Comprehensive internationalisation in higher education in China and England: institutional challenges and benefits

COMPREHENSIVE INTERNATIONALISATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHINA AND ENGLAND:
INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES AND BENEFITS

ABSTRACT
This thesis set out to discover if comprehensive forms of internationalisation in higher education have been adopted in recent years in China and England. It is also a response to calls (Yang 2014, 2016, Marginson 2014d, Ryan 2011a) for western researchers to develop more nuanced understanding of the cultural, historical and political forces influencing the development of internationalisation in China. The study adopts a case study form of inquiry; three higher education institutions (HEIs) in China and three HEIs in England were selected as the case institutions. Respondents were all selected as internationalisation enthusiasts (Warwick 2014) with senior management responsibility for internationalisation within their institutions. Vice –presidents, Deans of Faculties of Education (or equivalent) and mangers of International Offices (or equivalent) were interviewed in both countries.

The research is located in a broad range of literature so that the contested and symbiotic nature of globalisation and internationalisation can be reviewed, including an examination of the dark side of internationalisation as conceptualised by Hudzik (2015) with specific reference to inequities faced by institutions in China. A rationale for the identification of comprehensive internationalisation as the seminal definition underpinning this study is presented and the development of 3 iterations of a conceptual framework designed to support the data analysis is identified.

A narrative analysis of the single case institutions provides context and background for the multi-case analysis of three institutions in China and three comparable institutions in England. The findings and discussion from the multi-case analysis are presented in three chapters structured under three themes. Theme A Student and staff mobility including student and staff recruitment, Theme B Internationalisation of the curricula and Theme C Strategic co-operation, partnerships and capacity building. The findings and discussion chapters confirm that the six institutions involved in the study were adopting comprehensive approaches to the implementation of internationalisation. Approaches were changing at an unprecedented rate and there were distinct signs that the balance of power in Anglo-Sino collaborative partnerships was shifting.