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Issues and challenges for small countries in attracting and hosting international students: the case of Lithuania
Studies In Higher Education
Abstract
The spread of the neo-liberal ideology internationally has encouraged increased marketisation of higher education systems right around the world. With marketisation promoting competition, efficiency and revenue generation, many countries have begun to recruit more foreign students. Higher education has moved towards becoming a profitable commodity to be traded internationally. Nowadays, also small countries are challenged to play a role in the international student market. The purpose of this article is to analyse the perspectives of key stakeholders in a small East European higher education system (Lithuania) on its ambitious internationalisation strategy to substantially increase the percentage of higher education enrolments taken by international students. The potential advantages and disadvantages of this strategy are examined and the implications for higher education institutions in small countries are discussed.
... These countries both attract international students and send domestic students to foreign institutions (Fit, 2022;Sin et al., 2021). Confronted with unique challenges in international recruitment, these nations grapple with issues ranging from global recognition to surmounting financial limitations and bridging cultural and linguistic divides (Urbanovič et al., 2016). In response to these challenges, institutions within these semi-peripheral countries, while still making use of traditional marketing and advertising (Gao and Liu, 2020;Oladipo and Sugandi, 2022;Sin et al., 2019), are compelled to design strategies that are both innovative and adaptable. ...
... In response to these challenges, institutions within these semi-peripheral countries, while still making use of traditional marketing and advertising (Gao and Liu, 2020;Oladipo and Sugandi, 2022;Sin et al., 2019), are compelled to design strategies that are both innovative and adaptable. In an effort to dismantle linguistic barriers, they have begun to offer English-taught courses, allowing them to strengthen their position in the market despite the dominance of more resource-rich institutions in core countries (Fit, 2022;Gao and Liu, 2020;Kotake, 2017;Oladipo and Sugandi, 2022;Urbanovič et al., 2016). Additionally, the promotion of multicultural campuses and of cultural integration initiatives emerges as critical to render these institutions more appealing to a global student body (Gao and Liu, 2020;Onk and Joseph, 2017). ...
... This interest, now recognised by multiple institutions, reveals the high expectations that Portuguese universities have from this demographic group, which they have until recently overlooked. To effectively reach international students, institutions are also employing a variety of languages in their advertising efforts, a strategy that reflects the need for smaller nations like Portugal to overcome linguistic barriers and diversify their international student base beyond Lusophone countries (Fit, 2022;Urbanovič et al., 2016): ...
Portugal, a semi-peripheral player in international student mobility (ISM), has historically attracted few international students. Against a significant growth in international enrolments in recent years, this paper explores the institutional strategies underpinning this expansion in 13 Portuguese higher education institutions with the highest proportions of international students. Through semi-structured interviews with 24 top institutional leaders and middle managers, we analyse the recruitment strategies deployed to improve attractiveness and target publics through the lens of globalisation theories. Findings indicate that institutions are deliberately and proactively navigating the changing landscape of ISM through strategies that range from more traditional marketing actions to some very innovative and unique approaches to recruitment. They also reveal a deliberate diversification of target publics. The paper enhances knowledge about recruitment strategies in a less popular destination, highlighting that creativity and resourcefulness are necessary for semi-peripheral countries to gain terrain in international recruitment.
... To facilitate the branding of national higher education systems, government agencies globally have developed "study-in" initiatives, whose purpose is to inform and convince foreign citizens to study in the respective country (Helms et al., 2015;Jokila, 2019). Although some are part of larger communication campaigns or umbrella organizations, most study-in programs are online platforms (Helms et al., 2015;Minaeva et al., 2022;Urbanovič et al., 2014). ...
... Addressing the above-mentioned issues will enhance the communication of the Romanian higher education brand for international audiences. The next section provides recommendations for how study-in portals, especially the one analyzed, should better market the competitive advantages of their country and its educational system to obtain gains in international student recruitment (Urbanovič et al., 2014). ...
... When developing promotional strategies for higher education, a country should ponder about its capability to attract large groups of students from major countries of origin. Furthermore, it can target niche markets with which it has historical, cultural, and linguistic ties, or geographical proximity (Urbanovič et al., 2014). In this case, special attention should also be given to the diaspora abroad . ...
This project investigates the case of Romania in International Higher Education through the lens of incoming degree-seeking international students. Currently, the country is a low-attractive destination for student mobility in Europe. Romania faces similar challenges in comparison to the European and global levels, however, it does not implement many of the practices and strategies that address these challenges effectively and make some countries more successful in recruiting international students. On this basis, the perspective of the country as a member of the Bologna Process and EHEA was highlighted, as well as the role of the Romanian executive agency for higher education (UEFISCDI) in implementing initiatives in the field. The object of this study is the set of policies and legislation for attracting and admitting foreign students to Romanian universities, as well as for retaining them in the country. The research goals are to enhance the attractiveness of Romania as an international study destination, support the student recruitment efforts of the country and its higher education institutions, and address the challenges faced by international students in Romania, especially those affecting non-EU/EEA citizens. A mixed-methods research approach is adopted, combining both quantitative and qualitative data to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the current state of international student recruitment policies. In total, 27 recommendations are provided seeking to address 21 challenges that cover five policy areas. The research hypothesis is that, by implementing these evidence-based policy recommendations, the number of international enrollments in Romanian institutions of higher education will increase, the international admission process will become smoother for incoming students, and they will find more incentives to remain in the country after obtaining their degrees. This scope of work focuses on, simultaneously, strengthening the Romanian higher education brand and improving the quality of the international student recruitment process.
... With limited historical policy analysis in terms of understanding policy changes in international education, the focus in previous studies has been on major English-speaking countries and analysing the transition from aid-based to commercially oriented definitions for international education (Adams et al., 2012;Rizvi, 2011). In terms of rationalization for the recruitment of international students, a growing body of research highlights the commercial significance of international education while also noting that the hybridity of such rationalization includes soft-power policies and internationalization at home (Airey et al., 2017;Bolsmann & Miller, 2008;Bradford, 2016;Jokila et al., 2019;Kotake, 2017;Kuroda, 2014;Mosneaga & Agergaard, 2012;Urbanovič et al., 2016;Wächter & Maiworm, 2014). However, more research into understanding the development of IDPs in non-English-speaking countries is needed to comprehend the policy processes, including the formation and problematization of policy objectives and the employed policy instruments in contexts where the international education system is developed from scratch and provided in a foreign, mainly English, language. ...
... The central administration of nation states can be seen as a strategic factor driving IDPs. Universities formulate and practice their internationalization and recruitment policies in certain contexts (Mosneaga & Agergaard, 2012;Stensaker et al., 2008;Trilokekar & Masri, 2017), with governments often exercising coercive power over the institutes (Trilokekar & Masri, 2017;Urbanovič et al., 2016), for instance, through economic means (Stensaker et al., 2008). Universities' strong national commitment, in relation to internationalization issues, is evident in the entrepreneurial imperative that encourages them to recruit international students (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010;Scott, 1998). ...
... Within these tightening budget conditions, universities have no other option: they are obliged to participate in competitive and commercially oriented global student markets. This finding has parallels to previous studies highlighting the balancing act between the external and internal environments of the universities that adopt an internationalization policy (Mosneaga & Agergaard, 2012;Stensaker et al., 2008;Trilokekar & El Masri, 2017;Urbanovič et al., 2016). ...
International degree programmes (IDPs) act as focal instruments for the internationalization of higher education in many non-English–speaking countries serving a variety of national objectives, with the commercial objective becoming increasingly common. This study analyses how IDPs have developed in one Nordic country, Finland, from a marginal activity into programmes that underpin commercially oriented definition of internationalization. The data consists of key policy texts and administrative documents analysed to trace policy changes. The findings suggest that IDPs have developed from the internationalisers of the universities and development aid to recruitment channels for bringing skilled labour to Finland and promoting education export. Having global similarities in their development, policy changes towards commercial understandings of IDPs has been contested, particularly regarding funding, which relates to equality principles in the Finnish higher education system. These shifts have had repercussions for the idea of IDPs, universities and students.
... In Europe, the big player countries like the UK, France, or Germany are also losing their lion's share of international students. With a declining young population and reduced public funding for higher education, European countries with little incentive and tradition for enrolling international students in the past are taking measures to boost their attractiveness (Cox, 2012;França et al., 2018;Frølich & Stensaker, 2010;Kubiciel-Lodzińska & Ruszczak, 2016;Urbanovič, Wilkins, & Huisman, 2016). ...
... The recruitment of international students has mostly been researched in the context of English-speaking countries, which are the major receiving countries (França et al., 2018). However, in recent years, researchers from countries with lower shares of international students (but with an ambition to boost their numbers) have also started to pay attention to this aspect (Cox, 2012;Kondakci, 2011;Kubiciel-Lodzinska & Ruszczak, 2016;Mosneaga & Agergaard, 2012;Urbanovič et al., 2016;Wilken & Dahlberg, 2017). According to Urbanovič et al. (2016), small countries face different challenges in recruiting international students compared to their major counterparts. ...
... However, in recent years, researchers from countries with lower shares of international students (but with an ambition to boost their numbers) have also started to pay attention to this aspect (Cox, 2012;Kondakci, 2011;Kubiciel-Lodzinska & Ruszczak, 2016;Mosneaga & Agergaard, 2012;Urbanovič et al., 2016;Wilken & Dahlberg, 2017). According to Urbanovič et al. (2016), small countries face different challenges in recruiting international students compared to their major counterparts. To begin with, they are late-comers in international recruitment, implying that they lack the worldwide recognition for quality higher education and the "first-mover advantage" of countries like Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. ...
Public institutions in Portugal have not invested in strategies to attract international students until recently, when the adoption of new legislation and a national strategy for internationalization created more appealing conditions for it. This article aims to study the strategies institutions employ to recruit international students in a country less attractive than the major receiving countries and the main challenges they encounter. The study draws on interviews with top and middle managers in two public universities. The findings identify three types of strategies: institutional branding, revision of admission procedures, and curricular adjustments. The main challenges are the creation of institutional structures with an exclusive remit for international students and the choice of teaching language, despite a prevailing opinion that the Portuguese language should be maintained as a competitive advantage.
... Transnational student mobility is one of the components of universities' internationalisation processes, with relevant economic and academic implications (Li & Bray, 2007). Hence, the international student market has seen many new entrants (Urbanovič, Wilkins, & Huisman, 2016) and higher education institutions have come to compete for students in global markets (Deakin, 2014). At the institutional level, several initiatives such as branch campuses, cross-border collaborative arrangements, programmes for international students and English-medium courses and degrees (Altbach & Knight, 2007) have been put in place in order to enhance student mobility. ...
... The internationalisation of higher education has been the subject of a number of studies, with discussions of the phenomenon in general (Altbach & Knight, 2007;Enders, 2004;Rachaniotis et al., 2013;Teichler, 2004b) and as a political question for governments and stakeholders in higher education systems (Aupetit, 2006;Carrington, Meek, & Wood, 2007;Urbanovič et al., 2016). However, the largest stream of research concentrates on student mobility. ...
... In a study on international students' choice of Canadian universities, Chen (2008) referred to aspects such as study and multicultural environments, quality of life and the reputation of the institution and programme. Similar outcomes were presented by Urbanovič et al. (2016), even though their research subject was key stakeholders in higher education in Lithuania. Findings from interviews underscored that cultural issues and quality of education had an impact on international student recruitment. ...
In a globalising world, international mobility is an important phenomenon for both the students themselves and for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is therefore essential to understand the factors that determine international students’ satisfaction with their host HEIs. Through research of an exploratory, quantitative nature, this study presents results from a survey among 289 incoming international students in two universities in Germany and Portugal. From the analysis, it can be inferred that educational experience is a crucial factor determining international students’ satisfaction. Furthermore, the appraisal of academic reputation is dependent on the university. We conclude that satisfaction with academic factors is more important for international students than satisfaction with non-academic aspects.
... The three Baltic countries -Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -are small states, as defined by their population size. 1 Small states are thought to have a priori limited opportunities to create economies of scale and develop internationally competitive higher education systems (Bray, 2011;Urbanovič and Wilkins, 2013); they are sometimes considered to be more nationalistic and thus less welcoming to large numbers of foreigners (Urbanovič et al., 2016). Despite this limitation, as the Baltic states have developed economically and transformed socially in the last two decades, the volume of inbound student mobility has increased, with more international students seeking educational opportunities in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (UNESCO, 2015). ...
... The demographic calculus and the financial crises have stimulated profit-seeking behaviour by Latvian universities and higher education has turned into a commodity that universities can trade globally to those who can afford it. The Latvian case seems to display some commonalities with the higher education marketisation trends in the neighbouring country Lithuania (Urbanovič et al., 2016), demonstrating that, despite being a small state with limited opportunities to create economies of scale and develop an internationally competitive higher education system (Bray, 2011;Urbanovič and Wilkins, 2013), its rather savvy universities have been successfully expanding the higher education sector and increasingly viewing internationalisation as big business. ...
... Although some of the respondents argued that clustering of international students can increase diversity on campus and improve the quality of learning experiences, a few of the interviewees were sceptical about the cultural and academic contributions of international students, especially when it came to students from backgrounds that were considered to be culturally dissimilar from Latvia. The finding that cultural diversity can be viewed as a negative rationale for internationalisation is perhaps not unexpected, considering that small states are more nationalistic and thus less welcoming to large numbers of foreigners (Urbanovič et al., 2016). ...
There is growing international interest in how market imperatives interact with the socio-cultural and academic rationales of higher education internationalisation. This study provides new empirical material to examine the core rationales of international student recruitment in Latvia, where international students constitute 10% of the total tertiary enrolments. The nuanced analysis of narrative data from the interviews with university international officers is complemented by the analysis of policy documents and numeric data from the government and the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. By carefully interpreting the evidence, the study shows that international student recruitment has been stimulated by the demographic calculus and driven by the economic rationale. Universities have played an active role in increasing the numbers of mobile students and many institutions seem to benefit from working closely with student recruitment agencies. The scale of university-agency collaboration appears to vary by the type of institution; those with lower entry requirements have more extensive business relations with agencies than the relatively more reputable institutions. The study advances the understanding of internationalisation by arguing that a focus on market imperatives can undermine socio-cultural, academic and political benefits of inbound student mobility, which are viewed by universities as inferior to the immediate pecuniary interest.
... The effects of this increase in the numbers of international students have been widely documented in countries which are well-established in terms of international education, such as: USA (Lee and Rice 2007); UK (Montgomery and McDowell 2009); and Australia (Volet and Ang 2012). However, research on international students in smaller non-Englishspeaking countries is rather limited (some exceptions: Urbanovič, Wilkins, and Huisman 2016;Nada and Araújo 2017;Nada, Montgomery, and Araújo 2018). ...
... In this sense, the term 'catch-up' country is used to describe the higher education sector of a non-English-speaking European country which started to develop 'comprehensive internationalisation strategies' as recommended by the EU (Deca, Egron-Polak, and Fiţ 2015, 128), and which already has an internationalisation strategy 'in place' (European University Association 2013). However, 'catch-up' countries are not major players of the international education market (Urbanovič, Wilkins, and Huisman 2016) and ' […] are only beginning to get their feet wet in this area', as opposed to '[…] countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the Nordic countries [which] are among the trendsetters in internationalisation in Europe and beyond' (Rumbley, Altbach, and Reisberg 2012, 16). ...
... Certainly, such an institutional stance towards diversity can be prejudicial not only for the international students as individuals, but also for the universities themselves, especially in a world marked by intense competition in the international education market (Urbanovič, Wilkins, and Huisman 2016). As observed by Heng (2017), policy improvement is paramount if higher education institutions are to be successful at attracting international students. ...
Compared to other major players in the global market of international education, internationalisation of higher education has only recently become a relevant topic in Portugal. In line with the worldwide increase of international students, Portuguese universities are also experiencing a growing in-flow of students willing to obtain a foreign tertiary degree. Anchored in international students’ perceptions, this paper aims to understand how Portuguese universities deal with the increased diversity of their student bodies. The data result from an in-depth qualitative approach guided by the methodological assumptions of narrative inquiry and are analysed in the light of theories of multiculturalism. The findings give an account of numerous weaknesses in the way Portuguese universities tackle diversity, suggesting that institutional structures may reinforce assimilationist and deficit views of international students. Finally, considering that universities from other ‘catch-up’ countries may be confronted with similar issues, some empirically based recommendations are offered.
... Most of the literature, however, considers integration in countries that have long received international students. Studies that investigate strategies to promote their integration in other countries are scarce (see for example Mosneaga and Agergaard 2012;O'Connor 2018;Urbanovič, Wilkins, and Huisman 2016). One cannot assume a one-size-fits-all approach to integration, irrespective of context. ...
... The net is so wide that it lets these smaller cases pass. (PublicPoly3) These findings echo existing literature which stresses the importance of connectedness (Tran and Gomes 2017), the pivotal role of responsive services in addressing material and cultural needs (Brown and Holloway 2008;Cong and Glass 2019;Jean-Francois 2019), and the importance of individualised integration strategies (Mosneaga and Agergaard 2012;Urbanovič, Wilkins, and Huisman 2016). However, the paper provides concrete examples of how HEIs, particularly in poorly studied contexts like Portugal's less attractive institutions (public polytechnics and private universities), can implement and expand upon tried and tested practices and strategies for integrating international students. ...
... The slow development of campus and administration internationalization constructs may be due to funding constraints. Further, the school administrators' language skills take time to improve before the school can provide international administrative support and service system (Urbanovič et al., 2016). ...
... However, campus and administration internationalization were reported to have relatively slow development, possibly due to funding constraints. Therefore, additional support and efforts in developing the second/foreign language proficiency of school administrators and diverse perspectives to promote the international integration of courses, learning, and international exchanges are highly recommended (Urbanovič et al., 2016). Although the schools have put some efforts into implementing school internationalization in terms of the six dimensions discussed, the findings revealed that metropolitan schools, compared to the rural ones, tend to establish more international cooperation relations with other schools and perform better in setting international goals. ...
This study developed and validated the indicators of school internationalization in elementary and secondary schools in Taiwan to identify their level of internationalization and assess how the same has been implemented in these institutions. The data for the study was obtained from focus group interviews with 14 school internationalization experts and 176 school principals. Subsequently, 145 sample schools were recruited to complete an online questionnaire as part of a formal survey. The 20-item indicator scale regarding internationalization goals, campus internationalization, personnel internationalization, administration internationalization, curricula internationalization, and international partnerships proved suitable to orient elementary and secondary schools in Taiwan toward establishing international environments. Furthermore, results have important implications that the government should provide additional financial support and educational resources to reduce the teacher turnover rate and increase the willingness of schools in Taiwan to participate in international affairs.
... This study is based on the assumption that semi-peripheral countries have to develop different strategies to attract international students because of their disadvantaged starting positions on the global market and because they often lack tradition of international education. According to Urbanovič et al. (2016), small countries face different challenges compared to the major recruiting countries. First, they are latecomers on the international student market, implying a lack of countries and, finally, (c) the instruments that the governments have deployed in order to foster the recruitment of international students. ...
... Attracting International Students to Semi-Peripheral Countries promoted as pull factors for international students are different from those employed by the major international student recruiters. These differences are likely due to reputational factors related to the fact that these countries are recent players on the international student market (see Urbanovič et al., 2016). Semi-peripheral countries cannot rely on the prestige or the perceived quality of their higher education system to entice students. ...
The paper investigates the approaches employed for attracting international full-degree students in three countries on the periphery of Europe/the European Economic Area: Norway, Poland and Portugal. These countries, considered semi-peripheral regarding international student recruitment, have shorter traditions for incoming mobility than
countries that are major recruiters and which have been the focus of previous research on attracting international students. The paper analyses national policies and strategies, focusing on their emergence, rationales and instruments. The study is comparative,
aiming to find commonalities and differences in the approaches of these countries further to the changing global environment in higher education. The major finding is that semi-peripheral countries appear to employ different strategies and resort to other comparative advantages than the largest student recruiters, exploiting political, cultural or geographical aspects rather than educational assets. The findings highlight the need for these countries to identify their distinctive attraction capacities and assets, as well as
to be purposeful in choosing their target recruitment regions.
... More generally, joining the EU obviously was an important development, if only for the fact that EU Structural Funds became available, amongst others leading to the establishment of an agency collecting data on the system and monitoring developments (Leisyte et al., 2018). Urbanovic et al. (2016), however, point at some of the challenges involved in internationalization in small(er) countries -like Lithuania, e.g. the preservation of the domestic language and cultures, available capacities as well as the considerable financial resources needed to catch up with other countries. ...
... The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia are the countries that have the highest absolute numbers [3] and are known to actively invest in the attraction of ISs. Influenced by the marketisation of higher education systems, non-English-speaking countries have also been investing to increase the number of ISs' enrolments [4]. For instance, in Portugal, data from the Directorate General of Education and Science Statistics [5] indicates that there were almost 50,000 ISs enrolled in degree mobility in the academic year 2021/2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. ...
This article seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the strategies implemented by Portuguese higher education institutions in addressing cultural diversity and meeting the demands of international students, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. In methodological terms, this is a qualitative study in which more than 40 in-depth interviews were conducted with degree mobility students from Brazil, Portuguese-speaking African Countries, China and Syria, who were already in Portugal when the pandemic was declared in the country in March 2020. Through the lens of multiculturalism, which understands that higher education should be inclusive and equal for all, we found that higher education institutions in Portugal did not provide adequate support to its international student body at a time of so many challenges and uncertainties. Our data indicate that higher education institutions in Portugal need to make more efforts towards fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, whilst taking into account the complex needs of international students.
... According to Nachatar Singh, Schapper, and Jack (2014), one of the key driving factors that make Malaysia more appealing than the dominant host countries, such as North America and European countries, is the affordable tuition fee and living costs. A similar reason was also observed in Taiwan (Nachatar Singh, Schapper, and Jack 2014), Cyprus or Lithuania (Urbanovič, Wilkins, and Huisman 2016). ...
Under the tendency of the marketisation of tertiary education, universities/colleges and governments across the world have increasingly regarded international education as an education services export sector. Vietnam has always been regarded as a country of importing rather than exporting international education. Nevertheless, more and more evidence shows that Vietnamese tertiary education institutions are increasingly successful in recruiting international students. To gain further insight into international students in Vietnam, we conducted a survey with 49 tertiary education institutions in Vietnam. Our findings reveal that while most full-time international students in Vietnam are intra-regional (i.e., coming from Asian countries), short-time international students are both intra-regional and extra-regional. Using a Bayesian analysis as a method, we found that, first, the main concerns of international students in Vietnam do not revolve around academic-related factors; and second, the success of Vietnamese tertiary education institutions in attracting international students was mainly associated with operation-related factors.
... Brand positioning is important for HEIs since it is not only allocating a unique place in the minds of the prospective students (Gai et al., 2016) but also retaining the existing students with them (Price & Price, 2016). As with other marketed services, the commercial challenge of HEIs is to attract students from their competitors (Urbanovič et al., 2016). Successfully managing students' perceptions is thus essential for effective HEIs' brand positioning (Gai et al., 2016). ...
... It is essential that both internal and external actions are of international quality (Urbanovič & Wilkins, 2013). Thus, research on the internationalization of higher education tends to include one or all of the following categories (Crossley et al., 2011;Urbanovič et al., 2016): (1) the recruitment of international students; (2) student and staff mobility; (3) international partnerships, including joint programs of study; (4) international collaboration for research; and (5) ...
“The volume demonstrates that political science on the European fringes has seized opportunities and shown a remarkable development. On the other hand, perils of deinstitutionalization mainly caused by lack of resources and democratic backsliding may darken the discipline’s future. It is a must read for all those interested in political science as a discipline and for policy-makers as well.”
—Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Emeritus Professor, Berlin Social Science Centre, Germany
“As Gabriel Almond famously noted, political science has always been a discipline divided into a great variety of schools and sects. This volume brings a perspective on this perennial theme which is as fresh as it is fascinating. What this reveals is the essential fragility of the discipline due to its power-challenging foundations - an insight which is of increasing significance for the discipline in all parts of the world.”
—Matthew Flinders, Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield, UK
"This volume shows how the autonomous status reached by political science in the analysed countries cannot be guaranteed against persistent threats and significant risks of de-institutionalization. A book that deserves to be read by all those who have at heart both the future of the discipline and the quality of democracy.”
—Giliberto Capano, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Bologna, Italy
This open access book offers an updated examination of the institutionalisation of political science in sixteen latecomer or peripheral countries in Europe. Its main theme is how political science as a science of democracy is influenced and how it responds to the challenges of the new millennium. The chapters, built upon a common theoretical framework of institutionalisation, are evidence-based and comparative. Overall, the book diagnoses diversity among the country cases due to their take-off points and varied political and economic trajectories.
Gabriella Ilonszki is Professor Emerita of Political Science at Corvinus University Budapest, Hungary.
Christophe Roux is Professor of Political Science at the University of Montpellier, France.
... It is essential that both internal and external actions are of international quality (Urbanovič & Wilkins, 2013). Thus, research on the internationalization of higher education tends to include one or all of the following categories (Crossley et al., 2011;Urbanovič et al., 2016): (1) the recruitment of international students; (2) student and staff mobility; (3) international partnerships, including joint programs of study; (4) international collaboration for research; and (5) ...
The introductory chapter introduces the research project that the book’s chapters are built upon and identifies key questions that are addressed within the book’s thematic frame. The COST Action ‘ProSEPS’ project (Professionalization and Social Impact of European Political Science) collected updated information about the situation of the political science profession in Europe. Despite the widely acknowledged process of continental integration driven by the European Union (EU), the academic landscape has been and still is characterised by a great variety of traditions, institutions and resources. On this basis, this chapter explains that institutional development has been chosen as the major focus that could possibly introduce as well as explain the sources of this variety. It identifies the empirical, theoretical and comparative issues at stake and introduces the cases covered in the book and its structure.
... It is essential that both internal and external actions are of international quality (Urbanovič & Wilkins, 2013). Thus, research on the internationalization of higher education tends to include one or all of the following categories (Crossley et al., 2011;Urbanovič et al., 2016): (1) the recruitment of international students; (2) student and staff mobility; (3) international partnerships, including joint programs of study; (4) international collaboration for research; and (5) ...
The chapter aims to establish a theoretical framework regarding the institutionalisation of political science as an academic discipline, by building on the experiences of 16 selected countries. Whether a discipline is institutionalised revolves around three issues: the process, that is, how institutionalisation develops; the outcome, that is, which properties appear indispensable; and what contextual factors matter most in influencing either process or property. Based on a critical review of the literature, the properties of stability, identity, autonomy, reproduction and legitimacy have been defined. These embody a well-institutionalised science: one that should have stable existential patterns, a clear academic profile; one that should be able to independently define its own rules and norms while getting external agents to accept them, and be able to ensure its own reproduction and to maintain a legitimate position. The chapter also examines the specificities in the latecomer political science communities’ institutionalisation patterns. Formation conditions, potential starting points, stability concerns and the issue of ‘regionality’ are specifically considered. As the institutionalisation tasks had to be dealt with in a ‘compressed period of time’ academia here faced the free world of opportunities and adjustment requirements at one and the same time.
... It is essential that both internal and external actions are of international quality (Urbanovič & Wilkins, 2013). Thus, research on the internationalization of higher education tends to include one or all of the following categories (Crossley et al., 2011;Urbanovič et al., 2016): (1) the recruitment of international students; (2) student and staff mobility; (3) international partnerships, including joint programs of study; (4) international collaboration for research; and (5) ...
The chapter explores the relevance of population size in relation to the internationalization of political science in higher education institutions by comparing the situation in Estonia, Iceland, Malta, and Slovenia. Moreover, the chapter also examines if the legacy of the former communist regime aids or hinders the institutionalization of political science in the higher education of Estonia and Slovenia. The findings suggest there is a north-south effect as the northern States have integrated political science more thoroughly and more easily into their higher education system. Moreover, the findings suggest a tendency for hyper-active internationalization in the states formerly under the communist regime. Finally, smallness proves to be a mixed blessing, although the small states in the study have been able to use their small size to their advantage.
... It is essential that both internal and external actions are of international quality (Urbanovič & Wilkins, 2013). Thus, research on the internationalization of higher education tends to include one or all of the following categories (Crossley et al., 2011;Urbanovič et al., 2016): (1) the recruitment of international students; (2) student and staff mobility; (3) international partnerships, including joint programs of study; (4) international collaboration for research; and (5) ...
This chapter concludes the volume. It first sums up the main interests at stake regarding the institutionalisation of political science as an academic discipline. It then analyses the key findings and unresolved questions concerning the growth of the discipline at the turn of the current century in Central and Eastern Europe. It also examines possible harbingers of political science’s deinstitutionalisation within the region.KeywordsPolitical scienceEuropeDisciplineInstitutionalisationDeinstitutionalisation
... It is essential that both internal and external actions are of international quality (Urbanovič & Wilkins, 2013). Thus, research on the internationalization of higher education tends to include one or all of the following categories (Crossley et al., 2011;Urbanovič et al., 2016): (1) the recruitment of international students; (2) student and staff mobility; (3) international partnerships, including joint programs of study; (4) international collaboration for research; and (5) ...
The chapter examines the challenges that six Central European Democracies (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) have faced in the development of political science during the last three decades. We argue that political science as a new social science has gone through many structural reforms: it has acquired a relatively well-institutionalised position, gained autonomy and managed to form its identity. Nevertheless, its position is endangered by the erosion of its legitimacy.
In this chapter, we show that political science as a new social science in the Central and Eastern Europe region has acquired a relatively stable position. The discipline has gained autonomy and managed to form its own identity, and has shown a capacity to cope with several challenges that have arisen. However, some of the structural reforms, including the commodification of higher education and the proliferation of political science at universities and other teaching institutions, have recently undermined the stability it had previously gained, as it progressively suffers from a loss of public recognition. We argue that the oversimplified, technocratic approaches of governments in recent years have impaired the legitimacy of the social sciences, and of political science in particular. This common trend is observable in all of the selected countries, albeit with certain variations from one country to another.
... The key players on the European market for inbound international students` mobility are reported to have education organizations with a long tradition in teaching and research and high credibility for their academic standards (3) with increased attractiveness for students from other regions of the world (11). At the same time, smaller European countries have made efforts to prevent an outbound mobility through implementation of impressive marketing strategies to target potential international students (1,12,13). Research studies have identified that the most important factors that affect student mobility could be divided into two main groupsfactors with national-international characteristics (financial aspects, immigration policy and perceived academic superiority of the institutions in the host countries) and factors based on the demographic profile of students (14)(15)(16)(17)(18). ...
International migration of tertiary students is a global trend which gives higher education institutions a strong
incentive for quality development, service improvement and competitiveness. Research has shown that the
attractiveness of educational services is dependent on factors with national-international characteristics and
factors based on the demographic profile of students. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate
the motivators which influence students` personal attitudes towards studying veterinary medicine in English
at Trakia University, Bulgaria. METHODS: A five-year survey among 93 first-year English speaking
students in veterinary medicine at Trakia university was conducted through anonymous written questionnaire
between 2015 and 2019. Data obtained were statistically processed. RESULTS: Significant differences were
found for several factors which drove respondents` motivation in choosing their master’s degree. Among
these factors were gender, parents` occupational profile, country of origin, tuition fees, as well as existing
experience in breeding, interaction with animals and volunteering in the veterinary field. The most preferred
source of information for veterinary medicine programmes and universities appeared to be recommendations
from respondents` relatives, friends and mentors. CONCLUSION: Understanding the motivation drivers of
English-speaking veterinary students will help the improvement of the educational service offered and the
competitiveness of the institution internationally.
... Países mais pequenos -como Portugal -enfrentam desafios que não se colocam aos países que mais atraem estudantes internacionais (Urbanovič et al., 2016). Primeiro, entraram mais tarde no mercado estudantil internacional, o que significa que o seu ES ainda não tem o reconhecimento mundial dos EUA, do Reino Unido, da Austrália, ou do Canadá (idem). ...
... 36 The commodification of higher education in Lithuania, a small country in Europe, can be attributed to how the graduation rate is considered as the evaluation criterion of higher education and also how students' willingness to pursue a degree without academic competence is. 37 Global North countries do not have the same experience of commodification in higher education. 38 For instance, Germany and France, countries with strong socialist traditions, have not adopted commodification of higher education at the same rate as other Global North countries and political leaders in these countries have always resisted this policy. ...
This paper deals with the biography of commodification in higher education and tries to demonstrate the journey of this concept within it. The journey of this concept will then be traced from global northern to global southern countries and in particular Iran. Next the studies dealing with this concept will be addressed. Our purpose here is to discuss how the commodification of higher education finds a new identity when it travels to periphery countries especially authoritarian states which are based on Islamic teachings. Finally, at the end of this journey, four understandings of the commodification of the higher education concept in Iran will be discussed. These are the commodification of higher education as 1) privatisation 2) marketisation 3) fetishisation of scientific works and academic regulations and finally 4) commodification as a deviation from Islamization in higher education.
All in all, the commodification should not be merely understood economically, but it should also be considered in the context of political and ideological values. It seems that commodification should be regarded as a part of the ideological authoritarian state apparatus. So, these forms of commodification do not necessarily mean prioritising the economic value of higher education but demonstrate the emphasis on political, ideological and social values in the ideological state of Iran.
... The working assumption for this article is that peripheral and semi-peripheral countries (should) use internationalization policies that are different from those of the core countries, in light of their different circumstances, capacities and challenges (Urbanovic et al. 2016). Additionally, some of these countries, such as those situated in Central and Eastern Europe, can be considered as a 'privileged site for understanding the processes of Europeanization and internationalization' (Dakowska and Harmsen 2015: 5), using regional and international models to develop their higher education sector. ...
Governments and higher education institutions see internationalization of higher education as one of the main factors that influence their strategic endeavors in the years to come. When looking at the national level, the drivers of internationalization are linked to economic and geo-political positioning, cultural influences, as well as international competitiveness for knowledge and human capital. Party politics, foreign affairs, economy and immigration policies also play a big role in shaping country level approaches. For universities, prestige factors, disciplinary or constitutive groups’ interests and financial imperatives predominantly drive internationalization policies. In this context, the paper will look at national and institutional strategic pursuits in the field of internationalization of higher education, in the case of two countries geographically (and perhaps economically) positioned at Europe’s periphery: Romania and Portugal. The choice of these two countries relies on their recent transition from totalitarian regimes to democracies, coupled with similar trends of massification and underfunding of the higher education sector. The conclusion will include policy lessons for decision-makers, especially with a view on whether well-established global models of internationalization of higher education are fit for purpose for transitioning countries. The author’s work for this article was supported by the scholarship for a post-doctoral research fellowship, provided by the New Europe College (NEC), during the 2018–2019 academic year.
... Brand positioning is important for HEIs since it is not only allocating a unique place in the minds of the prospective students (Gai et al., 2016) but also retaining the existing students with them (Price & Price, 2016). As with other marketed services, the commercial challenge of HEIs is to attract students from their competitors (Urbanovič et al., 2016). Successfully managing students' perceptions is thus essential for effective HEIs' brand positioning (Gai et al., 2016). ...
The widespread popularity of social media facilitates many changes in the higher education sector including the branding activities of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in developing countries. Drawing from the uses and gratifications theory, this paper examines the influence of social brand engagement among prospective students on brand positioning of HEIs taking into consideration brand co-creation, and brand trust as mediators and brand usage experience as a moderator. The quantitative findings from 384 undergraduates from Sri Lanka indicated that undergraduates' social engagement with HEIs via social media develops a distinctive HEI brand positioning among the students. Brand co-creation and brand trust were found to mediate the effect of social brand engagement on brand positioning. In addition, brand usage experience mediates the effect of brand co-creation and brand trust on brand positioning.
... 36 The commodification of higher education in Lithuania, a small country in Europe, can be attributed to how the graduation rate is considered as the evaluation criterion of higher education and also how students' willingness to pursue a degree without academic competence is. 37 Global North countries do not have the same experience of commodification in higher education. 38 For instance, Germany and France, countries with strong socialist traditions, have not adopted commodification of higher education at the same rate as other Global North countries and political leaders in these countries have always resisted this policy. ...
In the present study, we dealt with the biography of the commodification of higher education concept and showed how this concept travels to higher education. Then, the journey of this concept will be traced from the north to the south, and in particular to Iran. Afterward, the proposed understanding of this concept was discussed. Our purpose here was to discuss how the commodification of higher education might find a new identity when it travels to periphery countries, especially authoritarian governments, which are based on Islamic teachings.
Finally, at the end of this journey four understandings of the commodification of the higher education concept could be raised in Iran: the commodification of higher education as privatization, marketization, and the fetishization of scientific works and academic regulations and, at the end, commodification as a deviation from Islamization of higher education.
All in all, the commodification should not be merely understood economically, but it should be considered in the context of political and ideological values. It seems that commodification should be considered as a part of the Ideological authoritarian state apparatus. So, these forms of commodification do not necessarily mean prioritizing the economic value of higher education, but also emphasize on the political, ideological, and social values of the ideological government of Iran in higher education.
... More generally, joining the EU obviously was an important development, if only for the fact that EU Structural Funds became available, amongst others leading to the establishment of an agency collecting data on the system and monitoring developments (Leisyte, Rose, and Schimmelpfennig 2018). Urbanovic, Wilkins, and Huisman (2016), however, point at some of the challenges involved in internationalization in small(er) countrieslike Lithuania, e.g. the preservation of the domestic language and cultures, available capacities as well as the considerable financial resources needed to catch up with other countries. ...
This paper addresses the puzzle of the unlikeliness of the implementation of elements of the Bologna Process agenda in Europe and post-Soviet higher education systems. Following mainstream policy science theories, the policy initiative would be qualified as “prone to failure”, but surprisingly many governments took up the challenge to develop regulations and guidelines and to change the structures of their higher education systems. Looking at the adoption of Bologna process elements in various countries – east and west – I will be able to point at factors that contribute to explaining why and to what extent countries engaged with the process and hence to contribute to the literature on Europeanisation and policy adoption.
... Some studies developed in European countries from northern or east parts of the continent proved that the goals of studying in these countries are divers, and not always related to the prestige of the university (low cost, European country or accepting students with low level of English language). For solving these problems, governments and educational policies provided special programs (11). ...
Successfully integrating international students in a university is one of the main goal of an academic institution. Aim: To identify the characteristics of international students enrolled in first year of study. Material and methods: a number of 128 freshman international students from 23 countries were included in the research. The subjects had to complete a document with socio-demographic data and to answer to several items. Data was processed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 23. Results: 67 men (52.37%) and 61 women (47.66%) with an age of 19.59 ± 2.21 were included in the research. More than half of international students are fluent in three languages. 58.73% of students' fathers and 67.97% of their mot hers graduated from university. A number of 13 (N = 10.48%) declared that at least one of their parents is physician and almost half of them have at least one relative studying in the university. The levels of satisfaction with the relationship with colleagues, teachers and a d-ministrative staff are analyzed. Conclusions: International students have criteria for choosing their academic institutions. Universities and academic staff mast take into consideration their reasons used in choosing the institution and social, cultural, religious or daily life aspects must be supervised to help them become more integrated into the community.
... This study contributes to the body of research on international student recruitment (Bolsmann & Miller, 2008;Cantwell, 2015;Haugen, 2013;Jokila, Kallo & Mikkilä-Erdman, 2019;Mosneaga & Agergaard, 2012;Stein & Andreotti, 2016;Urbanovič, Wilkins & Huisman, 2016;Ziguras & Law, 2006;Ziguras & McBurnie, 2015) and students' study-abroad decision-making (e.g. Maringe & Carter, 2007;Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002) by focusing on one particular mediator: websites that facilitate encounters between students and recruiters or host countries. ...
The recruitment of international students has become a global phenomenon. Prospective candidates planning to study abroad rely on different sources of information in their decision-making processes, provided by different national, institutional and private actors. Thus, more analysis of the mediators facilitating this encounter of recruiters and students is needed. This study analyses how study choices in Finland and China are constructed by analysing the embeddedness of national recruitment strategies in websites, the construction of study choices as capitals and the trust-building devices (dispositifs) employed in the websites. Data consist of textual material from four websites representing educational offerings in Finland and China, targeted for international students searching for information in their study-abroad decision-making. This study puts forward three arguments. First, the analysed websites reflect the national strategies on the recruitment of international students; however, the approaches the websites use vary greatly. Second, websites construct expectations that build on a holistic study-abroad experience. Third, non-governmental websites employ commercially oriented dispositifs to distinguish or affirm choices.
... Despite these dominant poles in the markets, new providers are entering the field. Small countries like Finland and the Baltics have substantially increased their educational provisions in recent years (Urbanovič, Wilkins, and Huisman 2016;Wächter and Maiworm 2014;Ziguras and McBurnie 2015). Countries, encouraged by international organisations like the EU (EC 2013), define their internationalisation policy guidelines in strategies or similar policy documents. ...
Globalisation has transformed the field of higher education by increasing flows of mobile students. This has had significant repercussions not only for countries that take advantage of the expansion of exports of English-medium programmes but also for countries that have not risen to prominent positions in the global education market, such as non-English-speaking Nordic countries. In over thirty years, Finland, which is the focus of this article, has considerably expanded its provision of English-medium programmes in universities. However, the challenges of international student recruitment have persisted despite ambitious strategies. The aim of this study is to analyse the justifications and persuasion strategies used in national policy texts for recruitment initiatives. The data consist of key internationalisation strategies from the Ministry of Education and Culture¹ (MEC) from 2001 to 2017. Findings suggest that the main persuasion devices in the strategies manifest a significant shift from neoliberally toned crisis talk to opportunity rhetoric. This study will broaden the horizons of analysis by going beyond the rationales for recruiting international students in a country that is in the process of finding and consolidating its position in the widening markets of higher education.
... The growth in the number of students globally who venture outside of their home country to travel abroad for tertiary education is interesting to note (Deng and Ritchie, 2018). Notably, in 2009, an educational report stated that there were 3.7 million international students who travelled from their home country for education; this figure is expected to grow to 6.7 million by the year 2020, many of whom originate from developing countries (Eggins, 2014).Western countries are currently in highest demand by overseas and international students seeking higher education (Urbanovič et al., 2016). The United States remains the current market leader with a 16.5% market share, followed by the United Kingdom (13.0%), Germany (6.3%) and France (6.2%) (Lee and King, 2016). ...
While previous studies have merely focused on travel destination image (TDI) with respect to influencing international students’ decision-making for academic destinations (i.e. the pre-experience stage), research on TDI relating to students’ on-site educational experiences and future behavioural intentions remain scant. This study introduces the ‘higher edutourism’ concept as a key enabler from the higher education market in attracting international students for the tourism industry. This study attempts to extend the TDI paradigm by empirically examining cognitive, affective and conative TDIs from a multidimensional perspective and its effects on overall perceived value, while also testing the indirect effects of TDIs. A total of 515 questionnaires were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results confirmed that cognitive TDI would positively impact affective TDI, perceived value and subsequently, conative TDI. Theoretical and practical implications for policymakers, higher education administrators and tourism marketers are also discussed.
... With respect to country-specific studies, the research works centering on the social, political, and economic challenges in American HE (Altbach, Gumport, & Berdahl, 2011); key challenges of governance, quality assurance, and finance in Vietnamese HE (Dao, 2015); challenges of change implementations in French HE (Evans & Cosnefroy, 2013); policy and research challenges in Australian tertiary system (Goedegebuure & Schoen, 2014); dilemmas and challenges in China's move to mass HE (Bai, 2006); policy challenges in Irish HE (Hazelkorn, 2014); research challenges in Japanese HE (Huang, 2014); privatization and marketization of HE in Indonesia (Susanti, 2011); challenges of international students attraction and hosting in Lithuanian HE (Urbanovič, Wilkins, & Huisman, 2016); and some general HE challenges in Ghana (Atuahene, 2008) and South Africa (Wangenge-Ouma, 2012) may be stated. ...
This qualitative inquiry aims at identifying the main issues in Malaysian higher education (HE) system and its sectors from the perspectives of Malaysian academic leaders. For this purpose, four open-ended questions were distributed among 2,786 academic leaders in 25 universities. More than 235 completed questionnaires were collected, containing nearly 4,500 records of priorities, values, challenges, and solutions. Through a quantitative content analysis approach, the records were categorized using the software package ATLAS.ti 7. This resulted to the emergence of 112 categories. Using SPSS 23, the top five categories with maximum frequencies of records were focused for further evaluation. The comparison of the issues in Malaysian HE and its sectors revealed that some of issues were common in all the sectors. In addition, the examination of these categories of data did result to the classification of them into five major categories namely Academic Core Activities, Change and Leadership, Management, Relationships, and Work Values.
... In the discussion of language in the context of international student mobility, English has been given special treatment, as countries whose official language is English have the highest incoming student numbers (Beine, Noël, Ragot 2014). However, as more and more countries offer programmes taught in English at reasonable prices (Urbanovic, Wilkins, Huisman 2016) and certain groups of students prefer other linguistic settings corresponding more to the demands of the national markets, e.g. French in Africa (Lasanowski 2011), the hegemony of English-speaking countries in recruiting students from abroad has been diminishing recently (OECD 2013). ...
Student mobility is a common phenomenon in Luxembourg as almost
every student spends a period abroad before graduating. Based on material from this “hyper-mobile” academic context, we will focus on the first phase of going abroad. First, we will analyse how the idea to study abroad is related to different notions of forced or non-forced mobility. Second, we will turn to the choice of destination, focussing on geographical distance and language distance between the country of
origin and the place of destination. Geographical distance is not a goal as such but is a proxy for other dimensions, e.g. greater distance can be equated with a wish to try out new things and start a new life phase while shorter distance emphasises strong embeddedness in pre-existing social ties and obligations. In terms of language, students mostly choose countries where one of Luxembourg’s official languages is spoken (either because they have mastered it or because they would like to improve it for professional reasons), and countries where an additional language can be learnt or practised. Our results show that studying abroad is not the decision of a moment, but rather a process embedded in students’ past, present and future as well as in their social surroundings.
... A number of contemporary international literature sources have been devoted to the development of academic mobility for students and students' wellbeing in foreign countries. In particular, the works of Collins (2012), Hawthorne (2014), Urbanovič et al. (2014) describe the variations of regional transformations during the implementation of academic mobility and consider the internationalization strategy of higher education, and principal advantages and disadvantages of this strategy. ...
International student mobility (ISM) has become a critical aspect of global education systems and a significant driver of economic and cultural exchange. Over the past two decades, academic interest in ISM research has grown significantly. Despite its importance, there has been a lack of comprehensive framework-based reviews addressing the growing body of research. This study employs the Theory-Context-Methods (TCM) framework to provide a comprehensive understanding of the dominant theories, contexts (countries), and methods (research approaches and analysis techniques) in ISM research over the last ten years (2015–2024). Through a trend analysis of two distinct periods, 2016–2019 and 2020–2024, the review highlights shifts in research focus, offering a dynamic perspective on ISM scholarship. Furthermore, the review elucidates the evolving nature of ISM research, uncovers underexplored areas, and provides insightful directions for future research. The study emphasizes the economic implications of ISM, highlighting its role in driving tuition revenue, fostering trade and investment opportunities, and addressing skill shortages in host countries. By advancing the understanding of ISM, this study contributes to the literature on the internationalization of higher education and offers valuable insights for policymakers, academics, and practitioners aiming to better manage and promote ISM.
The internationalization of higher education, driven by globalization, has developed structural diversity on a global scale. This study examines the theoretical and practical transformations in higher education internationalization since the millennium through a rigorous four-stage selection process guided by six inclusion criteria. Using Nvivo14 for thematic coding, 109 relevant articles from 1999 to 2024 were analyzed. On this basis, the key central themes of higher education internationalization, external influences, and the diverse participation of countries and regions in the discourse are revealed. Central concerns in the dialogue on higher education internationalization include its core nature, critical perspectives, operational practices and sustainability efforts. External factors intertwined with internationalization encompass governmental policies, ethnic and racial considerations, economic implications, cultural exchanges, and the broader context of globalization.
This study explores the unique implementation of academic capitalism (AC) in Iranian higher education Institutions (HEIs), identifying a hybrid model that blends neoliberal strategies with state-imposed ideological controls. Employing qualitative methods, including interviews with stakeholders and analysis of educational policy documents from 1979 to 2023, the research reveals a complex interplay between market-driven approaches and rigid ideological constraints. This dual approach impacts academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and integration into the global knowledge economy, presenting a distinctive governance model that complicates the conventional understanding of AC. The findings offer profound insights for policymakers and educational administrators, suggesting the need for nuanced strategies that harmonize economic objectives with ideological imperatives.
Research maintains that the existence of a higher institution of learning is dependent upon the preeminence of the recruitment drive and the quality of the candidates it attracts to the project of scholarship. Institutions of higher learning have devised a range of strategies to both inform and fascinate candidates about the institution and the programs they offer. At postgraduate level supervisors are also taxed to overtly and covertly appeal to potential candidates with their expertise, guidance and research skills, through faculty and personal websites, biographies, and research labs. This chapter explores the supervisor’s role and the implications of recruitment and selection within the ambit of a broader context of a university. It is informed by deep theories of the pedagogy of supervision, supported by reflective accounts of supervisors and their experiences on the subject.
Communicating the means and ends of internationalization can be daunting amidst competing agendas in higher education. This paper examines how elite global journals in social sciences deal with discursive dilemmas while addressing geopolitical agendas in the internationalization of post-Soviet higher education. In particular, this paper seeks to understand how the "prestige economy" agencies have shaped explanations of problems of the Soviet legacy in disparate national contexts of post-Soviet higher education. Under the growing resurgence of Russian imperialism, the study delves into claims and concerns of social scientists from post-Soviet republics, who remain on the periphery of the global "prestige economy," as well as in the subaltern position to the geopolitical agendas championed by the Russian government. While examining the research on geopolitics in the internationalization of divergent systems and institutions of higher education in the region, the paper also tries to shape a more nuanced analysis of the under-investigated tensions within the post-Soviet world.
span lang="EN-US">This study discussed Darmasiswa program as Indonesia’s public diplomacy effort in the educational fields conducted by the Republic Indonesia Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbud RI). Despite its vast opportunities, Indonesia still has difficulties attracting international students compared to various neighboring countries. By analyzing the seven pillars of public diplomacy, supported by international communication and industry 4.0 concept, this study showed that Kemendikbud has considered the seven pillars in public diplomacy in conducting public diplomacy efforts. It is found that Darmasiswa is a state-directed effort designed to enhance favorable international relations through the student movement’s positive experience. The strategy is formed by uses various types of communication channels that support each other’s. The message is also processed by involving policy and rationality by prioritizing consistent, truthful, and credible as part of the main elements. Besides, they form strategies by maximizing cooperation with various parties. In Kemendikbud, the program undertakes audience research and actors from 1st and 2nd track diplomacy as part of its tactics. The program also found that public diplomacy in Darmasiswa program has acknowledged changes in the 4.0 era through new media usage. However, there are still many challenges encountered in the performance of the seven pillars.</span
The literature on international student mobility (ISM) has recently proliferated across diverse fields, reflecting its multifaceted connections with higher education institutions, business, and industry. This paper reviews existing research to examine what is known on ISM in higher education to determine future directions. The paper provides an in-depth, systematic review of articles published over the past decade to obtain an overview of ISM’s antecedents, decisions, and outcomes. The theories, contexts, and methods employed in the paper to gain this understanding are also explained. Knowledge gaps are highlighted regarding international students’ diverse participation and their impacts on host countries. Finally, research directions are proposed to reveal ISM’s role and potential at the nexus of higher education and industry. This paper adds to existing research by adding insights into student mobility in higher education.
This book brings together work in the social sciences—geography, sociology, education studies and cognate disciplines—to explore questions associated with the meaning and significance of international student migrations. The essential context to this discussion includes changes to higher education and its institutions wrought through ‘internationalisation’. The book explores the meanings of the internationalisation of higher education in relation to the mobilities of students, and is structured around six key themes: changes in the geographies of student mobilities; socio-economic diversification in mobile students; the differential value of international higher education; migration, citizenship and state-building projects; learning and classroom experiences; and ethics and international student mobility.
This chapter focuses on some of the key ethical challenges associated with student mobility. We first consider issues associated with access to educational mobility, and how these impact debates about equity and fairness. We then explore the differential treatment of home and international students—in relation to fees, opportunities to work, and racism, for example—and the problematic ways in which international students are constructed in marketing, media and policy texts from around the world. Finally, the chapter argues that while international student mobility can, in some circumstances, be advantageous for both sending and receiving countries, it can also work to exacerbate inequalities between nation-states and this, also, has ethical implications.
The internationalization of higher education is a process that has led to substantial changes in universities. It has gone from being a reactive issue, as in its beginnings, to a proactive issue of great strategic relevance (Brandenburg and De Wit, 2011). Within this context, and through the analysis of the different models and strategies of internationalization, it becomes clear that communication is a fundamental element in the process of integrating the international dimension into the foundation of institutions (Davies, 1992; Van Dijk and Meijer, 1994; Rudzki, R, 1993; Haug and Vilalta, 2010; Knight, 1994; De Wit, 2002). However, progress in this area is limited (Gacel-Avila, 2018), and the binomial internationalization and communication is presented as an opportunity to contribute from research, for the theory and practice of communication as a strategy for the internationalization of universities. In the present study we analyzed the scientific production articles that discuss this binomial, with the aim of identifying the contexts, challenges, and trends, as well as gaps and opportunities for research. The methodology used was a systematized literature review of 173 articles published from January 2015 to November 2020, in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The methodology used was the ReSiste-CHS Framework proposed by Codina (2018) for systematized reviews in Human and Social Sciences. This framework led us to validate the articles through the inclusion/exclusion criteria based on two aspects: the pragmatic or relevance criteria of the documents found, to avoid false positives, and under the criteria of the quality of the research conducted (Dixon-Woods et al., 2006). The findings show a greater number of publications in the countries of China, UK, Australia, Russia, and the United States, mainly in the sectors of education, management, information technology and marketing. It concludes with possible lines of research for future investigations.
This paper analyses the strategies employed by two Portuguese institutions to integrate international students as well as these students’ perceptions of their social and academic integration, based on semi-structured interviews with institutional top and middle managers and focus groups with international students. Our findings suggest that institutional strategies are still scarce, ad-hoc and misarticulated. The analysed measures are not sufficiently coordinated and efficient in ensuring a positive experience for international students. The creation of an international unit to cater for their needs stands out as a critical step to take. Surprisingly, language emerges as an issue for the integration of students from Portuguese-speaking countries, who need to become ‘visible’ in terms of institutional measures. The paper reflects on some practical implications for institutions in order to improve the social and academic integration of international students.
This study reports on an interview-based study of thesis supervisors’ attitudes on initiating discussions on students’ expectations and prior thesis writing experiences in international master’s degree programmes. One aim of this study is to identify the various practices which supervisors implement and the reasoning they use to foster a supportive environment for their students during the students’ studies and master’s thesis process. This paper contributes to existing research on English-medium master’s degree programmes in non-English speaking countries. Twenty interviews were conducted with thesis supervisors from five Finnish universities. Two main attitudes were observed regarding initiating discussions concerning students’ expectations and previous thesis writing experience: diagnosing and adjusting supervision, and resisting and relying on students’ initiative. Supervisors’ responsiveness varies in intercultural supervision contexts, and more opportunities for reflection and collaboration between supervisors should be provided.
The nexus of national educational and migration policies and international student mobility (ISM) in Europe becomes strikingly visible in Luxembourg. ISM is central for higher education policy in Luxembourg, but also for larger questions of social integration and economic development. Based on a discourse analysis of the political debates surrounding the foundation of the University of Luxembourg in 2003, we analyse how and why ISM became a cornerstone of higher education policy in Luxembourg. Our findings reveal that, on the one hand, incoming student mobility — and the establishment of an international research university — was and is seen as a means of competing for the best and brightest, regionally and globally, and of securing human resources to satisfy a booming, internationalised labour market. On the other hand, outgoing student mobility has traditionally been viewed as the main mechanism to establish international networks across Europe and foster elites back home. Both incoming and outgoing student mobility are thought necessary to establish and maintain a competitive and sustainable knowledge economy. Reconstructing the underlying rationales behind the support for ISM as the key to higher education policy, we explain why Luxembourg currently has the highest proportion of ISM worldwide.
Britain’s scheduled exit from the European Union (‘Brexit’) has long-term ramifications for strategic marketing. Faced with new challenges and uncertainty, UK universities are increasingly looking beyond EU borders to recruit international students. In this context, we draw upon country-of-origin theory to categorise the factors that influence non-EU international student decisions to select an overseas study destination and institution. Based on the results of a survey with 317 Arab, Chinese, and Indian students attending UK universities, we identify eight factors that influence international student decisions to study in the UK (social safety, education quality, entry obstacles, environment, recommendations, knowledge of host country, work and immigration, and meeting new cultures). The results address gaps in the literature, offering new insights that will help practitioners and academics to better understand how international students select a country and university as a study location.
Non-English-speaking countries are attracting burgeoning numbers of foreign students, yet research regarding these students' experiences remains rather scarce. In line with global tendencies, Portuguese universities are seeing substantial growth in foreign student enrolment. This paper
addresses the lived experiences of foreign students in the period following their arrival in a new cultural context, discussing the role that language and social support play in their adaptation. Rooted in a narrative approach, this paper is based on 41 indepth biographic interviews. The findings
indicate that the ways in which students deal with the challenges of living and studying in a foreign country are highly diverse. Nevertheless, a universal aspect of their narratives is the central role assumed by social support. Although social support has beneficial outcomes for foreign
students' adaptation, if provided inadequately it can lead to less positive outcomes and even to marginalization.
This bibliography includes a list of articles, books, and reports published on international students/cross cultural studies. There are more than a 72-page worth of references on this particular student population published in a variety of journals, newsletters, and books.
The world of higher education is changing and the world in which higher education plays a significant role is changing. The international dimension of higher education is becoming increasingly important, complex, and confusing. It is therefore timely to reexamine and update the conceptual frameworks underpinning the notion of inter-nationalization in light of today’s changes and challenges. The purpose of this article is to study internationalization at both the institutional and national/sector level. Both levels are important. The national/sector level has an important influence on the international dimension through policy, funding, programs, and regulatory frameworks. Yet it is usually at the institutional level that the real process of internationalization is taking place. This article analyses the meaning, definition, rationales, and approaches of internationalization using a bottom-up (institutional) approach and a top-down (national/sector) approach and examines the dynamic relationship between these two levels. Key policy issues and questions for the future direction of internationalization are identified.
Outlines 15 explanations for the fog which has enveloped the nascent domains of corporate identity and corporate marketing. However, the fog surrounding the area has a silver lining. This is because the fog has, unwittingly, led to the emergence of rich disciplinary, philosophical as well as``as``national'', schools of thought. In their composite, these approaches have the potential to form the foundations of a new approach to management which might be termed`` termed``corporate marketing''. In addition to articulating the author's understanding of the attributes regarding a business identity (the umbrella label used to cover corporate identity, organisational identification and visual identity) the author outlines the characteristics of corporate marketing and introduces a new corporate marketing mix based on the mnemonic``mnemonic``HEADS''[2]. This relates to what an organisation has, expresses, the affinities of its employees, as well as what the organisation does and how it is seen by stakeholder groups and networks. In addition, the author describes the relationship between the corporate identity and corporate brand and notes the differences between product brands and corporate brands. Finally, the author argues that scholars need to be sensitive to the factors that are contributing to the fog surrounding corporate identity. Only then will business identity/corporate marketing studies grow in maturity.
International higher education has become a major income producer for Australia for more than two decades. The prime goal of internationalization was moneymaking, which resulted in creating problems in ethics, quality, and academic integrity. The recent policy change in reducing international students has affected institutions that had been too dependent upon high proportions of international enrollments. All of this is a predictable outcome of commercialism shaping international education.
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Outlines 15 explanations for the fog which has enveloped the nascent domains of corporate identity and corporate marketing. However, the fog surrounding the area has a silver lining. This is because the fog has, unwittingly, led to the emergence of rich disciplinary, philosophical as well as “national”, schools of thought. In their composite, these approaches have the potential to form the foundations of a new approach to management which might be termed “corporate marketing”. In addition to articulating the author’s understanding of the attributes regarding a business identity (the umbrella label used to cover corporate identity, organisational identification and visual identity) the author outlines the characteristics of corporate marketing and introduces a new corporate marketing mix based on the mnemonic “HEADS”[2]. This relates to what an organisation has, expresses, the affinities of its employees, as well as what the organisation does and how it is seen by stakeholder groups and networks. In addition, the author describes the relationship between the corporate identity and corporate brand and notes the differences between product brands and corporate brands. Finally, the author argues that scholars need to be sensitive to the factors that are contributing to the fog surrounding corporate identity. Only then will business identity/corporate marketing studies grow in maturity.
Issue: 0094 "It is good for the economy" has been one of the public policy mantras for supporting the inflow of international students since the 1980s. Sure, there were lots of other reasons. At the national level, international students were important strategically and diplomatically -fostering global engagement and cross cultural understanding, promoting freedom and democracy and easing tensions between neighbouring countries. Institutionally, students from other cultures and economies diversified the student body and symbolised the international mission of colleges and universities. They also brought fee revenue. But for national policy-makers looking for economic growth in a knowledge economy, selling services to international students was an opportunity to diversify the industrial base of a nation. Education could become an 'export' industry bringing foreign capital to domestic institutions. Direct benefit would come as jobs were created, taxes paid and goods consumed and indirect benefits would flow multiplying the value of each student's expenditure on themselves and their dependants. In some countries such as the UK and Australia these benefits justified state expenditures on marketing and promotion to increase demand and hence revenue. Growth was rapid from 800,000 in 1999 to around three million in 2009. This is separate from the numbers of students involved in the other three "modes" of international education where academics move, where the service crosses national boundaries and when programmes cross borders. Political and institutional leaders and industry boosters started to promote and defend the international student market with claims about the value of the industry. The value was commonly referred to in terms of 'export' income and the education and training industry was bench marked against other big export earners. Popular comparisons in Australia were to claim that education was second to iron ore and coal as an export earner and was worth more than tourism. In British Columbia, foreign students are compared with fishing and trapping and the Vancouver film industry as contributors to the provincial economy. Positioning education as an export industry was rational and clever. It was rational in that trade in services is a legitimate export business and the flow of foreign capital into an economy for a service delivered there could be captured in the national accounts as "export income". It was just like tourism. The cleverness was that it pre-empted a nasty parochial debate about 'outsiders' taking up places in colleges and universities that could be used by domestic students. This sort of claim is particularly problematic in economies with a limited supply of places or in fields where supply was constrained by regulation, costs or the profession -such as dentistry or teaching. It is also problematic when the main suppliers of education services are publically funded or subsidised -as Australian universities are. Charging a higher price for international students -similar to out-of-state tuition rates in the US -can dampen these concerns. But the latent parochialism or racism embedded in the argument is more effectively suppressed by the generally positive public perception of 'export' income. As the numbers of international students grew so did the estimates of the value of the market for particular nations. Recent public estimates (in US dollars at current exchange rates) range from 15 billion for Australia, 6 billion for Canada to $1.5 billion or more for New Zealand. The estimates appear in the popular media periodically and were largely unchallenged until recently.
The last decade has seen significant changes in all aspects of internationalization but most dramatically in the area of education and research moving across national borders. The most recent developments are education hubs. The term education hub is being used by countries who are trying to build a critical mass of local and foreign actors—including students, education institutions, companies, knowledge industries, science and technology centers—who, thorough interaction and in some cases colocation, engage in education, training, knowledge production, and innovation initiatives. It is understood that countries have different objectives, priorities, and take different approaches to developing themselves as a reputed center for higher education excellence, expertise, and economy. However, given higher education’s current preoccupation with competitiveness, global branding, and rankings, one is not sure whether a country’s plan to develop itself as an education hub is a fad, the latest branding strategy, or in fact, an innovation worthy of investment and serious attention. This article reviews and compares the developments in six countries which claim to be an education hub. It explores the meaning of education hub, introduces a working definition, and proposes a typology of three kinds of education hubs as follows: student hub, skilled work force hub, and knowledge/innovation hub. Furthermore, it identifies issues requiring further research and reflection on whether hubs are a fad, a brand or an innovation worthy of serious attention and investment.
The market is now accepted as an organizing principle of the world economy and is gradually replacing a number of political extremes ranging from totalitarianism to communism. The market continues to be viewed as way of addressing a wide range of social, industrial and economic issues: improving economic efficiency; greater value for money; enhancing innovation: a more cost effective way of achieving goals; increasing quality and the ability to compete more effectively internationally. These are just a few of the expectations of effective markets, but can the market be expected to compensate for its own shortcomings? Notwithstanding the continuing and emerging downsides to markets worldwide such as the failure of financial and housing markets, the mechanism continues to be viewed as a panacea for economic, social and political challenges in the delivery of education – even to the point of being viewed as the solution to its own failings.
Previous research has found that the country and institution choices of international students are greatly influenced by recommendations they receive from others who have experience of undertaking higher education overseas. For Western universities, it is of utmost importance to satisfy their international students, who can then encourage the next generation of international students to attend those same institutions. However, student satisfaction is not the only factor at play. Using a framework of ‘push and pull’ factors, rooted in the international student choice literature, this exploratory study investigates the determinants of destination choice of international students who decided to study at a university in the UK and examines their attitudes toward international branch campuses. The survey results and analyses suggest that overseas campuses could pose a considerable threat to home campuses in the competition for international students in the future.
While the benefits of a mobile expatriate lifestyle are widely reported, it must also be recognized that many students who have attended international schools experience a confused sense of identity due to the fragmented nature of their personal histories. This article seeks to refine our understanding of how these globally mobile young people negotiate and maintain a sense of identity. It reviews a range of relevant literature, identifies a series of research questions, and concludes with some suggestions as to how to approach empirical research on identity in international schools and other multicultural educational settings.
This research aims to explain why international students choose to pursue their education in a university in a small island state (North Cyprus)—which is suffering under international embargoes, yet has been successful in establishing a global higher education sector. One hundred and eighty-four international students studying at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) answered a questionnaire that gauged their reasons for coming to EMU, their satisfaction with the university, and their willingness to transfer to another institution if given the chance. The top three reasons for choosing EMU were the internationally recognized diploma, reasonable tuition fees, and English medium of instruction. Although students did not seem to be dissatisfied with the university facilities and the education they were receiving, 58.9% indicated that they would still transfer to a university abroad. This shows that EMU needs to work harder at its retention strategies and to further improve student satisfaction. Implications for EMU management and guidelines for universities in other developing nations—in particular small island states with limited natural resources—who want to establish themselves as higher education centers are discussed.
This paper outlines a model of the factors that are critical to the establishment and maintenance of sustainable competitive advantage for education services enterprises in international markets. It draws together theories of competitive advantage developed by industrial economics and management theory, with literature relating to services marketing. In examining a theory of sustainable competitive advantage for services exports, the paper discusses the concepts involved and presents a model of the process involved in achieving it. The model seeks to explain the strategic decision making environment in which the education exporter operates, and the outcome ideal to achieving a competitive advantage.
In this article, internationalisation of higher education is analysed as a response to globalisation. A distinction is made between two paradigms in internationalisation: competition and cooperation. The different approaches to internationalisation in the Anglo-Saxon countries on the one hand and in continental Europe on the other are analysed along the lines of these two paradigms. With respect to the role and position of continental Europe in the global higher education market the following questions are explored. Is there a real higher education market in Europe and if so for whom? Should and can European higher education actually compete internationally, and if so, is cooperation the right strategy to do so? It will be concluded that the effectiveness of cooperation and especially that of international university consortia in international competition is largely still hidden in the future. Furthermore, many questions still remain to be answered in order to improve our understanding of the international higher education market in terms of its segmentation and the related diversification of the higher education sector and its functions.© 2001 International Association of Universities. Higher Education Policy Vol. 14, (2001) 249259
This paper attempts to explore the effectiveness of UK universities' websites. The area of branding in higher education has received increasing academic investigation, but little work has researched how universities demonstrate their brand promises through their websites. The quest to differentiate through branding can be challenging in the university context, however. It is argued that those institutions that have a strong distinctive image will be in a better position to face a changing future. Employing a multistage methodology, the web pages of 20 UK universities were investigated by using a combination of content and multivariable analysis. Results indicated ‘traditional values’ such as teaching and research were often well communicated in terms of online brand but ‘emotional values’ like social responsibility and the universities' environments were less consistently communicated, despite their increased topicality. It is therefore suggested that emotional values may offer a basis for possible future online differentiation.
The paper explores the dynamics of competition in higher education. National competition and global competition are distinct,
but feed into each other. Higher education produces ‘positional goods’ (Hirsch 1976) that provide access to social prestige
and income-earning. Research universities aim to maximise their status as producers of positional goods. This status is a
function of student selectivity plus research performance. At system-level competition bifurcates between exclusivist elite
institutions that produce highly value positional goods, where demand always exceeds supply and expansion is constrained to
maximise status; and mass institutions (profit and non-profit) characterised by place-filling and expansion. Intermediate
universities are differentiated between these poles. In global competition, the networked open information environment has
facilitated (1) the emergence of a world-wide positional market of elite US/UK universities; and (2) the rapid development
of a commercial mass market led by UK and Australian universities. Global competition is vectored by research capacity. This
is dominated by English language, especially US universities, contributing to the pattern of asymmetrical resources and one-way
global flows. The paper uses Australia as its example of system segmentation and global/national interface. It closes by reflecting
on a more balanced global distribution of capacity.
Universities everywhere are being forced to carefully reconsider their role in society and to evaluate the relationships with
their various constituencies, stakeholders, and communities. In this article, stakeholder analysis is put forward as a tool to assist universities in classifying stakeholders and determining stakeholder salience. Increasingly
universities are expected to assume a third mission and to engage in interactions with industrial and regional partners. While incentive schemes and government programmes try
to encourage universities to reach out more to external communities, some important barriers to such linkages still remain.
To fulfil their obligation towards being a socially accountable institution and to prevent mission overload, universities will have to carefully select their stakeholders and identify the ‘right’ degree of differentiation. For the
university, thinking in terms of partnerships with key stakeholders has important implications for its governance and accountability
arrangements. For the future of the universities we foresee a change towards networked governance and arrangements to ensure accountability along the lines of corporate social responsibility. In order to further explore some of these concepts and to empirically investigate the tendencies suggested here, this article
proposes an ambitious research agenda for tackling the emerging issues of governance, stakeholder management and higher education’s
interaction with society.
The world of higher education is changing and the world in which higher education plays a significant role is changing. The international dimension of higher education is becoming increasingly important, complex, and confusing. It is therefore timely to reexamine and update the conceptual frameworks underpinning the notion of inter-nationalization in light of today’s changes and challenges. The purpose of this article is to study internationalization at both the institutional and national/sector level. Both levels are important. The national/sector level has an important influence on the international dimension through policy, funding, programs, and regulatory frameworks. Yet it is usually at the institutional level that the real process of internationalization is taking place. This article analyses the meaning, definition, rationales, and approaches of internationalization using a bottom-up (institutional) approach and a top-down (national/sector) approach and examines the dynamic relationship between these two levels. Key policy issues and questions for the future direction of internationalization are identified.
The focus of this article is on a comparison of the national policies for internationalisation in seven Western European countries (Austria, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom). In this comparison, it will be shown that the trend suggested in previous research of increasing economical rationales for internationalisation and mainstreaming of higher education have persisted during the past few years. In addition, the approach to internationalization in the seven countries has broadened and is no longer mainly about student and staff mobility. Finally, the article shows that changes in the higher education policy context, including international and global developments, have brought about reforms in the higher education systems of the countries; these developments, however, have no uniform impact on the higher education policy and systems.
This article is based on a keynote paper presented to the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), University College Dublin, 5-9 September 2005. The massification of education in European countries over the last 100 years has produced cultures and societies that have benefited greatly from state investment in education. To maintain this level of social and economic development that derives from high quality education requires continual state investment. With the rise of the New Right, neo-liberal agenda, there is an attempt to offload the cost of education, and indeed other public services such as housing, transport, care services etc., on to the individual. There is an increasing attempt to privatise public services, including education, so that citizens will have to buy them at market value rather than have them provided by the state. Europe is no exception to this trend of neo-liberalisation. Recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports, including one on higher education in Ireland, (2004), concentrate strongly on the role of education in servicing the economy to the neglect of its social and developmental responsibilities. The view that education is simply another market commodity has become normalised in policy and public discourses. Schools run purely as businesses are a growing phenomenon within and without Europe, and there is an increasing expectation in several countries that schools will supplement their income from private sources, even though they are within the state sector. In this article, the writer presents both a critique of the neo-liberal model of marketised education and a challenge to academics to work as public intellectuals both individually and with civil society organisations to develop a counter- hegemonic discourse to neo-liberalism for higher education.
In anticipation of a globalising post-Fordist political economy, countries and universities are increasingly pursuing strategic transnational education and research alliances. This article analyses the Global Schoolhouse, a key education policy platform that aims to transform Singapore into a knowledge and innovation hub by establishing networks and collaborations with foreign universities. Two Global Schoolhouse initiatives are examined—the alliance between Singapore and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and the institutional restructuring aimed at re-modelling the National University of Singapore into a ‘leading global university centred in Asia’. We outline some of the complexities and unanticipated outcomes which emerge when nations and their education institutions seek to globalise.
[The article had no abstract; the following text is drawn from the Introduction and Conclusion.] Higher education has become a terrain for marketization agendas. Since the 1980s universities have been urged to adopt commercial models of knowledge, skills, curriculum, finance, accounting, and management organization. Neoliberal strategies for higher education have the following features: all constituencies are treated through business relationships; educational efficiency, accountability and quality are redefined in accountancy terms; courses are recast as instructional commodities; student-teacher relations are mediated by the consumption and production of things, e.g. software products, performance criteria, etc. These general tendencies are manifest in diverse ways across geopolitical contexts: the 'information society' as a paradigm for ICT in education; the World Bank 'reform agenda' for the self-financing of higher education; Africa, where higher education is being forcibly marketized and standardized through financial dependence; North America, where some universities attempt to become global vendors of instructional commodities; Europe, where state bodies adopt industry agendas of labour flexibilisation as an educational model, in the guise of technological progress; and the UK, where ICT design becomes a terrain for contending educational agendas. This analysis can inform counter-strategies, especially the following elements: demonstrating links among neoliberal forms; linking resistances across constituencies and places; de-reifying Information and Communication Technology (ICT); and developing alternative pedagogies.
Higher education has special stakes for ruling ideologies and strategies. Universities represent the needs of the state and capital as the needs of society, while adapting the skills of professional workers to labour markets. Despite this role, often spaces are created for alternative pedagogies and critical citizenship.
As part of that long-standing conflict, marketization tendencies have a long history. Student numbers have increased, while teaching has been under-resourced and so appears as an ‘inefficiency’ problems, to be solved by standardizing curricula. Knowledge has been packaged in textbook-type formats, so that students become customers for products. As a US critic once remarked, ‘the various universities are competitors for the traffic in merchantable instruction’ (Veblen 1918: 65).
This lively and engaging new book addresses a topical and important area of study. Helping readers not only to understand, but also to apply, the most important theoretical notions on identity, identification, reputation and corporate branding, it illustrates how communicating with a company's key audience depends upon all of the company's internal and external communication. The authors, leading experts in this field, provide students of corporate communication with a research-based tool box to be used for effective corporate communications and creating a positive reputation. Essentials of Corporate Communication features original examples and vignettes, drawn from a variety of US, European and Asian companies with a proven record of successful corporate communication, thus offering readers best practice examples. Illustrations are drawn from such global companies as Virgin, IKEA, INVE and Lego. Presenting the most up-to-date content available it is a must-read for all those studying and working in this field. © 2007 Cees B. M. van Riel and Charles J. Fombrun. All rights reserved.
Under evolving forms of governance, government will play a different role in the steering of society. Yet government will still be judged by legal and political criteria, economic and market criteria, and democratic and social criteria. The first of these was central to traditional public administration, the second is at the forefront of “the new public management,” and the third is central to “the new public service.” Here we outline the characteristics of the new public service and how its principles will guide future public administrators.
The productivity of government at all levels can be increased by introducing some of the principles that have already proved effective in some parts of the country. The idea behind these principles is that governments should be entrepreneurial.
The heritage of a university, especially if it was established in the Seventeenth Century or earlier, is associated with museums, old buildings, traditions, and ceremonies. These associations can be used to form part of the university image, distinguishing the given Alma Mater and its perspective students from others. If one takes a look at universities established some ten to twenty years ago, one can notice that such marks of heritage are used even more intensively than in the ancient universities for the creation of a brand. Depending upon the country, newer universities, in particular, make extensive use of insignia, gowns, and other traditional attributes of university life. This article examines the University of Vilnius and the use of its heritage to promote and embellish its brand name.
This essay analyzes private higher education which emerged on a massive scale in Eastern Europe after 1989, within the framework of institutional theory. It is argued that while in the early period many of the new universities saw their purpose as challenging and replacing the existing institutional order, more recently this mission has disappeared from their agenda. Instead, their primary interests lie, under the market regime, in facilitating access to traditional institutions. Related to this main line of argumentation is a discussion of social institutions as myths and ceremonies. Here, the author argues, contrary to some of the proponents of technical rationality, that institutions have a significant role to play in organizing stable societies and most probably cannot be replaced with lists of skills and competencies.Higher Education Policy (2003) 16, 213–238. doi:10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300017
While government intervention in the higher education market may be justified, it may come at the cost of lower consumer sovereignty and restricted producer autonomy. Through marketisation policy, students and higher education providers have more room to make their own trade-offs and interact more closely on the basis of reliable information. This article discusses eight conditions for a market and the extent to which these are met in Dutch higher education. It is argued that there is still a key role for the government to co-design framework conditions and facilitate interaction in a more demand-driven and liberalised higher education sector.
This article discusses: the doctrinal content of the group of ideas known as ‘new public management’(NPM); the intellectual provenance of those ideas; explanations for their apparent persuasiveness in the 1980 s; and criticisms which have been made of the new doctrines. Particular attention is paid to the claim that NPM offers an all-purpose key to better provision of public services. This article argues that NFM has been most commonly criticized in terms of a claimed contradiction between ‘equity’ and ‘efficiency’ values, but that any critique which is to survive NPM's claim to ‘infinite reprogrammability’ must be couched in terms of possible conflicts between administrative values. The conclusion is that the ESRC'S Management in Government’ research initiative has been more valuable in helping to identify rather than to definitively answer, the key conceptual questions raised by NPM.
This article seeks to put the “public” back in public values research by theorizing about the potential of direct citizen participation to assist with identifying and understanding public values. Specifically, the article explores eight participatory design elements and offers nine propositions about how those elements are likely to affect the ability of administrators to identify and understand public values with regard to a policy conflict. The article concludes with a brief discussion about potential directions for future research.
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