Rethinking internationalization at home from a system perspective: Evidence from China’s higher education institutions

Abstract

This study explores the strengths and more importantly the limitations of the current research of Internationalization at Home (IaH) in relation to equity. To do this, I draw on a survey of Chinese university students to 1) examine the relationship between their intercultural interaction with international students, partly operationalizing IaH, and their intercultural competence; 2) compare the effects of intercultural interaction and study abroad on students’ intercultural competence; and 3) examine the extent to which students’ opportunities for intercultural interaction with international students depends on the type of their institutional affiliation. It finds that study abroad, interaction with international students and learning foreign languages are positively associated with students’ intercultural competence. However, the effects of study abroad and intercultural interaction do not differ and are not additive. It also finds that students from prestigious universities are more likely to have high intercultural interaction with international students. The findings confirm the strength of IaH as an equitable approach at the institutional level. However, it raises questions on the impact of systemic inequities on IaH and calls for rethinking the objective of IaH for all students from a system perspective.