Analysis of Globalization in the Higher Education System of Iran

This study aims to formulate the concept of globalization and analyze how higher education system in Iran faces the phenomenon. Understanding the concept of globalization and its underlying layers may provide for a deeper insight into how this phenomenon has emerged in higher education system in Iran. A phenomenological, qualitative approach was followed. A sample of experts’ was selected using a purposive sampling way. Inclusion criteria were expertise in higher education, being a faculty member and, at least, one written scientific work in the field of globalization. Semi-structured interviews with nineteen experts ensured the theoretical saturation. The text of all the interviews was analysed first, and the interviews, which were based on the belief that "threat-focused globalization," were deconstructed using the causal layer analysis method. At litany layer, it is reflected in increasing unemployment rate, massive immigration of graduates, and the growing number of academic, published articles failing to address the indigenous issues or applications. System causes mainly includes conforming and emulating global systems and trends and adopting global scientometrics indicators to evaluate scholarly performance of entities. At discourse layer, globalization is manifested in training and developing students with Western mentality and instilling global processes into local universities. The experts hold that higher education system of Iran has not played a role in building the pillars of the huge mansion of globalization, as a proposed metaphor to describe the phenomenon.