International academic mobility: a bibliometric and integrative review of the literature between 2005 and 2022

• Published in: Cadernos EBAPE.BR 2024, Vol.22 (5), p.1-25
• Main Authors: Bueno, Janaína Maria, Domingues, Carlos Roberto, Santos, Ester Paula dos, Zani, Alex Rodrigues
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bibliometrics; Collaboration; College students; Colleges & universities; Globalization; Higher education; Industrialized nations; Knowledge; Literature reviews; Mobility
• ISSN: 1679-3951; 1679-3951
• DOI: 10.1590/1679-395120230112x

Abstract Academic mobility is a widely studied topic in different fields. The aim of this article is to analyse the literature on International Academic Mobility (IAM), both inbound and outbound, identifying research collaboration networks, the most influential authors and journals, as well as the interest groups portrayed and students, highlighting topics and theoretical approaches. A bibliometric and integrative literature review was carried out from 2005 to 2022 on the Web of Science (WoS) academic database, resulting in a bibliometric analysis of 851 articles and an integrative review of the 42 most cited articles among the authors highlighted. The results showed relationships between publications, authors, and themes, highlighting some central authors and journals that have been both productive and relevant. With the integrative review, the main topics were identified ‒ motivations and outcomes of the MAI, labour market and career, socio-economic aspects, educational policies of the countries and management of higher education institutions (HEIs), inequalities in the MAI, brain circulation and the impact of COVID-19 ‒, the most used theories ‒ human capital, social capital, rational choice, push-pull motivations, vocational education and training, types of international mobility ‒ and the interest groups portrayed in the publications ‒ students, graduates, teachers, researchers, higher education institutions and governments of the countries. Studies are suggested that integrate subjects and organisations participating in the process, with a focus on educational and social policies, finding solutions to reduce inequalities and enabling changes in the political, economic, and social context to be monitored. Resumo A mobilidade acadêmica é um tema amplamente estudado em diferentes áreas. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a literatura sobre a mobilidade acadêmica internacional (MAI), nas modalidades inbound e outbound, identificando redes de colaboração de pesquisa, autores e periódicos mais influentes, bem como grupos de interesse retratados e estudantes, destacando tópicos e abordagens teóricas. Foi realizada uma revisão de literatura bibliométrica e integrativa, no período de 2005 a 2022, na base de dados acadêmica Web of Science (WoS), resultando na análise bibliométrica de 851 artigos e na revisão integrativa dos 42 artigos mais citados entre os autores destacados. Como resultados, foram mostradas relações entre publicações, autores e temas, com des