REVISITING CONTEMPORARY NOTIONS OF EDUCATION AND GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is a rising socio-economic trend. Universities respond to this trend by increasing their international activities. Globalization and the internationalization of higher education were foundational topics in the first author’s doctoral dissertation--an ethnographic study of Western faculty and primarily Gulf Arab university students in Qatar. At theoretical and policy levels, the deep research of this classroom-based study clarifies and/or disrupts several conventional notions pertaining to faculty mobility and preparedness, nation-state and higher education, and culture. It is important to revisit traditional assumptions in light of emerging empirical research. Prevalent academic literature and international policies sometimes put forward recommendations that appear to do little to actually enhance the quality of classroom-based teaching and learning in transnational contexts. A brief critical discussion is offered examining several dominant issues in transnational education. The call is for offering relevant support for faculty working internationally.