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Internationalisation and academic mobility have long been integral parts, although serving different purposes in the higher education industry. Internationalisation has played a crucial role in facilitating academic exchange, knowledge sharing, research partnerships and collaborative innovation. However, the rise of neoliberalism has introduced the market forces of global capitalism that have significantly impacted higher education worldwide – invading the sector with neoliberal market values. This chapter aims to explore the impact of neoliberalism on the internationalisation of higher education in Africa, with a specific focus on trends in international student mobility. The chapter argues that the influence of neoliberalism on international mobility extends beyond market dynamics, encompassing discussions on hegemony within international knowledge systems, where African countries and institutions often find themselves marginalised. The study relies on published materials and publicly available statistical data from both governmental and non-governmental organisations. By examining the interplay between neoliberalism and the process of internationalisation in higher education, this chapter sheds light on the intricate and multifaceted aspects of both concepts, as well as their practical implications for international student mobility. Moreover, the chapter reflects on the implications of neoliberal entanglements for the prospects of internationalisation in African higher education.

The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of the term well-being as conceptualised by parents, grandparents, principals and teachers in the Irish primary education system.

A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted to understand the nature and meaning of the phenomenon of well-being. Interviews were carried out with 54 principals, teachers, parents and grandparents from a representative sample of primary schools in Ireland. Each participant was asked the same, open, question: “What does well-being mean to you?” Responses were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a combination of the principles of the hermeneutic circle and Braun and Clarke’s framework for thematic analysis.

Three conceptualisations of well-being were identified (1) well-being is about being happy, (2) well-being is about being healthy and safe and (3) well-being is something you “do”.

To the best of our knowledge this paper is the first of its kind to describe how well-being is conceptualised by adults in Irish primary school contexts. In particular it highlights how neoliberal conceptualisations of well-being as a “thing”, a commodity exchanged on assumptions of individualism, moralism and bio-economism, have crept into the education of our youngest citizens.

This study aims to examine the illicit capital movement through trade misinvoicing in Burundi, at disaggregated levels by major trading partners and by major export and import commodities.

Trade misinvoicing is estimated by comparing the trade values declared by Burundi with those declared by trading partners in a bilateral international transaction, after adjusting for the cost of freight and insurance. Disaggregated trade misinvoicing by major trading partners is computed using the Direction of Trade Statistics database of the International Monetary Fund over the period 1970–2019. Disaggregated trade misinvoicing by major trading commodities is computed using the UN-COMTRADE database over the period 1993–2019.

Exports of Burundi to most of its major trading partners are found to be underinvoiced. The top destinations for export underinvoicing are United Arab Emirates, Belgium and Germany. However, exports to UK and Switzerland are found to be overinvoiced. The major export commodities considered, coffee and gold, are found to be affected by trade misinvoicing to a great extent. On the import side, the estimation results indicate that imports of Burundi from its major trading partners are in general overinvoiced. High import overinvoicing is observed in the trade with Saudi Arabia, China and Japan. At commodity level, for the top 6 commodities considered, imports were to a great extent found to be overinvoiced. Cases of illicit capital outflows and inflows through trade misinvoicing are highlighted.

Some policy implications are drawn from this study. First, in collaboration with its development partners, the Government of Burundi should put in place measures to reduce the trade misinvoicing phenomenon, which undermines poverty reduction efforts. The study has shown which trade partners are involved and which commodities are mostly affected. Policy efforts could then be focused in that regard. Investigations at the company and transaction levels can be made to identify the mechanisms of trade misinvoicing. Second, more effort is needed in ensuring systematic and transparent reporting of international trade transactions. To fight trade misinvoicing, transparency in international trade is key, through coordinated enforcement of reporting rules.

Previous studies analyzed the problem of trade misinvoicing at an aggregated level. However, this leaves out essential information on trading partners involved in the phenomenon as well as trading commodities affected. This study investigates trade misinvoicing at disaggregated levels, at product level and by trading partner.

This chapter explores the significance and implementation of family planning practices, emphasizing their vital role in enhancing reproductive health outcomes. This chapter conducts an in-depth examination of family planning practices within marginalized communities in Bangladesh, shedding light on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by these populations. By uncovering the nuances of family planning practices in marginalized contexts, this chapter underscores the need for tailored and culturally sensitive family planning programs. It advocates for program designs that facilitate the effective adoption of family planning practices among marginalized communities, ultimately promoting better reproductive health outcomes. Furthermore, this chapter highlights the importance of empowerment strategies in reaching and engaging marginalized communities. Through practice enhancement initiatives, it seeks to empower marginalized populations with the knowledge and resources necessary to make informed decisions about family planning, thereby contributing to improved reproductive health and overall well-being.

This study aims at understanding how higher education institutions (HEIs) can contribute to sustainable development, by designing their programmes for bringing about a transformative impact on communities and students, and also to examine what alternative pedagogical approaches could be used for that. In the past decades, HEIs have increasingly created social innovation (SI) programmes, as a way to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These community-oriented and field-based programmes are difficult to ally with conventional classroom education. This study explores how these programmes could integrate the participatory approach and what would be the benefits. It also investigates the effectiveness of the experiential learning approach for teaching sustainability.

A case study method is used to document SI projects initiated by an HEI programme in rural India.

It was found that the participatory approach contributes to empowering communities and also benefits the students in terms of academic, professional and personal growth. Empirical findings show that experiential learning is an efficient method to teach sustainability. Ultimately, both pedagogical approaches are found to be mutually beneficial.

This study fills a gap in the literature, by providing empirical evidence on how HEI can implement innovative educational strategies such as participatory approach and experiential learning in their programmes towards teaching sustainability. A conceptual model for HEI interested in developing similar programmes is also proposed. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies focusing on the context of Indian HEI.

The marketisation of higher education fosters the notion of students as consumers, highlighting the shifting dynamics of student–teacher relationships. This paper aims to contribute to ongoing discussions about students as consumers and their involvement in pedagogical practices. We explore students’ experiences in short-term study abroad (SA) programmes that involve collaborative learning, examining how a consumerism-oriented approach affects students’ perceptions of their pedagogical identities and student–teacher pedagogical relationships.

A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to capture students’ rich and subjective perceptions and experiences. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 Chinese undergraduate students who participated in a short-term SA programme at a UK university. Following data translation and transcription, a thematic analysis approach facilitated our exploration.

Chinese students engage in SA programmes as a strategic investment in personal growth and transformation, with their consumer-oriented identity fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with educators and group members. This consumer mindset appears to enhance active student engagement and, to some extent, create reciprocal student–teacher interactions through power sharing and collaborative involvement.

This study presents empirical data exploring the impact of consumer identity on the dynamics of student–teacher relationships in the SA context. It provides recommendations for implementing pedagogical approaches designed to mediate the influence of consumerism on student engagement, particularly in shaping collaborative student–teacher relationships. This study offers insights for future research on the effects of consumerism in higher education within cross-cultural contexts.

In the 21st century, placing higher education institutions in the global world has become the norm. Therefore, many higher education institutions in Ghana and across the globe have set out to internationalise or become world-class universities as part of their strategic ambitions. Thus, finding ways to become visible on a global scale and transcend beyond the countries in which they operate has become of major interest to most universities. The authors of this chapter were curious to determine how universities adopt imported organisational templates as a strategic ambition. One should not assume that the semblance of such imported concepts is mere institutional isomorphism stemming from internationalisation and globalisation. The study employed semi-structured interviews and institutional documents as data collection tools among ten (10) university actors in a flagship university in Ghana. The study used postcolonial theory to critically examine the drivers and current practices embedded in dominant hegemonic global discourses, such as internationalisation. The findings revealed that the drivers and reforms underpinning university internationalisation ambition are framed within economic rationalities, producing human capital, self-marketisation to promote visibility, and a quest for global competition couched within global neoliberal ideology. The study recommends the need for university actors to (re)focus and (re)evaluate university internationalisation discourse to ensure a balance between local relevance and global forces.

Efforts to reduce farmers' market risks and improve buyers' access to farm commodities have encouraged contract farming (CF) in Ghana's cashew sector in recent years. Consequently, the existence of CF shows that farmers who use it may be benefiting from it, as it is their economic responsibility to decide how to sell agricultural products. However, the magnitudes of these benefits or otherwise have been inadequately explored. This paper aims to empirically estimate the impact of CF on farm performance and welfare of smallholder cashew farmers.

The study used probit-two-stage least square (probit-2sls) as a primary estimator to account for self-selection bias and endogeneity that could arise from both observed and unobserved heterogeneities among farming households to estimate the causal effects of CF on farm performance and household welfare.

The results indicated that participation in CF contribute significantly to the gains in farm performance (price margins, yields and net farm revenue) and welfare (consumption expenditure per capita), and that the non-participants of CF would have benefited substantially if they had participated. An analysis of the farm size disaggregated into small, medium and large with regards to the outcome variables produces mixed results.

It can be concluded that participating in CF enhances farm performance and household welfare.

While many other studies do not account for changes in farm performance and welfare due to differences in farm size or other observed factors, this study fills a crucial void.

Education had proven to be one of the main determinants of economic growth, and it is a reason of the variations in economic growth levels between developed and developing countries. One of the main dimensions in studding the relationship between economic growth and education is the gender dimension or the importance of gender equality or female education in achieving economic growth. This chapter aims to test the hypothesis of the existence of a positive relationship between female education and economic growth in Egypt since 1990.

To address this question, Auto Regression Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bound test approach is conducted to analyze the co-integration between female education and economic growth using Egyptian Data for the period 1990–2022. The Empirical analysis for Egypt suggests the existence of positive significant relationship both in the short run and long run and that the impact of female education on economic growth is larger than the impact of education in general on growth. This could be explained by the existence of gender gap in Egypt, labor market, and thus, more educated girls able to enter the labor market will affect the economic growth more than the education of both sexes, in other words, there is still a room for improvement in the female labor market opportunities than for both sexes. The chapter also confirms the existence of a direct link between education in general and economic growth and thus confirms the hypothesis of the positive impact of education economic growth.

The aim of this chapter is to draw attention to the changes that have taken place in Czechia in the last 20 years in the field of foreign trade, focussing on the key milestones of 2002, 2012 and 2022. The chapter also explains the important link between the performance of foreign trade and economic growth; this link has its support in theory, and above all in empiricism. The importance of foreign trade for economic growth is key, especially from the point of view of changes in the territorial and commodity structure, which saw several important changes in the observed period 2002–2022, so we can relevantly explain the effects on the economic growth of Czechia. However, the chapter finds a connection with yet another economic category, which is competitiveness. The method of measuring and subsequent ranking of competitiveness is also of utmost importance. If the economy is to be competitive, it must have its own strategy, and this directly concerns the key instruments of pro-export policy.