Internationalisation of the Curriculum in Minority Higher Education in Slovakia: A Critical Case from J. Selye University

Abstract

This article examines the internationalisation of higher education in a semi-peripheral system through the concept of a minority higher education space, focusing on the implementation of internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC) at J. Selye University. Drawing on world-system theory and approaches to global inequalities in knowledge production, the study conceptualises minority higher education space as a structurally constrained, symbolically marginalised, and epistemically subordinated institutional configuration. The concept is operationalised through three dimensions: structural peripherality, epistemic partial subordination, and symbolic limitation. The empirical part uses an instrumental case study combining curriculum and project document analysis, data from a pilot regular course with elements of blended learning, and qualitative feedback from Faculty of Education students (N = 15), complemented by data from an international project consortium. The findings reveal the ambivalent nature of IoC in minority higher education spaces: while it reflects adaptation to dominant European academic norms, it also enables horizontal cooperation among semi-peripheral institutions and the pluralisation of pedagogical perspectives. Student feedback highlights the development of intercultural, civic, and project competences. The article introduces the concept of reflexive internationalisation to explain changing patterns of international engagement in minority academic contexts.