International, Intercultural and Global Dimensions of the Internationalization of Higher Education: A Socio-Philosophical Approach

Abstract

The topic of the internationalization of higher education has received wide coverage in recent years due to the democratization, massification and liberalization of higher education and the need for countries to enter the global educational space. Internationalization of higher education is a dominant trend in the development of global processes. The article dwells on the methodological issues of studying this phenomenon. Current internationalization of higher education is considered in three dimensions – international, intercultural and global – using the examples of institutional interaction between national education systems, educational organizations and participants in educational relationships. Based on the existing points of view, a new methodological approach is proposed, i.e. a comprehensive representation of the internationalization of higher education within the framework of social philosophy. The latter allows us to link up different aspects of this phenomenon and synthesize the most common and holistic ideas. The analysis showed that the internationalization of higher education is a purposeful process of interaction between national education systems at the global, international and intercultural levels taking into account institutional, organizational and interpersonal components. The main conclusion of the paper is the idea that internationalization is a complex phenomenon that has become ambivalent. On the one hand, it is considered to be an incentive for the development of national education systems, the role of universities and the motivation of students, and on the other hand, it leads to inequality in education, dominance of some educational systems over others, and greater influence of the English language. Russian education is faced with the task of creating attractive opportunities for applicants from abroad, taking into account, first of all, the national interests and the needs of the Russian higher education system. In addition, the article outlines prospects for further study of internationalization.