Academic staff on their engagement with curriculum internationalisation: an organisational change perspective

Abstract

Studies about curriculum internationalisation in higher education frequently report poor academic staff engagement hindering implementation in practice. However, such research does not consider the organisational context in which academics operate. This research applies an organisational change perspective to explore how the context affects the process of engagement and implementation and what to change (content). In a comparative case study of four disciplinary contexts in a West-European university from 2012 to 2020, we disclose the perceptions and experiences of twenty-nine academic staff through in-depth interviews. The academics explain how multiple contextual tensions and inadequate resource management complicate their engagement with curriculum internationalisation. Still, they also reveal evidence of many achievements and strong individual drivers with curriculum internationalisation. Our findings show how disciplinary contextual influences and dynamics create specific perceptions and experiences of curriculum internationalisation in each study programme. This article presents a comprehensive framework of organisational change to explain and facilitate academic staff engagement with curriculum internationalisation in disciplinary communities.