This research explores the process of the internationalisation of higher education since the Magna Carta Universitatum (1988) set out key principles for universities across Europe. The agreement, based on the European humanist tradition, identified the importance of university moral and intellectual independence from political authority (1988:2). Since then the power of globalisation has been considered the key driver of higher education policy (Ozga 2000; Giddens 1999), with the emergence of the corporate university (Ritzer 2000) and the culture of entrepreneurship and enterprise, linking knowledge to wealth creation (Evans 2004:97) and national economies. The purpose of this study is to penetrate the phenomena of internationalisation in the higher education arena, involving an in-depth exploration of emerging cultural and political contexts. A critical analysis of the economic drive for the globalisation of education (Burbules & Torres 2000) is considered in relation to ideological and academic interests and perspectives. The political, situational and relational structures (Denzin & Lincoln 2003:37) are key elements of the interpretive approaches undertaken in this study. The research examines four key questions. What internal and external factors influence the internationalisation of higher education? What aspects of internationalisation are being promoted and facilitated, and why? What responsibilities does the process of internationalisation assume? To what extent has higher education entered a new phase of Western academic imperialism? This research is particularly pertinent with the development of the European Higher Education Area and Bologna set for 2010, just as we enter a phase of a global economic uncertainty. Using the theoretical frames of Ozga’s ‘contested terrain’ (2000:1), forms of cultural capital (Bourdieu &Passeron 1977), and academic imperialism (Hofstede 1991; Said 1993), this research seeks to contribute to the current debate surrounding internationalisation, and create a framework for analysing the diverse perspectives and motives, related to the higher education context.

The study involves a multi-method approach which encompasses a comprehensive academic literature review providing the necessary theoretical frame for the study. Alongside this is a document and policy analysis, designed to identify key political and contextual influences (Ball 1994; Denzin & Lincoln 2003). These do not stand outside the methodology but drive and inform the empirical methods. These comprise i) an ethnographic study involving a single interpretive case-study (Gillham 2000; Yin 2003) which offers an in-depth exploration of causal relationships within one higher education context in England; ii) a web-based questionnaire targeting a sample of geographically dispersed university colleagues, used to source data on an international scale, to both challenge and validate the theory generated through the interpretive case-study; and iii) reflexive ethnography (Bourdieu 1988; Bourdieu & Wacquant 1992), in the form of a research log to reflect the researcher’s personal everyday involvement with this area of work.

This is a work in progress and current analysis indicates a range of emerging themes: transformation, ethical considerations and sustainability. Each of the three themes highlights a range of contradictions and consensus often associated with the analysis of complex processes. That is, transformation in terms of personal growth and institutional culture; ethical considerations, which take account of corporate responsibility, inclusivity and Western accountability to the developing world; and sustainability, both economic and environmental.