Siloed in Their Thoughts: A Phenomenological Study of Higher Education Leaders’ Perceptions of Internationalization in Changing Times
Keywords:
academic capitalism, administration, internationalization, leaders, perceptions, phenomenologyAbstract
With academic capitalism as a framework, we conducted a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach to explore higher education leaders’ perceptions of internationalization during the initial stages of the Covid-19 shutdown in 2020. The study’s findings indicate that, overall, administrators value internationalization as a process that creates quality educational programming. However, leaders are influenced by institutions’ cultures and priorities, and they feel isolated as they seek to appeal to constituents to promote internationalization. Aware of the increasing use of commercial models and emphasis on generating revenue to compensate for funding shortfalls, higher education leaders vacillate from emphasizing revenue to promoting educational and social value. Upper-level administrators prioritize articulated institutional commitment and administrative leadership for internationalization over curriculum and faculty policies and practices. Overall, upper-level administrators value internationalization.
References
Adel, H. M., Zeinhom, G. A., & Mahrous, A. A. (2018). Effective management of an internationalization strategy: A case study on Egyptian–British universities’ partnerships. International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development, 17(2), 183–202. https://doi.org/10.1386/tmsd.17.2.183_1
Altbach, P. G. (2004). Higher education crosses borders. Change, 36(2), 18–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380409604964
Altbach, P. G. (2006), Globalization and the university: Realities in an unequal world, In J. J. F. Forest & P. G. Altbach (Eds.), International handbook of higher education (pp. 121-140) Springer.
Altbach, P. G. (2012). Down the slippery slope—The new commercialism and the decline of standards. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/world-view/philip-g-altbach-down-slippery-slope
Altbach, P. G., & Knight J. (2007). The internationalization of higher education: Motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3-4), 274–290. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303542
American Council on Education (ACE). (2017). Leading internationalization: CIGE model for comprehensive internationalization. https://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/CIGE-Model-for-Comprehensive-Internationalization.aspx
Andrews, J. G. (2006). How can we resist corporatization? Academe, 92(3), 16–19. https://doi.org/10.2307/40252920
Appe, S. (2020). Internationalization in the context of academic capitalism. Research in Comparative and International Education, 15(1), 62–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499920901949
Creswell, J., & Poth, C. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Sage.
de Wit, H. (2002). Internationalization of higher education in the United States of American and Europe: A historical, comparative, and conceptual analysis. Boston College, Center for International Higher Education and the Program in Higher Education.
de Wit, H. (2011). Internationalization Misconceptions. International Higher Education, (64) Summer. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2011.64.8556
de Wit, H. (2013). Internationalization of higher education, an introduction on the how, why, and what. In H. de Wit (Ed.), An introduction to internationalisation (pp. 13–46). Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI).
Deardorff, D. K., Diabate, D. B., & Rosenbaum, K. L. (2018). Foundations in leading internationalization: Lessons from Mestenhauser. In D. K. Deardorff & H. Charles (Eds.), Leading Internationalization: A handbook for international education leaders. Kindle Edition. Stylus Publishing.
Fischer, K. (2019, May 16). How international education's golden age lost its sheen. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/2019-03-28-golden-age
Garcia, H., & Villareal, M. (2014). The redirecting of international students: American higher education policy hindrances and implications. Journal of International Students, 4(2), 126–136. www.jis.org
Graham, H. D., & Diamond, N. (1997). The rise of American research universities. JHU Press.
Helms, R. M., Brajkovic, L., & Struthers, B. (2017). Mapping internationalization on U.S. campuses: 2017 edition. American Council on Education.
Heyl, J. (2007). The Senior International Officer as Change Agent. Association of International Education Administration (AIEA).
Heyl, J. (2018). The senior international officer’s world: A change agent faces a reality check. In D. K Deardorff & H. Charles (Eds.), Leading Internationalization: A handbook for international education leaders. Kindle Edition. Stylus Publishing.
Hudzik, J. K. (2011). Comprehensive internationalization: From concept to action. NAFSA. Association of International Education. http://ecahe.eu/w/images/1/1f/Comprehensive_Internationalization_-_NAFSA.pdf
Hudzik, J. K. (2013). Changing paradigm and practice for higher education internationalisation. In H. de Wit (Ed.), An introduction to higher education internationalization (pp. 47–60). Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI).
Hudzik, J. D. (2015) Comprehensive Internationalization: Institutional pathways to success. Routledge.
Husserl, E. (1970). The crisis of European sciences and transcendental phenomenology. Northwestern University Press.
Institute of International Education (IIE). (2020). Enrollment: Open Doors report on international education exchange. https://www.iie.org/research-and-insights/open-doors/data/international-students/enrollment.
Kauppinen, I. (2012). Towards transnational academic capitalism. Higher Education. (00181560), 64(4), 543–556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9511-x
Knight, J., & Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE)/Bureau Canadian de l’éducation internationale (BCEI). (1994). Internationalization: Elements and checkpoints. CBIE Research No. 7. In Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE)/Bureau Canadian de l’éducation internationale (BCEI). Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE)/Bureau Canadian de l’éducation internationale (BCEI). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED549823.pdf
Knight, J., & de Wit, H. (2018). Internationalization of Higher Education: Past and Future. International Higher Education, (95), 2–4. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2018.95.10715
Knight, J., & International Association of Universities. (2006). Internationalization of higher education: New directions, new challenges. 2005 IAU Global Survey Report. International Association of Universities.
Knight, J. (2011). Five myths about internationalization. International Higher Education, 64, 14–15. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2011.62.8532
Knight J. (2012). Concepts, rationales, and interpretive frameworks in the internationalization of higher education. In D. Deardorff, H. de Wit, J. D. Heyl, & T. Adams. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of international higher education (pp. 27–42). SAGE.
Lane-Toomey, C. (2014). Government factors influencing an expansion of study abroad in the Middle East/North Africa. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 24(1), 121–140. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v24i1.340
Manning, K. (2018). Organizational theory in higher education. Routledge.
McClure, K. R. (2016). Building the innovative and entrepreneurial university: An institutional case study of administrative academic capitalism. Journal of Higher Education, 87(4), 516–543. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2016.0023
Merkx, G. (2018). Phases of internationalization and the senior international officer role, In D. K. Deardorff & H. Charles (Eds.), Leading Internationalization: A handbook for international education leaders (pp. 7-15). Stylus Publishing.
Merkx, G. & Nolan, R. (2018). Forming alliances and working with administration. In D. K. Deardorff & H. Charles (Eds.), Leading Internationalization: A handbook for international education leaders. Kindle Edition. Stylus Publishing.
Merriam, S. B. (2002). Introduction to qualitative research. In S. B. Merriam & Associates (Eds.), Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis (pp. 1-16). Jossey-Bass.
Mitchell, T. (2020, April 9). April 9 letter from ACE about enrollment [Letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer]. Washington DC. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Letter-Senate-Higher-Ed-Supplemental-Request-040920.pdf
Moustakas, C. (1994) Phenomenological research methods. Sage.
Pasque, P. A. (2007). Seeing more of the educational inequalities around us: Visions strengthening relationships between higher education and society. In E. P. St. John (Ed.), Confronting educational inequality: Reframing, building understanding, and making change (Vol. 22, pp. 37–84). AMS Press.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice 4th Edition. Sage.
Qualitative evaluation methods (2nd ed.) Sage.
Peterson, P. M., & Helms, R. M. (2013). Internationalization revisited. Change, 45(2), 28-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2013.764261
Privitera, G. & Ahlgrim-Delzell, L. (2019). Research methods for education. Sage.
Rhoads, R. & Szelényi, K. (2011). Global citizenship and the university: Advancing social life and relations in an interdependent world. Stanford University Press.
Rumbley, L., Altbach, P., & Reisberg, L. (2012). Internationalization within the context of higher education. In H. de Wit & D. K. Deardorff (Eds.). The Sage handbook of international higher education (pp. 3–26). Sage.
Santos, B. S. (2006). The university in the 21st century: Toward a democratic and emancipatory university reform. In R. A. Rhoads & C. A. Torres (Eds.), The university, state, and market: The political economy of globalization in the Americas (pp. 60–100). Stanford University Press.
Schrecker, E. (2010). The lost soul of higher education: Corporatization, the assault on academic freedom, and the end of the American university. The New Press.
Schugurensky, D. (2006). The political economy of higher education in the time of global markets: Whither the social responsibility of the university? In R. A. Rhoads & C.A. Torres. (Eds.), The Political economy of globalization: The university, state, and market in the Americas (pp. 301–320). Stanford University Press.
Slaug¬¬hter, S., & Rhoades, G. (2004). Academic capitalism and the new economy: Markets, state, and higher education. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Slaughter, S., & Rhoades, G. (2009). Academic capitalism and the new market economy. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Smalley, A. (2020, July 27). Higher education responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19). National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL). https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/higher-education-responses-to-coronavirus-covid-19.aspx
Stafford, S., & Taylor, J. (2016). Transnational education as an internationalisation strategy: Meeting the institutional management challenges. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 38(6), 625–636. http://0-search.ebscohost.com. archway.searchmobius.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1113752&login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Taylor, J. (2004). Toward a strategy for internationalisation: lessons and practice from four universities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(2), 149–171.
Thelin J. R. (2004). A history of american higher education. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Trilokekar, R. D. (2007). Federalism, foreign policy, and the internationalization of higher education: A case study of the International Academic Relations Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada. [Unpublished Thesis, University of Toronto, Toronto].
Zemsky, R. (2005). Commercializing the university. Issues in Science & Technology, 21(3), 90-92.
Zemsky, R. (2009). Making reform work: The case for transforming American higher education. Rutgers University Press.
Zolfaghari, A., & Sabran, M., Zolfaghari, A. (2009). Internationalization of higher education: Challenges, strategies, policies, and programs. US-China Education Review, 6(5), 1–9. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505713.pdf
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The findings, interpretations, conclusions, and views expressed in Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education (JCIHE) are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to CIES, HESIG, or the sponsoring universities of the Editorial Staff. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. Readers are free to copy, display, and distribute articles that appear in JCIHE as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and JCIHE, it is distributed for non-commercial purposes only, and no alteration or transformation is made in the work. All other uses must be approved by the author(s) or JCIHE. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to transfer without charge the following rights to JCIHE upon acceptance of the manuscript: first worldwide serial publication rights and the right for JCIHE to grant permissions as its editors judge appropriate for the redistribution of the article, its abstract, and metadata associated with the article in professional indexing and reference services.
