Practice, problems and power in ‘internationalisation at home’: critical reflections on recent research evidence

TLDR

Internationalisation at home posits that non‑mobile students should receive international educational experiences through interaction with international peers, curriculum development, and new pedagogic approaches. This paper reviews recent research evidence on the experiences of non‑mobile “home” students amid rapidly increasing international student flows. The authors conduct a literature review to assess how internationalisation at home is operationalised via student interactions, curriculum changes, and pedagogic innovations. Evidence indicates that home students often resist intercultural group work and avoid contact with international peers, raising concerns about unequal access to transformative experiences, while tensions between “global worker” and “global citizen” approaches and the hegemonic role of English further complicate implementation.

Abstract

In a period when international flows of higher education students are rapidly increasing and diversifying, this paper reviews recent research evidence about the experiences of 'home' students – those who are not mobile and study in their home nation. This is situated within the concept of 'internationalisation at home', which asserts that these students should also receive an international educational experience: through interaction with international students, curriculum development and new pedagogic approaches. However, the evidence to date suggests that this is considerably more problematic than might be imagined. For example, home students across the world are often found to resist intercultural group work and generally to avoid contact with their international peers, leading to concerns about unequal access to transformative experiences and powerful knowledge. The conflict between 'global worker' and 'global citizen' approaches to internationalisation is discussed, as well as the increasingly hegemonic role of English.