ABSTRACT
The chapter addresses the question how macro-level processes of globalisation and internationalisation have affected systems of higher education at the national and institutional levels. An initial discussion examines the three processes of globalisation, internationalisation, and transnationalisation, linking these to the way researchers have approached the phenomenon of ‘international higher education’. This leads to a section on how divergent understandings of space have contributed to scholars’ conceptualisation of internationalisation, foregrounding the importance of scapes, scales, and systems to the interpretation of higher education as a global field. A second part starts from the notion of internationalising, which denotes process, action, and change. Internationalisation processes are discussed in relation to national and institutional systems, prompting the question of what ideological principles motivate international ‘missions’ within higher education. The chapter ends by addressing the role of academic staff in processes of organisational change. The author insists that dedicated teachers have played a key part in promoting international education, which challenges the current tendency by educational consultants and managers to treat internationalisation as a top-down, strategic process.
