Internationalization and the new academic generation (original) (raw)

The aim of this chapter is to establish the extent to which views about international issues of higher education and international activities vary across the generations of academics. This requires a choice of concepts and measurements of what constitutes a “generation” as well as a choice of the international aspects to be addressed. The issues addressed regarding internationalisation in the subsequent analysis are largely determined by themes covered in the “The Changing Academic Profession” questionnaire surveys. Notably, four questions are raised: 1) How much do young/old and junior/senior academics differ in terms of international mobility or migration for study or professional purposes throughout their lives, that is in terms of the international aspect of their biographies? 2) How much do young/old and junior/senior academics differ with respect to their international activities and to their foreign language use? 3) Does the international aspect of the biography have an impact on the academics’ international activities and their foreign language use? 4) Do international biographies as well as international activities and foreign language use matter for the way the academics view the situation of the academic profession and act professionally in general?