Cultural Imperialism or Global Public Goods: Dilemmas of International Education

Abstract

Mentioning international partnerships raises another question, which is our title today: Cultural Imperialism or Global Public Goods: Dilemmas of International Education. Is international involvement in expanding higher education in developing countries a benign expression of globalisation or sinister neo-colonialism? // We shall address this question through four others. // First, where should the drive for expanding postsecondary education in developing countries come from: the public sector or the private sector? // Second, how can providers, whether public or private, scale up postsecondary education quickly enough? In particular what should be the balance between building campuses and expanding distance education? // Third, what sorts of study programmes are needed? // Fourth, how will we know whether the expanded provision is any good? What quality assurance mechanisms are needed?