Research Internationalisation



The OIA is an enabling office, tasked with initiating and supporting the internationalisation processes at the University of the Free State (UFS). All five performance indicators commonly used to rank universities, namely teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income, and reputation); citations (research influence); international outlook (staff, students, and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer) are closely associated with internationalisation of higher education and the international mindset of an institution. 

A Research Portfolio was established in August 2022 to enhance scholarly engagement in the internationalisation process. The portfolio is an important step towards realising the vision of being a research-led university in the internationalisation context.

A clear distinction needs to be made between a research focus area in a particular field per se, and the institutional rationale for driving research on internationalisation, which includes that a research-based university should inform the development of institutional strategies, policies, and procedures through research. Aspects of the research produced within the Research Portfolio in the OIA could contribute to an information base that can inform institutional strategy and policy development, while strengthening the scholarship on internationalisation and contributing to knowledge production in the field.

Our preparatory work for the portfolio exposed the gaps that exist in terms of theorisation and knowledge production on internationalisation of higher education.  Specifically, internationalisation of higher education in the context of Africa and the larger Global South, is under-researched. 

 



Based on this mission of the UFS, and despite the majority of personnel being support staff, the objective of the portfolio is to develop scholarship in the OIA, to research aspects of comprehensive internationalisation, and to advance scholarship among OIA staff members in order to become a research-led office.

The Research Portfolio strives to be a high-impact division with a focus on researching comprehensive internationalisation, consistently generating a variety of high-quality research outputs; expanding the footprint of the OIA in national and international higher education communities and in the public arena; and influencing the scholarship of internationalisation.


Perspectives in Education

The OIA is the custodians of Perspective in Education (PiE), an open access, peer-reviewed journal focusing on contemporary educational issues, locally and internationally. PiE seeks to stimulate important dialogue and intellectual exchange on education and democratic transition with respect to schools, colleges, non-governmental organisations, universities, and universities of technology in South Africa and beyond. It appears on a number of listings, including SCOPUS and DOAJ. A number of local and international scholars serve as board members.  It publishes regular editions biannually, and also regularly publishes special editions on relevant topics.

Editor-in-Chief: Prof Jan Nieuwenhuis

Managing Editor: Erika Kruger


Publication list
2023

Karamercan, O; Matapo, J; Kamenarac, O; Fa’avae, D.T.M; Arndt, S; Irwin, R; Kruger, F, Mika,C; Bassidou, M.Y.A; Tesar, M & Del Monte, P.  (2023). Engaging and developing community in digital spaces: Approaches from the Editorial Development Group, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 55(7):760-772, https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2022.2041412  ,

Haug, E & Jacobs, L.  (2023). “The design of collaborative online internationalised learning (COIL)”. In Fiona Hunter, Ravichandran Ammigan, Hans de Wit, Jeanine Gregersen-Hermans, Elspeth Jones and Amanda C. Murphy (Eds), Internationalisation in Higher Education: Responding to New Opportunities and Challenges Ten Years of Research by the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI), (pp. 143-156). Milano: Educat. https://libri.educatt.online/books/CHEI/ebook-CHEI.pdf

Howard, B., Ilyashenko, N., & Jacobs, L. (2023). Cross-cultural collaboration through virtual teaming in higher education. Perspectives in Education, 41(1), 74-87. https://doi.org/10.38140/pie.v41i1.6319

2022

Beckmann, J. (2022). Thoughts on the Impending Third Epoch of School Education Policy in South Africa. In N Popov, C Wolhuter, L de Beer, G Hilton, J Ogunleye, E Achinewhu-Nworgu & E Niemczyk (Eds), Towards the Next Epoch of Education, BCES Conference Books, 20:65-71 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED622684.pdf

De Wet, C. (2022). Gender Themes in Jeff Kinney’s Diaries of a Wimpy Kid. In N Popov, C Wolhuter, L de Beer, G Hilton, J Ogunleye, E Achinewhu-Nworgu & E Niemczyk (Eds), Towards the Next Epoch of Education, BCES Conference Books, 20:130-136 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED622723.pdf

De Wet, C. (2022). Gendertemas in Topsy Smith se Trompie-boeke. LitNet Akademies, 19(2), 346-385 https://doi.org/10.56273/1995-5928/2022/j19n2d3

De Wit, H & Jooste, N.  (2022) “Twenty-five years of internationalization and international student recruitment—The South African story” in Hans de Wit, Ekaterina Minaeva, Lizhou Wang  (Eds), International Student Recruitment and Mobility In Non-Anglophone Countries, (pp. 257-273), Routledge:

George, V; Jacobs, L & Hodges, M. (2022). Virtual Monitoring and Evaluation of Capacity Development in Higher Education Projects: Lessons for the Future. In N Popov, C Wolhuter, L de Beer, G Hilton, J Ogunleye, E Achinewhu-Nworgu & E Niemczyk (Eds), Towards the Next Epoch of Education, BCES Conference Books, 20:25-31 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED622685.pdf

Jacobs, L; Kruger, E. & Madiope, M.  (2022) “The potential of African diaspora academics and diaspora academics in Africa in reshaping international higher education” In Deborah Lock, Andrea Caputo, Paul Igwe, Dieu Hack-Polay (Eds)  Borderlands: The Internationalization of Higher Education Teaching Practices, (pp. 31-43) Springer Nature

Jooste, N.  (2022) “Toward systemic internationalisation: Conversations with Mestenhauser on educational reform in South Africa” in Anne M. D'Angelo, Mary Katherine O'Brien, Gayla Marty (Eds) Mestenhauser and the Possibilities of International Education, Illuminating Pathways for Inquiry and Future Practice, (pp. 89-100), Routledge

Jooste, N.  (2022) “Trends, data, and dimensions of international student mobility and recruitment in Latin America and the Caribbean; the Middle East and North Africa; and sub-Saharan Africa” in Hans de Wit, Ekaterina Minaeva, Lizhou Wang  (Eds), International Student Recruitment and Mobility In Non-Anglophone Countries, (pp. 268-274), Routledge

Jooste, N., & Hagenmeier, C. (2022). Policy Framework for the Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa: A Compass for Comprehensive Internationalisation? Journal of Studies in International Education, 26(4), 1-21 https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153221105318

Kruger, E. (2022). A Personal Account of a Chance Encounter with Postqualitative Inquiry at the Foot of a Mountain. In N Popov, C Wolhuter, L de Beer, G Hilton, J Ogunleye, E Achinewhu-Nworgu & E Niemczyk (Eds), Towards the Next Epoch of Education, BCES Conference Books, 20:238-245. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED622670.pdf

Kruger, J., Beckmann, J., Du Plessis, A. (2022). The management and governance conundrum in South African public schools: principals’ perspectives. Perspectives in Education, 40(4), 312-324 https://doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.5735

Wimpenny, K; Finardi, K.R.; Orsini-Jones, M; & Jacobs, L. (2022). Knowing, Being, Relating and Expressing Through Third Space Global South-North COIL: Digital Inclusion and Equity in International Higher Education. Journal of Studies in International Education. 26(2):279-296. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153221094085

Wolhuter, C., Jacobs, L. (2022). The COVID-19 Pandemic as Potential Catalyst for Comparative and International Education. International Perspectives on Education and Society, 42B: 3-24 https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-36792022000042B001

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