Gaining International Perspectives Through Undergraduate Education: Comparative Case Analysis Focusing on International Liberal Arts Provision

Abstract

AbstractIn this chapter, we examine the practices of international undergraduate education by focusing on the liberal arts in five, mostly medium-sized, countries with quite different geopolitical contexts: the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan. We analyze whether the reforms of undergraduate education in these countries are moving in the direction of global convergence or divergence based on the respective contexts of each country’s society and higher education system. We explore whether changes are based on intrinsic values and directions inherent to universities and higher education arising from their education and research activities, or extrinsic values and directions demanded by society and industry, such as human resource development and industrial innovation. Our findings show that no single direction can be argued to be a “global trend.” This implies that each country and university should carefully examine and identify the global landscape and the most relevant direction to pursue in terms of university education.