Internationalisation of higher education: Impacts, challenges and future possibilities

This special issue follows on from a special call for contributions to
the ECER 2016 conference in Dublin on the need to rethink and
reconceptualise internationalisation in higher education (HE). The
papers in this special issue contribute to a critically reflective
interdisciplinary discussion on the phenomena of
internationalisation in terms of the evolution of the structures,
systems, and functions of HE institutions. They critique the
phenomena from social, educational and spatial perspectives,
highlighting the complexity of this field and a common concern
regarding the effects of predominantly economic drivers for
internationalisation. The papers provide insights into some of the
drivers and rationales for internationalisation and the ways in
which policies and power relationships steer the direction and
development of internationalisation at an institutional,
programme or personal level. They illustrate the complex and
interdependent nature of the positive and less positive
dimensions of internationalisation experiences.