Motivations of faculty engagement in internationalization: a survey in China

Faculty plays a critical role in the growing trend of internationalization in higher education. Thus, it is important to understand the factors that drive faculty members to get involved in internationalization. Employing structural equation model with data gathered from questionnaire, this study attempts to explore how faculty engagement in internationalization is motivated based on a survey in China, and institution type is also considered in our model. Our findings suggest that in the overall sample, both individual and environmental motivations positively relate to faculty engagement in internationalization, and individual motivation is the more critical predictor. One striking result is that individual motivation plays a complete mediating factor between environmental motivation and faculty engagement in internationalization, suggesting the significance of transferring institutional incentives to faculty’s individual competence and efficacy. Institution type significantly accounts for environmental motivations. As to key university, the result was consistent with above. In general institution, however, the effect of environmental motivation is insignificant, indicating that sufficient funding is indispensable for the internationalization ambition of institutions. The implications for research and policy conclude this paper.