Comparative higher education research in times of globalisation of higher education: Theoretical and methodological insights

2021 ◽  
pp. 147490412098793
Author(s):  
Maruša Hauptman Komotar
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Institutional Isomorphism ◽  
Higher Education Research ◽  
Comparative Higher Education ◽  
Methodological Nationalism ◽  
Internationalisation Of Higher Education ◽  
Contextual Element ◽  
Pyramid Model ◽  
Complex Relationships

In times of globalisation of higher education, alternative theoretical and methodological approaches were introduced in the field of comparative higher education research. To stimulate the debate on this issue, this paper firstly addresses them theoretically by combining the concept of institutional isomorphism and the ‘glonacal’ analytical heuristic. On this basis, it discusses arguments in favour of convergence and diversity from the perspective of the internationalisation of higher education and also points to the limits of institutional isomorphism resulting from ‘glonacal’ influences of agencies and agency on the development of (internationalisation of) higher education. Secondly, the paper also draws attention to the influence of globalisation on the selection of methodology in comparative higher education research by exposing the limits of methodological nationalism. Along these lines, it portrays the reversed pyramid model of different horizontal and vertical levels of comparisons with which it establishes the (missing) link between the selected theoretical and methodological framework of comparative (higher education) research. In conclusion, it acknowledges the need to integrate the contextual element into the comparative framework which allows thorough analysis of complex relationships between globalisation and higher education both theoretically and methodologically.

scholarly journals Challenges for research in higher education: the case of internationalization between the explanandum and the explanans

Sociologias ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (54) ◽  
pp. 46-63
Author(s):  
Amélia Veiga ◽  
António Magalhães
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
Higher Education Research ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Internationalisation Of Higher Education ◽  
Cooperation Relationship ◽  
Managerial Perspective

Abstract A key issue in higher education research is that its nature is shaped by the contexts within which it is produced, in response to agendas that reflect more policy coordination demands than disciplinary concerns. The research problematiques are construed mostly out of the theoretical framework of the disciplines, which, in turn, are diluted within an applied research mode. Internationalisation, quality, and access, for instance, tend to be explored from an implementation and managerial perspective. We convene the criticisms of methodological “isms” to highlight how they shape our conceptualisations and understanding of the transformations in higher education. Under this stance, conceptual narratives on internationalisation of higher education prompted by the Brexit momentum are identified in the study Higher education and Brexit: current European perspectives to bring forward the extent to which internationalisation as a conceptual narrative acts as an explanation of the strategies to address the topic, and what is needed to be itself explained. The paper identifies discursive elements stemming from conceptual narratives convened to approach internationalisation in higher education research, and how they reflect the reification of the state and higher education. By focusing on the Brexit momentum that brought to the front stage the centrality of the nation-states and their competition/cooperation relationship, this paper contributes to call attention to the epistemological and methodological implications of isms.

Jullien’s 1817 Esquisse: Toward a “Science” of Comparative Higher Education?

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-48
Author(s):  
John C. Weidman ◽  
Aizat Nurshatayeva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Comparative Education ◽  
Higher Education Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Comparative Higher Education ◽  
League Tables ◽  
Contemporary Work ◽  
Foundational Work ◽  
Positivist Approach

This article links comparative and international higher education research to ideas put forward in the 1817 pamphlet by Marc-Antoine Jullien, Esquisse, that is widely recognized as a foundational work for the field of comparative education, including providing its name. The paper describes how Jullien’s ideas in Esquisse are reflected in the contemporary work of the International Bureau of Education (IBE) and the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), including examples of comparative higher education tables analogous to those first described in Esquisse. The positivist approach advocated by Jullien is linked to contemporary research such as international rankings of higher education institutions (league tables) and surveys of the professoriate. It concludes with implications for future directions of comparative education research that are more “scientific” because they embed the increasingly sophisticated capacity for measurement and data collection within systematic conceptual frameworks as well as ever more rigorous quantitative and qualitative methodological techniques.

Beyond the “National Container”

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riyad A. Shahjahan ◽  
Adrianna J. Kezar
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
College Student ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Analytic Approach ◽  
Higher Education Research ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Methodological Nationalism ◽  
The Common

This essay argues that there is a need for higher education researchers to become aware of methodological nationalism (MN) and take steps to reframe their scholarship in new ways. It illuminates two characteristics of MN prevalent in higher education research and suggests that although a few researchers have attempted to move beyond MN in the higher education globalization literature, most remain encapsulated in a view of nation-state equates society. The authors address this gap by arguing for the expansion of analytic approach to some of the common phenomena studied within U.S. higher education (such as college student experience, diversity, and governance) and highlight how these typical objects of study would transform once we overcome MN.

scholarly journals International Higher Education Research and Comparative Analysis

2015 ◽  
pp. 11-13
Author(s):  
Anna Kosmützky ◽  
Georg Krücken
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Higher Education Research ◽  
Comparative Higher Education ◽  
International Comparative Research ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Country Clusters ◽  
International Comparative

The article investigates whether international comparative higher education research has grown considerably during the past two decades. It reports the outcomes of a recent bibliometric study which found three key characteristics of international comparative higher education research: a relatively steady state, a larger share of international collaborative articles in international comparative research compared to non-comparative research, and a preference for small-scale country clusters for comparison.

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