60 Pad Lavankura and Rattana Lao
varying idiosyncratic characteristics; as “the process of integrating an
international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions
or delivery of post-secondary education” (Knight 2003, p. 2). Note the
inclusion of the “global dimension” and the changing terminology from
“institution” to “post-secondary education”. This revised definition was
intended to incorporate the growing diversity of the international process,
which has indeed expanded in both its breadth and depth.
To understand the internationalization of higher education and its
relationship to policy change, Van der Wende’s (1996) framework is useful.
According to him, the internationalization of higher education could be
viewed as a “process of educational change” that comprises of first-order
and second-order changes. The first-order changes mean “those [changes]
that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of what is currently done”,
while the second-order changes alter the fundamental ways in which
organizations are put together, including new goals, structures and roles.
(Van der Wende 1996, p. 26) Internationalization of higher education can
bring about both first-order and second order changes simultaneously.
Examples of second-order changes include preparing students to join
the international labour market, establishing special units to facilitate
international cooperation and exchange, becoming partners in international
alliances, and having performance assessed in accordance with international
comparative perspectives (Van der Wende 1996, pp. 26–27, cited in Nilphan
2005, p. 39). Thus Van der Wende’s definition of first-order and second-
order change can help researchers assess and analyse the level of policy
“success” that internationalization has brought about. Invariably, the
definition must assume also the improvement of existing education and
the introduction of new ideas to systems, institutions and individuals,
and that those changes should bring about both short-term and long-term
effects to the system (Van der Wende 1996, pp. 8–9).
Whether the first-order or second-order changes can occur depends
fundamentally on the nature, structure and system of higher education
in each context. This chapter will use the case of Thailand to analyse the
different levels of policy change in relation to the internationalization of
higher education. Similar to other Asian countries, the internationalization
process has been a significant factor shaping the Thai higher education
system. For the past twenty five years, since the term “internationalization”
was first mentioned in the First Long-Range Plan of Thailand Higher
Education in 1990, the country has undergone enormous transformation in