International Office Professionals: An Example of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Higher Education
Internationalization has become an indispensable part of universities worldwide. Since the 1990s, various research has been conducted with those often seen as the main stakeholders of universities, namely administrators, academics, and students. However, the leading implementors of internationalizat...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/9/890 |
| _version_ | 1797580555207835648 |
|---|---|
| author | Betul Bulut-Sahin |
| author_facet | Betul Bulut-Sahin |
| author_sort | Betul Bulut-Sahin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Internationalization has become an indispensable part of universities worldwide. Since the 1990s, various research has been conducted with those often seen as the main stakeholders of universities, namely administrators, academics, and students. However, the leading implementors of internationalization and especially mobility programs, international office professionals (IPs), are rarely considered by research. In this study, qualitative research was conducted through 36 semi-structured interviews with IPs in Poland and Turkey. The results revealed that IPs have several professional and institutional challenges. While the professional challenges include diversified responsibilities, incoming students’ problems, and communication difficulties with the young generation; institutional challenges are mainly associated with administrative issues like lack of participation in decision-making, temporarily appointed leaders, and lack of academic support. Additionally, in this study, IPs were referred to as street-level bureaucrats as the main contact with the beneficiaries of internationalization. The research revealed that IPs use a high level of discretion in practice. This paper presents examples of how to structure internationalization policies so that the IPs use their power of discretion in a positive way, contributing to policy implementation. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a roadmap for the practical implementation of internationalization and mobility programs in universities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:51:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d88ff2c9a4b04d9b899b205c09aa035c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:51:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d88ff2c9a4b04d9b899b205c09aa035c2023-11-19T10:19:03ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022023-09-0113989010.3390/educsci13090890International Office Professionals: An Example of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Higher EducationBetul Bulut-Sahin0Department of Educational Sciences, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Çankaya Ankara, TurkeyInternationalization has become an indispensable part of universities worldwide. Since the 1990s, various research has been conducted with those often seen as the main stakeholders of universities, namely administrators, academics, and students. However, the leading implementors of internationalization and especially mobility programs, international office professionals (IPs), are rarely considered by research. In this study, qualitative research was conducted through 36 semi-structured interviews with IPs in Poland and Turkey. The results revealed that IPs have several professional and institutional challenges. While the professional challenges include diversified responsibilities, incoming students’ problems, and communication difficulties with the young generation; institutional challenges are mainly associated with administrative issues like lack of participation in decision-making, temporarily appointed leaders, and lack of academic support. Additionally, in this study, IPs were referred to as street-level bureaucrats as the main contact with the beneficiaries of internationalization. The research revealed that IPs use a high level of discretion in practice. This paper presents examples of how to structure internationalization policies so that the IPs use their power of discretion in a positive way, contributing to policy implementation. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a roadmap for the practical implementation of internationalization and mobility programs in universities.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/9/890internationalization of higher educationinternational office professionalsstreet-level bureaucracydiscretion |
| spellingShingle | Betul Bulut-Sahin International Office Professionals: An Example of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Higher Education Education Sciences internationalization of higher education international office professionals street-level bureaucracy discretion |
| title | International Office Professionals: An Example of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Higher Education |
| title_full | International Office Professionals: An Example of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Higher Education |
| title_fullStr | International Office Professionals: An Example of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Higher Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | International Office Professionals: An Example of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Higher Education |
| title_short | International Office Professionals: An Example of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Higher Education |
| title_sort | international office professionals an example of street level bureaucrats in higher education |
| topic | internationalization of higher education international office professionals street-level bureaucracy discretion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/9/890 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT betulbulutsahin internationalofficeprofessionalsanexampleofstreetlevelbureaucratsinhighereducation |