Challenges for research in higher education: the case of internationalization between the explanandum and the explanans / Desafios da pesquisa no ensino superior: o caso da internacionalização entre o explanandum e o explanans

Autores

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/15174522-97866

Palavras-chave:

higher education research, the narrative approach, methodological isms, internationalisation, pesquisa em ensino superior, abordagem narrativa, ismos metodológicos, internacionalização

Resumo

A key issue in higher education research is that its nature is shaped by the contexts within which it is produced, in response to agendas that reflect more policy coordination demands than disciplinary concerns. The research problematiques are construed mostly out of the theoretical framework of the disciplines, which, in turn, are diluted within an applied research mode. Internationalisation, quality, and access, for instance, tend to be explored from an implementation and managerial perspective. We convene the criticisms of methodological “isms” to highlight how they shape our conceptualisations and understanding of the transformations in higher education. Under this stance, conceptual narratives on internationalisation of higher education prompted by the Brexit momentum are identified in the study Higher education and Brexit: current European perspectives to bring forward the extent to which internationalisation as a conceptual narrative acts as an explanation of the strategies to address the topic, and what is needed to be itself explained. The paper identifies discursive elements stemming from conceptual narratives convened to approach internationalisation in higher education research, and how they reflect the reification of the state and higher education. By focusing on the Brexit momentum that brought to the front stage the centrality of the nation-states and their competition/cooperation relationship, this paper contributes to call attention to the epistemological and methodological implications of isms.

 

Uma questão crucial na pesquisa sobre o ensino superior é que sua natureza é moldada pelos contextos em que é produzida em resposta a agendas que refletem mais demandas de coordenação de políticas do que interesses disciplinares. As problemáticas de pesquisa são construídas principalmente a partir do referencial teórico das disciplinas, as quais, por sua vez, diluem-se no contexto do modo de pesquisa aplicada. A internacionalização, qualidade e acesso, por exemplo, tendem a ser exploradas a partir de uma perspectiva gerencial e de implementação. Reunimos as críticas aos “ismos” metodológicos para destacar como esses moldam nossas conceituações e compreensão das transformações no ensino superior. Desse ponto de vista, as narrativas conceituais sobre internacionalização do ensino superior, impulsionadas pelo Brexit, são identificadas no estudo Higher education and Brexit: current European perspectives para antecipar até que ponto a internacionalização como narrativa conceitual atua como explicação das estratégias para abordar a questão e o que é necessário para que ela mesma seja explicada. O artigo identifica elementos discursivos decorrentes de narrativas conceituais reunidas para abordar a internacionalização na pesquisa do ensino superior e como eles refletem a reificação do estado e do ensino superior. Ao focar o momentum Brexit que colocou em foco a centralidade dos Estados-nação e sua relação de concorrência/cooperação, este artigo contribui para chamar atenção às implicações epistemológicas e metodológicas dos ismos.

 

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Biografia do Autor

Amelia Veiga, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Assistant professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of University of Porto

António Magalhães, Universidade do Porto

Professor Associado com Agregação (Departamento de Ciências da Educação da FPCEUP)

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Publicado

2020-08-18

Como Citar

VEIGA, A.; MAGALHÃES, A. Challenges for research in higher education: the case of internationalization between the explanandum and the explanans / Desafios da pesquisa no ensino superior: o caso da internacionalização entre o explanandum e o explanans. Sociologias, [S. l.], v. 22, n. 54, p. 46–63, 2020. DOI: 10.1590/15174522-97866. Disponível em: https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/sociologias/article/view/97866. Acesso em: 29 mar. 2024.