Professor: the missing link in the internationalization of higher education

Abstract

Emerging contexts challenge higher education institutions to develop more democratic and sustainable internationalization policies and practices based on equity. The current challenge for these institutions is to integrate these dimensions and dilemmas into their pursuit of social justice and promote educational environments that generate new perspectives. In a constantly changing scenario, new demands are emerging for higher education. This requires institutional reorganization, reconfiguration of practices, and qualified performance by teachers. This study analyzes the impact of internationalizing higher education on teaching at a Brazilian federal university, identifying possibilities and perspectives for teacher training in this context. This mixed-methods case study combines qualitative and quantitative procedures. Data were collected through interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, and document analysis. Discursive Textual Analysis (ATD) was used to analyze the qualitative data, and descriptive and inferential statistics, including the chi-square test of independence, were used to analyze the quantitative data. The results demonstrate that teachers are pivotal figures in an academic framework that demands the integration of interdisciplinary knowledge, diverse epistemologies, pluralistic knowledge and worldviews, interculturality, language policies, and international and global perspectives.