileged profile of participants in academic mobility programs across various higher education institutions (HEI) in Brazil demonstrated the need for planning and actions to understand the social, historical, and political aspects that perpetuate exclusions. Moreover, this review indicates the importance of addressing colonialism in social dynamics and recognizing the coloniality of power in language policies in IHE. It calls for further investigations that explore the intersections of social markers in IHE processes from a more politically engaged perspective.

Um pouco mais de calma

In this article, we analyze contradictions, complexities, limits, and potentialities of internationalization of higher education (IHE) from Latin American decolonial perspectives. We argue that even when scholars may be holding decolonial critiques and aspirations towards IHE, the structures of universities are heavily influenced by colonial legacies, undermining the potentialities of decolonization. We pay special attention to those initiatives that apparently promise a decolonial exit, because they may be acting as traps, or what we called trampas (in Spanish). In this article, we particularly analyze the initiatives that are frequently seen as projects that deviated from the hegemonic discourses of internationalization: i) South-South international higher education cooperation projects, ii) policies and projects that seek to address colonial legacies, and iii) teaching and researching committed with decolonial intentions. In the end, we invite readers, practitioners and scholars alike, to welcome the contradictions we face in such work and not to lose sight of the ongoing, relational, and hyperreflective character of any project that aims to be an alternative to coloniality.

Internationalization of Quality Assurance as a Pre-Requisite for Internationalization in Higher Education

Abstract There are multiple positive effects of internationalization of Higher Education (HE) on enriching students’ experiences in general and providing opportunities for exchange and development of all segments of university functioning. This paper aims to contribute to determining the role of institutional QA in promotion of the international cooperation in HE by analysing undergraduate students’ perceptions on their international experience and comparing them to their home University. Individual experiences of students from the Southeast European University (SEEU) in North Macedonia, who participated in Erasmus exchange program in the last two academic years (2021/22 and 2022/23), with regard to the main quality assurance (QA) principles and measurements applied at their home University, are being considered. Their academic progress at the international universities is also taken into consideration. The aim is to collect firsthand information from the main stakeholders in the QA process about areas that can be further developed, as well as to position SEEU and self-check where it stands comparing and benchmarking it with some reputable European universities in order to better prepare its students for the international job market. SEEU has one of the most developed QA systems in the wider region, created and constantly being developed based on the international standards and guidelines and the long institutional experience. Thus, the paper also aims to contribute to defining some basic standards of internationalization of QA which would be recommended to the institutions from less developed, ITC (inclusiveness target countries) in order to assist them to place and welcome international students more successfully.

Experiencing transnational dual degree programs in China: an exploration of international students’ motivation

ABSTRACT The internationalization of higher education has increased opportunities for collaborative programs, including transnational dual degree programs between universities in China and abroad. Previous studies have focused on students in regular study abroad programs or in-country dual degree modes. However, research on the motivations of international students in dual degree programs operated by Chinese universities and international partner universities is limited. To address this gap, drawing upon the push–pull model, we conducted a qualitative exploratory study to investigate the motivation of 17 international dual degree students at a Chinese university. Findings demonstrate that various motivational factors influenced their decision to pursue a dual degree in China, ranging from the national, institutional, and individual levels. The importance of institutional and governmental cooperation in the development of such programs is also highlighted. The study contributes to the understanding of transnational dual degree programs and provides implications for stakeholders and future studies.

RATIONALITY ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSITY BRAND IMPLEMENTATION PATH

Brand is a socio-economic phenomenon. Brand is the product of the development of commodity economy to a certain stage. The generation of brand marks the maturity of the concept in the process of commodity exchange. To simply define a brand, it refers to a name, symbol, symbol or design of a seller or service, highlighting its competitive advantage and being distinguished from its competitors. In tandem with trends toward the popularization, marketization, and internationalization of higher education, brand marketing emerged in the field of higher education in the 1980s. In addition, with improvements in social welfare and new forms of public management, the commercialization and marketization of higher education have attracted increasing attention. The definition of the university brand can be described as that the university brand is the organic combination of representation information (name, noun, mark or design) and profound connotation (value, culture, personality and spirit), so that it is distinguished from competitors and recognized by consumers. Brand strategy is the overall planning and implementation of brand building and future development carried out by brand institutions under the guidance of brand strategic thinking based on their own conditions and analysis of the current situation and future trends of the external competitive environment. The essence of brand strategy is to shape the core expertise of the company, thereby ensuring its long-term development. Brand strategy is to establish a corporate strategy centered on building a strong brand. The core of raising brand building to the business strategy of a company lies in establishing a distinctive brand identity. Through the analysis of the actual situation and future trend of the external competitive environment, according to the guidance of its own conditions, the university conducts the overall planning and implementation of the future development of the university under the guidance of brand strategic thought. The C9 Alliance is the first university alliance between top universities in China. The alliance includes nine universities, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Nanjing University, University of Science and Technology of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University and Harbin Institute of Technology. Its development model, development path, talent training and other aspects are the target of many Chinese universities. Centering on the connotation of university brand, this paper analyzes the brand implementation road of "C9 Alliance" university to prove the rationality of the model observation point proposed in this paper, and on this basis, puts forward reference suggestions on the implementation path of ordinary undergraduate university brand.

Ten Years of Adult Education Academy: Contributing to Internationalisation in Higher Education

Ten Years of Adult Education Academy: Contributing to Internationalisation in Higher Education

Addressing Gender Disparity Through International Higher Education: Use of Contextually Appropriate Global Policy Framework

Addressing Gender Disparity Through International Higher Education: Use of Contextually Appropriate Global Policy Framework

Effects of Sino-Overseas Joint Education Program (SOJEP) on Internationalization of Higher Education (IHE) in Southwestern China

Effects of Sino-Overseas Joint Education Program (SOJEP) on Internationalization of Higher Education (IHE) in Southwestern China

Distinguishing Oneself: First-Year International Students’ Pre-College Motivations and Expectations in a Sino-Foreign Joint-Venture University in China

China has shown increased engagement in International Higher Education (IHE), an interest motivated by a tremendous demand among both Chinese and international students. Conducted at a full-scale Sino-foreign joint-venture university (JVU) in China, this study seeks to explore the motivation of first-year international students for applying to and attending Sino-foreign JVU in China. A second related question investigates what they expect to experience prior to matriculation. Qualitative data collection and analyses suggest that international students at a Sino-foreign joint-venture university were motivated by a strong desire to distinguish themselves for integrative, international signaling, and instrumental purposes, and expect to change as a result of studying and living in an intercultural environment in China.

Students on the move? Intellectual migration and international student mobility

ABSTRACT International student mobility, taking place within the framework of globalisation, internationalisation and transnationalism, has attained much attention. This paper adopts the Intellectual Migration framework to further our understanding of mobility regarding international higher education. It simultaneously studies China-born students in both China and North America to empirically examine the propensity for student mobility across national borders and the determining factors behind the realisation of such mobility under the same set of geopolitical and international circumstances. The analysis is based on a set of cross-sectional surveys conducted in the 2017–2019 period that yields over 1600 data points. We compare the ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘where’ aspects of migration between domestic students in China and Chinese international students in North America to delineate the factors underlying international student mobility. By highlighting aspirations and capabilities on mobility outcomes, this paper contributes to differentiating mobility between undergraduate and graduate students and the implications for social inequality. Our analysis also reveals the unequal spatial distributions of educational resources between intellectual gateways and peripheries, and by extension between the Global North and the Global South. The findings of this paper have policy implications on improving the quality, accessibility, and equity of higher education.

Internationalization of Higher Education: A Critical Literature Review of the UK Outward Student Mobility

Internationalization of Higher Education: A Critical Literature Review of the UK Outward Student Mobility

Predicting Chinese students’ destination choice intentions for international higher education in post-COVID-19: combining the image-value-behavior framework and protection motivation theory

ABSTRACT Despite the dramatic changes COVID-19 brought to international higher education (IHE), studies investigating students’ destination choices for IHE from a pandemic perspective are limited. This study introduces an integrated model combining the destination image-perceived value-behavioral intention framework and protection motivation theory, which includes both promotion and prevention factors and captures students’ destination images regarding COVID-19, to examine factors influencing their destination choices for IHE purposes in the post-COVID-19 era. This study set China as the context, as it is the largest source country in the IHE sector. Data was collected from Chinese university students (N = 346) who were considering studying abroad. Using PLS-based structural equation modeling techniques, the results show that destination image, as a multi-dimensional construct, can be regarded as an important antecedent towards perceived risk, trust in government, and self-efficacy; destination image, trust in government, and self-efficacy positively influence perceived value; and there is a positive relationship between perceived value and destination choice intention. This study provides insights for host governments and educational providers that desire to attract more Chinese students and can help the recovery of IHE after the pandemic.

A glass ceiling in the educational labour market

This paper examines the new Dutch language policy for international instructors in Dutch universities and its impact on their careers. While the policy aims to make Dutch higher education bilingual, the paper argues that it acts as a barrier to career advancement and a glass ceiling for international instructors. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with international instructors at the University of Groningen. The findings suggest that the language requirement creates tensions around policy implementation and actual practices at the university. The paper contextualises the study within the broader context of internationalisation in Dutch higher education and the use of language as a labour-control mechanism. The paper concludes with policy recommendations that aim to create a fairer workplace in higher education. It contributes to the literature on internationalisation in higher education and highlights the need for further research on the experiences of international instructors.

Podcasting as a powerful tool for the promotion of bilingual scientific argumentation in a formative assessment environment

ABSTRACT The internationalisation of higher education as well as the emergence of evidence for the claim that bi/multilingualism in science should be the norm, not just an option, are conditions that explain the rise in university bilingual science courses. Thus far, however, little is known about how to foster bilingual scientific argumentation in this type of course. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence that the creation of bilingual scientific argument podcasts (BSAP) – a form of podcast where two languages are used to communicate elements of scientific argument structure (e.g. argument, counterargument, rebuttal) – can be used as a springboard to foster undergraduate bilingual scientific argumentation. The data was derived from scripts of the podcast episodes produced by twenty-seven students (19 females and 8 males, 19–25 years old) during a university Spanish-English bilingual science course taught within a formative assessment environment. Results indicate that student-created BSAP effectively enriched participants’ skills to produce (counter) arguments and rebuttals in Spanish (g = 0.79) and in English (g = 1.20). Moreover, findings suggest that undergraduates benefited from formative assessment practices such as instructor feedback and peer feedback. Implications related to bilingual science education practices and supporting students’ development of bilingual scientific argumentation within formative assessment environments are discussed.

Grade variations across EFL, CLIL, and EMI platforms: A longitudinal case study in an English language teaching department

Fluctuations and distortions in grade point averages (GPAs) can affect its usefulness as a measure of achievement. Against a backdrop of increasing internationalisation in higher education, such instabilities may be exacerbated by heterogeneous student populations and the varying role of language on English as a foreign language (EFL), content and language integrated learning (CLIL), and English as a medium of instruction (EMI) platforms. Accordingly, using descriptive and inferential statistics, we explored the distribution patterns of 58,324 grades awarded over a 10-year period at a major university in Bangkok, Thailand. We found evidence of longitudinal grade increase, grade compression, and grade disparity—all of which suggest the presence of grade inflation. Specifically, across the three teaching platforms, mean GPAs increased significantly as lettered grades compressed upwards, clustering around C and C+ levels. Grade disparity, meanwhile, decreased between courses and levels but increased between student populations (i.e., English majors were awarded significantly higher grades than non-English majors were). Based on our findings, we argue for more standardised assessment practices to tackle grade censorship and saturation, as well as potential elevations/reductions in graduating GPAs of admixed student populations. We also propose a new method to quantify and track mean GPAs through quartile measurements.