Abstract
The policy making in internationalisation of higher education is shaped at the national level, and influenced by regional policy debates and globalisation trends, but it tends to obscure the perspectives of academics. Much of what has been written in the scholarly literature in this area has focused on institutional strategies and national policies. We argue that it is crucial to have an in-depth understanding of how academics experience and practice internationalisation in their core teaching and research because of their centrality. This study sought to examine how internationalisation is constructed and enacted at a local or micro level at a research-intensive university in Sweden. Based on the interview data collected from nine semi-structured interviews with the academic staff from various disciplinary groups and three interviews with faculty administrators, we contend that the individual agency of academics serves as a precursor for institutional policy-making.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agnew, M. (2012). A false dichotomy of serving either the local or the global community and its impact on internationalisation of the university. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 34(5), 473–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2012.715997.
Altbach, P. G. (2002). Perspectives on international higher education. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 34(3), 29–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380209601852.
Bartell, M. (2003). Internationalisation of universities: A university culture-based framework. Higher Education, 45(1), 43–70. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1021225514599.
Becher, T., & Trowler, P. (2001). Academic tribes and territories: Intellectual enquiry and the cultures of disciplines (2nd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press/SRHE.
Bell, M. (2004). Internationalising the Higher Education curriculum: Do Academics Agree? Paper presented at the 27th HERDSA annual conference:Transforming knowledge into WisdomHolistic approaches to teaching and learning. In Miri. Australia: Sarawak.
Bond, S. L., Qian, J., & Huang, J. (2003). The role of faculty in internationalizing the undergraduate curriculum and classroom experience. In (Vol. CBIE Research Millennium Series No. 8 .). Canadian Bureau for International Education.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Childress, L. K. (2009). Planning for internationalisation by investing in faculty. Journal of International & Global Studies, 1(1), 30–49. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004.
Childress, L. K. (2010). The twenty-first century university: Developing faculty engagement in internationalisation. New York: Peter Lang.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc.
Dewey, P., & Duff, S. (2009). Reason before passion:faculty views on internationalisation in higher education.
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency - Euridyce, R. (2017). Modernization of Higher Education in Europe- Academic Staff. Retrieved from Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Finkelstein, M., & Sethi, W. (2014). Patterns of faculty internationalization: A predictive model. In F. Huang, M. Finkelstein, & M. Rostan (Eds.), The internationalization of the academy. The changing academy – The changing academic profession in international comparative perspective (Vol. 10). Dordrecht: Springer.
Finkelstein, M., Walker, E., & Chen, R. (2013). The American faculty in an age of globalization: Predictors of internationalization of research content and professional networks. Higher Education, 66(3), 325–340.
Huang, F. (2015). The internationalization of the academy in. East Asia., 259–270. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16080-1_14.
Jones, E., Coelen, R., Beelen, J., & Wit, H. d. (2016). Global and local internationalisation.
Kehm, B. M., & Teichler, U. (2007). Research on internationalisation in higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3–4), 260–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303534.
Klyberg, S.G.F (2012). The Faculty Experience of Internationalization: Motivatins for, practices of, and means for engagement. (PhD), Pennsylvania State University.
Knight, J. (2004). Internationalisation remodeled: Definition, approaches, and rationales. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(1), 5–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315303260832.
Kreber, C. (2009). Different perspectives on internationalisation in higher education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2009(118), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.348.
Leask, B., & Beelen, J. (2010). Enhancing the engagement of academic staff in international education. Paper presented at the Joint IEAA-EAIE Symposium.
Leask, B., & Bridge, C. (2013). Comparing internationalisation of the curriculum in action across disciplines: Theoretical and practical perspectives. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 43(1), 79–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2013.746566.
Louvel, S. (2013). Understanding change in higher education as bricolage: How academics engage in curriculum change. Higher Education, 66(6), 669–691. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9628-6.
Lumby, J., & Foskett, N. (2016). Internationalization and culture in higher education. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 44(1), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143214549978.
Luxon, T., & Peelo, M. (2009). Internationalisation: Its implications for curriculum design and course development in UK higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 46(1), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703290802646172.
Mathews, P. (2003). Academics as agents of change? Journal of Management and Organisation, 9(1), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2003.9.1.42.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (Third edition.). Thousand Oaks, Califorinia: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Postiglione, G. A., & Altbach, P. G. (2013). Professors: The key to internationalization. International Higher Education, 73(73), 11–12.
Renc-Roe, J., & Roxa, T. (2014). The internationalisation of a university as local practices: A case study. Education Inquiry, 5(1), 127–148.
Rostan, M., & Ceravolo, F. A. (2015). The internationalisation of the academy: Convergence and divergence across disciplines. European Review, 23(S1), S38–S54. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1062798714000763.
Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. In Sage publications ltd.
Smith, J., & Osborne, M. (2008). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In.
Stensaker, B., Frølich, N., Gornitzka, Å., & Maassen, P. (2008). Internationalisation of higher education: The gap between national policy-making and institutional needs. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 6(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767720701855550.
Stohl, M. (2007). We have met the enemy and he is us: The role of the Faculty in the Internationalisation of higher education in the coming decade. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3–4), 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303923.
Stromquist, N. P. (2007). Internationalisation as a response to globalization: Radical shifts in university environments. Higher Education, 53(1), 81–105. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-005-1975-5.
Teichler, U. (2017). Internationally mobile academics: Concept and findings in Europe. European Journal of Higher Education, 7(1), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2017.1254921.
Teichler, U., Arimoto, A., & Cummings, W. K. (2013). The changing academic profession major findings of a comparative study. In Springer Netherlands.
Turner, Y., & Robson, S. (2007). Competitive and cooperative impulses to internationalisation: Reflecting on the interplay between management intentions and the experience of academics in a British University. Education, Knowledge and Economy, 1(1), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/17496890601128241.
Whitsed, C., & Green, W. (2016). Lessons from star trek: Engaging academic staff in the internationalisation of the curriculum. International Journal for Academic Development, 21(4), 286–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2016.1170019.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research. Design and methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Swedish Institute under Grant 02174/2017 and Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation under Grant PhD_F_17_225.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Iosava, L., Roxå, T. Internationalisation of universities: local perspectives on a global phenomenon. Tert Educ Manag 25, 225–238 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11233-019-09024-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11233-019-09024-1