Applying a world-city network approach to globalizing higher education: Conceptualization, data collection and the lists of world cities

Both the commercial and education sectors experience an increase in inter-city exchanges in the forms of goods, capital, commands, people and information/knowledge under globalization. The quantification of flows and structural relations among cities in globalizing education are under-researched compared to the well-established world/global cities literature emphasizing economic linkages. In this paper, the city’s global education networks are examined through the Globalizing Education Index system, which consists of place power and network power indicators. The study finds that many more cities worldwide participate in global networks, suggesting decentralized knowledge flows under globalization. Meanwhile, concentration is attested by the presence of traditional education powers at the top of city hierarchy. Copyright © 2015 International Association of Universities.