Positioning Culture in HE internationalization: A discourse approach

This paper places internationalisation as a global discourse from an intercultural perspective. In this paper, we select top rated universities in QS rankings with identified international faculty and student activity in the UK and in Latin America. Taking a discourse analytic approach, the study aims to outline the relationship between discourse and socio-cultural practice in the discursive and social practice of internationalisation (Fairclough, 2010) and assess whether these are stable or variable entities in the light of global discourses of internationalisation. From this, we draw implications for internationalisation discourses and practices and provide a tool kit for policy makers in higher education institutions (HEI) in both areas studies.
Specifically, the paper aims to explore the role of cultural practices in the interpretation of global discourses of HE internationalization policies and assess their re-contextualisation into local discourses and practices so as to inform policy making. The paper aims to produce a clear evidence of the linkage between discourse approach to intercultural communication and the importance of this in policy making within a higher education internationalised context. The paper’s contribution is twofold:
(a)Academic contribution: The theoretical framework will provide a set of methodological guidelines outlining how traditional models for the study of culture can be challenged and reframed within critical discourse studies for the study of intercultural discourse practices.
(b)Policy contribution: The research will provide policy guidelines as to how the discourse analysis framework can be applied to current institutional practices to obtain results that can feed into policy making and enhance institutional practice.

Author(s):

Alberto Paucar-Caceres    
Manchester Metropolitan University
United Kingdom

Stella Bullo    
Manchester Metropolitan University
United Kingdom

Mariana Pascual    
Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Argentina
Argentina