Internationalization of

Higher Education

February 8, 2018

Outline:

• Background

• Globalization

• Internationalization of Higher Education

• Advantages and Disadvantages

• IHE Rationales

• IHE Streams and Components

Internationalization at Home (IaH)

Internationalization Abroad (IA)

Study Abroad

Background:

• The concepts of internationalization and/or globalization have

existed from ancient times in human societies.

• In the form of mobility, scholars would take on long-distance

travels in search of knowledge and science.

• Our understanding of the concept of internationalization can

be traced back to early and mid-20th century

• Modern internationalization of higher education can be traced

back to the end of World War II.

• The basis of higher education was based upon revenue

creation, economic resources and financial gain.

Globalization:

• Globalization dominated the economic and political arena of

the decades before World War I up until the end of the Cold

War.

• Communication, trade and global politics between all nations

turned, from a political approach or strategy, into an absolute

necessity for survival, growth and expansion.

Globalization

• Robertson defines globalization as a notion which “refers to

the compression of the world and the intensification of

consciousness of the world as a whole” (Robertson, 1992,

p.8).

• Daly (1999) defined globalization by referring to its main

principle of unifying different national agendas into one,

sacrificing national boundaries in favor of economic unity.

Globalization Characteristics:

• Disregard for geopolitical borders;

• Imposition of benefits and preferences;

• One-way flow from developed nations to developing

and underdeveloped nations;

• Substitution of values and cultural components of

destination countries;

• Disregard for the language, heritage, and culture of

destination countries.

In Sum,

• the intense force with which the process of globalization was

transcending borders and imposing the will of some nations

unto others made many stakeholders, especially those from

less developed and resourceful nations, to rethink their

strategies and plan ahead for their future.

IHE Emerges:

• Internationalization can originally be traced back to

the world of economy, and its definition has been

undergoing changes for more than three decades.

Defined firstly by Johanson and Vahlne (1977), an

increase of international involvement came to be

regarded as our first understanding of this concept.

IHE Definitions:

Knight and De Wit (1997): “… the process of integrating an

international and intercultural dimension into the teaching,

research and service functions of the institution.”

van der Wende (2002): “increasing interconnection between

national higher education systems by removing boundaries, but

maintaining the competences of national governments.”

Knight (2003): “… the process of integrating an international,

inter-cultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions or

delivery of postsecondary Education.”

IHE Definitions

• Huang & Lin (2007) … to enhance students' ability to engage

in job-related problem solving and decision making in ways

that reflect knowledge and respect for other cultures.”

• Knight (2008): “… the process of integrating an international,

intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions

or delivery of higher education at the institutional and national

levels.”

• Thuy Anh (2009): “an enhancement of international and

regional cooperation and integration in the field of education.”

IHE Definitions (cont.)

Although Knight’s (2008) definition is widely-accepted as the

most suitable choice for IHE definition, the elusive nature of this

concept’s definition stands.

The most practical bet is to define this concept based on the size,

needs, resources, and aims of the internationalizing institute or

body while maintaining the most fundamental values and

frameworks of the grand concept.

A Look at One of the Most Important

World University Ranking System’s

Criteria and Weights

Advantages of IHE

• Raises faculty and students intercultural awareness;

• Improves program outcomes to meet requirement of the global market.

• Enhances graduates' national, regional, and global mobility.

• Enhances faculty members mobility and expertise.

• Helps students, and faculty become global citizen.

• Contributes to improved measures of curriculum design implementation, and modification.

Advantages of IHE (cont.)

• Strengthens the appraisal and reward systems for faculty employment and promotion by making them more rigorous, valid and equitable.

• Enhances the visibility of students, faculty, and institutions

• Improves language skills of students

• Enhances the international character of research

• Contributes to the economics of education

• Improves the nation’s cultural, economic and political visibility

• Contributes to the understanding of other peoples religions and culture.

Disadvantages of IHE

• Brain-drain of students and faculty of developing countries.

• Benefits of Internationalization are sometimes confined to outstanding students and faculty.

• Weakening of national and regional engagement of students and faculty.

• Adverse effects on the job market (cross-border education).

• Elitism of graduates from developed countries.

• Acculturation and loss of indigenous culture and values.

IHE Rationales

Biddle (2002)

• Creating citizens who have global literacy;

• Stay active in the competition with other institutes;

• Keep up with micro and macro developments in the economy

that give rise to different opportunities;

• Maintaining a national and an international reputation.

IHE Rationales (cont.)

Knight (2005)

Rationales Existing Rationales Emerging Rationales

Socio/cultural

National cultural identity

Intercultural understanding

Citizenship development

Social and community

National level

Development of human

resources, strategic

alliances, income

generation,

development commercial

trade, nation building,

institution building, social

and

cultural development

Political

Foreign policy

National security

Technical assistance

Peace and mutual

understanding

National identity

Regional identity

IHE Rationales (cont.)

Knight (2005)

Rationales Existing Rationales Emerging Rationales

Economic

Economic growth and

competitiveness

Labour market

Financial incentives

Institutional level

International branding,

quality enhancement,

international standards,

income generation,

student and staff

development, strategic

alliances, knowledge

production

Academic

Extension of academic

horizon Institution building

Profile and status

Enhancement of quality

International academic

standards International

dimension to research and

teaching

IHE Rationales (cont.)

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (2009):

• The general rationale: “…to prepare graduates who are

internationally knowledgeable.”

o “The top down and bottom up impetus”

o “Student demand”

o “Political imperative”

o “Economic/financial imperatives”

o “Academic rationale”

o “Challenge established concepts of knowledge and

learning”

IHE Rationales (cont.)

Hudzik and McCarthy (2012):

• Core Mission

• Client\Customer

• Social and National Need

• Globalization of Higher Education

Internationalization Components:

• Internationalization at Home (IaH)

• Internationalization Abroad (IA)

• Study Abroad

Internationalization at Home:

According to Knight (2008), as cited by Kea (2014, p. 82),

internationalization at home revolves around the development

efforts in the home campus including “including curriculum and

programs, teaching and learning process, extra-curricular

activities, and liaison with local cultural/ethnic groups.”

Internationalization Abroad:

Movement of People

Mobility of people refers to the more traditional practice of

internationalization in which students and faculty members used to

travel abroad, as they still do, to seek education or participate in

teaching and research practices in another country.

Movement of Programs

Movement of programs refers to the act of offering the academic

potential of a university to students of different countries without the

need to be physically present in those countries. The best example

for this mobility is e- and distance-learning.

Internationalization Abroad:

Movement of Providers

The movement of providers is the provision of educational services

in places other than the institutes home country where a university,

for instance, offers its services to students in different places around

the globe via establishing branch campuses.

International Projects

Finally, the fourth section, that is international projects, includes

activities and projects which are more inclined towards development

and capacity building rather than academic or educational programs

and activities.

Study Abroad:

Defined as any of a number of arrangements by which

university students complete part of their degree program

through educational activities outside their home country.

Necessity: Mobility cannot be one-way. This concept is

currently in existence, and it is crucial to regulate and

manage this notion in practice.

Study Abroad (cont.):

Kraft, Ballantine, and Garvey (as cited in Sowa, 2002) classify study

abroad programs into three categories:

• Total Immersion

• Protective Studies

• Tour Models

There are a myriad ways to further classify and categorize study

abroad programs, including academic focus, provider, site,

instruction method, and length of program.

Many Thanks

for Your Attention