Pluralizing Frameworks for Global Ethics in the Internationalization of Higher Education in Canada - Multi-voiced ethical analysis

Oct 15, 2026

Internationalization remains a priority across many Canadian universities, yet intensifying internationalization raises ethical dilemmas shaped by distinct underlying assumptions. This paper pluralizes and deepens ethical conversations by analyzing how three global ethics approaches respond to issues of international student mobility, study and service abroad, and curriculum internationalization. It argues for multi-voiced, critically informed, and dissensual engagement with complex ethical questions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Strategic priorities for internationalization in Canada

Ethical risks and unresolved tensions

Inequality, competition, and funding shifts

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 49, No. 1, 2019, pages 22-46 Pluralizing Frameworks for Global Ethics in the Internationalization of Higher Education in Canada Sharon Stein University of British Columbia Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti University of British Columbia Rene Suša University of British Columbia Abstract Internationalization continues to be a priority within many Canadian universities. While it is imperative to attend to the ethical dilemmas that accompany the intensification of internationalization, different ethical frameworks operate according to different orientating assumptions. In this paper, we seek to pluralize and deepen conversations about the ethics of internationalization by illustrating how three global ethics approaches address questions of international student mobility, study and service abroad, and internationalizing the curriculum. We conclude by emphasizing the need for both scholars and practitioners to engage in multi-voiced, critically-informed analyses, and dissensual conversations about complex ethical dilemmas related to internationalization. Résumé Beaucoup des universités Canadiennes donnent la priorité à l’internationalisation. Bien qu’il faut considerer les dilemmes éthiques qui suivent l’intensification de l’internationalisation, il faut dire que des divers cadres éthiques suivent des divers hypothèses fondamentales. Dans cet article, nous cherchons de diversifier et d’approfondir les conversations sur l’éthique de l’internationalisation; nous illustrons comment trois approches éthiques répondent aux questions de mobilité des étudiants internationals, des études/l’aide internationals, et l’internationalisation du programme. Nous CJHE / RCES Volume 49, No. 1, 2019 Pluralizing Global Ethics Frameworks / S. Stein, V. de Oliveira Andreotti, R. Suša 23 soulignons la neccesité pour les spécialistes et des professionels d’engagerdans l’analyse critique et des plusiers voix, et d’engage dans des conversations en désaccord sur les dilemmes compliqués de l’internationalisation. Introduction In 2014, Universities Canada found that 95% of Canadian universities included internationalization or global engagement in their strategic planning, and 82% ranked internationalization as one of their top five priorities (Universities Canada, 2014) . It was also in 2014 that the Canadian federal government released its first ever international education strategy, in which, among other things, it announced plans to “double the size of our international student base from 239,131 in 2011 to more than 450,000 by 2022 (without displacing Canadian students)”(Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, 2014, p. 11). Canada was by then already the seventh-most-popular host country for international students (Canadian Bureau for International Education, 2015). Nearly five years later, internationalization continues to be a central priority for Canadian institutions, and indeed for the federal and provincial governments. Meanwhile, Canada remains a desirable educational destination, with international student enrolments growing nearly 18% from 2015 to 2016 alone (ICEF, 2017), on top of an 83% increase from 2008 to 2015 (Canadian Bureau for International Education, as cited in Garson, 2016). The majority of these international students are attending post-secondary institutions. In the context of this rapid expansion of internationalization in Canadian institutions, in 2014 the Association of Canadian Deans of Education released the Accord on the Internationalization of Education, which delineated potential benefits of internationalization as well as potential risks and implications for practice. The Accord promoted inclusive and sustainable international mobility experiences, ethical and reciprocal research and teaching partnerships, curriculum internationalization premised on global justice, and long-term institut

FAQs

What does the paper aim to do regarding ethics and internationalization?

It seeks to pluralize and deepen conversations about the ethics of internationalization by illustrating how different global ethics approaches address key internationalization questions.

Which aspects of internationalization does it analyze through global ethics approaches?

It addresses international student mobility, study and service abroad, and the internationalization of the curriculum.

What is the paper’s concluding emphasis for scholars and practitioners?

It emphasizes engaging in multi-voiced, critically informed analyses and dissensual conversations about complex ethical dilemmas related to internationalization.

Oct 15, 2026

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