Introduction: International Education and the emerging critical discourse: ‘New Global Market Place’ and the ‘New Global Elite’, branding and commodification

This volume deals with the growth of international education in its global context. This is a complex and increasingly controversial area of activity, which has attracted a more critical discourse of analysis over recent years although its major trends and developments remain largely under-reported and under-researched. Although the term “globalisation” is contestable there is no denying that a powerful force exists, and education is now a part of it; “What globalisation is and the impact it is having is therefore hard to pin down yet none of us can deny its significance” (Mebrahtu et al., 2000, p. 9). It has been said (Cambridge, 2002, p. 229) that “globalization is a context for understanding the propagation and spread of international education and international schools”, and several “globalization of education phenomena” trends and developments have been singled out for attention in this volume.