Abstract
It is 10 years since the Journal of Research in International Education (JRIE) was launched in Geneva, on the occasion of the inaugural conference of the Alliance for International Education (AIE). Both initiatives grew out of a perceived need, following the burgeoning interest worldwide in international education and international schools during the last quarter of the 20th century, for a wider base of interchange of ideas for those involved in generating them. Globally, schools in both the private and state sectors of education were adopting curricula designed to be ‘international’ in character, or were developing their own programmes for the same end, and – taken with the rapidly changing and increasingly interdependent nature of the global environment – these developments generated many and varied issues for which a forum for debate was an increasingly clear need.
From the outset, one of the justifications given for the introduction of yet another academic journal, and a chief aim in its implementation, was the exploration of reasons for the lack of agreement among theorists and practitioners alike concerning the diversity of interpretations of the concept of ‘international education’ that was becoming all too evident across the wide range of schools, colleges and universities claiming it as a central tenet of their educational intentions. The extent to which progress has been made through the JRIE in that respect, over the past decade, may be judged from a reading of the articles that have appeared in the journal during that time. A reading of the views expressed in this special 10th anniversary edition by those invited to contribute to it will also throw light on the extent to which the JRIE has met those early aims. As will be clear, the changes in local, national, regional and global contexts that have characterized the first years of this new century have made the task of arriving at shared understandings not only more difficult but also more challenging and intriguing for those involved in the search for a common interpretation.
A second aim for the then new journal was to provide an opportunity, for those with experience in implementing the conceptual ideas behind such a term as ‘international education’ in schools and other institutions, to share that experience in a wider constituency than had, to that date, been possible. A pleasing feature of the articles published since 2002 has been the readiness with which such contributions have been offered. Often the impetus for sharing experience through formal publication has arisen from the systematic and rigorous work undertaken by practitioners through their engagement in formal study for a higher degree qualification in universities throughout the world – a trend which is continuing to grow in a most welcome manner. Thus, slowly but certainly, a useful evidence base is being generated of ideas and concepts arising directly from reflection upon international education in practice.
A third reason for the introduction of the JRIE was directly connected with that evidence base, and arose from the need to examine the appropriateness of the research approaches used, in schools and universities alike, to explore the fundamentals of international education and international-mindedness. The range of research methodologies adopted by those who have thus far contributed to the journal raise important issues – often implicitly, but on occasions explicitly – concerning the validity of current methodologies for such purposes and the exciting possibility of finding new forms of enquiry which enhance validity of the findings and conclusions arising from them.
Overall, a central goal of the journal has continued to be the encouragement of a debate about whether or not there exists, could exist or even should exist, a distinct field of study relating to the theory and practice of international education per se. From the beginning, a policy decision was taken to include in the journal a range of articles that could be located with confidence in related and cognate fields (such as comparative education, development education and multicultural education, for example) so that the possibility of identifying any territorial epistemological lines surrounding international education could be investigated. The degree to which, at this stage, sufficient exploration has yet been undertaken to enable such issues to be addressed with confidence remains uncertain. Ten years is a short time in which to tackle such a fundamental exercise! What is clear is the desire on the part of researchers and practitioners to cooperate actively through this journal, and in other ways, in order to progress along the road towards the generation of a ‘theory of international education’.
For this 10th anniversary edition I was invited to make a personal selection of colleagues who would, it was hoped, be willing to make a contribution; I am grateful to the current Editor-in-Chief, Mary Hayden, for the opportunity to make that selection. All who appear in this publication have been generous not only in responding readily to the invitation and in spending their precious time creating the articles, but also in providing invaluable support to the journal, in differing ways, throughout its existence. I offer to each of these distinguished colleagues my gratitude and appreciation. It is entirely fitting that the final word in this edition should be written by George Walker, who has been chair of the JRIE Editorial Advisory Board since its creation. Indeed, it was because of George’s support and encouragement as the then Director General of the International Baccalaureate Organization, and in his personal academic capacity, that the journal came into existence.
Thank you to all who have submitted articles for publication during the past 10 years, to those who have been Co-Editors, to members of the Editorial Advisory Board, to those who have acted as reviewers for the articles submitted, and to the very many who have chosen to read the publication and to draw upon its contents in their teaching and research during that period.
Happy anniversary, JRIE!