Decolonization of higher education policy and practice has become an increasing concern and interest in recent years. This article provides a critical review of the application of decolonization to higher education. It discusses what its proponents mean by the term and how they seek to apply it in practice. It identifies outstanding issues with…

This article evaluates the design of the official language policy of the Norwegian government in the field of higher education, which was set out in two white papers in 2008 and 2020. The language policy aims to avoid domain loss of the Norwegian language and thus keep it 'complete' and able to function as a unifying factor in society. In the two…

Policy and research engagement is a timely topic for researchers, decision-makers, and higher education institutions that aim to promote engagement and impact. Examination of the complex research-policy relationship in the higher education sector has been largely overlooked. This paper addresses this issue by presenting findings from in-depth…

The issues that social researchers study and policymakers address are partly determined by how they think about the world around them. Their view of the social world often depends on their position within it. What their research reveals and their policies propose are, in part, a reflection of where they choose to look and how they interpret the…

Background/purpose: Gender inequality in higher education remains a persistent issue that hinders the equitable access and participation of both women and men in the academic field. This study aims to analyze global research trends in gender inequality in higher education from 1993 to 2024, focusing on how these trends are reflected in…

Whilst research works have identified many actors involved in higher education public policymaking in the Ghanaian context, there is a paucity of empirical studies on how the application of a quadruple helix network of policy actors considered essential constituents of higher education provision could create added value to strengthen the…

This article develops a country case study on the Polish higher education (HE) system governance regime by using the governance equalizer model to analyse how each reform over the last three decades has altered its formal power structure. In particular, we focus on the most recent HE governance reform (Law 2.0), which has not yet been addressed…

This article explores ways in which higher education (HE) slogans, together with related frameworks and policies, increasingly invade the personal, cultural and positional values of individual staff and students. After a quick exploration of examples of embedded university values that are expected to be 'lived', the article outlines some epistemic…

In recent years, the growing demand for international education, coupled with economic challenges in Punjab, has driven a significant increase in students seeking higher education in Canada. This paper examines the roles of two critical stakeholders in this process: the Canadian government and overseas education agents. Canada's policies on work…

The article examines the relationship between higher education and the public good in France. It draws on interviews conducted with staff across four French universities as part of a larger international comparative project. We argue that the 'Republican model' is strongly underpinned by the notion of 'public service' which is itself guided by the…

This paper presents a critical review of theoretical models on institutional internationalization in higher education. Over the past three decades, scholars have proposed numerous frameworks to understand internationalization processes, yet gaps persist in their practical application and integration. Through a systematic and evaluative examination…

Adoption of the "Double World-Class" policy in China has led to substantial changes in the country's higher education governance system. Thus, to examine whether any undesired effects have occurred, in this study, we conducted document analysis along with purposive interviews to gather pertinent data on one local university that has been…

Using a dataset of higher education institutional alliances within the framework of the European University initiative (EUi), we test empirically whether the policy-defined goal of a relative balance between "excellence and inclusiveness" within the scheme has been achieved. Specifically, we provide a descriptive and analytical account…

Initiatives to build research universities to have world-class universities, the creator and the disseminator of scientific knowledge in knowledge-based economies, are among the most important policy reactions in higher education systems. With an increase in demands on greater accountability, transparency, and efficiency, studies investigating the…

This systematic literature review examines research on inclusive policies and practices in higher education institutions published between 2001 and 2021. Six electronic databases (ERIC, Emerald, Web of Science, Wiley Online, Taylor & Francis Online, and Sage journal) were searched. Forty-three articles met the inclusion criteria and were…