Policy transfer, context sensitivity, and epistemic justice: commentary and overview

Abstract

The global expansion of higher education has been increasingly evident since the 1980s, driven partly by the emergence of the knowledge economy and inspiring the internationalisation of all dimensions of the sector worldwide. Western, neoliberal models, values, and assumptions have dominated this process leading to the policy transfer of funding regimes favouring marketisation, the rise of the private sector, increased reliance upon student fees and governance processes seeking intergovernmental and intragovernmental coordination, and the harmonisation of higher education systems, standards, and qualifications frameworks. Within Europe this led to the signing of the Bologna Declaration in 1999 and the creation of the European Higher Education Area: “to facilitate student and staff mobility, to make higher education more inclusive and accessible, and to make higher education in Europe more attractive and competitive worldwide” (https://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/ higher-education/bologna-process-and-european-higher-education-area_en). Beyond Europe and North America, the influence of these and related developments can be seen in the rapid growth and internationalisation of higher education in contexts as diverse as Africa, Latin America, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Mainland China. In the latter case, the dramatic growth of the home sector has been combined with exponential increases in the numbers of Chinese students pursuing higher education abroad, most notably in English-speaking countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. While the internationalisation of higher education has also been intensified by the impact of competitive global league tables and university rankings influencing status, reputations, enrolments, and the flow of research funds, such processes and new “governance mechanisms” have been increasingly challenged and problematised. This is especially significant in the work of comparative and international researchers who have long called for greater context sensitivity and the critical interrogation of policy flows in all sectors of education