International Collaboration

Abstract

International collaborations are becoming more common in the field of education, and throughout the academy, as the ease of travel and communication have made it easier to work across national boundaries. In addition, many academic institutions are seeking to internationalize their campuses through expanded study abroad offerings and additional incentives for faculty to develop research programs beyond national borders. The same time-space compression characteristic of globalization in other fields greatly affects higher education, as universities are becoming multinational institutions with campuses in two or more countries and faculty and students engaged in cross-border instruction and knowledge production. Finally, some scholars are committed to efforts to better integrate local expertise and knowledge as they attempt to decolonize or, at a minimum, democratize forms of social research. However, those who have engaged in research that brings together scholars and practitioners from multiple countries are well aware of the obstacles and tensions that frequently emerge as myriad differences in access to resources, demands on faculty time, and discursive conventions become apparent.