ABSTRACT
Higher education keeps growing rapidly worldwide and has become far larger and more complex in recent decades. Establishing valid and viable mechanisms to prove student engagement remains a huge global opportunity and conundrum. After a few decades of development it is timely to take stock of the research field and summary insights into higher education. This chapter contributes analytical and empirical insights. The chapter articulates the substantive, historical and methodological trends which have shaped this field. It tiptoes into the potentially useful yet technically precarious world of cross-national comparisons. While far from ideal, these analyses sketch the contours of contemporary global research and development.
