Internal compulsions in the South African political economy have meant that the trend toward internationalization is not only contradictory but also ambivalent. Fulfilling the…
Abstract
Internal compulsions in the South African political economy have meant that the trend toward internationalization is not only contradictory but also ambivalent. Fulfilling the need for international compatibility in economics education undermines two parallel domestic pressures: commanding demands to transform socio‐economic institutions and the need to restructure education to reflect new international development priorities. These pressures constitute a severe brake on the pace and scope of internationalization. The paper discusses various aspects of internationalization of Economics education in South Africa and demonstrates that the trend has not taken off on any significant scale. In the process, it presents the history and organization of Economics education, the debates and tendencies in transforming tertiary education in South Africa, as well as alternatives in internationalizing the Economics syllabus in business education. Finally, it argues for a non‐ideological, open‐ended methodology for deriving practical policies on external economic relations.