Towards diverse, critical understandings of “international” for higher education

Bibliographic Data

ID6058771
AuthorsZhuo Min Huang (0000-0002-1354-8492, University of Manchester), Heather Cockayne (0000-0002-1966-4507, University of Manchester), Jenna Mittelmeier (0000-0002-6037-822X, University of Manchester)
Year2025
Volume44
Issue3
Pages309-324
Publication date2025-04-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEqual Opportunities International (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1758-7093 • E-ISSN: 2040-7149
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/edi-08-2023-0277
OpenAlexW4395030800
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited43

Purpose The study explores diverse and critical understandings of “international” in a higher education curriculum context, situated in a curriculum review of a postgraduate taught programme entitled “International Education” at a university located in England. Our study problematises and decentres some dominant, normalised notions of “international”, exploring critical possibilities of engaging with the term for higher education internationalisation. Design/methodology/approach We examined a set of programme curriculum documents and conducted a survey exploring teaching staff’s uses and interpretations of “international” in their design and delivery of course units. Through a thematic analysis of the dataset, we identify what “international” might mean or how it may be missing across the curriculum. Findings Our findings suggest a locally-developed conceptualisation of “international” beyond the normalised interpretation of “international” as the inclusion or comparison of multiple nations, and different, other countries around the global world. More diverse, critical understandings of the term have been considered, including international as intercultural, competences, ethics, languages and methods. The study provides an example approach to reflective scholarship that programmes can undergo in order to develop clarity, depth and purposefulness into internationalisation as enacted in a local curriculum context. Originality/value The study provides a first step towards establishing clearer guidelines on internationalising the curriculum by higher education institutions and individual programmes in order to challenge a superficial engagement of “international” within internationalisation. It exemplifies a starting point for making purposeful steps away from normalised notions and assumptions of international education and facilitates development towards its critical, ethically-grounded opportunities

Engineering ethics · Epistemology · Political science · Sociology · Engineering · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Governance and Development · Philosophy · Psychology