GLOBALIZATION AND HIGHER EDUCATION FROM THEORY TO ACTION

Understanding the complex concept of “globalization” and its impact on higher education systems, which is often conceptualized in higher education systems as “Internationalization of Universities”, needs to be exanimated in its historical route which constitutes the first section of this article. Then, to develop the theoretical concepts in an action domain, my study re-examines the impacts of this phenomenon on higher education systems in developed and developing countries, and also on some of the action plans recommended by a number of well-known international institutions. Finally, to present more local and applicable findings, a pathological meta-analysis approach is used to discuss the situation of Iranian higher education in international context. This comparative study was done using two main approaches to globalization which distinguish knowledge society from information society.

The findings based on international comparative study suggest a gap between theory and action in the application of the concept of “globalization” not only in some recommendations issued by international institutions, but also in the performance of some higher education systems, particularly in developing country.