Introduction: Internationalisation at Home (IaH) is a new trend in Internationalisation of Higher Education (IoHE). Starting with China’s emergence as a major international education player, the study evaluates the student experience of IaH in two Chinese higher education institutions, exploring the underlying values, purposes, and approaches.
Method: Two qualitative case studies were conducted, with 29 semi-structured student interviews. They were analysed through the lens of Activity Theory to identify the contradictions driving change.
Results: The analysis reveals that students perceive IaH as a driver for education reform, including curriculum transformation, student and academic development, income generation enhancement, university reputation improvement, and inclusive education. Activity Theory enabled the identification of contradictions, such as the tension between personal development expectations and industrial needs, the superficial nature of IaH implementation when restricted to specific departments like an International Office/School, differing cultural and educational expectations and practices, and the role of traditional practices in blocking the reform process.
Conclusions: These contradictions illustrate the complex interactions between student aspirations, institutional strategies, and the broader educational and industrial landscape. The Activity Theory framework demonstrates key social-cultural and contextual elements central to education reform. It identifies considerations in implementation of IaH strategies.
Significance: This is the first use of Activity Theory to evaluate the relationship in IaH between higher education reform, goal setting, social and cultural norms, industrial expectations and internal roles and responsibilities. The research has generated new understandings of how IaH can be extended to other developing countries.