Introduction: Ideologies of the Globalization and Internationalization of Higher Education: An East Asian Context

Abstract

The quote above encapsulates the contemporary university as an entity engulfed by the pressing challenges and trends of twenty-first century globalization and internationalization. Traditionally, universities have acted on the flow of ideas and have influenced international trends (Altbach 2003). Yet, in the contemporary era, universities striving for global competitiveness share a panorama of distinct mechanisms and processes that intersect with administrative policies, the position of students, and the labor of academics (Mok and Lee 2001). In response, university systems the world over are redefining curricula, shifting traditional paradigms of scholarship, and aligning English as the formal language of academia (Altbach 2003). As such, the contemporary globalized university system embodies a complex, contradictory, and expansive discourse shaped by the stance of leading super-research institutions (Jones 1998; Dale 1999; Mundy 1999), as well as by themes of education and global trade within the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) (van der Wende 2001).