Conscientious internationalisation in higher education: contextual complexities and comparative tensions

Abstract

In this paper, authors focus on how internationalisation is defined, interpreted, and responded to by Universities in Australia and Canada, two decades after de Wit’s (Strategies for the internationalisation of higher education. A comparative study of Australia, Canada, Europe and the USA. European Association for International Education, Amsterdam, 1995) comparison of internationalisation in four higher education contexts. Guided by humanitarian factors that impact internationalisation in higher education contexts, authors find convergence and divergence with de Wits earlier study. A critical policy lens is employed to further analyse, probe and pose critical questions related to people, philosophy, place, processes, and power (5Ps). Authors argue that the intent (philosophy) of institutions (place) to internationalise (process) are impacted by the interests (power) of individuals and institutions (people) and these often conflict with descriptions and ideals of internationalisation. The authors offer conscientious internationalisation (CI) to recalibrate discourse and practices embedded in the internationalisation of higher education. CI prioritises ethics over markets. It is characterized as practices and processes informed by constitutive principles and ethical practices that amplify equity, reciprocity, and integrity.