Abstract
This research investigates the factors which influence the international engagement of academic staff in Australian universities.
In line with global changes to higher education and the academic profession, Australian universities and their academic staff have been influenced by a new wave of internationalisation. In response, many higher education institutions in Australia have adopted comprehensive international strategies across their teaching, research and outreach agendas.
Given the central role of academic staff within the life
of the university, and with international strategies now touching on all
aspects of a university’s activity, it is assumed that academic staff will play
a key role in the further internationalisation of Australian higher education.
Yet little is known about the factors which influence the international
engagement of Australian academics and the extent to which they consider
international activities an important aspect of their academic work.
This study will seek to explore the extent to which
different aspects of international engagement have been integrated into
contemporary understandings of academic work and academic identity in
Australia. The study is designed to answer the following key
research question:
- What factors influence the international engagement of academic staff in Australian universities?
In exploring these factors, the following sub-questions will be asked:
- How and where do international activities fit into Australian understandings of academic practice?
- Has internationalisation served as a catalyst for change in academic work?
- Do academic staff consider it their responsibility to engage with international activities, or not?
- What are the drivers and barriers to international engagement amongst Australian academic staff?
Based on an Adaptive Theory approach (Layder, 1998), the research project will take a case study of two universities, with qualitative data to be collected through document analysis and in-depth interviews. Case study institutions (both in Victoria, Australia) are referred to as Research Intensive University and Innovative Comprehensive University, with participants drawn from Science and Business/Economics disciplines at both institutions.
Drawing on prior theory (drawn from earlier models and frameworks) and emergent theory (drawn from collected data), this research will seek to generate an explanatory model for the international engagement of academic staff in Australia.