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. 2022;84(6):1317-1342.
doi: 10.1007/s10734-022-00931-8. Epub 2022 Oct 3.

Reconceptualising international academic mobility in the global knowledge system: towards a new research agenda

Wenqin Shen  1 , Xin Xu  2 , Xiaona Wang  2
Affiliations

Reconceptualising international academic mobility in the global knowledge system: towards a new research agenda

Wenqin Shen et al. High Educ (Dordr). 2022.

Abstract

The cross-border movement of people in higher education has been attracting scholarly attention for decades, but the definition of 'international academic mobility' bears ambiguities. This article reviews the literature on international academic mobility published in the journal Higher Education and beyond. By bridging the literature on international academic mobility from higher education studies and other disciplines, this article proposes to redefine international academic mobility, which highlights the integration of both international student mobility and international faculty mobility. Furthermore, this article outlines a new conceptual framework and research agenda, on the role of international academic mobility in the national, regional, and global knowledge systems. The framework highlights the relationship between international academic mobility and worldwide knowledge acquisition, production, transfer, circulation, networks, and the geopolitics of science. The article also proposes further methodologies for future research on international academic mobility.

Keywords: Global knowledge system; International academic mobility; International student mobility; Knowledge diplomacy; Transnational knowledge circulation; Transnational research networks.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The number of articles published per year on academic mobility, between 1981 and 2021 in Higher Education
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentage of the countries studied for outbound mobility
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Percentage of the countries studied for inbound mobility
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Conceptual framework for knowledge and international academic mobility and global knowledge system
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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