Barriers to Establishing Partnerships in terms of Internationalization of Higher Education: The example of Turkey - UK case

Abstract

Internationalization is becoming an increasingly important target and process for the higher education sector worldwide. Higher education sector stakeholders follow the current internationalization developments and try to benefit more from this phenomenon. Policies and practices usually address the issue of quantity and visible tools such as mobility studies on internationalization, and this started to highlight the importance of cooperation between countries at the national level. This study examined different tools, relationships, and ties between higher education institutions in Turkey and the UK. Within the scope of the study, qualitative research methods were used to conduct semi-structured interviews with national policymakers and decision-makers in both countries, senior representatives of HEIs, and several focus groups with different groups of academics in the UK and Turkey. In this article, we aim to present the main analysis gathered from the study conducted in 2021. The study identified challenges that have slowed the development of relations between the two countries. According to the results, there are structural and attitudinal barriers between the HEIs of the two countries. Recommendations for policy reform from the extensive research conducted in this paper are shared at the end of the article.