Unveiling the mainstream narrative and embracing critical voices in the era of internationalisation in higher education: considerations from Latin America

Abstract

This paper critically examines narratives of internationalisation in higher education, highlighting three core narratives: a normative narrative that emphasises economic growth and quality education, a critical narrative that challenges internationalisation as a hegemonic market-based force, and a narrative that addresses colonial legacies, the latter two narratives with considerations from Latin America. The study analyses policy documents from international agencies and two influential books, revealing the dominance of normative, Western-rooted narratives and the marginalisation of critical voices that have limited impact on policy. The paper argues for challenging the normative narrative and its neglect of regional specificities and colonial histories in favour of redistributive logics and social inclusion. It highlights the dangers of conceiving of internationalisation as a ‘one size fits all’ approach, focusing exclusively on economic and quality aspects, and suggests that a critical evaluation of internationalisation can contribute to the decolonisation of higher education narratives.