Internationalisation as a strategy to improve the quality of higher education in small states: Stakeholder perspectives in Lithuania

Assumptions have developed around the benefits of internationalisation; for example, that it promotes cultural integration and harmony, improves the quality of education and research, and improves country and institutional reputations internationally. A range of coercive, normative and mimetic influences have pushed most small states with mass or universal higher education systems to embrace the concept of internationalisation. By adopting a stakeholder analysis approach in one small state — Lithuania — this research investigates the successes, failures and challenges of internationalisation in improving the quality of higher education provision. It was found that internationalisation can present both opportunities and challenges to small states. However, the overwhelming consensus among the range of stakeholders who participated in this study was that the benefits of internationalisation far outweigh the threats and disadvantages. The paper concludes with a set of generalisable recommendations for small states that possess mass or universal higher education systems.