From Local to Global: The Human Side of Internationalizing a Local College

Menchie M. Cuenca and Sheilla M. Trajera
Additional contact information
Menchie M. Cuenca: Graduate School, University of St. La Salle; Dean, College of Business and Office Administration/Quality Assurance Director, Bacolod City College, Bacolod City 6100, Philippines
Sheilla M. Trajera: Graduate School Program Chair for Education and Nursing, Faculty for BSN, MN, and PhD Programs, University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City 6100, Philippines

Technium Social Sciences Journal, 2026, vol. 88, issue 1, 15-28

Abstract: This descriptive phenomenological study explored how local college administrators in the Philippines experience and respond to the demands of higher education internationalization under constrained fiscal, regulatory, and organizational conditions. The authors interviewed nine administrators directly involved in internationalization using a semi-structured guide. The authors analyzed the data using Colaizzi's seven-step method. Analysis yielded 127 significant statements and four interrelated themes: the Reality Gap, Policy-Practicality Paralysis, Creative Survival, and the Human Toll. Participants described pressure to meet global expectations despite limited budgets, delayed approvals, and restricted mobility. In response, they relied on Internationalization at Home, virtual collaboration, shared learning, and what they described as "echo leadership." These strategies widened access but also transferred a heavy burden to administrators, eight of whom described exhaustion or burnout. Member checking produced 85% agreement with the thematic interpretation. The findings suggest that sustainable internationalization in resource-constrained local colleges requires policy flexibility, realistic financing, institutionalized low-cost internationalization pathways, and explicit attention to administrator well-being.

Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://techniumscience.com/index.php/socialsciences/article/view/13834 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tec:journl:ojs:13834

DOI: 10.47577/tssj.v88i1.13834

Access Statistics for this article

Technium Social Sciences Journal is currently edited by Tasente Tanase

More articles in Technium Social Sciences Journal from Technium Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tasente Tanase ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).