ABSTRACT This research investigates the purposes of internationalisation from the perspective of a group of international prospective teachers studying at a Swedish university. The results show that the prospective teachers’ understanding of internationalisation corresponds to three ideologies of internationalisation – idealism, instrumentalism, and educationalism – but there is also evidence of a more complex and multifaceted understanding of internationalisation. We propose that a new internationalisation ideology may be emerging that corresponds to ideas about ‘responsible internationalisation’ and is connected to the COVID-19 pandemic and changing geopolitics. The importance of taking future teachers’ viewpoints into account, as well as a considering changes to global and local educational contexts, is emphasised when formulating internationalisation strategies in teacher education.