Globalization, Internationalization and Education: What is the Connection?

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reflect about the interconnectedness of globalization, the internationalization process of universities and the construction of social capital through education in emerging countries. The study is based on the assumption that the inclusion of English as an international language as well as courses on globalization in the curriculum of higher education courses is necessary to drive the development of social capital. The study analyzes the internationalization process in general and of the Business Administration Course in particular of two Brazilian universities in different contexts, a public and a private one. Results of the study suggest that one of the main challenges in the development of social capital in higher education in Brazil is related to the lack of linguistic proficiency in English to aid the internationalization process of education with the consequent inclusion of these countries in the globalized world and top ranked institutions.

English as a Medium of Instruction at Turkish State Universities

“…Though Brazil has a population 2,7 times bigger than Turkey, it is assumed that there is a market opportunity for private institutions in Brazil due to the lack of state universities for all the degree-seeker students. Indeed, this was one of the main conclusions in Finardi and Ortiz (2015) in terms of the motivation for internationalization in private and state universities in Brazil.…”

“…Based on Finardi and Ortiz (2015) who found that state universities were more motivated to become international than private universities in Brazil, mainly because of the number of private versus state universities in Brazil, and based on studies that associate the offer of EMI courses with internationalization of higher education, this study aimed at verifying the number of state Turkish universities that adopt English as medium of instruction in at least one of their courses. For that, the study collected quantitative data by means of internet search in Turkish university websites excluding foundation universities (maintained by private groups and supervised by the government).…”

“…Finardi and Ortiz (2015) investigated the motivation of two Brazilian universities, one public and the other private, to become internationalized. The authors hypothesized that private universities, similarly to European universities after the withdrawal of public funding for education, would be motivated to become international as a way to attract foreigner-paying fees.…”

“…The authors explained this unexpected finding in terms of academic versus economic motivations for internationalization and the size of the domestic market in Brazil (private universities account for about 25% of the offer but the population in Brazil is so large that it still represents a comfortable market for private universities which do not need to seek financing outside Brazil). One of the lessons of Finardi and Ortiz' (2015) study is that internationalization of higher education may be closely associated with economic (and not only) academic motivations.…”

“…Regarding the role of English in the process of internationalization of higher education, the present study draws on results of previous studies carried out at Brazilian universities (for example Amorim & Finardi, in press;Finardi & Archanjo, 2015;Finardi & França, 2016;Finardi & Ortiz, 2015;Finardi & Tyler, 2015;Finardi & Ortiz, 2015;Finardi, Santos, Guimarães, 2016, Finardi, 2016a and at a Swiss university (Finardi & Csillagh, 2016;Finardi, 2017), to propose the reflection on the use of English in Turkish universities.…”