An Analysis of Theoretical Foundations and Objectives of Internationalization of Higher Education

Internationalization of higher education has been the most important agent of change across the wide variety of countries and settings over the last three decades. There is not an academic evidence that internationalization has been a core element of universities’strategic plans in Iran, as it has never been a significant trend in the area of higher education research and studies. In the absence of either a strategic trend or a collection of significant research resources in Farsi, this paper first re-conceptualizes the idea of internationalization and addresses its relationship with globalization. The paper, then, addresses the key question of what goals and rational esimpact policy makers and universities presidents to engage in internationalization activities .This study used a qualitative methodology with adescriptive-analytical method and critical-documentary analysis. This study showed that internationalization is conceptually changing and evolving as there may be a significant gap between its perceptions in theory and its experiences in practice. The paper also showed that the decision to acknowledge internationalization as a priority is based on different objectives ranging from instrumental-functional(such as branding and revenue generating) to idealistic (such as peacebuilding and global citizen development)components.