Book review: The SAGE Handbook of Research in International Education (2 nd edition)

The second edition of the SAGE Handbook of Research in International Education (the Handbook) has moved up a weight class since the first edition in 2007, now with 40 chapters from a total of 52 contributors across 656 pages. It is a testament to the influence and curatorial skills of its editors, Prof. Mary Hayden and Prof. Jeff Thompson of the University of Bath, and Prof. Jack Levy of University of Massachusetts Boston, that quality and clarity are maintained throughout the volume. The growth of the Handbook since the first edition is not simply additive; with a small overall increase in chapters, we see a streamlining of sections (from five to four), but a diversifying of authors (from 46 to 52), from a wider range of nations. Sixteen chapters have been cut between editions, with 25 new or updated, including more diverse perspectives and methodologies. The result is a cohesive and current Handbook which provides a reliable foundation for inquiry in the field: a rich history of the industry, its contributors, key definitions, problems and issues, as well as some recent studies and their implications.

The editors make their intentions for the Handbook clear in a detailed introduction, explaining the shift in structure of the text as it moves from five to four sections:

Part I remains largely recognizable from the first edition, with some chapters updated and others drafted in from later in the original volume, giving a strong sense of presenting the accepted wisdom in a now-established discipline. Robert Sylvester and Ian Hill set the stage with their chapters on the history of international education research and international mindedness respectively, while Harriet Marshall articulates the foundational definitions through her discussion of the global terminology debate. These concise history lessons place the new researcher in context, informing one’s schema of international education oriented in key events and vocabulary. Mark Bray clarifies the distinction between comparative and international education as research fields, and Boyd Roberts signals the sensitivity of the industry to global change. Konrad Gunesch and Martin Skelton discuss the development and challenges of international mindedness, while Terry Haywood’s chapter provokes serious thought on ‘enemies’ of international mindedness from within and without, suggesting that it has become ‘a concept of dubious use’ and a term ‘whose time is up’. This critical view continues into chapters from Michael Allan, James Cambridge and Hugh Lauder as they evaluate research in international education, and the novice researcher will need access to a research methods handbook in order to fully understand some of the discussions. Initially at the end of the first edition, these chapters have been brought to the fore, effectively highlighting a need to diversify research ‘voices’, improve research quality and set a course for a research future.

Part II consolidates practicalities and issues regarding students, teaching and learning, with over half of the chapters new or updated to include discussion of pedagogies, language acquisition, emerging learning technologies, teacher training and self-evaluation of intercultural competence. Curriculum is fundamental to this section, with Tristan Bunnell’s contribution typifying the “enormous structural changes” in the field of international education since the first edition of the Handbook, with a recognition that “the growth of international schools and international curricula are no longer mutually linked’. Furthermore, Fazal Rizvi’s critical take on the internationalization of curriculum as a too-narrow attempt to ‘promote a neo-liberal imaginary’ provides much food for thought, concluding that these reforms ‘do not adequately prepare students to engage critically with the cultural politics of globalization’.

The original Part IV and current Part III align conceptually with their focus on leading institutions through internationalism, and the critical view of current international education continues into this section; the turnover in chapters highlights the rapid development of the field over the last decade, and a shift from ‘how do we do this and what might be the implications?’ to ‘what have we done and what can we do about it?’. With a focus on school governance, standards and quality assurance this section includes Michael Fertig’s description of history and practices in evaluation, which sets the foundation for Robin Shields, Dennis Niemans and Kerstin Martens’ sobering analyses of the impacts of these processes (including PISA), in terms of isomorphism of international education.

Where the original final chapter focused on what were considered ‘current issues and future challenges’ in 2007, the editors now leave these questions in the hands of each of the authors, the conclusions of whose chapters reliably state ongoing questions and predictions for future development or study. Part IV therefore aligns with Bunnell’s discussion of the growth of internationalized ‘national’ education systems, and thus is a mostly reimagined section that serves the multiple purposes of exemplifying more varied research methodologies, diversifying the authorship and contextualization of international education in action, and problematizing the issues of promoting internationalism and globalization in national systems. Using a series of case studies from eight countries or regions, this section illuminates some contextual or practical issues in implementing a western ‘international’ education in a diversity of settings; where there are successes and limitations in each setting, these vary and as early indicators of research in this field they signal further dilemmas to come.

Although the writing of the second edition is generally tighter, based on more comprehensive, up-to-date literature review or research methods, some of the chapters that did not make the new edition are worth keeping in mind. Tom Oden’s original chapter (15) on the role of standards in international education remains of interest in curriculum development. Mary Hayden’s and Lesley Snowball’s chapters (18 and 21 respectively) maintain currency in issues of professional learning for international education, though key ideas are well covered in Part II chapters from Jack Levy and Rebecca Fox (updated) and Iris van Werven (new). James Cambridge and Clive Carthew’s original chapter (24) on schools self-evaluating their international values provides an interesting early example of the self-study approach of international school accreditation and evaluation. The overall impacts of the revisions to the Handbook effectively address criticisms by Mhamed of the first edition including ‘a lack of clarity surrounding the term “international”,’ the themes and findings being ‘not related to educational practice as effectively as we might expect’, and that more space ‘could have been given to valid and reliable research and methodologies’ (Mhamed, 2008). The careful curation of the Handbook ensures that terminology can be understood consistently across chapters, yet the range of methodological approaches exemplifies the diversity of inquiry in the field.

This second edition of the SAGE Handbook of Research in International Education is an invaluable text for academics, students and practitioners alike, setting and building upon a carefully-laid foundation of knowledge of education in various international contexts. With the rapid growth of the international education industry – and its accompanying research – this text might serve as a useful ‘canon’ of writing in the discipline, a touchstone that may become the assumed baseline knowledge of the field. Parts I and II could act as set texts for students embarking on masters-level study in international education and research, and should be coupled with a strong reference text in research methods. With Part III problematizing some key issues in leadership, standards and homogenization in globalized international education, and Part IV offering some inspirations or contextual foundations for educational inquiries, the Handbook will help set the stage for quality inquiry in the field. Furthermore, the Handbook would find a welcome home in the professional libraries of international schools as they work to define and implement international education in their own contexts.

Since the publication of this second edition in 2015, the world has seen some dramatic shifts in geopolitics, the effects of which cannot fail to reach schooling. I wonder if the period between the first and second editions of the Handbook might soon be seen as a ‘golden period’ for defining and characterizing international education that has yielded clarity in terminology and characterization of the rapid expansion of the bubble of international education. This second edition creates a strong sense of tensions in the bubble’s skin: nationalism vs globalism, internationalism vs globalization, global citizenship and social inclusion vs standardization and isomorphism. Hayden and Thompson’s 2016 edited collection, International Schools: Current issues and future prospects, makes an apt partner text for the Handbook, problematizing many of the issues identified and exemplifying solutions, research or further theories on how the field will develop, survive and thrive in change.

Will these global changes and tensions burst our bubble, and what will come next? I look forward to the third edition of the Handbook with some trepidation.