Abstract:

For a long time, the interpretation of higher education internationalization by established theories has had its rationality and relevance. However, the evolution of higher education and globalization requires the introduction of new theoretical perspectives as complements, while academic communities engaged in the study of higher education internationalization should seek to construct more indigenous theoretical systems. Based on the interpretation of higher education internationalization from the perspective of “diffusion of innovation” theory and the representation of knowledge production in the process of internationalization, the differences in the paradigms of knowledge production may be one of the deep-rooted reasons for the current problems and obstacles. In view of this, researchers and practitioners of higher education internationalization should strive to balance internationalization and indigenization, and promote the bilateralism and multimodality of innovation diffusion in the internationalization process by updating research paradigms and empowering “modernity” to indigenous discourse.

Key words: higher education internationalization, diffusion of innovation, knowledge production, indigenous discourse, modernity