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Research on internationalisation and globalisation in higher education—Reflections on historical paths, current perspectives and future possibilities
Author(s) -
Lee Jenny J.,
Stensaker Bjørn
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1465-3435
pISSN - 0141-8211
DOI - 10.1111/ejed.12448
Subject(s) - internationalization , globalization , argument (complex analysis) , politics , political science , field (mathematics) , higher education , sociology , engineering ethics , positive economics , social science , economics , engineering , law , international trade , biochemistry , chemistry , mathematics , pure mathematics
Internationalisation and globalisation are intertwined and complex phenomena that have attracted the interest of higher education scholars for several decades. This article offers some reflections on how research on internationalisation and globalisation has developed over the years and the perspectives that appear to have dominated these studies. A key argument is that while the field is, in many ways, booming—both in the numbers of publications and with respect to topics explored—whether substantial theoretical advances have been made is questionable. Many publications still tend to be quite descriptive with shallow observations, mostly on reporting national trends and political agendas. As internationalisation and globalisation undoubtedly continue to make an impact on higher education in the years to come, there is a need for a stronger theoretical basis, which can underpin future studies. The current article discusses potential future advancements enabling a more integrated, theoretical grounding for understanding and interpreting internationalisation and globalisation in the years to come.