A cross-case analysis of internationalization at national universities in Singapore and Japan

• In Event: Asian comparative international studies

Proposal

Relevancy
This paper is the product of doctoral research which explores the internationalization of four case study national universities in Singapore and Japan. It contributes to the field through an in-depth exploration of the diverse approaches global research universities within two Asian contexts take in responding to the opportunities and challenges of the globalizing twenty-first century knowledge economy/society. Cross-case analysis at the institutional level helps to highlight the range of approaches that can be taken to what are becoming fairly institutionalized international practices such as international partnerships and recruitment, but also helps to highlight important contextual factors that influence approach.

Theoretical framework
To understand the nature of internationalization in the cases, this study explores both the why and how of implementation while providing proper contextualization in this exploration (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Driven by a strongly pragmatic view, the hope is that the analysis can be used to improve implementation and application of university internationalization throughout the region and beyond. Reporting and analysis work under the emerging tenets in the field of internationalization of higher education (IoHE), which hold that IoHE is a means to achieving other goals, not an end in and of itself; rationales for and approaches to IoHE are determined by perspective and context; and globalization and the knowledge-based economy are central drivers of IoHE. Though the doctoral research dedicated considerable attention to the national contexts in which the cases operate, which was presented at CIES 2017, this paper focuses primarily on the experience at the institutional level, with an eye towards highlighting the relationship between institutional approach and the most influential contextual factors.

Methods
This research uses an exploratory, multi-layer, cross-case analysis to explore IoHE in four case study national universities in Singapore and Japan. Relevant literature, national, institutional and program level documentary sources, and semi-structured interviews with university staff and faculty leadership are used to progressively focus from general theory and scholarship on IoHE down through regional, national, institutional, and program level realities. Primary and secondary documents produced by or about the universities (i.e. government documents and reports, university websites and publications, strategic plans, annual reports, press releases, previous research, etc.) comprised the baseline data used to build detailed profiles for each case and their respective national policy environments. Then semi-structured interviews with six to nine purposefully selected leaders from each university were conducted to build on and ‘fill out’ the data gathered through the document review. The individual narratives were then used for a cross-case analysis looking at similar data across all cases, highlighting the similarities and differences between each case, and how these related to their unique institutional characteristics and/or circumstances. The strengths of this approach lie in the design and structure of the research, which aims to observe how IoHE moves between macro and micro levels through a comparative lens. By comparing the phenomena between countries and individual universities within countries, the study seeks to highlight the process by which internationalization approaches are developed, and how both national and institutional contextual factors may influence those approaches.

Results
This study found a striking similarity within country and stark differences between countries. Although all four cases partake in similar activities, such as international partnerships and student exchange, the rationales for, approaches to, and degree of these activities differed markedly. This suggests that even between two developed East Asian countries, the national context has a major influence over internationalization approach. Environment factors such as national policy environment, language, governance and management structures, developmental stage, and various socio-cultural considerations were shown to be particularly relevant. These contextual factors were combined with differing views towards globalization, marketization and the role of the university to form differing rationales for internationalization (more economic in Singapore’s case, and socio-cultural in Japan’s). These rationales were tempered or enhanced by the ability of leadership to form and implement an institutional vision and strategy as well as institutional circumstances such as governance structures and funding. The outcome is widely varying approaches to internationalization, even though the component parts were largely the same.

Conclusions
One of the most exciting outcomes of this research is a newly proposed model to explain how context and international trends intersect and are interpreted and influenced by the attitudes of individuals to form rationales related to IoHE, which then form part of a complex web of interaction with the agency of those individuals and the circumstances of the institution. The outcome of this interaction is institutional approach to internationalization, which can be comprehensive and strategic or ad-hoc and uncoordinated, or some combination of these at different levels within the university. The cases also demonstrate the relative effect of general alignment or dissonance between national and institutional level rationales, which signals the importance of coordination between state and institutional level policymakers. Additionally, this paper concludes that there is little evidence to suggest a common East Asian (as defined by Marginson, 2011) approach to university internationalization, or at the very least that these two national contexts represent opposite ends of the spectrum for the region.

Significance
This research is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, it provides an in-depth look at the actual practices of internationalization within some of the most influential universities in East Asia. This is especially important given the current dominance of Western perspectives in the field. Secondly, it highlights the importance of national context in institutional approach. While not the first study to reach this conclusion, such additional evidence is important for future policy decisions both within the case study contexts as well as for others. Finally, the model for how a whole host of factors interact to influence institutional approach has the potential to be of significant use to institutional leaders worldwide as they develop their own internationalization strategies. Such a clearly laid-out framework can help to inform the strategy development process, and ensure that strategies truly fit their institutions in a comprehensive and effective manner.

Author

• Justin Sanders, University of Osaka