International education research and the sociology of knowledge

Abstract

The ontology of the field of international education is described and analysed in terms of singular, regional and generic modes of pedagogized knowledge. In contrast to singular and regional modes of knowledge which synthesize introjection (orientation onto themselves) and projection (orientation towards external contingencies), generic modes concentrate solely on projection onto the demands of the market. Generic knowledge is characterized as a reductive discourse that couples education to the acquisition of skills and competences. International education may be characterized as a region in which singulars (academic disciplines) are brought together in an integrating framework. ‘Internationally minded values’ are identified as constituting an overarching master view that weakens classification between the contents of the field of international education. It is proposed that the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile, as a specification for international education, constitutes pedagogized knowledge in the generic mode. Possible directions for future research in international education are discussed in the context of these contrasting modes of knowledge.