Higher education in the United Kingdom: expansion and internationalization

Abstract

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14244/198271991008

This paper is devoted to a reflection on the dynamics of higher education in the UK and its relation with the modernization of higher education systems in the world. From evaluative parameters used by the main evaluation and resource allocation programs for research and scientific development, we seek to establish guidelines for the development of a system of quality higher education, based on the expansion of the education system focused on criteria of international competitiveness. Presented as a key issue in the higher education policies of the UK, the internationalization builds partnerships, cooperation and exchanges that foster construction of differentiated knowledge. As a quality indicator, it points to the formation of professors able to create new strategies for teaching and learning and to act as facilitators of the development of skills, competencies and knowledge, mediated by technology and qualified to promote social and economic development in the building of competitive nations that strengthen their leading position in the world scenario. Based on the set criteria, the position adopted by countries with emphasized economic development is indicated as a need to rethink the framework of funding for the education sector, aiming at setting up a more dynamic system of better quality with reduced state presence and intense market share.

Keywords: Commodification of the Higher Education; Internationalization of the Higher Education; Education for Innovation.