Intra Africa Student Mobility In Higher Education

This book examines student mobility within Africa. International student mobility is among the central activities of higher education internationalization. As the number of international students increase, so do the destinations, in both number and geographic diversity. Historically, international student mobility has followed South-North and North-North patterns. However, recent literature show the growth in North-South and South-South patterns of student mobility. There has also been a rise in regional mobility. In what is referred to in the book as intra-Africa mobility, the books explores and analyzes the patterns of intra-Africa mobility based on seven African countries: South Africa, Kenya,Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Egypt. The editors and contributors addressthree central research questions: Why did the students choose the country they are studying in? Why did they choose the institution they are studying in? What are their academic and social experiences in these countries and their respective institutions? This book is the first comprehensive exploration of intra-Africa student mobility in a field that traditionally centers on the Global North.

This book examines current trends in global student mobility patterns in several key host and destination countries, including the United States, China, India, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, and Germany, among others, and will explore the national and global-level factors that contribute to these trends.

This book explores emerging populations of mobile international students in order to consider innovative and inclusive approaches for a more equitable and socially just higher education for new generations of international students. It offers critical reflections on the intersections of race, place, and space at universities hosting international students across multiple geographic and cultural contexts. The volume is designed to catalyze debate on how international student learning and exchange needs to be reimagined for new generations of students in a world of increasing complexity and virtual mobility. International student mobility in higher education is intended to serve as an educational experience that speaks to the need for more interculturally sensitive and globally competent learners. However, internationalization practices like study abroad have increasingly been influenced by neoliberalism, and dynamics of commodification and consumerism, emphasizing the private benefits of such experiences in terms of the social and economic benefits to individual participants. This raises the question of inequality in such internationalization practices; who is benefitting from it? As post-secondary institutions around the world become more and more internationalized, what are the undesirable effects of these developments? Given the rapid expansion of research on both internationalization and inequality in higher education, it is foreseeable that this book will become a much-referenced text within the field and profession.

The Intra-Africa academic mobility scheme promotes higher education cooperation between countries in Africa. It aims to improve the skills and competences of students and staff of African countries through networking, mobility, institutional support and innovation between African countries.

Growth in the scope, scale and importance of higher education regionalization should not be underestimated or ignored. Africa – like Asia, Europe and Latin America – is promoting deeper cooperation among higher education bodies and institutions across the continent and focusing more attention on Pan-African and sub-regional harmonization of policies and programmes. This is the first book which brings together diverse scholars and policy experts to examine key aspects and challenges of African higher education regionalization. Chapters examine the progress and prospects of core regionalization issues and strategies such as academic mobility, quality assurance, recognition of qualifications, research centres and networks, curriculum and competencies, and regional academic programmes. Other chapters discuss important themes such as the relationship between regionalization, internationalization and Africanization; historical antecedents and perspectives; an analytical model to understand functional, organizational and political approaches to Africa’s higher education regionalization; and the influence of the Bologna process on the African Union’s Strategy for the Harmonization of Higher Education Programmes. Together these chapters provide a comprehensive overview of efforts by the African Union; sub-regional higher education associations such as IUCEA, SARUA and CAMES; Pan-African organizations and actors; key research networks and centres of excellence; and the involvement – or dependence – on external actors and funders, especially from Europe. Fundamentally, the book asks the question whether higher education regionalization in Africa is more rhetoric than reality. It discusses the progress to date on specific themes; identifies historical, political, sustainability and funding challenges; and concludes that while the impacts of regionalization efforts have not been fully realized there is cautious optimism for the future.

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this book empirically investigates the (im)mobility decisions, social network formation, sense of European identity and migratory aspirations of higher education students. It draws on a large-scale survey, in-depth interviews and focus groups, conducted in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Poland and the UK.

This book offers a comprehensive look into issues and trends driving international student mobility as the phenomenon becomes increasingly prevalent worldwide. Chapters first present an expanded definition of student mobility in the context of internationalization and go on to discuss the underlying motivations, issues, and challenges students face in attaining successful outcomes. The authors employ marketing concepts to illustrate ideas and recommendations for better attracting and integrating international students into academic institutions abroad with the goal of greater satisfaction for students and improved profitability for the universities they attend.

This volume investigates how international students in and from the Middle East are constructed by nations, institutions, other students, and themselves. Making a valuable contribution to understanding the nuances and complexities of educational politics and priorities affecting these constructions, the text considers the broader impacts of discourse on internationalisation. Offering a unique combination of critical analysis of educational policies combined with empirical contributions through authors’ own research, chapters highlight intersections between politics, the internationalisation of higher education, and the construction of mobile learners. Emphasising variation and nuance in the internationalisation of policies in the Gulf Cooperation Countries, and other Middle Eastern countries, the volume offers a theoretical framework to help understand the political, educational, and ethical implications of emerging constructions of international students and their comparison across the Middle East. This timely volume will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in higher education, international and comparative education, as well as the Middle East more specifically. Those involved with educational education policy and politics, specifically related to the Middle East, will also benefit from this volume.

Regionalization of higher education in Africa is the least researched topic in the field of Social Science. IN this regard, this book is a pioneer in terms of exploring both the historical and theoretical dynamics of regionalization processes within Africa. THe interplay manifested within the book between Political Science theories and higher education concepts makes the whole analysis strong and solid. THe book raises fundamental questions that focus on context and formation, operationalization and implications, and challenges and prospects of regionalization processes in Africa. IN doing so, it gives both, the analytical contexts of the evolution of higher education regionalization in Africa and the current initiatives by the African Union as a whole.