Abstract
This chapter explores the development and implementation of internationalization policies, strategies, and practices from the standpoint of student mobility. It considers Slovenia and Turkey as the two countries forming the European Higher Education Area which have not received much attention from comparative researchers dealing with higher education. To this end, it initially investigates each country case individually by analyzing student mobility in national and institutional internationalization policies and strategies and its implementation in practice. On this basis, it provides the necessary background for the continuing debate, in which it evaluates the main similarities and differences in the field from the comparative perspective of both countries examined. Methodologically, the chapter is based on a thorough analysis of multiple documentary sources and most recent secondary data obtained from national and international statistical databases.
TopIntroduction
This chapter explores the internationalization of Slovenian and Turkish higher education from the comparative standpoint of policies, strategies and practices in student mobility as the activity most frequently associated with the internationalization of higher education (abroad) (see Knight, 2008; Bista & Foster, 2016; Pawar, 2017). In European higher education, the start of the Bologna Process in 1999 was strongly influenced by positive experiences with the Erasmus mobility program which was launched in 1987 and paved the way for further harmonization of internationalization and mobility policies in the last decade of the past century (de Wit, 2002). But from the mid-1990s onwards, internationalization already started to develop as a strategic process in some Western European countries where economic rationales in the sense of attracting non-European students who pay tuition fees were strengthened under complex effects of globalization on higher education (de Wit, 2002; Teichler, 2010; de Wit et al., 2015). In 1998, the Sorbonne Declaration (1998) pointed to the need for a harmonized architecture of the European higher education system to establish “a framework for teaching and learning, which would enhance mobility and an ever-closer cooperation” (p. 1). A year later, 29 ministers responsible for higher education signed the Bologna Declaration (1999) in which they agreed to strengthen the mobility of students, academic staff, researchers, and administrative staff as one of the six principal objectives of building the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by 2010. In 2009, they highlighted that by 2020, at least one-fifth of graduates from EHEA countries would complete a part of their study or training abroad (Leuven Communiqué, 2009). In 2012, they called for a more balanced mobility, and urged all EHEA countries to develop and implement internationalization and mobility strategies and policies in accordance with their profile, provide fair recognition of competencies acquired abroad and ensure other opportunities for mobile and non-mobile students (Working Group on Mobility, 2012, pp. 2–5). More recently, the ministers responsible for higher education maintained that they paved the way for large-scale student mobility along with increasing the quality and attractiveness of mobility practices (Paris Communiqué, 2018). The ministers stressed that achieving the Leuven target, which envisages 20% of EHEA graduates experiencing a study or training period abroad, is essential. They emphasized that “all learners […] experience some form of mobility, whether in physical, digitally enhanced (virtual) or blended formats” (Rome Ministerial Communiqué, 2020, p. 6).
In 2013, also the European Commission published the communication European Higher Education in the World which exposed the need to develop comprehensive internationalization strategies focusing on international mobility, internationalization at home, and strategic partnerships (European Commission, 2013). As reported in the study of the European University Association (EUA), which involved 175 higher education institutions from 38 European countries, 56% of participating institutions stated that they have adopted the internationalization strategy, 30% noted that it makes part of other strategies and 13% underlined that it is in the process of its design (EUA, 2013). But as revealed by de Wit et al. (2015), a substantial majority of EHEA countries continue to support student mobility in their national and institutional internationalization policies and strategies, and to this end, this study explores it comparatively in more detail in the context of Slovenia and Turkey. Although both countries are Bologna Process signatory countries (from 1999 and 2001 onwards), they usually do not make part of comparative studies in higher education, despite the ever-growing need for their conduct in less-known (European/EHEA) higher education contexts. To overcome this notable research limitation, the chapter explores internationalization from the perspective of student mobility in the framework of the following research questions:
Key Terms in this Chapter
Higher Education: Higher education, also referred to as post-secondary education, is a part of tertiary education which results in an academic degree.
Degree Mobility: Degree mobility refers to an entire degree program that is completed abroad.
Internationalization Policy: A set of official agreements or a plan concerning the internationalization adopted by an organization, such as the EU at the supranational level, the government at the national level or the university at the institutional level.
Internationalization Strategy: A plan of decisions of an organization to achieve the desired (strategic) objectives in the field of internationalization over a certain time period.
Comparative Research: A research methodology that aims to identify and contrast commonalities and differences between two or more units of analysis (e.g., countries, universities).
Internationalization: In the context of higher education, internationalization refers to the deliberate and active process of developing and incorporating an international, intercultural, and global dimension into the aim, functions, and delivery of higher education.
Credit Mobility: Credit mobility refers to a limited period of study or traineeship at an institution abroad to earn credits.