Faculty Views on Internationalization in Kazakhstan

Internationalization is viewed as the main mechanism for the modernization of higher education in Kazakhstan. Despite the strong policy push for internationalization, research on the process of implementation of internationalization initiatives by institutions, as well as on the experiences with the internationalization of individual faculty members, students, and administrators remains rather scarce. This paper fills the gap in existing research by using the data from the international Academic Profession in the Knowledge Society (APIKS) survey to explore faculty views on internationalization. The study addresses the following research questions: (1) What are faculty views on internationalization? (2) How do the views vary among the faculty of different demographic and professional characteristics (e.g. gender, rank, discipline, age, experience)? (3) What is the relationship between the views on internationalization and faculty language ability? (4) What is the relationship between the views and the extent of faculty engagement in international experiences? To answer the research questions, we use both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study reveals that faculty generally hold a positive view of internationalization, although remain concerned about the effect of internationalization initiatives on brain drain and loss of cultural identity. In addition, they seem to be less satisfied with the number of opportunities for international mobility and research collaboration, which are available for them as compared to students. The study points to the importance of gathering faculty input on the development and approaches to implementation of internationalization initiatives, as well as of expanding faculty access to internalization programs.