Student mobility and internationalisation in higher education: perspectives from practitioners

ABSTRACT

Internationalisation is high on the agenda of higher education institutions across the world. Previous research on national and local policies surrounding this phenomenon has identified different discourses of internationalisation which may have an effect on practices such as student mobility. In order to understand better the role of student mobility in practice, the article analyses responses to an inquiry about internationalisation to a group of academic staff involved in intercultural education from universities around the world. Informants, all members of the research network Cultnet, working at 28 different universities in 15 countries, describe internationalisation within their practice, and their understanding of the role which student mobility plays in relation to this. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews over a period of six months. The findings locate student mobility within discourses of internationalisation. They also raise questions in relation to the need for an intercultural dialogue approach in internationalisation. We argue that institutions and their staff should be aware of the discursive field of internationalisation in Higher Education, take a critical stance and analyse their own role in student mobility. How mobility fits within the field of intercultural education for incoming, outgoing and ‘home’ students should be highlighted and clarified in internationalisation agendas.

La internacionalización ocupa mundialmente un lugar central en educación superior. En una investigación previa sobre política de internacionalización nacional y local, se identificaron tipos de discurso cuyos efectos se reflejan en la práctica, como la movilidad de estudiantes. Para comprender el papel que desempeña la movilidad, en este artículo se analizan datos obtenidos de un grupo de académicos de distintas universidades del mundo. Los participantes, miembros de la red de investigación Cultnet, profesores de 28 universidades y 15 países, describen cómo ven la internacionalización desde su práctica y qué papel desempeña la movilidad de estudiantes. Los datos se obtuvieron mediante cuestionarios y entrevistas realizadas durante seis meses. Los resultados sitúan la movilidad dentro de discursos de internacionalización. También suscitan interrogantes en torno a la necesidad de un enfoque de diálogo intercultural en la política de internacionalización de las instituciones. Se argumenta que instituciones de educación superior y su personal deberían ser conscientes del discurso de la internacionalización, adoptar una postura crítica y analizar su papel con respecto a la movilidad. Se debería subrayar y hacer evidente en las agendas de internacionalización de estas instituciones el modo en el que la movilidad de estudiantes se integra en una educación intercultural.

KEYWORDS:

• Student mobility
• internationalisation
• higher education
• intercultural dialogue

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Paloma Castro is assistant professor of Valladolid University and former vice-dean and coordinator of mobility programmes at the Faculty of Education. She has research interest in internationalisation in education and the intercultural dimension in foreign language teacher education.

Jane Woodin is Director of MA Studies for the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Sheffield, UK. Her research interests include intercultural communication in applied linguistics, discourse and conversation analysis, language teacher education and dialogic approaches to learning.

Ulla Lundgren is a former assistant professor of Jönköping University. Her current interest is the relationship between internationalisation in education and intercultural awareness.

Michael Byram is Professor Emeritus of Durham University and Professur invité at the University of Luxembourg. He is currently interested in the curricular implementation of internationalisation through language teaching at all levels of education.