ABSTRACT
There can be little doubt, based on the evidence provided by those contributing their personal experiences and views to this book, that international education, as practised in one or other of its many manifestations, is currently at a higher level of activity than it has ever been. Along with the expansion in numbers of institutions involved has come a corresponding increase in the diversity of practice existing under the banner of international education. Such variety in provision is an understandable consequence of serious attempts to match the educational experience of students to their needs in a wide range of educational and social contexts. However, as indicated by several authors, especially in the latter part of this book, such growth has not been accompanied by any fundamental achievement of an overall rationale, against which those designing new courses or evaluating existing practice can, with confidence, undertake such developments secure in the knowledge that they are doing so in a way which is conceptually defensible. At times it has appeared as if the sheer diversity observed in practice has confounded attempts to reach agreement in conceptual terms, yet there is a clear need, expressed most often by those involved in the day-to-day practice of international education, for such a consensus. Far from being a confounding factor, it is obvious from the contributions made to debate through this volume that diversity must be central in any list of features that are likely to appear as essential elements in any such rationale. The purpose of this chapter is to attempt to reach such a goal; to identify those aspects on which there is agreement concerning their presence in any conceptualization of international education and to explore the kinds of model that could be of use in developing further our understanding of the nature of the practice in which so many are engaged. If the ultimate objectives of international education are related to the achievement of greater levels of mutual respect and harmonious coexistence among nations, then the search for such an enabling framework within which to strive for their achievement will be worth while.
