Refuting dependency theory in international higher education

Abstract

Comparative educationalists seek, among other things, to objectify global and local phenomena that impact the nature, content and delivery of education. To achieve their ends, they often borrow from the social and pure sciences in an attempt to better understand their subject of inquiry. ' Dependency theory', co-opted from multiple disciplines in the social sciences, is a popular way of interpreting the functioning of global education systems. It represents a body of theories rather than a single theory or model. It has been communicated forcefully in the field of comparative education by, inter alia, Philip Altbach, Gail P. Kelly, and Harland Prechel. However, this paper finds that this popular theoretical viewpoint lacks the forceful insight necessary to capture the development of transnational education (TNE) in the Asia region.