Internationalization in Canadian Higher Education - A Case Study of the Gap between Official Discourses and On-the-Ground Realities

Oct 15, 2026

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Case study examines a Canadian university’s “North Goes South” internationalization initiative and the perceived impact on students, faculty, and Tanzanian community members. The article reviews Canadian higher-education internationalization literature, explains the case-study methodology and contextual background, then analyzes results showing complex and contradictory implementation in one higher-education setting. Findings highlight a gap between official internationalization discourses and on-the-ground realities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 45, No. 4, 2015, pages 101-122 Internationalization in Canadian Higher Education: A Case Study of the Gap between Official Discourses and On-theGround Realities Marianne A. Larsen University of Western Ontario Abstract This case study about one university’s internationalization initiative, known as North Goes South, provides a nuanced and finely grained understanding of what internationalization looks like in practice. The study was guided by a desire to probe the perceived impact of a Canadian–East African internationalization initiative on students, faculty, and Tanzanian community members. The article begins with a brief review of the literature on internationalization and higher education in Canada. The rationale for using a case-study methodology is presented, along with the background and context of the case. Following an outline of the research methods, the study results are reviewed to show the complex and contradictory ways in which this internationalization initiative played out in one higher education setting, pointing to the gap between official discourses of internationalization and on-the-ground realities. Résumé Connue sous l’appellation « North Goes South » (Le Nord va au Sud), cette étude de cas concernant l’initiative d’internationalisation d’une université en particulier fournit une compréhension nuancée et finement détaillée de ce à quoi ressemble l’internationalisation dans la pratique. L’étude a été guidée CJHE / RCES Volume 45, No. 4, 2015 Internationalization in Canadian Higher Education / M. A. Larsen 102 par un désir de sonder l’effet perçu d’une initiative d’internationalisation canadienne-est-africaine sur les étudiants, le corps professoral et les membres de la communauté tanzanienne. L’article débute par une brèverecension des écrits sur l’internationalisation et l’enseignement supérieur au Canada. Nous y justifions l’utilisation d’une méthodologie d’étude de cas et y présentons le fond et le contexte du cas en question. Nous dessinons ensuite les méthodes de recherche et examinons les résultats del’étude afin de révéler les manières complexes et contradictoires de concrétisation de cette initiative d’internationalisation dans un cadre d’enseignement supérieur, soulignant ainsi l’écart existant entre les discours officiels d’internationalisation et les réalités sur le terrain. Introduction Internationalization is a key feature of higher education in the early 21st century, and Canadian universities are no exception to this global trend. Over the past 15 years or so, international initiatives related to student and faculty mobility, international research partnerships, and the internationalization of curricula have been taken up across Canadian postsecondary institutions. Indeed, the majority of Canadian universities and colleges view internationalization as a high priority; as a result, they now include internationalization as a key goal in their institutional strategic plans and internationalization among their top five priorities (AUCC, 2014) . Jane Knight, whose definition of internationalization is most quoted in the related literature, notes that internationalization occurs at both the institutional and the national/ sector level, and that while the national/sector level has had an important influence on the international dimension of postsecondary education, “it is usually at the individual, institutional level that the real processes of internationalization is [sic] taking place”(Knight, 2004, pp. 6–7) . Knight’s proposition is to use both a bottom-up (institutional) approach and a top-down (national/sector) approach to understand the dynamic relationship between what is happening at the two levels. In this article, I focus primarily on the bottom-up approach in order to provide a more nuanced and finely grained understanding of what internationalization actually

FAQs

What is the focus of the case study?

The case study focuses on how participants involved in the “North Goes South” initiative perceive its impact.

Why does the article use a case-study methodology?

It uses a case-study approach to understand internationalization in practice by examining participants’ perceptions, roles, benefits, and challenges.

What does the study find about internationalization outcomes?

Results show complex and contradictory ways the initiative unfolded, revealing a gap between official internationalization discourses and realities on the ground.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Muffet